Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin 🍖👏 is tender, juicy, and slow cooked with hearty vegetables for a complete and EASY meal. It has rustic comfort food flavor but is still special enough for holiday entertaining!
Easy Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- This slow cooker pork tenderloin with vegetables is the kind of easy, hearty dinner that works just as well for holiday meals as it does for family dinners with planned leftovers.
- Carrots, potatoes, onion, and rutabaga cook alongside the pork, with rosemary, thyme, and parsley adding cozy, savory flavor throughout.
- Since everything cooks in the slow cooker, the hands-on time is minimal and cleanup is easy.
- It’s rustic, aromatic, and comforting in the best way, almost like an Irish farm-style meal. Simple food, but exactly the kind that never goes out of style.
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
- Onion, potatoes, carrots, and rutabaga: These hearty vegetables cook alongside the pork and soak up the savory juices. Rutabaga is a hearty root vegetable with a fairly neutral flavor, almost like a cross between a white potato and jicama, if jicama could be cooked. You can substitute turnips, wedges of green cabbage, golden beets, or another firm vegetable that can hold up in the slow cooker.
- Chicken broth, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice: These create a flavorful cooking liquid that keeps the pork tender and adds savory, bright flavor.
- Kosher salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and fresh parsley: Fresh or dried rosemary and thyme both work well. If using dried ground herbs, pat them directly onto the pork like a spice rub. If using fresh herbs, place them on top of the pork right before adding the lid to the slow cooker.
- Boneless pork tenderloin: Pork tenderloin is not the same cut as pork loin. Tenderloin is smaller, narrow, and usually sold in packs of two; cook the two pieces separately or tie them together to make one larger roast. Pork loin is wider, thicker, and better suited for roasting in the oven, so use pork tenderloin for this Crockpot recipe.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
- Add the onion, potatoes, carrots, and rutabaga to the slow cooker, then pour the chicken broth over the top and cook on high for 1 hour.
- Season the pork with garlic, salt, pepper, and dried herbs if using, then sear it in a skillet until browned on all sides.
- Place the seared pork on top of the vegetables, add fresh rosemary and thyme if using, and sprinkle with lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Cover and cook on low until the pork is tender and cooked through.
- Let the pork rest before slicing and serving with the hearty slow cooked vegetables.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 large white or yellow onion, quartered or diced into large chunks
- 1 pound potatoes, diced into 1-inch chunks
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1 to 2-inch segments
- 1 large rutabaga, diced into 1-inch chunks* (See Notes)
- 1 cup chicken broth, I use low-salt
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary OR 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme OR 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 pounds boneless pork tenderloin**, See Notes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Lemon zest, from 1 medium lemon
- Lemon juice, from the same 1 medium lemon
- Fresh parsley, as desired for garishing
Instructions
- To at least an 8-quart slow cooker (or larger) add the onion, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, cover with the broth, place the lid on top, and cook on high for 1 hour.
- While vegetables are cooking, to a small bowl, add the garlic, salt, pepper, dried rosemary (if using fresh, add it later), dried thyme (if using fresh, add it later), and stir to combine.
- Pat this rub mixture evenly all over the pork.
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil and sear the pork over medium-high heat, brown and sear the pork on all sides. Use tongs as necessary to flip and rotate it. This may take about 10 minutes total.
- After 1 hour, add the seared pork over the top of the vegetables.
- If using fresh herbs, lay the sprigs of rosemary and thyme over the top of the pork, add the lemon zest and lemon juice, cover with the lid, and cook on low for about 3 hours. Pork is done when the internal temp reaches 135F. Tip – Keep in mind, that the internal temp of meat rises 5 to 15 degrees F as it rests so don't be afraid to pull it slightly early to avoid overcooking it and drying it out. Use a kitchen thermometer and do not guess.
- Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with the vegetables. Drizzle the broth/gravy over the top if desired.***(See Notes)
- Extra will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Holiday Dinner Ideas:
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Is there a print button? I am finding it Very difficult to find/read/use in the format on the web page. On my ipad, the recipe content is squished onto the left hand side of the screen. Very very long. And I cannot find the print button, although I am sure it is probably in there somewhere !
Thank you
There is a very large aqua colored PRINT button in the recipe card section at the top of it.
When are you suppose to add lemon??? Got it ready….
It’s in Step 6. I rewrote it so it’s not quite as buried.
great
This looks yummy but this looks to be pork tenderloin, rather than pork loin
Point taken and corrected 😃