“Kitchen Sink” Paleo Slow Cooker Recipe – Pork Loin Recipe

Paleo has to be easy for families and busy people like us to follow the plan. This slow cooker pork loin recipe is super easy because you put everything but the kitchen sink in it. How many times do you open the fridge and you don't enough of any one ingredient to make a whole dinner happen? No problem! Make this slow cooker pork recipe that you can turn into several more meals over the next few days. It's a family favorite and you don't have to be a culinary genius to make it.

Leftovers get a bad rap

Nobody likes eating leftovers. There are few foods that truly taste good or better the next day and there's something about eating reheated food from a plastic container that is kind of gross. Xaver tells this story of how his dad was upset about the fridge being so full of leftovers that he made a “stew” with it – odds and ends like pieces of fish and beans and all kinds of things that just don't go together. The result was nasty and everyone threw it out.

This recipe is not at all like a leftovers recipe you've ever seen before. We'll use a base of spices to make the flavors work and then a list of ingredients that you can mix and match to a flavorful, tasty paleo slow cooker recipe that your family will want to eat.

“Kitchen Sink” Paleo Slow Cooker Pork Loin Recipe

I call this recipe “kitchen sink” because it has a bunch of odds and ends from the fridge and pantry. You'll need a base of spices and then you'll choose a mix of vegetables to round out the dish. You can't just throw anything in the slow cooker – avocados and bananas and fish chunks would be straight up nasty. No Grandpa Priest specials over here!

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 pork loins – I cook 2 so I will have leftovers for salads, tacos, and more later in the week

Spices

Any of these spices will be great in the slow cooker:

• Garlic, fresh or ground
• Bouillon or broth (2-4 cups)
• Mexican flavors – Cumin, Chili Powder, cilantro, paprika, adobo sauce
• Italian flavors – oregano, red chili flake, basil, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil
• Asian flavors – lemon grass, ginger, turmeric, chinese 5-spice, or curry, coconut aminos

Vegetables

• Onions – must have some kind of onion. If you only have half a shallot and half a red onion, that can work. Combine onions, shallots, and green onions until you have at least one cup of “onion”
• Potatoes, carrots, and Celery are good any time but you can skip them if you don't have any. Consider using sweet potatoes.
• Mexican flavors – tomatoes (any variety), tomatillos, peppers, cilantro, radishes, chipotle peppers, and bell peppers
• Italian flavors – squash, tomatoes, fresh basil, mushrooms, radishes, leeks
• Asian flavors – lemon, bean sprouts, Thai basil, peppers, mushrooms, rice noodles (paleo lite), radishes, leeks, bok choy, fennel
• Other vegetables – turnips, pumpkin, beets

Directions:

Chop all of the vegetables.

Add chopped vegetables, spices, and bouillon or broth on top.

Add water to cover the meat if broth did not cover.

Cook on high for 6-8 hours until the eat shreds with a fork.

I happened to have an abundance of tomatillos and pear tomatoes in my garden as well as some wilted cilantro in my fridge so that's what we threw in the slow cooker when we made this version of this paleo slow cooker recipe.

You can eat this spooned over mashed potatoes, cauliflower, or squash or as a stew. When saving the leftovers, separate the meat from the vegetables to use the meat for other dishes. Click the block below to get a printable version of this recipe:

Next time you have a roast or pork loin and don't have a slow cooker recipe, we hope you think about this one! It's so easy and will tide your over one more night before you have to go grocery shopping.

What's your favorite slow cooker hack? We'd love to hear all about it in the comments!