One Pot Maple Pork Roast is slow cooked all day, bringing out the natural touch of sweetness from the sweet potatoes, apple, onion and real maple syrup! With only 20 minutes of prep time, this melt-in your-mouth Dutch oven roast pork is sure to become one of your winter favorites!
Why We Love It!
- It’s the best winter comfort food! – We love slow braising roasts in our house, and this Dutch oven pork roast is no exception! It’s so comforting to have a one-pot meal cooking away in the oven on a cold winter day. This is a weekend favorite because it takes a little care. You’ll need to cook the pork for about 8 hours, adding in the veggies only for the last 2 hours.
- If you love all-day pot roasts, be sure to try my Simply Perfect Beef Roast and Rich Molasses Braised Beef Roast.
Ingredients
- Pork Roast – Any 2.5 to 3.5 pound pork roast will work for this recipe. A pork roast, such as a pork shoulder, is a tough cut of meat, perfect to slowly braising in the oven all day. After 8 hours, it will be perfectly tender and delicious!
- Beef Stock – This is the braising liquid that the pork will slowly cook in, flavoring and tenderizing the meat.
- Sweet Potato (yam) & Potato – The veggies are added in the last 2 hours of cooking the roast since they need far less cooking time. The natural sugars of the sweet potato, onion, and apple all get sweeter when slow cooked. With help from the maple syrup, the veggies give you a sweet and savory, melt-in-your mouth pork roast! I used 1 sweet potato (yam) along with two smaller red potatoes, but the exact amount is not important. You could use just the sweet potato, or use it in combination with 1 or 2 of any other kind of potato you have.
- Onion – Adds savory flavor and slow roasted sweetness.
- Apple – Adds another touch of sweetness.
- Maple Syrup – Go for real maple syrup over pancake syrup! It marries with the natural sweetness of the potato, onion and apple, deepening the flavor to balance them perfectly with the pork!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 300°. Preheat a dutch oven or large soup pot with a lid over medium high heat and add olive oil. Season the pork roast well with salt and pepper. Sear the meat on all sides in the hot oil. Let it really get a good dark brown color, don’t move it around in the pot, just let it sear! You can pull up the edge with tongs to decide if it’s ready to flip.
Step 2 – When it is fully browned, add the beef stock, cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Let it slowly braise all day, about 6 hours, but pull it out to check and flip it with tongs once or twice during the day. You can add a bit more water or stock if you find it’s drying out or burning. After 6 hours, chop and add veggies and syrup with a pinch of salt and pepper to season them.
Step 3 – Cook 1 hour more and then check and stir, breaking the pork up with tongs a bit.
Step 4 – Cook 1 more hour uncovered (total roasting time is about 8 hours, but can vary by oven). Your one-pot dinner is already full of fruits and vegetables, so just pair dinner with a green salad!
Tips
- Can I make this Dutch oven roast pork in a Crockpot? In a lot of recipes, I’m in favor of a big heavy pot or dutch oven over the crockpot option. Yes, the crockpot gives you the easy, set it and forget it factor. However, at a low temperature, your oven does the same thing. Starting a roast by searing it on the stovetop before slow cooking it in the oven, really deepens the flavor. It gives you that crust, that dark brown color, and that seared-in rich goodness. All that is achieved in the first 10 minutes on the stove top, and then the oven can slowly work its all-day magic. While I love the crockpot, they don’t let you do this. I have not tried this exact recipe in a crockpot, but I have no doubt that it will “work.” You could sear the roast on the stovetop first, or just skip the sear, although you’ll miss out of some of that flavor. If you add the veggies with the pork at the beginning, they will be quite mushy after all day in the crockpot. You can give it a try if you like, but it just won’t be exactly the same.
- Storage Instructions – Store the leftover pork roast in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, reheat in the microwave.
Recipe FAQ’s
Can a dutch oven go in the oven?
Yes! And it should! A dutch oven is a wonderful sturdy bottom pot made of enameled cast iron. It can be used on the stovetop to sear, like this pork roast, and then transfered to the oven to slowly braise. It comes with a tight fitting heavy lid and is so useful in braising!
More Favorite Winter Comfort Foods!
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One Pot Maple Pork Roast
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3.5 pound pork roast
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 15 grinds freshly cracked pepper
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2-3 potatoes I used a combination of 1 sweet potato and 2 smaller red potatoes, chopped in large chunks
- 1 small onion large dice
- 1-2 apples depending on size, large dice
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
- a pinch more salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° convection bake.
- Preheat a dutch oven or large soup pot (with a lid) with olive oil on the stove top over medium high heat.
- Season the pork roast with salt and pepper and sear in the hot oil until browned. Let it really get a good dark brown color, don’t move it around in the pot, just let it sear! You can pull up the edge with tongs to decide if it’s ready to flip.
- When completely seared, add beef stock and cover.
- Roast in oven for 6 hours, turning with tongs once or twice during the day. You can add a bit more water or stock if you find it's drying out or burning (all ovens vary!).
- After 6 hours, chop and add veggies and maple syrup with a pinch of salt and pepper to season them. Cook 1 hour and then check and stir, breaking the pork up with tongs a bit.
- Cook 1 final hour uncovered (total roasting time about 8 hours, but can vary by oven).
- Serve with a green vegetable or salad!
Notes
- Remember ovens can really vary! Check on your roast a couple times during the day and especially in those final 2 hours. If you feel like it’s burning or drying out, you can add a bit more stock or water, or lower the oven temperature a bit.
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