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You’re going to love this Slow Cooker pork roast: four ingredients, tender pork, and rich onion gravy with almost no prep. Let the Slow Cooker do the work, then serve it over mashed potatoes or egg noodles for an easy, cozy dinner. The onions collapse into the broth, the pork gets so tender you can nearly cut it with a fork, and the whole kitchen smells like you have your life together.
Why You’ll Love It
- Four simple ingredients — pork, onion soup mix, onions, and beef broth are all you need.
- Minimal prep — slice the onions, season the roast, add broth, and let the Slow Cooker handle the rest.
- Tender pork and rich gravy — the pork cooks until fork-tender while the onions melt into a dark, savory gravy.
- Great for leftovers — the pork and gravy are especially good piled onto sturdy bread for sandwiches.
- Budget-friendly comfort food — pork shoulder turns into a cozy, satisfying dinner with plenty of flavor.
Ingredient Notes
For the roast, use a boneless pork shoulder or pork butt in the three- to four-pound range. Pork butt is confusingly not from the rear end at all, because apparently meat naming had to be difficult for no reason. Either one works beautifully here. Look for a roast with some fat marbling, and if it has a little fat cap, put that side facing up in the Slow Cooker so it can baste the meat as it cooks.
The dry onion soup mix is doing a lot of heavy lifting. I usually buy Lipton Recipe Secrets because it’s what I recognize from a million grocery-store shelves, but any standard one-ounce packet is fine. It is salty, though, so definitely use low-sodium beef broth. I mean it. The first time I made a similar roast with regular broth, I practically needed to drink from the garden hose afterward. Not really. But close.
Yellow onions are my pick here because they soften into that mellow, almost sweet onion gravy without making a fuss. Two big ones. If yours are medium, use three and call it a day. Nobody is going to come measure your onions.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt roast, whichever looks best at the store
- 2 (1-ounce) packets dry onion soup mix, the plain classic kind
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced from root to tip
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, please don’t swap in regular unless you enjoy a salty situation
Instructions
Scatter the thinly sliced onions across the bottom of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker, making as even a layer as you can manage. It does not have to look like a magazine photo. These onions are going to cook down until they’re soft and practically melt into the gravy anyway.
Sprinkle one packet of the dry onion soup mix evenly over the onions. This seems like a small thing, but it gives the gravy a good head start while you’re off doing something more pressing, like finding out why the laundry has been sitting in the dryer for two days.
Pat the pork roast dry with paper towels, then place it directly on top of the onions. If there’s a fat cap, face it upward. Some fat here is what keeps the roast moist and gives the gravy its richness.
Sprinkle the second packet of dry onion soup mix over the top and sides of the pork, pressing it lightly onto the surface so it stays put. Don’t worry if some falls into the onions. It all ends up in the same delicious place eventually.
Pour the low-sodium beef broth around the sides of the roast, not right over the top. You want the liquid to come partway up the pork without washing off that onion seasoning. I’ve done that before in a hurry, and it still tasted fine, but the top was less flavorful. Fine is not the goal on a Sunday.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is very tender and a fork slides in easily. Low is my preference if you have the time; the onions get especially soft and the house smells wonderful by midafternoon. High works when you forgot dinner existed until noon, which happens to the best of us.
Transfer the cooked roast to a cutting board and let the excess gravy drip back into the slow cooker. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it thickly. It should be tender enough to pull apart a little at the edges but still hold together in slices—unless you prefer it shredded, in which case nobody’s going to stop you.
Stir the onions and gravy well in the slow cooker. For a slightly thicker gravy, leave the lid off and let it simmer on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes. Usually I just spoon it as-is over the pork because I like it rustic and a little messy. Also, I don’t particularly enjoy washing extra dishes, and that is the truth.
Serve the pork in generous slices with plenty of onion gravy and tender onions over the top. Mashed potatoes are the obvious choice, but buttered egg noodles are awfully good too. Add green beans, roasted carrots, or a plain salad if you feel the table needs something green to keep up appearances.
Variations
If you have an extra ten minutes and the inclination—which I do not always have—you can brown the sliced onions in a skillet with a teaspoon of oil before putting them into the slow cooker. It gives the gravy a slightly sweeter, more caramelized flavor. It’s lovely. It is also one more pan, so I generally save that move for company or for the occasional day I feel unusually organized.
For a “pork stroganoff-ish” twist, stir in sour cream at the end, somewhere between one-third and one-half cup. Serve it over egg noodles for extra comfort. Heavy cream works too if that’s what you have. Don’t add either one early—the dairy belongs in at the end, just before serving.
For a smaller household, use a two- to two-and-a-half-pound roast and reduce the broth to one and a half cups, but keep both onion soup packets. I know that sounds a little aggressive, but it keeps the flavor from getting thin. A bone-in pork shoulder is fine as well, though it may need a bit longer until it is properly tender.
One time I tried adding mushrooms, thinking I was being clever. They weren’t bad exactly, but they muddied up that clean onion-gravy flavor. Leave the mushrooms for another supper.
If smooth gravy is your preference, remove the pork and blend some or all of the onions and liquid with an immersion blender. I like the onion pieces, myself.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover pork and gravy together in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Keeping the meat in the gravy helps it stay moist, especially if you sliced it before storing. If you have the room, I’d keep the pork in bigger pieces and slice what you need later, but I rarely plan that far ahead.
To reheat, warm the pork and gravy gently in a covered skillet or saucepan over low heat until hot. Add a small splash of beef broth if the gravy has thickened too much in the refrigerator. The microwave works for an individual plate, of course—it’s Tuesday night, not a cooking show—but cover it loosely so the gravy doesn’t redecorate the inside of the microwave.
The leftovers make excellent sandwiches on sturdy bread, especially with a little gravy spooned over the pork. Messy? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.
Final Notes
There’s something almost old-fashioned about putting onions, pork, broth, and a couple packets of soup mix into a slow cooker and letting time do the rest. No grand performance. No complicated technique. Just a house that starts smelling warm and savory while the afternoon drifts by.
I used to think a “real” Sunday dinner had to involve a dozen side dishes and dessert made from scratch. Maybe it did, once. Maybe I was trying to prove something. Now I think a real dinner is one where everybody comes in from wherever they’ve scattered, sits down for ten minutes without looking at a phone, and asks for more gravy.
That’s plenty. More than plenty, some days.
And if nobody helps with the dishes afterward—well. That part of family tradition can disappear anytime.
Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Amish Onion Gravy Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt roast Use a roast with some fat marbling; place the fat cap facing up if it has one.
- 2 (1-ounce) packets dry onion soup mix Use the plain classic kind.
- 2 large yellow onions Peel and thinly slice from root to tip; use 3 medium onions if needed.
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth Do not substitute regular beef broth unless you prefer a saltier gravy.
Instructions
- Scatter the thinly sliced onions evenly across the bottom of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
- Sprinkle one packet of dry onion soup mix evenly over the onions.
- Pat the pork roast dry with paper towels, then place it directly on top of the onions with the fat cap facing upward if present.
- Sprinkle the second packet of dry onion soup mix over the top and sides of the pork, pressing it lightly onto the surface.
- Pour the low-sodium beef broth around the sides of the roast, avoiding the top so the onion seasoning stays in place.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork is very tender and a fork slides in easily.
- Transfer the cooked roast to a cutting board, let the excess gravy drip back into the slow cooker, and rest the pork for about 10 minutes before slicing thickly.
- Stir the onions and gravy well; for a slightly thicker gravy, leave the lid off and simmer on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Serve generous slices of pork with plenty of onion gravy and tender onions over the top, alongside mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles if desired.