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Roast pork is one of my favorite entrees to make at home.
It’s totally a comfort meal, one that hits the spot every single time – plus, making this provides you with an excuse to make a giant bowl of mashed potatoes to serve alongside it.
Wrapping up the workday and sitting down to a big plate of meat and potatoes – and a giant glass of red wine – is something that my husband really looks forward to at this time of year.
In fact, after I made this recipe for the first time, he asked that we make it at least once a week. For a guy who usually hates to repeat meals, this is a huge accomplishment in terms of a winning entree.
Instead of spending time tending to a roast in the oven, it’s the perfect time of year to put that slow cooker to work. While I love preparing a quick pork tenderloin or roast in the electric pressure cooker, slow cooking the meat yields extra comforting results. That’s what makes this recipe so darn fantastic for dinner on any night of the week.
It’s incredibly easy to prepare, and using your slow cooker really takes all the usual work of preparing a roast out of the mix. Made with simple ingredients, everything’s prepped and ready to cook in mere minutes.
The chili rub is what really boosts the flavor of the meat. It’s filled with ancho chili peppers and spices, bringing a savory and smoky flavor to the party.
Then you get the onions on the bottom that slowly cook until they are soft and downright addictive.
I love to drizzle the juices from the Crock-Pot over the tender and juicy meat after it has been sliced. Then you pull out those slowly cooked onions from the bottom, and top the meat with those as well.
Oh my goodness… It’s pure magic, especially when you serve it up with some garlicky mashed potatoes. But one of the best things about this recipe is all the options that you have available to you for serving it.
You can simply slice it and serve it as-is like I’ve done here, with potatoes or whatever vegetables you prefer. Or another option is to use it to make pork nachos – what a treat!
Sandwiches, tacos, burritos, quesadillas… There are so many ways to use up this meat, and seeing how tender it is, you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide to make.
Speaking of which, when it comes to choosing a cut of meat for this recipe, there are a few options available to you.
You can go with the classic boneless pork loin, but if you prefer, tenderloin also works as a great option. Other cuts like leg or belly work well too.
The key here is to make sure you don’t trim all the fat off the meat before you cook it. That fat helps to keep the meat nice and juicy as it slowly cooks.
Oh, and make sure you take some time to soak in the enticing aroma that fills the house while this roast is cooking, if you can. As soon as the first chilly day of the season rolls around, this is the scent that I think of.
That mouthwatering smell, the flavor, and the warmth that this entree provides is exactly what you need to turn to when the day demands something comforting and homemade for dinner.
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Slow Cooker Chili Rubbed Pork Roast
- Total Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
Description
If you need an easy, comforting meal, this is the one. This slow cooker chili rubbed pork roast comes together in a few simple steps.
Ingredients
- 6 dried ancho chili peppers
- 3–4 large cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3–4 pounds pork roast
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced (approx. 2 1/2 to 3 cups)
Instructions
- Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add chili peppers and boil for about 5 minutes, or until peppers are softened. Remove the chili peppers from the water and drain in a colander. Remove and discard the stems.
- Place chili peppers, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender. Process about 30 seconds, or until peppers are finely chopped and mixture is well combined.
- Rub chili mixture into the pork on all sides.
- Place onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork roast on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is cooked through.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours, 5 minutes
- Category: Pork
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Main Course
Keywords: slow cooker, pork, chili peppers
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Slice Onions and Measure Ingredients
Peel and thinly slice two large onions. Not a fan of this kitchen task? Read our tips to say goodbye to those tears!
Measure out all of the remaining ingredients as listed on the ingredients list.
Can’t find dried ancho chili peppers at your local grocery store? You can buy a package of them online, via Amazon.
For the roast, you can use a boneless loin roast or tenderloin. Both work well for this recipe and, as long as they are 3 to 4 pounds total in weight, you don’t need to adjust the cooking time.
Pork belly will require the same amount of time to cook. If you are using the leg of the pig, be sure to get one that’s boneless so the cook time can remain the same.
Step 2 – Make Chili Rub
Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the dried chili peppers, and boil for 5 minutes until the peppers are softened.
Drain the peppers well in a colander. Remove and discard the stems.
Add the peppers to a food processor or high-speed blender with the garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Process for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is well combined and the peppers are very finely chopped. In terms of consistency, it should resemble a paste.
Step 3 – Slow Cook the Meat
Rub the chili mixture all over the meat.
Place the sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker and place the pork on top.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is cooked through.
Remove from the slow cooker, slice, and serve.
How Do I Know if the Pork Is Done?
Even though the pork spends plenty of time in the slow cooker, enough to cook it all the way through whatever cut you choose, I still get questions about how to tell if it is done.
The easiest way to tell is to open the lid, and try to shred it with a fork. The meat should pull away easily, and it will be nice and tender.
If you want to be extra sure that it has cooked all the way through, test the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should register 145˚F.
For more comforting pork dinners, try these Foodal favorites next:
- Balsamic Dijon Pork Loin with Sweet Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots
- Hasselback Herb Roasted Tenderloin with Pears
- Apple Cider Marinated Chops
What side dish do you like to serve with roast pork? Tell us in the comments below. After you try the recipe, be sure to come back and rate it!
Photos by Meghan Yager, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on October 28, 2012. Last updated on October 27, 2020.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Meghan Yager
Meghan Yager is a food addict turned food and travel writer with a love for creating uncomplicated, gourmet recipes and devouring anything the world serves up. As the author of the food and travel blog Cake 'n Knife, Meghan focuses on unique foodie experiences from around the world to right at home in your own kitchen.
