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Sweet, tangy balsamic vinegar, rich brown sugar, a few herbs and spices covering a lean pork roast, all cooked low and slow for a few hours make a main dish masterpiece. Served with your favorite sides, you’ll soon be saying – yes, more, please!
Whether you’re making my Crock Pot Chicken Thighs or Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Beef, you’ll love the deep, rich flavors produced by cooking food low and slow. This Pork Roast has those same flavors and more!
Updated on 11/5/2021
Last week, while doing an early morning grocery run, I came across a great buy on pork roast. I snatched up a couple and decided to cook one that day. I had an idea of what I wanted the end result to be regarding flavors and opted for the slow cooking method since I had a busy day ahead of me.
After a few hours of cooking, my kitchen was full of great aromas, and it was time to get working on my glaze. Since I’m a big fan of balsamic vinegar, I knew it would be one of my ingredients. With the addition of brown sugar and soy sauce, I’d put together the best glaze ever and the result was ah-maz-ing!
Ingredients For This Recipe
- Pork Roast
- Onions
- Vegetable Stock
- Garlic Powder
- Dried Thyme
- Brown Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Cracked
Equipment I Use For This Recipe
To cook the pork roast, I use an 8-quart slow cooker. I also use a heavy bottom saucepan to make the sauce.
What Makes This Recipe To Delicious?
The ultimate success of this dish comes by putting the roast in the oven for glazing. Here’s how to make the glaze:
- 30 minutes before the roast is done, mix together brown sugar, water, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar in a small pot.
- On medium low heat, bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce by about ⅓ or until slightly thick.
- Set glaze aside.
How Long Do I Cook The Pork Roast?
You can cook this recipe either on low or high in the crock pot.
- On LOW – 6 to 7 hours
- On HIGH – 4 to 5 hours
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftover in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This recipe also freezes well. Place the leftover pork along with the glaze in a freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
What To Serve With Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast
Now comes the good part. Serving this delicious roast! This easy-to-prepare main dish is great for Sunday Supper and perfect when you are entertaining. But remember, it’s a set it and forget it recipe, so it’s ideal for a weeknight meal.
- I like to serve glazed pork roast with Scalloped Potatoes and Roasted Broccoli. This is the ultimate in simple yet elegant home cooking.
- This roast makes a great addition to a Thanksgiving buffet. It’s terrific served with Roasted Butternut Squash With Bacon, Green Beans and Skillet Cinnamon Apples.
- For a family weeknight meal, serve the slow cooked pork roast with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli Cauliflower Salad.
More Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love!
- Crock Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Crock Pot Bourbon Meatballs
- Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan
- Slow Cooker Busy Day Pot Roast
- Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken Sliders
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound pork roast
- 1 medium onion – sliced
- ¾ cup stock – vegetable or chicken
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Layer sliced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork roast on top of onions.
- Mix together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme – sprinkle on the roast.
- Pour stock carefully around the side of the roast.
- Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, or high for 4-5.
- 30 minutes before the roast is done, mix together brown sugar, water, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar in a small pot. On medium-low heat, bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce by about ⅓ or until slightly thick. Set glaze aside.
- When roast is done, take out of slow cooker and place in a roasting pan.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Pour ⅓ of the glaze over the roast and place in the oven. Continue to glaze roast every 5 minutes until glaze is used up.
- Take roast out of oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice or shred with a fork. Serve with extra drippings.
Want To Know More About Slow Cooking?
If you are new to cooking with a Crock Pot or just don’t know where to start, I’ve got something to help. I’ve put together a helpful guide with tips and recipes to get you using a slow cooker like a pro!
What’s For Dinner?
5 Easy Delicious Meal Plans + Secrets To Getting Dinner On The Table!
Donya,
In one answer, you said you used a tied pork loin which is what it looks like in the picture. In another, you said a Boston butt. Will either work?
Hey there Terri!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, I think you’re really going to like it! For this recipe, I did use a tied pork loin, as seen in the photos, but you can totally use a Boston Butt Roast. Thanks to the magic of the slow cooker, most cuts of pork roast will work in this recipe, the main concern is the weight of the roast since that will change the cook time. As long as you’re using a 2-3 pound roast, you can choose either a tied pork loin or a Boston Butt. I hope this is helpful, let me know how everything turns out!
~Donya
Donya, cd the oven part be done in an air fryer, do you think? If so, wd you advise on temp, etc? Wanna try this either way, but curious now that summer’s around the corner.
Hey there Jackie!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, it will be perfect for any spring and summer get togethers your planning! Honestly, I’ve never tried to do the baking portion of this recipe in the Air Fryer, although that is a great idea. My concern would be the size of the pork roast, it may not fit in an Air Fryer, but I’d say it’s worth a try. If it were me experimenting, I would start at an Air Fryer temp of 350 degree and see how that turns out, after all you can always cook it more if necessary. Please let me know how the recipe turns out, I am very curious. Thank you for your support, I hope you enjoy!
~Donya
So, Donya, you can really do recipes! This came out GREAT using the air fryer for the glaze. I cut the glazings to only three, because I was afraid of the meat overcooking and being dry in there, but it looked just like your picture here; was just delicious. Preheated air fryer to 400° then basted every 2 minutes three times over. Your idea of 350° wd have been better, as it did dry out some; I forgot you had said that!! I had a small 2.5#-or-so boneless shoulder roast. Thank you for the additional help. I really enjoy your site! 🙂
Hey there Jackie!
Thank you so much for getting back to me, I was wondering how it turned out! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, I don’t why I’d never thought of finishing it in the Air Fryer, that was genius I am definitely going to give it a try. I think using a smaller roast was a great idea, and basting the roast every 2 minutes was very smart to keep it juicy. Thank you so much for your kind words of support and this phenomenal rating, you’ve really made my day! It warms my heart to know that you’ve been enjoying my recipes, if you ever have any other questions or you’re interested in experimenting with more recipes, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Donya
Did you use a bone in pork roast, or maybe a boneless pork loin?
Hey there Vicki!
That’s a great question, I normally use a Boston Butt Roast, but a bone in roast will work as well and give a nice flavor. I hope this helps, let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
My mouth is watering as I read the recipe! It looks delicious! Eager to try.
Hey there Margaret!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, it’s definitely a favorite in my house! Please let me know what you think once you give it a try, and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for your support, I hope you have a great rest of your day!
~Donya
I am making this as we speak. I used a pork / shoulder butt ( because that’s what I had.. The roast is done and delicious. Perfect seasonings ! The glaze will no doubt be fabulous. It’s cooking now. Thanks so much for this great recipe !
Excellent recipes–most ALL winners!
Sounds and looks lovely, Sonya. Bookmarked and making it this Saturday! Thank you for posting. I will be sure to tell you how it turns out.
Made this dish… And yes it's as good as it looks!!! So easy and I cut some small chunks and added to my baked beans! Yummy!
This recipe is super delicious! I made it a month ago and it was perfection. I am making it again tonight and I am not changing a thing. This really is so yummy. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Made this today as the first snow fell here in my little town in NH. I scooped the onions out of the crockpot liquid and added them to the roast in the pan, and used the crockpot juices vs. water in the glaze. FANTASTIC! I'll be making a little more glaze for the leftovers. Thank you! I'll be making this again!
This is one of our favorites! The roast comes out so tender, and the brown sugar/balsamic glaze is incredible! Pinned and posted!
looks good and sounds delicious…..cooking as i type and i will try to let you know how it turns out. the weekend is the only time i actually get to cook a sit down meal for hubby and myself so really looking forward to this. ty
I will be serving this for Christmas this year. I am really excited to try it and from the comments and the picture it looks like it will be a hit.
What can I use in place of the balsamic vinaigrette?? I only have white vinegar
Hey there Elizabeth!
Thank you so much for your interest in the recipe, that’s a great question! I wouldn’t necessarily use white vinegar because it doesn’t have a high enough sugar content to reduce properly in the sauce. If you can’t find any balsamic at the store, you can try using red wine vinegar instead. If you use red wine vinegar, the sauce probably won’t thicken up as well, but the flavor will still work. I hope this helps, let me know how it turns out if you end up making it! Thank you for your support!
~Donya
I’m going to make this for Christmas dinner. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey there Deb!
My goodness, I am honored to have a recipe at your Christmas dinner table! This roast definitely will not disappoint, it is tender, delicious, and honestly pretty easy to make. I hope y’all enjoy, please let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
Hi, I'm Barbara. This recipe sounds delicious, and I would love to try it this weekend. I have a question, though. What kind of pork roast are you using: a pork loin, pork shoulder, or something else?
Barbara, I used a pork loin that was tied. I hope it works out for you – please update me! Have a wonderful day.
xo,
~Donya
Thad this the other night for my family…. We have every kind of picky eater in this house and I had enough leftovers for MAYBE someone to snack on the next day. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words. I am tickled that you and your family liked this recipe!
xo,
~Donya
Do you think this would work with pork chops?
Hey Tracy! I do think it would work with pork chops. You would want to use the thick cut and maybe adjust the time on the slow cooker. Let me know how it turns out.
xo,
~Donya
My picky family really enjoyed this one. And, they wanted the sauce again on ahi tuna as well. Thank you for sharing!
Cynthia D.
Thanks Cynthia. I am so glad they like it and what a great use for the sauce. I am stealing that idea!
xo,
~Donya
This sounds yummy, pinned! ~ Melissa
Thanks Melissa. Let me know how your dish turns out!
xo,
~Donya
Well goodness! How good does this sound???? I've got to make this one soon. Thanks for sharing. Pinned.
Thanks Lea Ann! I hope you'll let me know how your dish turns out. I am so glad you stopped by.
xo,
~Donya
I really enjoy eating pork roast, the picture of your roast looks great. It sure would be good to have that for lunch! I enjoy using the crock pot but have never tried a pork roast, I am going to try your recipe. I do grill -smoke a lot fo pork roast during the warmer months.
Thanks so much! Like you, I'd never thought of using a pork roast but now, WOW, I am so glad I did! Please let me know how this turns out for you!
Have a great weekend,
~Donya