We made this dish for our kids a couple weeks ago, slow cooking on a hot Saturday while we were out hiking all day. I was able to quickly brown the pork and throw everything into the crockpot while Jeff packed up our hiking gear. And when we returned to the house, we were greeted by the delicious aroma of pork stewing in a sweet savory gravy.
Our noses did not deceive us. This dish tastes as good as it smells. It retains all of the good flavors of traditional breaded sweet and sour pork, without the fat and calories. Hubby and the kids all agreed that this recipe is a total keeper.
Serve this over rice, with a side of stir fry vegetables or steamed broccoli for a complete meal.
Healthy Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork
Weight Watchers Info: 8 PointsPlus per serving (pork mixture only, 1 cup)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1-1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch strips
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium green pepper, chopped
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
- Hot cooked rice, optional
Instructions
- Place paprika in a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat.
- In a nonstick skillet, brown pork in oil in batches over medium-high heat. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker.
- Drain pineapple, reserving juice; refrigerate the pineapple. Add the pineapple juice, onion, green pepper, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt to slow cooker; mix well.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
- Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Add pineapple. Cover and cook 30 minutes longer or until sauce is thickened.
- Serve over rice if desired.
This is delicious. My husband raved about it and he is usually not a fan of sweet and sour. I added 1/4 tsp cayenne and 1 tsp ginger, used 1/3 cup rice vinegar, a little more brown sugar, 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice (used fresh pineapple so had no juice) and deglazed the pan after browning the pork with about 2/3 cup chicken stock and added that to the pot. Flavor was fresh and truly sweet and sour, the pork melted in your mouth. Thanks for a keeper!
Those sound like great modifications! I especially like the cayenne and ginger additions….