3 Ingredient Pork Roast Slow Cooker

Our 3 ingredient pork roast slow cooker recipe made with butt, ranch seasoning, Italian seasoning and butter comes out tender and juicy with very little prep. This high protein dinner can be cooked from fresh but frozen pork in Crockpot comes out great too!

This came out great!! It’s such an easy dump and go meal with just a few items for seasonings to make it melt in your mouth delicious. Made with a boneless pork butt roast or Boneless Rib Roast means you can just slice and enjoy at the end of the day. I have also made this as a great Pork Sirloin Roast if that is all you can find.. Just one of many easy Crock pot recipes we love

I have cooked Crockpot pork shoulder before to shred for sliders before, this time I kept it whole to slice like you see here above. Both are great, using different ingredients to season the protein. Once you get the hang of this you can tweak it to try lots of sauces and herbs as far as that goes. This meat is best cooked low and slow, period.

I prefer boneless pork shoulder just because it is easier to cut when done. I’ve cooked both, with bone-in and without and the outcome is just as tender. The only difference is that if there is a bone you will need to remove it when done and trim around it before you shred or cut it up and serve.

Now for this one I don’t count the liquid, thus 3 ingredients needed are below. In the experimenting process I have used other packets as well as in our Slow cooker pork roast onion soup mix recipe. That one was great too. I love all the flavors already mixed together for me and all I have to do is throw it all in and put the lid on in the mornings.

How Long to Cook Pork Roast in Crockpot

That depends on the weight and whether you want it shredded but generally you should set aside about 8 hours on low. I do not recommend the high setting ever but especially with thick meats with a lot of connective tissue, you really want a long time to break it down and get as tender as possible.

Ingredient Notes

You are going to add a Ranch dressing packet. This is a dry seasoning mix, not the wet bottled style you pour on top of a salad. This will give the meat a bunch of flavor.

And then you will add 1 envelope of dry Italian dressing mix as well. Once again this is an easy way to add a lot of seasonings to amp up the flavor of the meat. An alternative to this could be onion soup mix.

Then to add moisture and flavor you want to add a pat of butter. I love Kerrygold. A plant based dairy free alternative would work but I don’t feel like it has as much flavor or salt to it.

I don’t count the liquid which is 1.5 cup beef broth (alternatives are water or balsamic vinegar for bolder flavors) As for the liquid you don’t need much, but a little. Broth is always better than water to add more flavor into the mix. If you don’t have any I would keep bouillon cubes in your pantry so you can make it yourself on demand.

Variations

As with any combinations you can always add a bit of heat if you like. Some like spicy everything and that is easy to do with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. We have done this with our Pork Roast in Oven and it’s a real hit.. Chili powder isn’t as potent, and if you are going for more of an Asian flare I like dry Sriracha powder. I’ve added that to our Mississippi pork roast and OMG delish.

For this and our pork roast Instant Pot style we used a fresh piece but defrosted works too.

How to Make Gravy with the Drippings

To make a tasty sauce to serve on top you will want to pour the drippings in a pan on the stove over medium high heat. Whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tbsp cool water and once bubbling whisk this in to thicken. You could also certainly make extra Instant Pot gravy on the side if you want more than is in the bottom of the pot.

Do I need to add water to slow cooker pork?

Yes you do need to add some liquid in order to create steam and break down those connective tissues. Something like Pork Roast in Oven will produce some drippings which will add to it but to start out use water or beef broth so it can start cooking immediately.

Does pork get more tender the longer it cooks in a slow cooker?

Yes! I mean you really can’t mess this meat up. The longer you cook it the more it falls apart and shreds easily. If you want to keep it together to slice instead you will need to keep it at 6-8 hours on low but if you forget about it at 8-10 it will still be delicious but will fall apart with 2 forks to shred.

Is it better to cook pork on high or low in slow cooker?

Always low, that is why it has sloooooooow in the title. Don’t rush it, let it sit for a long time with lower heat in order to give time for the middle to cook all the way thru and break down enough for you to shred easily with two forks and serve as pulled pork sliders.

How to Cook Frozen Pork Roast Slow Cooker

Ok so let’s talk about cooking frozen pork in general. First off, yes you can do it. We have shared many different cuts using different modes and how long each one takes. Believe it or not if you made it with fresh and frozen served up next to one another, a lot of times you can’t tell the difference once it is done (if cooked right).

If the piece you have is still rock hard you can use these same instructions. Depending on whether you want to slice or shred it the cook time will remain almost the same. The biggest difference in timing comes into play with how large your piece is, and it’s thickness. Another way to get it done faster is to follow our frozen Instant Pot pork roast recipe.

How to Serve

Side dishes to serve with this are many. You can throw in some halved petite potatoes and carrots peeled and cut into large chunks if you would like at the same time. Otherwise in 15 minutes total you could make some Instant Pot greens.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

You can cook outside if you like and make our smoked pork roast on your Traeger too. Takes quite a bit of time and a bit more prep with the machine itself but so worth it for shredded pork.

You can use the same Italian dressing packet too to make our 3 ingredient Crockpot chicken recipe too. It gives the “sauce” a bit of a punch so it can get soaked in over the hours cooking on low heat.