I love all things sweet + savory, and the combination of pork and apples is one of my favorites. With a few extra Piñata apples on hand from the box Brianna sent me, I put them to good use for dinner last week. This recipe is super simple and turned out great!
I always thought you needed a lot of liquid to use a slow cooker, but this sauce just barely covers the pork and apples yet everything cooked through well. You can toy with the sauce ingredients to create a spice profile that suits your palate – sub in or out any of these.
My sauce was sort of a cinnamony, spicy BBQ sauce with tang from the vinegar and sweetness from brown sugar.
Ready, set, go!
Slow Cooker Pork with Apples
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork chops our recipe had 4
- 3 large apples sliced
- For the sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Place chops on bottom of slow cooker.
- Top with apples.
- Mix sauce and pour over.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
We used a quarter cup of the sauce to steam-sauté some collard greens on the side for the perfect blend of the two dishes.
As a vegetarian, I’m always looking for easy meat dishes for my husband – this looks so simple!
WOW. This looks amazing. I made a wonderful apple-inspired pork chop over the grill a few years ago and have been looking for something similar to make indoors during the 0-degree weather that Chicago is currently having. Can you tell me what types of apples would go best with this sort of meal? I’m a sucker for Honey Crisp! Also- did you use bone-in or boneless chops?
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Have been wanting to take out the slow cooker soon. Now I have a great reason!
I think any apple that’s not too tart (like a granny Smith) would work. And our chops did have a bone, but either will work
I find Granny Smith really tart…confused?
Sorry I didn’t word that so well – I mean that a Granny Smith IS tart so that probably wouldn’t be ideal. But I bet most red apples would be great.
This looks AWESOME! And of course it makes me go all Peter Brady and say “pork chops and applesauccccce.” If you don’t get that reference, I’m breaking out my Hover Round going back to my corner.
I have made a similar dish, and added a couple sprigs of rosemary – so delish! Thanks for the recipe!
The crockpot is seriously a magical appliance. I love this recipe!
Yummy! I will have to send a link to my sister-in-law…she is always looking for slow cooker recipes for her busy family on the go…both boys in rep hockey!
I love apples in savory dishes! They look so yummy!
This looks amazing! I love the combination of pork and apples. In the past I’ve sear pork chops, sauteed apples and onions and then made a gravy with cider, add rosemary, and let the pork chops slowly cook in the sauce. Amazing!
Yum! I grew up on pork chops and applesauce so this would make me feel right at home.
I must admit, my experiences with the slow cooker tend to be my mom trying to make something “easy” for dinner that is usually pretty gross. Nice to see a simple slow cooker recipe with some FLAVOR.
We had a very similar dinner last night. Disgusted with how much HFCS is in most BBQ sauce, I have been experimenting with making my own. My bbq pork in the crockpot was country ribs though (mistake…way too fatty). We had sauteed cabbage on the side and oven veggies, but some chunky apple goodness would have made the meal. Gonna use my leftovers in a quesadilla for lunch…wondering what you are gonna do with yours?
We had them over a salad!
this looks so good, I cant wait to try it 🙂 You can pair apples with so many things 🙂
Yummy looking and I happened to have a small pork loin roast in my freezer I could cut into chops, or leave whole- oh the decisions…. AND I have the rest of the items on hand too. Guess what I will be having for dinner tomorrow. Thanks for the great post.
Apples in a savory dish–never tried it!
This sounds delish! I wish I had a crockpot myself…
This looks divine! I’ve been searching for a slow-cooker recipe for these cold days we’ve been having on the east coast, and this seems like a winner!
Kath, this is my first post… so let me take a second to introduce myself and say how much i LOVE following your blog. I truly tell my girlfriends that when we all start having babies, I want to live our lives similar to Kath and her friends… you guys seem to have a great balance and one that does still include lots of friends time! Today I am commenting because I love making new side dishes because the same old steamed broccoli gets old after awhile =) I was curious if you could tell me how you prepare your collard greens? I tried them once using Bacon grease and normal Salt and Pepper and they did not turn out great. Maybe it was not the right combination or maybe they take some getting use to? Either way if you could tell me how you prepare those super healthy veggies I would love to try them again!
Thanks!!!
That is our favorite way – cook bacon, remove bacon, add collards and saute for a few minutes until tender. I always tell people who are just getting used to the flavor to add a tsp of maple syrup to this recipe – the sweetness goes a long way to balance the slight bitterness of the greens. Or add bleu cheese!
Looks delicious and I love food with cooked apples. Will try soon!
Could you do this with a pork loin vs. pork chops? I work and the 4 hours would be great for pork CHOPS, but maybe with a pork LOIN it could do the full 8-9 hours I usually need with crock pot recipes.
I imagine so! Just add some more time
I used to think you had to add liquid to the slow cooker as well. But I have started cooking whole chickens (much cheaper especially now we are eating all organic meats) in the crock pot without any liquid at all! I have a whole chicken, potatoes, and cabbage in there as we speak! And we are about to get a whole pig butchered so I will be needing lots of pork recipes 🙂
That is awesome! Is it fall off the bone by the end?!
yes completely fall off the bone! We use leftovers as pulled chicken, enchillada filling, etc…its great!
Rinse and dry a whole chicken, season as desired. Put into slow cooker, cover and that’s all there is to it although you can add lots of flavor by inserting something into the body cavity – pierce a whole lemon or lime or cut up large chucks of celery, onion, and carrot – delicious and SO easy!
We need to start using our slow cooker! We got one for our wedding almost four years ago, and I’ve YET to use it even once!
Looks delicious!!! Too bad I don’t have a slow cooker ;-(
I have this recipe cooking in my slow cooker right now. I had pork chops to make for dinner and I read your blog! Too cool. Smells great!
Enjoy!!
It was so delicious! It’s now my husbands’ favorite pork chop recipe. Thank you so so much!
This looks delicious! Bonus that it’s in the slow cooker 🙂
LOVE a good slow cooker dish! This one looks so good. I have quite the apple obsession these past 2 months. I eat 2 a day!
Slow cooker recipes are the best time saver. I use mine all the time – in fact I own two and often have both going at the same time. This looks wonderful.
Mmmm – this looks incredible! Just one more reason that I NEED a slow cooker!
I’m going to remember that sauce next time I want to make some for sauteed chicken! Thanks!
how do you think it would work to do this with chiken breasts?
Great!
Wow looks like a great recipe! Thanks for sharing with us!
I love my crockpot & use it a couple of times a week! I was also under the impression you needed a ton of liquid to use the crockpot & was excited when I discovered otherwise. Still trying to get over my aversion to fruit in savory dishes.
Kath this looks delicious! I am SO into slow cooker meals but I’ve never slow cooked meat. Sweet and savory combos are just divine and that meat looks so tender…definitely trying this one soon!
What is liquid smoke? Do you think it could be omitted or substituted?
It’s a flavoring like a fire pit and yes you could just leave it out
Yours turned out much better than mine! I think my recipe was missing something…salt maybe?
No carb component?
Apples?
I noticed in your ingredients photo the following 2 items that weren’t in your recipe.
Habanero Seasoning From Hell & Garlic Gold – Herbs de Provence
Were these items used? Just curious! Thanks – Scott
Hi Scott, the seasoning from hell tin is full of plain cayenne, and I ended up not using the garlic gold because of the herb profile. Thanks for asking.
Thanks Kath for your very interesting and delicious recipes! Its funny how you can combine pork and apples and make it sound so good! (Personally I am not a fan of baked apples…)
Regards,
@photorecipe
I’ve never had pork before but this dinner looks absolutely delicious! Do you think it would work and still taste good if I used chicken? 🙂
Yup!
This is amazing! Officially going to be saved to make this winter. 🙂
I love pork and apples together too. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would always make pork chops and applesauce!
I’m a huge fan of the slow cooker and this looks delish!
This looks wonderful and oh so easy! Even better that you used the slow cooker. Even I can do this! Thanks for the recipe and the step by step pics! I’m anxious to try it!
Yum! My husband is going to love this!
Can’t wait to try this recipe; thanks
And my dinner for tomorrow is set! This looks SO GOOD! Thanks and I can’t WAIT!
This looks so great! Do you think I could substitute honey or agave for the brown sugar?
Yes, I think so
No oil or salt needed?
I definitely don’t think you need oil. I didn’t need any salt, but a sprinkle might enhance flavors on the finish
This recipe looks great! I’ve made both apples and pork in the crockpot separately, I never thought to put them together! This is a great combo, looks delish!
Looks amazing. I bet you could do a pork shoulder the same way 🙂
Can’t wait to try this! Looks amazing and it fits my Paleo diet!!
Kath,
I made this a few nights ago (the day you posted it) and it was DELICIOUS!!! It will definitely go down as a regular for us. Yum-O!
We had this for dinner tonight… DELICIOUS! I decided to throw in a peeled and diced sweet potato in the end and it was a perfect one pot meal. We’ll def be making this again!
Yum! Making mine with a side of apple-walnut slaw: http://www.womansday.com/recipefinder/apple-walnut-slaw-120709
Do you have the nutritional information?