This easy Slow Cooker Pork Loin roast recipe includes a flavorful garlic herb rub, and is slow cooker in apple juice for extra flavor! It is fall apart tender with minimal effort!
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I know. It seems kind of boring.
But I’ve been making this Slow Cooker Pork Loin recipe at least once a month for a year or two. And it’s so good, and so tender.
Plus, I’ve finally got my dry rub down and ready to share!
About this Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast recipe
The seasoning here is similar to my dry rub on this Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin, but there’s so much more area to cover when you’re making a crockpot pork roast.
I love to pick up a couple boneless pork loins when they go on sale and stash them in the freezer for those weeks I need an easy, hearty meal with minimal effort. Plus, there’s so much you can do with leftover pork loin!
You can really just throw the pork loin in the crockpot with some water and salt and pepper and it will come out just fine, especially considering you only spent about 2 minutes getting it ready.
But if you want to take it up a notch? You’ve got to try this dry rub for pork roast. It would be so easy to make a big batch and store in an old spice jar to make the prep for this crockpot pork loin even simpler.
But even if you don’t, it’s still only going to take about 5-10 minutes of your time in the morning and you’ll have easy meals for the rest of the week! My average pork loin is about 5 lbs, so there’s lots to go around and it freezes perfectly, too!
Serve it with some Roasted Potatoes and Carrots, Garlic Bread and Easy Broccoli Salad for a meal the family will love!
What is the difference between pork loin and pork tenderloin?
Since my Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin and Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin have been so popular, I’ve gotten a lot of questions or comments about cooking pork loin.
I think a lot of people make the mistake of assuming they’re interchangeable when they are definitely not, so I wanted to include my recipe for pork loin over here on The Recipe Rebel, too! (Since it’s one of our favorites anyway!)
A pork tenderloin is much smaller than pork loin, it usually weights around 1-1.5 lbs, whereas the pork loin I used for this recipe was 5 lbs. You can see why the recipes can’t be used interchangeably — pork loin requires much more seasoning and much more cook time.
You can read more about the differences between pork loin and pork tenderloin here.
How to make Slow Cooker Pork Loin:
- Low and slow. Although you can cook a pork loin on high in the slow cooker, I definitely prefer low heat for a longer period of time. It breaks down the meat until it easily falls apart!
- Season well. The pork loin is a large cut of meat, so I like to give it a solid coating of the dry rub before cooking. It can soak up a ton of flavor!
- Fresh or frozen. If you want something that cooks over a longer period of time, try putting the pork loin in frozen. If you want the rub to adhere to the meat, you will need to let it thaw at room temperature for an hour or two so the outer layer has thawed. Season and cook for 9-10 hours on low (up to 11 is fine — it won’t hurt it!).
Slow Cooker Pork Loin FAQs
You can cook your pork loin (or pork roast) on low for about 8 hours or high for about 5 hours. The exact cook time will depend on the size of the pork loin and the cooking temperature of your slow cooker.
Pork is cooked when it reaches 145 degrees F. The best way to tell if meat is done is by using a meat thermometer — this way we get perfectly cooked, still juicy meat and not overcooked pork!
I love using apple juice to cook my pork loin — apples and pork go so well together! If you don’t have apple juice, you can use chicken or vegetable broth, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, or even Root Beer! Feel free to get creative.
Searing a pork loin before placing it in the crockpot can result in a beautiful crust and add flavor. I don’t always sear my pork first because life is busy, and I’ve found that we love this crockpot pork loin just as much either way, so I usually skip that step and save myself having to wash a giant pan 😉
Absolutely! Leftover cooked pork freezes perfectly and is great in so many meals. Toss it in the slow cooker with barbecue sauce for Crock Pot Pulled Pork, or reheat and serve with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Vegetables. See more ideas below!
What to make with leftover pulled pork:
One of the reasons I love this Slow Cooker Pork Loin is because it shreds so easily, and there are a ton of ways to reinvent leftover pulled pork.
- Freeze it! Leftover cooked, shredded pork can be frozen plain or in barbecue sauce. It will keep for up to 3 months.
- As a pizza topping for regular or mini naan pizzas.
- Add it to pasta.
- Make a pulled pork grilled cheese.
- Top a salad with it.
- And on and on and on the list goes. What are your favorite things to do with it?
Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 5 lbs pork loin
- 1 ½ tablespoons seasoning salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
Instructions
- Trim fat off around pork loin if desired.
- Combine seasoning salt (if you are reducing your salt intake, use only 1 tablespoon), garlic powder, Italian seasoning, mustard, onion powder and pepper. Rub all over pork loin.
- Place pork loin in 4-6 quart slow cooker and add apple juice. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4 hours). *See notes below to cook from frozen.
- Shred pork or remove from slow cooker and cool for 15-20 minutes to slice.
- Optional: add barbecue sauce or other sauces and serve as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Brooke says
I boiled some water and add unsweetened apple sauce for “apple juice”. I’m excited to see how this turn out with Mac n cheese! I think the pulled pork and Mac n cheese with a drizzle of BBQ sauce will be exactly the meals I need this week
Ashley Fehr says
I love those two together! Let me know how it goes!
Betty says
I have a cajun flavored 2.06 lb pork loin filet. I was wondering if I should still use apple juice. I won’t be putting any rub on it. I will be cooking on high while we are in church on Sunday. Would like to put potatoes in with it. Thanks for your help.
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Betty! Your loin is quite a bit smaller than mine usually are, so you may find you don’t need quite the same cook time. You could use apple juice or any other liquid you think would work well.
Jeanette says
I was so excited.. The smell when it was cooking was amazing… Let it cool a bit.. Tried a nice most piece… It was like moist cardboard.. Maybe it was the loin… It wasn’t awful.. It just had no real flavor.. Just bland meat..we are going to try and save it by adding bbq sauce to it. Im just wondering if pork loin is maybe not a great cut off meat or if my tastebuds are off.. So many great comments on how flavorful it was.
Ashley Fehr says
It shouldn’t be bland, but we usually serve it with barbecue sauce or something on the side. We love the flavor on its own but it’s not super strong!
Cheri says
Would you change anything if you add onions and carrots?
Ashley Fehr says
I wouldn’t change anything! They’ll be pretty tender after the cook time.
Ann says
I tried your recipe and thought it was good. I don’t remember ever putting a pork loin in the slow cooker. I had cut my pork loin in half and froze it because there is just the two of us. I cut the seasoning in half because my husband is on a salt restriction. I also didn’t have any apple juice. I chopped up an apple in my chopper and then added a little more than a cup of water and poured that in the slow cooker. The meat was not all the way thawed so I set the timer for nine and a half hours on low. Then took it out and let it sit for 20 minutes. When I tried to cut it it fell apart like shredded. I added the remaining juices to the meat, stirred it up. We reheated the meat in microwave and put in buns. The smell while cooking made my mouth water. Will used this recipe again when I cook the other half. I rate it a five star!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you Ann! I’m so happy to hear that you liked it!
Sarah says
Have you tried this recipe with a whole chicken?
Ashley Fehr says
I haven’t but I bet the seasoning would be amazing on chicken as well!
Kathy says
I only have regular apple juice. Will that work?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, definitely!
Danae Stewart says
I only had a cranpinapple juice. I tried it!! Will.let u know how it comes out!
Kerry says
My pork loin is only 2 lbs. Should I shorten the cook time?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Kerry! It will depend on the diameter of the pork loin. If it’s a pork tenderloin (long and skinny), then you’ll want to reduce the cook time by about half. If it is short and fat (a piece of a pork loin), then you may want to reduce it slightly but not considerably. I hope that helps!
Margaret McDaniel says
This recipe is so delicious! It is tasty without adding any sauces! I’d love to hear what sides you recommend making with it!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Margaret! I’m so glad you liked it! We love it with mashed or roasted potatoes, but it goes really well with a lot of things!
CV Chapman says
I use pineapple juice with pork tenderloin and sometimes use apple slices, too.
Ashley Fehr says
Great ideas!
Grace Coleman says
Any reason to drain the fluids after slow cooking the pork loin, before adding bbq sauce?
Ashley Fehr says
Just so the flavor of the sauce isn’t diluted, but you can definitely save the juices!
Nicole says
What if you don’t have the dried mustard? Could you use something else in place of that?
Ashley Fehr says
You can easily leave it out 🙂
Edyta says
Can I use apple sauce instead apple juice? And maybe add a little water?
Ashley Fehr says
I probably wouldn’t use applesauce but chicken or vegetable broth would work just fine!
Jerome Madden says
Only 1 cup of juice? No other liquids?
Ashley Fehr says
No other liquids 🙂
Linda C says
I’m going to try this one. I have everything but the apple juice ? is there an alternative?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, you can definitely use chicken broth instead!
Becki Elkins Woodsmall says
I used grape juice. We’ll see how that goes, lol!
Ashley Fehr says
I’d love to hear!
Liz says
Did the grape juice work!? I considered using a grape cranberry juice blend because it’s what I have but wasn’t sure how that would work.
Ashley Fehr says
I think cranberry/grape would be great!
Courtney O'Dell says
I love delicious easy pork dinners, and this one is a star! Love the flavors and SO easy!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Courtney!
Jennifer Lehner says
YUM!! I can’t wait to make this for dinner next week!
Ashley Fehr says
I’d love to hear how it goes!
Tara says
This looks so juicy and delicious! Love a good slow cooker recipe.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Tara!
Jamielyn says
Yum! Looks so flavorful and delicious!
Rachael Yerkes says
Well this is amazing! I was just looking for a new way to cook my pork loin and I’m definitely trying this one!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Rachael! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Lauren says
I’m looking for the dry rub recipe for the pork tenderloin?
Ashley Fehr says
It’s in the recipe box 🙂
Callen says
What kind of “seasoning salt” do you recommend? Thank you.
Ashley Fehr says
I use Lawry’s — it’s what I’ve used forever!
ngoble2@gmail.com says
I only have a 2.38 pound of pork Loin so be slow cocked any suggestions please
Ashley Fehr says
You likely don’t need to cook it as long, maybe 5-6 hours on low.