Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Loin
With summer coming, I remembered how much I enjoyed using my slow cooker last year to keep the kitchen from getting hot. So, with this being the first opportunity to try a new dish since the unofficial start of summer (Memorial Day) last week, and with daytime temperatures already into the 90s here in north Texas, I decided to start putting it to work again. Of course, I use it quite a bit for other dishes in the cooler months, but it's quickly becoming a favorite go-to when it gets hot outside.
This dish might be something you'd expect to see in cooler weather, as most people don't think of eating cranberries other than at the end of the year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But cranberries are great to use any time when you want something that has both a sweet taste and a bite of tartness.
This dish is also super-simple to make, needing only three ingredients and a slow cooker. It doesn't get much better than that :)
Adapted from The Magical Slow Cooker
A very simple pork loin prepared in a slow cooker with a sweet-tart cranberry sauce. Proof positive you don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to have cranberry sauce!
Adapted from The Magical Slow Cooker
- 4 lb pork loin
- 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce (14 oz)
- 1 Dry onion soup mix packet (1 oz)
Spray the interior of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place the pork loin in the slow cooker with the fat cap facing up.
In a medium bowl, combine the cranberry sauce and onion soup mix and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture evenly over the pork loin.
Cook on Low for 6 hours. Remove from the slow cooker and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Servings 8
Serving Size approx 8 oz plus sauce
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 420kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 16.3g26%
- Saturated Fat 6.4g32%
- Cholesterol 111mg37%
- Sodium 1211mg51%
- Potassium 745mg22%
- Total Carbohydrate 22.4g8%
- Dietary Fiber 1g4%
- Sugars 15.8g
- Protein 43.5g87%
- Calcium 16 mg
- Iron 1 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
- Can pork tenderloin be substituted for the pork loin? Yes, but with the following adjustments:
- Pork tenderloins are much smaller, typically 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, so two to three would be needed in place of one pork loin to make the same number of servings. This may be a problem to fit into the slow cooker and ensure even heating; reducing the number of servings might be needed.
- Unlike the fat cap of a pork loin which should be left on while cooking to add flavor, tenderloins typically have a silverskin that must be removed prior to cooking as it becomes very tough and detracts from the tenderness of the meat.
- Cooking times will need to be adjusted as tenderloins take less time to cook.
- Serving suggestions:
- Provide additional cranberry sauce (whole or jellied) on the side
- Garnish with fresh cranberries
- Cook down the sauce after the pork is cooked to thicken it.