Description

This Slow Cooker Pork Roast recipe offers a hands-off, comforting meal featuring a tender pork shoulder cooked low and slow with aromatic herbs, hearty potatoes, and sweet carrots. The pork is first seared for rich flavor, then slow-cooked until falling-apart tender, served alongside perfectly cooked vegetables, making for a delicious, cozy main dish perfect for family dinners.

Ingredients

Scale

Meat and Oils

4 pounds pork shoulder roast
1 tbsp avocado oil

Vegetables

1 large white onion – 1/2 inch dice
4 cloves garlic – minced
2 pounds potatoes – cut into 3 inch pieces (about 4 potatoes)
1.5 pounds carrots – cut into 3 inch lengths (about 8 carrots)

Liquids and Seasoning

2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling the roast and seasoning to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper (plus extra for sprinkling the roast and seasoning to taste)

Herbs

6 sprigs rosemary, sage, and thyme (2 of each herb, or 4 sprigs of one herb like rosemary)

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Instructions

Sear the Pork: Preheat a large cast iron pan on the stove top over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the avocado oil. Sprinkle the pork shoulder roast generously with sea salt and black pepper, then sear the roast in the hot pan for 4-5 minutes on each side until a rich golden crust forms.
Prepare Slow Cooker Base: Remove the seared pork roast and place it in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. In the same cast iron pan, add the diced onion and minced garlic; sauté briefly just until the onion begins to soften, about 2-3 minutes.
Add Liquid and Seasoning: Turn off the heat and pour in the chicken broth into the pan with onions and garlic. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan to incorporate flavor. Stir in the remaining sea salt and black pepper.
Combine in Slow Cooker: Carefully pour the onion, garlic, and broth mixture over the pork roast in the slow cooker. Add the cut potatoes and carrots around and on top of the roast. Tuck the sprigs of rosemary, sage, and thyme among the vegetables and meat.
Slow Cook: Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. The pork roast will become falling-apart tender and the vegetables will be cooked through and flavorful after this time.
Serve: Once done, remove the vegetables and discard the herb sprigs. Place the vegetables in a serving bowl. Carefully lift the tender roast onto a serving platter (handling gently as it will be very soft). Arrange the vegetables around the roast. Optionally, reserve the cooking juices to make gravy if desired.

Notes

The small amount of salt goes into the dish to season during cooking, but you can add more to the juices at the end to taste, especially if making gravy.
Any type of potato works well; Yukon gold or red potatoes are recommended for their texture and flavor.
For dried herbs substitution, use 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning or Herbs de Provence instead of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme.
To make gravy, carefully drain off the cooking liquid and use it as a base for your preferred gluten free or paleo gravy recipe.
Slow cooker cooking times vary widely; check the pork roast after 6 hours on low to see if it is fork tender, then continue cooking if needed until about 8 hours total.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 450 kcal
Sugar: 6 g
Sodium: 400 mg
Fat: 23 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 35 g
Cholesterol: 110 mg