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I am at a loss of words.
See that pork roast up there? It’s just so… So… So… Perfect.
And the effort that went into it? It’s embarrassingly simple. It’s the kind of recipe that somehow just doesn’t seem like it should work. When my best friend of almost twenty five years (*GASP* 25 years?) told me about the recipe, I thought, “Sounds convenient and tasty. I’ll have to give it a try!” but at no point did I think it was going to come out of the slow-cooker looking and tasting worthy of the most discerning company.
It all starts with a simple boneless pork roast, sprinkled all over with salt and pepper, browned on all sides in a pan*, then nestled on a bed of cubed sweet potatoes and topped with a jar of peach salsa. The lid and heat are applied for a handful of hours, and at the end of it, you get a perfectly done, fork-tender, moist, garlicky, pork roast with a pan sauce of slow-cooked sweet potatoes and peaches.
*Technically, this is optional. As Ali told me, it depends on “the time and energy available” you have when you’re making it. But as she also said, “Searing makes the meat taste much better.” She’s right, you know. If it’s against your religion to sear meat before it goes into the slow-cooker, by all means, don’t do it, it won’t be awful, but it won’t be sublime and it won’t be as pretty. (Stepping off my soapbox now.)
And WHABANG! Hot rice goes into a bowl, spoon some sweet potatoes and peach on top, add a luscious slice of the roast pork, and top with some chopped green onions and cilantro or parsley. If you’re feeling like something a little extra special, spoon a little hot chili sesame oil or spicy Chinese black bean sauce. Or both.
This got enthusiastic thumbs up from everyone. EVERYONE. Granted, I surgically removed all traces of sweet potatoes and peaches from the no-veg contingent’s servings, but still… EVERYONE. That’s no small potatoes (sweet or otherwise).
Cook’s Notes
- Someone always asks whether they can use a boneless roast when I post a recipe for a bone-in cut of meat, so I’m going to assume someone will ask the opposite here. Yes. You can use a bone-in cut. It may take a bit longer to cook, so just factor that in when you are figuring out when you’d like to eat.
- PRO TIP: Taste your salsa before you use it. Is it super garlicky and spicy? If it isn’t, you may want to boost the garlic and spice quotient in the recipe by adding a handful of peeled garlic cloves and a chopped jalapeno to the slow cooker. If you are blessed with a multitude of peach salsas from which to choose, pick one you’d like to eat straight from the jar that is super flavourful. I use the peach salsa I put up each summer and love it. Trader Joe’s makes a DARNED fine peach salsa but it may require a few extra cloves and a minced hot pepper.
Slow Cooker Peach Salsa Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork roast 2 to 2-1/2 pound
- kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut canola, vegetable, or olive oil
- 5 small peeled sweet potatoes about 1-1/2 lbs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 cups peach salsa *See notes
To Serve:
- hot cooked rice
- chopped cilantro or parsley
- finely chopped green onions
- Optional: spicy sesame oil and Spicy Chinese Black Bean Chili Sauce or Chili Garlic Sauce
Instructions
- Scatter the cubed sweet potatoes in the bottom of a slow-cooker crock. Put the lid in place and set the slow-cooker to HIGH.
- Sprinkle the pork roast generously with kosher salt and cracked black pepper on all sides.
- Place a heavy-bottomed stainless steel or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Swirl the oil over the bottom of the pan. Carefully place the pork roast in the hot pan and do not move it until it releases easily from the pan and is deep golden brown on the side that just cooked. Rotate the roast to an un-browned area and repeat. Do this until you have browned the entire surface of the pork roast. Use tongs to set the pork roast on top of the cubed sweet potatoes. Pour the peach salsa over the top, put the lid in place, and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW for 7-9 hours. The pork roast is done when it measures 145°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast.
To Serve:
- Slice the pork roast in 1-inch thick chops. To plate the dish, add some hot, cooked rice to each bowl, spoon some of the sweet potato and peach salsa with pan juices over the rice, and top with green onions, cilantro or parsley, and -if using- spicy sesame oil and chili sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
This post originally published February 8, 2014.
Papa says
Made this a couple weeks ago when you first told me about it coming. It was wonderful. I only had pork chops in the freezer so I used them.
CarrollWC says
This looks delicious! But you talk about it being garlicky. I don’t see any added garlic, unless your peach salsa has a ton of garlic in it. Any thoughts?
Rebecca says
Yes, you nailed it. My salsa is VERY garlicky. If you’re a fan of garlic and have salsa that’s a bit garlic-anemic, by all means bump it up with a couple cloves!
CarrollWC says
Thanks for the quick reply!
Rebecca says
That was a great point. I updated the recipe to reflect it. Thanks!
Susan says
Where do I find peach salsa? Or is there a recipe to make it?
Rebecca says
Hi Susan- I make my own, but Trader Joes, Wegman’s, Paul Newman, and several other stores and brands make and sell it. I think there’s even peach salsa available on Amazon.com!
Victoria Conaway-West says
Id like a recipe for the peach salsa, id rather make it.
Rebecca says
Maybe I’ll share one when peaches are in season! 😀
Susan says
Can I make this in the stovetop? I don’t have a crock pot. *Shudder*
Rebecca says
Probably, Susan, but the timing will be different and you may have to add liquid. Because this recipe was designed for the slow cooker and I was thrilled with the results, I haven’t tried cooking it any other way.
Liz @ Virtually Homemade says
Wow! This looks so amazing. and simple. I love these slow cooker recipes that magically turn into the best dinner you’ve ever had after 4-5 hours (I’m never organized enough to use the low setting!).
Jeanine says
Do you think the sweet potatoes could be replaced with other root vegetables?
Rebecca says
I always think you should play with recipes! 🙂 I haven’t tried this with any other vegetables, but I imagine parsnip or rutabaga would be good!
Sheila says
I need to make pork more! we love it, I forget about it and revert to chicken! this looks so flavorful!
Rebecca says
Thanks, Sheila! I admit that pork is my go-to meat. I always have to remind myself to make other ones, too! 😀
Ann @ Dinner Is Served says
I am soooo making this this week.
Rebecca says
I think you’ll love it!
Lillian @ My Recipe Journey says
OMG…drooling over here! I will have this on the menu very soon! Thanks for sharing! Pinning! =D
Lillian @ My Recipe Journey says
I’m back to say that I tried this and loved it! I baked it in the same pan used for browning the pork, instead of using the slow cooker. It worked perfectly! Thanks for a delicious recipe that I will make often!
Rebecca says
That’s AWESOME! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you liked it!
Daina says
“I use the peach salsa I put up this summer and love it. ”
Ahem?? I don’t see a recipe for that on your site! (hint hint)
Rebecca says
Darned good hint. It’ll happen this summer!
Mary says
What size crocpot did you use? Mine is six quarts….is that too big?
Rebecca says
That’s just fine, Mary! Mine was a 7.5 quart, but I think a 6 quart would work beautifully!
Mary says
Did you use a pok loin or pork shoulder?
Rebecca says
For this one, I used a center cut loin.
Mary says
Trying it tonight with peach Mango salsa! All I could find!
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says
Making this for dinner tonight, and the house smells A-MAY-ZING!
Rebecca says
Hooray! I can’t wait to hear what you think!
GB says
Holy moly this was DELICIOUS!!!! I used short ribs so I could get exactly 2 pounds and I just shredded the meat after it was cooked. I also put raw asparagus spears on top of the meat the last 10 minutes. My sweet potatoes turned mushy but actually formed a delicious gravy mixed with the sweet salsa. Seriously had to trestrain myself from eating the whole pot!!!
Pimmie says
This sounds delicious, I really need to try this. ASAP.
But…I don’t live in peach-salsa-selling-country. So what is usually in such a salsa that really makes this dish work?
Nutmeg Nanny says
Oh yum, we love pork roast 🙂 this recipe sounds amazing!!
Christy Maurer says
For some reason, mine got a little too soggy. Next time I’m going to lessen the salsa or the time a little. But the flavor was good!
Anne Jenerickson says
I made this and it was delicious! Everyone in the family liked it. Plus it was so easy. I have one little picky eater and one adventurous eater. I was worried about the spiciness for the picky eater, so I substituted half of the peach salsa with some homemade peach jam.
Lauren says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it was a big hit with my whole family. (Even my picky parents, who were visiting, and my little guys, who gobbled up the jasmine rice and sweet potatoes.) So easy, and impressive enough for company – will definitely make this again! 🙂
Rebecca says
That’s fantastic, Lauren. I’m so glad you had success with it.
patsy olive says
I am cooking this today. Can you use just a regular can peaches to this ?
please email me back.
nancy says
I was wondering where you all find the peach salsa or do you make your own—in which case, would you be willing to share the recipe? I have never used peach salsa and wondering if it is something that is readily available in a store.
Rebecca says
Hi Nancy-
I do make my own. I use the recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving with a couple of tweaks. Thanks for the push to publish it. I will this summer! In the meantime, I understand Trader Joe’s carries a good peach salsa (but I’ve also been told it needs a little help in the garlic department, so if you use it, throw some extra in!). Newman’s Own makes a peach salsa, and I think I’ve seen some on the shelves at Wegman’s in the Mrs. Renfro’s brand section.
Suzanne C says
Good night nurse, that looks good! I’m going to have to re-do this month’s menu to fit that in. Thanks, Rebecca!
Tammy says
I’d love your peach salsa recipe. We don’t have a Trader Joes nearby and all the recipes I’ve searched on line don’t call for garlic added.
Thank you
Jean says
Made this tonight, and we loved it! Definitely going to be serving this on a regular basis. Pretty sure it would also be delicious with apple or cherry salsa.
Sara says
This looks amazing! Do you think there is anyway I could prepare it all and then freeze it?
Kristen says
Have you tried freezing this? I was thinking of making this as a freezer meal. Sounds delicious.
Nancy says
I have a7 1/2# boneless pork “shoulder butt”. I think that pig was strange anatomically, but at any rate do you think I can triple the recipe and still get good results? I’m serving eight and therefore was talked out of pork loin because none would be big enough. Your recipe sounds great!
Rebecca says
Thanks, Nancy! It’s a different cut of the pick (obviously, right?) and I haven’t tested it for cooking time, so I can’t say a firm yes or no. The shoulder has a lot more connective tissue in it, so it may have to cook longer and it might not slice as prettily at the end of things, but I imagine it’ll still taste good!
Catherine Sand says
Happy New Year Rebecca!! Just finished searing and in the crockpot!!! My 23 yr old home from college twin boys are drooling!! I used a 3lb. pork roast, put it on high and am hoping the sweet potatoes don’t get to mushy! Thanks for a easy but elegantly looking New Years Day meal!!!!
Dave DeHart says
Cooking this ATT. Smells awesome. Added a bit of chopped jalapeño for heat. Tasted a minute ago. Wow! Can’t wait for another hour to go by. Thanks for this exceptionally simple recipe.
Cliff says
This looks wonderful. I salivated just reading the recipe. Unfortunately, unless you provide the nutritional content (grams of cholesterol and fat, calories, fiber, etc.) I can’t make it due to my heart condition. Would it be possible to include these stats with the recipe? Many thanks.
Rebecca says
Hi Cliff! Thanks for getting in touch! I have bad news and good news. I’ll get the bad news out of the way first. I don’t crunch the nutritional numbers here because I’m not a nutritionist and I’m hesitant into getting into publishing those for legal reasons. The good news (and it’s very good news because it’ll likely broaden many horizons for you!) is that if you Google “nutritional calculator” you will find many free, fabulous online nutritional calculators. All you have to do is input the recipe in the calculator and it’ll tally up the nutritional stats for you! My intuition is that this meal is going to be very heart healthy, what with the sweet potatoes, lean pork, and peach salsa. Those are all excellent heart foods. As for the actual numbers though? I’ll leave that to the experts!
sue says
How many should this serve?
Rebecca says
Hi Sue- I don’t usually include serving information because I’m not a nutritionist. I can tell you it fed our family of 7 with leftovers for my husband and I to eat for lunch the next day! 😀 If you’d like federal nutrition and serving breakdowns, you can Google “nutritional calculator and serving guidelines” and there is a great deal of free information and wonderful resources available.
Brooke says
Hi! I’m planning to make this recipe since I just went peach picking and have tons of peaches. Do you have the peach salsa recipe you could link for me so I can make my own? I can’t seem to find it! Looking forward to making this!
Rebecca says
Hi Brooke-
The peach salsa recipe I use is very much like the one from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preservation. It’s a good one! I don’t think I’ve ever actually published my peach salsa recipe. I should!
diane says
I bought some Apple Salsa and might try that. What do you think?
Rebecca says
That sounds delicious! It’s hard to go wrong with pork and apples! It’ll be a different end product, but equally delicious, I think. And apple salsa? DO TELL! Where’d you get that?
Kim says
I didn’t love this, but it wasn’t bad. I think the salsa I bought was not flavorful enough because the end result was bland. The potatoes also got too mushy so we had mashed sweet potatoes. I think I’d try it again but make it as a stove top/oven version.
Rebecca says
Hi Kim- If your peach salsa is too mild you can give it a little extra oomph with some extra garlic cloves and a minced jalapeno or two! As for the mushy sweet potatoes, that could’ve been the sweet potatoes themselves or possibly the size of the cut on them. Mine were definitely tender, but not to the point of mash. If you’d like to try it in the slow cooker again, I’d advise cutting them slightly larger and augmenting your salsa!
Howard Timmins says
If the sweet potatoes become to mushy, try putting the sweet potatoes in the crock pot
at the half way point of cook time. I haven’t made this recipe yet but will try soon. That
is what I would try, putting sweet potatoes in half way through cook time or just in time
for the potatoes to be cooked through and stay firm.
laura says
I only have pork chops on hand so will try it with those, adjusting cooking time. Can’t wait to taste!
Sabrina says
Can’t wait to try this!
Joanne Schultz says
I just moved to a new home, and purchased a crockpot and rice cooker. I saw this recipe and thought it would be perfect for my 1st crockpot meal in this house. I got peach salsa from Harris Teeter. It tasted more tomatoey than peach 🙁 and I expected a wonderful peachy aroma while it was cooking but that didn’t happen. Wen my sister came into the house, she did say it smelled really good. I did add 5 cloves of garlic but I really couldn’t taste the garlic at all . But the adding of the spicy sesame oil – that was a wonderful idea – we really like heat!
My sister said that she bet this would be great wrapped up in a tortilla and heated, so I gave her some to bring home to use that way.
Anyway, thanks for making my first crockpot meal in my house a success!!
Rebecca says
Thanks, Joanne! I’m so glad you liked it!
Suzy Bruce says
I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Does this recipe pass the blood sugar test?
Rebecca says
Hi Suzy- Sorry to hear that. You may want to discuss what dietary restrictions you should be considering with your doctor. There is nutritional information on the printable recipe card, but I’m not sure what your doctor wants you to do specifically.
Marguerite says
I was disappointed there was no recipe for peach salsa as I don’t buy prepared products so onward for a recipe for peach salsa. But a nice combo
Rebecca says
Hi Marguerite- At this point, I’ll take any peach product I can considering they don’t grow well around me. If you’re lucky enough to have peaches grow around you, please refer to the Ball Blue Book of Home Canning for a solid peach salsa which is what I used here. Otherwise, just take a good one made by a friend and understand that it is a great recipe whether you purchase a prepared product or make your own.