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Slow-Cooked Pork + Apples

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!

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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.

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My sauce was sort of a cinnamony, spicy BBQ sauce with tang from the vinegar and sweetness from brown sugar.

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Ready, set, go!

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Print Pin

Slow Cooker Pork with Apples

Meat. Apples. Sauce. It's that easy! You can also change this recipe around and use chicken or another fruit - like pears. Adjust the spices to your liking as well. Serve with a side of greens or atop of brown rice.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings 2 Servings
Author Kath Younger

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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Jennifer says

    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!

    Reply

  8. Kerry @ Totes My Oats says

    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!

    Reply

  11. Alicia @ Wanna Be Ina says

    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?

    Reply

  13. Marjie Scheib says

    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.

    Reply

  16. Kavi says

    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!

    Reply

  17. kate hewitt says

    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!!!

    Reply

    • KathEats says

      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!

      Reply

  19. Melissa says

    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.

    Reply

  20. lindsay @ fuel my family says

    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 🙂

    Reply

    • cyndy says

      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!

      Reply

  23. Christine says

    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!

    Reply

  31. Jess. says

    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.

    Reply

  36. scott says

    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

    Reply

    • KathEats says

      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.

      Reply

  37. @photorecipe says

    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

    Reply

  42. Tina B says

    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!

    Reply

    • KathEats says

      I definitely don’t think you need oil. I didn’t need any salt, but a sprinkle might enhance flavors on the finish

      Reply

  48. Pam says

    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!

    Reply

  51. Cindy Love Childers says

    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!

    Reply

  52. Elizabeth says

    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!

    Reply

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