This easy pork roast with sauerkraut in the crock pot uses just 3 ingredients for a flavorful, cozy meal perfect for fall or winter.

Why You'll Love This Recipe
This pork roast with sauerkraut in the crock pot is the ultimate cozy dish for fall or winter! With just three simple ingredients and minimal prep, this recipe delivers tender, flavorful pork paired with tangy sauerkraut.
It's perfect for busy weeknights, holiday traditions (hello New Year's Day!), or even meal prepping for the week ahead.
Seriously friends, a four year old could make this. I mean, if preschoolers were capable of handling raw meat and navigating electric outlets and knives. But alas, we cannot rely on toddlers for this recipe.
But it's easy enough that basically anyone above the age of ten can make it. Hey, that's us!
Making this pork roast in the crockpot is perfection. The pork cooks low and slow, and the juices drizzle into the sauerkraut mixture as it cooks. Plus, it makes the house smell amazing!
Looking for more crock pot recipes? Try my Pulled Pork Chili.
🛒 INGREDIENTS
You'll only need three ingredients to make this slow cooker recipe. I'll give you some ideas if you want to jazz things up, too!
- pork loin roast - this cut of pork works great in a slow cooker because the low and slow method keeps the meat from drying out. Also, when it's cooked at a lower temperature, the meat comes out tender. I like to assume about a half pound per person before the meat is cooked. This means one portion will be less than a half pound, because the meat will shrink as it cooks.
- sauerkraut - Here we are at the low and slow again! The low temp allows the tangy flavors of the sauerkraut to be absorbed into the flavors of the pork.
- brown sugar - just a touch of brown sugar helps to balance the acid in the sauerkraut. If you're watching your refined sugars, you could sub in maple syrup or honey.
A note about sauerkraut
While I could go into super exciting details about probiotics and fermentation - my preference is to use bagged sauerkraut or canned sauerkraut when I'm cooking for a longer period of time.
If you like a robust and tangy flavor with a little more crunch go with bagged. If you want less tang and a softer texture, go for canned sauerkraut.
Tip: For a milder flavor, try rinsing the sauerkraut and draining well.
📋 Substitutions
You can make this using a boneless pork shoulder or a Boston pork butt roast. You could even make a pork tenderloin and sauerkraut but you'll need to reduce the cooking time.
🥣 How to make pork roast and sauerkraut in the crock pot
This is one of the easiest recipes ever. (I told you).
- Step 1: Add the pork roast to the slow cooker along with the brown sugar and sauerkraut.
- Step 2: Mix together and let it cook while you do you thing.
The National Pork Board recommends cooking pork roast to an internal temperature between 145° F. (medium rare) and 160° F. (medium), followed by a 3-5 minute rest.
I like to pull my roast out when pork reaches 150 degrees using a digital meat thermometer. There will be some carryover cook time that increases the temperature to the medium, or 160°F.
Slice the pork and serve the sauerkraut with a slotted spoon.
Tip: Don't skimp on on the resting time. It allows the juices to redistribute in the pork roast, making it fork tender. Yum!
📖 Variations
Want to switch things up a bit?
Want To Save This Recipe For Later?
- Try adding sliced onions or a teaspoon of caraway seeds to the recipe.
- If you love apples and pork, try this pork tenderloin with apples.
- Like it spicy? Add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
🍽 Sides to serve with pork roast and sauerkraut
Pair this with my German Potato Salad or buttered noodles and some green beans for a complete meal.
Storing Leftovers:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat leftover pork gently in the oven or stovetop with extra sauerkraut for moisture.
To make as a freezer meal: Make your life easier by prepping this recipe as a freezer meal. Combine all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, label, and freeze. When you're ready to cook, thaw overnight in the fridge and cook as directed.
Pro Tips for Juicy Pork Roast
When I was a kid, people wouldn't dream of pulling a cut of pork until it was done, done, DONE. And maybe cook it for juuuuust a minute more. So it is DONE DONE DONE. Done.
It was basically like cooking pork until it resembled shoe leather. And it usually tasted that way too.
But food guidelines have changed, certain safety concerns that were in the past are now obsolete, and we can relax just a bit to enjoy some better tasting pork.
The USDA changed their temperature and cooking guidelines back in 2011. The guideline changed to "145°F for whole meats like this pork roast, 160°F for ground meats and 165°F for all poultry.
If the pork roast has a slightly rosy hue, it's actually okay.
Use the temperature as a guide and you'll be rewarded with tender, juicy pork.
FAQS
I like to assume about a half pound per person before the meat is cooked.
This means one portion will be less than a half pound, because the meat will shrink as it cooks.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with sauerkraut and pork roast:
Pork Roast and Sauerkraut
Ingredients
- 3 pound pork loin roast
- 16 ounces jarred or bagged sauerkraut drained
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
Want To Save This Recipe For Later?
Instructions
- Place roast in the slow cooker. Add sauerkraut and brown sugar and mix to combine the three.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until internal temperature registers in the middle at 150 degrees. Transfer to a plate or platter and allow to sit for 10 minutes
- Cut roast into slices and serve with sauerkraut mix.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Alison says
Soooo easy and soooooo good! ❤️
Deanne Frieders says
Yesssssss! Thanks for stopping by Alison.
Elizabeth Beryl Moore says
My sirloin pork roast is tied with string. When do I take the string off ? I notice the roast is 70mg. I am salt sensitive. Before I used boneless ribs but there was not enough liquid.
Appreciate your assistance. Liz
I