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This festive Slow Cooker Cranberry and Rosemary Pork Loin is simple to make and delicious to eat. The flavors of cranberry, balsamic and rosemary combined make for a sweet and savory meal for the season!
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It’s already the middle of December. Wait, what?? Yep, it’s mid December, can you believe it? Sheesh, this year is almost over! Who’s traveling for the holidays? I’ll be going back to my home in Florida to spend Christmas with my family and I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully my wrist will be feeling much better by then. It’s been 3 weeks since surgery and it’s still pretty painful at times, and I still can’t fully use my left hand. I did upload my post-surgery video on Youtube that David took of me, which is kind of funny, so if you want to hear me talking about feeling great and hearing football players watch it here. I’m still trying to get new recipes out to you all. Thank you for being here and for your support!
Can you believe this was made in a crockpot? It looks so elegant and festive, yet this cranberry balsamic pork loin is actually very simple to make! You basically just make the sauce, then place all of the ingredients into the crockpot, set it and leave it!
The flavors of balsamic, cranberry and rosemary combined make for a tasty and flavorful dish, and it just look so festive! I love making pork tenderloin in the slow cooker, it always comes out nice and tender, and it’s a great dish to make for a lot of people, or if you want something that will give you plenty of leftovers!
This Slow Cooker Cranberry Rosemary Pork Loin was delicious, and I loved that I had plenty of it to last me throughout the week. And if you know me, you know I’m a big fan of easy recipes!
This festive Slow Cooker Cranberry and Rosemary Pork Loin is simple to make and delicious to eat. The flavors of cranberry, balsamic and rosemary combined make for a sweet and savory meal
- 3 lbs pork tenderloin
- 12 ounces cranberries
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- juice from 1 orange
- zest from 1 orange
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
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In a saucepan, combine the cranberries, water and maple syrup. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and stir for 5-10 minutes, until the cranberries have popped and it has thickened.
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Add in the orange juice, orange zest and balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp rosemary, and stir until combined. Remove from heat. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce and set aside.
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Place the pork tenderloin into a slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of rosemary, and drizzle the olive oil over the top.
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Pour the sauce over the top of the pork. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until the pork is tender and the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees.
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Remove from slow cooker and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
Pour the reserved sauce over the top. Enjoy!
Mmmmmmm looks so tender!
I love jazzing up a pork tenderloin!
This looks so delicious and easy to make. I love anything with rosemary
I do too, it adds such a nice flavor!
That’s impressive that this was made in a crockpot! I’m in need of these types of recipes for my family!
The time was way too long mine was over done after only 3 hours when I checked the temp. Maybe it needed to be set on low?
Hi Alanna! Yes this should definitely be cooked on low, if you are following my directions under Step 4 I cook it on low for 5-6 hours. If you want to cook it on high then I would probably suggest cooking it for 2-3 hours. I rarely cook anything on high unless I am in a hurry.
What kind of cranberries do you use? Frozen or fresh? Fresh isn’t always available. Or could you use whole berry cranberry sauce?
Hi Justine! I prefer to use fresh cranberries if they are available, you can sometimes find the bag of ocean spray cranberries at the grocery store or whole foods, but if they are not available then frozen would work just fine! In this recipe we are making homemade cranberry sauce with the cranberries so I wouldn’t store-bought cranberry sauce if you are planning to follow the recipe as written.
Is this a pork tenderloin or a pork loin? The cooking times seems awfully long for a pork tenderloin which is a long thinner cut of meat?
Hi Char, I used a pork tenderloin for this recipe and found it to be perfect when I cooked it on low for 6 hours. When I cook a pork loin in the slow cooker I will usually cook it on low for 6-8 hours instead. If you’re concerned you can try cooking it for less time, maybe around 4-5 on low, and check it then. If the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees it should be fine. 🙂
Mine was beyond done after only 3 hours on low. Overall it was delicious but my sauce didn’t turn out as thick or pretty as yours. Could I have overcooked it on the stove?
Hi Stephanie, sorry it didn’t turn out as expected, I’m glad it tasted good at least! Depending of the size of the pork it might take less time to cook through, I always tend to get the biggest pork and it takes longer, but I will probably amend that step. Was the sauce thick when you took it off the stove? It should thicken on the stove the more it cooks. I did forget to say that I reserved some sauce to the side to pour over the pork prior to serving to give it that pretty look at the end and I have corrected that.
Hello! I came across this lovely recipe via Instagram. But like Char…I have to question whether this is a pork tenderloin or pork loin. Pork tenderloins are always sold in 1 pound packages, never more. 3 pounds is unheard of in Tennessee, Kentucky and Maine- all places I have lived. And a pork tenderloin requires only 20-30 minutes to cook. So…do you live in a country other than the USA? I really want to try this but concerned the marinade will not work on a 1 pound pork tenderloin. Thank you and Merry Christmas 2021❤
Hi! When I first made this I did with a pork tenderloin, but the package I bought had two tenderloins in it so that’s why it was 3pounds, and I slow cooked it on low. I would cut the time down and start checking it earlier for just one pound. Hope that helps! 🙂