Are you looking for a flavorful and easy dinner recipe with minimal prep work? Look no further than slow cooker balsamic pork roast! This simple and delicious recipe requires just a handful of ingredients and can be made in your trusty slow cooker, making it the perfect meal for busy weeknights or lazy weekends. The best part? The slow cooking process infuses the pork with deep, savory flavors before we add a rich, tangy glaze that will have your taste buds singing. So, get ready to impress your family and friends with this easy and delicious pork roast recipe!
The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. You don’t need to be a professional chef to create a delicious and impressive meal. All you need is a slow cooker, a simple pork loin roast, balsamic vinegar, and a few other ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
What is Balsamic Pork Roast?
This recipe uses a boneless pork loin roast of 2-4lbs, adds a few simple ingredients, and then spends a few hours slow cooking to juicy, tender, flavorful perfection. Then, we create a very simple glaze consisting of balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, and garlic. We prepare the sauce in just a few minutes and thicken it in a saucepan on the stovetop. The result is a thick, luxurious glaze that is heavenly with our pork roast.
Ingredients
For this recipe, we’ll use a very simple, boneless pork loin roast. Most supermarkets have these prepackaged and ready to go, usually in the 2-4lb range. This is the perfect size for our recipe. If you find a larger one, just cut it down to size. The roast will get seasoned with a mix of brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes give the roast a nice extra flavor boost, without making it overly spicy. If you’re sensitive to any heat though, feel free to leave it out.
The seasoned pork roast will slow cook in a small amount of chicken broth and a dash of Worcestershire sauce to further create an oh-so-savory flavor profile.
Finally, when the roast is done, we’ll top it with a tangy, sweet balsamic glaze. For this, we mix balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, and brown sugar. It will spend a few minutes in a saucepan over low heat to reduce and become a thick, luxurious glaze that marries with the pork for an unbelievable flavor combination.
Preparation and Cooking
The beauty of most slow cooker recipes is that they are easy to prepare and cook and this recipe is no exception. We start by mixing our seasoning rub together and applying it all to the pork roast. Massage the seasoning mix all over the meat while it’s in the slow cooker. Then add in the chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and you’re ready to go. Set it to cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of the roast. For roasts closer to 2 lbs., cook for 6 hours, for roasts closer to 4 lbs, go for 7-8 hours.
I like the roast to be very tender, but still sliceable. Check the tenderness of the roast with a fork after 6 hours. We want the meat to have a little resistance so it can be sliced. If it’s extra tender and easily falls apart, that’s totally ok too!
Glaze on
Our glaze is made with a simple combination of sweet and tangy by using balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar and garlic. For an extra flavor boost, we’ll spoon out ¼ cup of the juices from the slow cooker and add it to the saucepan with these ingredients. Oh my goodness the flavors will be amazing!
When the roast is done, carefully remove it to a cutting board and let it cool. While it’s cooling, mix the glaze ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the sauce thickens. When you remove it from the heat, it will thicken further. This recipe will make plenty of glaze so that you have some extra to pour additional amounts over the pork as desired. And trust me, you’ll want to!
Ready to serve
After the roast has had a good 10 minutes to cool, we can now apply the glaze and serve. Use a brush and liberally apply the glaze to the roast. If you don’t have a brush you can use a spoon. Make sure to get the minced garlic – don’t let it all stay on the bottom of the pot. In fact, I like to pour the glaze into a separate bowl so that additional amounts can be used.
No go ahead and slice the pork and serve. The pork may be a little tender and perhaps fall apart a bit. This is totally fine. Go ahead and pile it onto your plate. And feel free to drizzle some extra glaze on as well.
Goes Well With…
Some of my favorite side dishes for this recipe include:
Air Fryer Roasted Zucchini and Peppers
Irresistible Air fryer Garlic Herb Roasted Potatoes
Best Damn Air Fryer Cauliflower
Storage and Reheating
Make sure the pork has completely cooled before wrapping tightly in plastic wrap or foil and placing it in an air-tight container. You can store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To reheat using a microwave, I recommend loosely wrapping the meat in a damp paper towel and heating it in 1-minute intervals. By wrapping it in a damp paper towel we’re helping to retain some of the moisture in the meat.
To reheat using an oven, place the meat in a baking dish and add a little water or even broth. About ¼ cup is all you need. Cover the dish with foil and heat the oven to 325°(F). It should take around 20 minutes to heat through.
PrintRecipe
Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Roast
- Total Time: 7 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
Description
This mouthwatering pork loin roast slow cooks to perfection, infusing all the great flavors of the rub, then is glazed with a tangy, vibrant honey balsamic glaze.
Ingredients
- Boneless pork loin roast, 2-4lbs.
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- â…“ cup chicken broth
Glaze Ingredients
- ¾ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbs honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- ¼ cup of liquid from slow cooker
Instructions
- Combine 1 tbs brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.
- Place pork roast into slow cooker and rub all sides with the seasoning mix. It’s ok if some doesn’t stick.
- Add chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce to slow cooker and set on low for 6-8 hours. 6 hours for smaller roasts, 8 hours for larger roasts.
- When pork is done, carefully remove to a plate and let cool.
- While pork is cooling, add glaze ingredients to a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat until it starts to boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Glaze will continue to thicken.
- Brush glaze all over pork roast and serve. Keep additional glaze in a small bowl to be used as needed.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 7 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Reenie
My pork was perfectly cooked at 4 hours on low. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe
John Moreau
I have made this dish twice very delicious and will make again. However both times the glaze came out very thin never really thickened. I followed ingredients and even add less liquid and more brown sugar still very running never thicken. Any suggestions. Thanks
RecipeTeacher
Hi John, it may just need a few more minutes to simmer. You can also bump the heat up a bit so it’s more of a slow boil until it noticeably reduces. It will also thicken as it cools which takes a few minutes. I’ll add notes to the recipe regarding this.
Cathy Herrmann
This roast is an absolute dream to make. Nearly effortless and soooo good. My hubby wants one every week! I had to leave out the pepper flakes. I’m highly allergic to pepper. (I know. You never heard of someone being allergic to pepper. No one has but it’s true.) I don’t think the pepper could make much of a difference since it was such a small amount, and it was amazing! We had it with roasted red potatoes and baby limas. Yeast rolls on the side and cherry cobbler for dessert. Who could say no to that!?
Carolyn
I have a piece of pork shoulder. I bought a package of 2. When I cooked the first one, it was very tough even with a long braise. I think I’ll give this a try. Thank you for all the great recipes you share.
Althea
I can’t wait to try this!! When you add the chicken broth and the Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker, do you pour it on top of the pork, or just around the sides of the roast?
RecipeTeacher
Pour it over the top. It will drizzle down the sides anyways. This way we do get some on top.
Rose
Why can’t I just put the glaze all in the crock pot please
Rose
RecipeTeacher
We do the glaze separately to get it to the correct consistency. If we did it along with the meat, it would become too gummy and thick.
Michelle Haney
This is truly the best pork tenderloin recipe. The meat is so tender and overall had a wonderful flavor. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Gwendolyn Maddox
I made this recipe exactly as written. When I fed it to my family, they ALL commented that it was the best pork tenderloin that I had ever made!!!!!🤣😂 There is absolutely no reason to spend the extra money on a tenderloin; this recipe is awesome, and you will believe the loin is actually a tenderloin. Thank you so much for graciously sharing.
Julie Busch!!
Well my Bork butt is cooking in crock pot! This is the first time I ever used a recipe from You and as of right now….. My house smells amazing!! I am gonna make the glaze from recipe of Yours right now!!! I will let the know how it goes!! as of right now it smells and taste is wonderful!! Almost afraid to do glaze because the taste is Fantastic right now and would hate to take that away by adding even if YOU SAY SO!!! Because it your recipe!!! But… gonna follow You because Of the way it smells already!!$. We lo post how good or bad shortly!! Making it as I speak with You!!!$
Juanita
We’re still stirring the glaze after 20 minutes… anyone else have difficulty with it thickening? Is the thickening a result of cooking off liquid (reduction) and should it be boiled to achieve that???
And . . . if you’re not a fan of strong vinegar (I’m not, especially), is there a brand or type of balsamic vinegar you’d recommend? Thank you.
RecipeTeacher
Hi Juannita. You do indeed want to bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. When you remove it from the heat it will thicken even more.