In spite of the name, there isn’t actually any chutney in this recipe. A true chutney takes hours of chopping and simmering to create, but this shortcut recipe for your crock pot is, I think, “close enough.” Chutney contains vinegar and sugar, mostly to preserve the ingedients for storage. This recipe has neither, but it delivers on flavor. Full of staple ingredients that store well, it’s easy to throw this in the crock pot on a day when you weren’t expecting to need a plan for dinner. You can tweak this recipe to your preferences with a hint of coriander, adding a little nutmeg or cinnamon to the pumpkin pie spice, or 1/4 cup of dried fruit.
The super quick prep on this recipe along with the “can’t ruin it” flavors also make this a great choice for cooking with kids. My big guy loves to chop apples with his Pampered Chef “kids knife.” We also have a set of nylon knives which do a great job of cutting fruit and are not sharp enough to cut a child who is still a little awkward with them. There are only a few spices, which means it’s a great opportunity to practice measuring. (And no one will care if there’s a pinch more or less of one of them!) The whole recipe goes into the crockpot in under half an hour with kid help, and under 15 minutes if I do it by myself. (Ha.)
You might think that the mustard seeds would be hard or crunchy, but the result of slow cooking is that they have a wonderful, chewy texture that is a great counterpoint to the meat. Since you have the apple chutney to serve with the pork, you only need one quick-cooking vegetable to round this out, making this the perfect dinner for a busy day.
Not sure what kind of apple to use? You can use whatever you have on hand, but for best results use a good cooking apple. (Granny Smith are my favorites, because they hold their texture so well.) You can learn more about cooking apples here.
Did you like this recipe? See the rest of my recipes here or pin this one.
Apple Chutney Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs pork roast I used sirloin. Pick one with some fat on it so it'll hold up to the long cooking.
- 1 large onion sliced thinly
- 3 medium cooking apples cored and sliced (I leave the skins on but you may prefer to peel them.)
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root grated
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder if you like more spice try cayenne.
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ground
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Instructions
-
Put the onions and the apples in the bottom of the slow cooker.
-
combine pumpkin pie spice, salt, and both peppers in a small bowl and mix well.
-
combine ginger and garlic into a paste.
-
Rub the ginger/garlic paste over the outside of your roast. Follow it with the spice mixture.
-
Put the pork roast in the slow cooker. If your roast has one side with a layer of fat, make sure that side is facing up.
-
Top roast with the mustard seeds.
-
Cover and cook four hours on low.
Recipe Notes
Slow cooker times vary. Be sure to stick in a meat thermometer and make sure the roast is at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I found a great buy on pork roast and stocked the freezer and it is scrumptious slow cooked because it is so tender but I’m getting tired of just pork & onion gravy. This will give us a new taste to an old roast.
Another wonderful recipe. I can always count that you will post something we would love to have. I have a pork roast in my freezer and we will try this next week.
This sounds so good, i will have to try it soon!!