Super low-maintenance, yet quite flavorful, this spicy slow cooker pork loin is an easy meal you can cook once and eat twice. Because leftovers are great to repurpose into another meal, like pulled pork sandwiches, or loaded baked potatoes.
Super low-maintenance, yet quite flavorful, this spicy slow cooker pork tenderloin is an easy meal you can cook once and eat twice. Because leftovers are great to repurpose into another meal, like pulled pork sandwiches, or loaded baked potatoes. You’ll love the spicy kick in every bite!!!
We only need a few ingredients, but all the right ones to make this flavorful pork dish.
Let me walk you through the ingredients and discuss why we need them, and how you can substitute, if needed.
Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin Recipe
- Sweet onion – It’s much milder and sweeter than regular yellow onion, adding a touch of onion sweetness to the sauce. You can substitute yellow onion if you want to.
- Brown sugar – It brings beautiful balance in our spicy gravy. I prefer brown sugar over granulated sugar in this dish.
- Red wine vinegar – This is another important ingredient for well-rounded flavor in our slow cooker pork loin. Though any kind of vinegar would work, I like the flavor of red wine vinegar the most. The best substitute is apple cider vinegar.
- Soy sauce – I always use regular soy sauce vs low sodium soy sauce. Did you know that low sodium soy sauce may have less salt, but it has more chemicals? It’s true, that’s why it’s better just dilute the regular soy sauce with water to bring the salt down.
- Hot sauce – This is, of course, the crucial ingredient in this recipe, and I highly recommend using YOUR favorite hot sauce. I personally like Frank’s RedHot.
- Cornstarch – It’s a thickener for the gravy. Unless you like runny sauce, I wouldn’t recommend omitting it.
Pork Tenderloin vs Pork Loin
Is pork tenderloin the same as pork loin? No, they’re not the same cut of meat. Pork loin is a large piece of roast, perfect for roasting as a whole and/or cutting into pork chops.
Pork tenderloin, on other hand, is long thin log of meat and weighs about 1-1.5lbs. Pork tenderloin takes the sauce really well, which makes it ideal for our today’s recipe.
Read more details on the differences on these 2 pork cuts.
Spicy Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2-3 lb pork loin mine came in 2 pieces
- 2 large sweet onions sliced
- 1 cup hot water
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce of your choice
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic about 3 large cloves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Place onions in the bottom of slow cooker.
- Place pork loin over the onions.
- In a small bowl, combine water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour over the pork.
- Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, or on high 3-4 hours, or until inserted thermometer reads 160°F.
- Transfer the pork and onions onto a platter. Tent with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes, while you finish the sauce.
- Carefully pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Bring it to boil.
- In a small dish, combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Add it to the sauce. Cook the sauce until nice and thick, about 5 minutes.
- Serve the pork, sliced, with spicy sauce over mashed potatoes, or steamed rice. Leftovers are great for sandwiches, egg rolls, and with baked potatoes as well.
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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