This pork stew slow cooker recipe is easy, delicious, and Paleo-friendly. All you need is pork shoulder, veggies, marinara sauce, and some seasonings. Just dump everything in the slow cooker and enjoy!

An overhead shot of a large bowl filled with Slow Cooker Pork and Cabbage stew, a paleo and Whole30-friendly healthy supper.

The easiest slow cooker pork stew!

In other words, this is a dish I cook on a typical day in my life. I don’t brown the meat or vegetables and all the ingredients are dumped into the slow cooker to simmer on low for 8-10 hours. Poof! Dinner is ready in less than 10 minutes of prep time!

Important caveat: Try to use the best ingredients you can find because when you’re just chucking stuff into the Crock-Pot or  slow cooker, you’ll end up with crap if you start with bad ingredients.

The display on a slow cooker that is making Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew, a simple and

Can you make this in an Instant Pot?

You’re in luck! Get the step-by-step Instant Pot Cheater Pork Stew recipe right here!

INGREDIENTS

  • Pork shoulder roast or pork butt: This is my favorite cut of pork for stew because it gets super tender and shreddable when cooked low and slow. I don’t recommend using pork tenderloin or pork loin because they’re both too lean for this dish.
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Baby carrots: Feel free to use other vegetables (e.g. potatoes, celery, or turnips) but I love the convenience of tossing in pre-cut baby carrots.
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Sunny Paris seasoning (or your favorite salt-free seasoning blend)
  • Red Boat Fish sauce
  • Small green cabbage
  • Rao’s marinara sauce (or any other Paleo-friendly marinara sauce): Again, I choose a high quality store-bought marinara sauce in place of fresh tomatoes because it has already been seasoned and I want to pack on the flavor with minimal effort.
  • Aged balsamic vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Fresh Italian parsley (optional garnish)

How to make slow cooker pork stew

Slice up the onions and smash the garlic cloves…

A shot of thinly sliced white onions on a black cutting board. They will be put into a Whole30-friendly Crock Pot Cheater Pork Stew by Michelle Tam / Nom Nom Paleo https://nomnompaleo.com

…and add them with the carrots to the slow cooker liner. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

A closeup shot of the sliced vegetables seasoned with salt and pepper. They are the base of the Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew from Nom Nom Paleo.

Grab some high quality pork…

A shot of packaged pork shoulder roast (a.k.a. pork butt roast) for Whole30-friendly Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew
Someone removing the butcher twine from a pork shoulder roast to make Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew.

…cut it into uniform cubes…

A metal bowl filled with cubed pork shoulder for Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew.

…and toss with Sunny Paris seasoning (or your favorite salt-free seasoning blend) and fish sauce.

A close-up of spoonful of Sunny Paris Seasoning, that will season Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew

(No Sunny Paris? No problem. Just use an herb blend you like.)

Raw pork shoulder cubes seasoned with Sunny Paris Seasoning.

Add another sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Someone tossing the pork shoulder cubes with the seasoning before placing it in the Crock-Pot

Pile the seasoned pork on top of the onions and carrots…

The seasoned pork shoulder cubes are placed on top of the vegetables in the Crock-Pot or slow cooker.

…and tuck the cabbage wedges on top.

A closeup shot of cabbage wedges that will be added to Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew
A hand is placing cabbage wedges on top of Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew in an open Crock-Pot

Drizzle on the marinara sauce and some more salt and pepper.

Marinara sauce is drizzled on top of the cabbage in the Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew

Put on the lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

When the pork and veggies are fork-tender, adjust the stew for seasoning with  balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir well to distribute the seasoning. Transfer the stew to a serving bowl and if you’re feeling fancy, top the stew with fresh Italian parsley.

An overhead shot of a large white bowl filled with Crock-Pot pork and cabbage stew, a Whole30, keto, and low carb dinner!

I love it when meals cook themselves!

How do you save leftovers?

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.

What do you serve it with?

Some of my favorite veggie side dishes for this stew are Cauliflower Colcannon, Instant Pot Crispy Potatoes, Microwave Spaghetti Squash, Whole Roasted Cauliflower, Roasted Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic, Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

If you’re not paleo, you can serve this pork stew with rice, noodles. or cornbread!


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).


PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew

4.88 from 16 votes
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 10 minutes
Servings 6 servings
My Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew is so easy and delicious! Just toss everything into a Crock-Pot and simmer on low for 8-10 hours. Poof! This Whole30-friendly paleo pork stew will be ready when you get home and it can be prepared in less than 10 minutes!  

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 small onions thinly sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
  • ½ pound baby carrots
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 pounds pork shoulder cut into 1.5 inch cubes or a 4 pound bone-in pork shoulder roast
  • 1 tablespoon  Sunny Paris seasoning  or your favorite seasoning blend
  • 1 tablespoon  Red Boat fish sauce
  • 1 small cabbage cut into 8 wedges
  • 1 cup Marinara sauce or any other Paleo-friendly marinara sauce
  • 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley optional
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Instructions 

  • Slice up the onions and smash the garlic cloves. Add them with the carrots to the slow cooker liner, and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  • Cube the pork and toss with Sunny Paris seasoning and fish sauce. (No Sunny Paris? No problem. Just use an herb blend you like.) Add another sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss to combine.
  • Pile the seasoned pork on top of the onions and carrots, and tuck the cabbage wedges on top. Drizzle on the marinara sauce and some more salt and pepper.
  • Put on the lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
  • When the pork and veggies are fork-tender, adjust the stew for seasoning with  balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Top the stew with fresh Italian parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 10g | Fiber: 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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1 Comment

  1. I am trying your recipe today. I did substitute taco seasoning that I had made, oyster sauce as suggested and homemade marinara sauce. Looking forward to tasting. Sounds really interesting. Thanks.