Recently, I hosted a 7-day free crockpot group, and while I’m seriously obsessed with every single one of the recipes I shared, I wanted to explore some new options for future groups! Many of my past challengers like to come back and participate in groups the second or third time around and I love being able to give them something new!
If you’d like to join one of these free groups click here and shoot me a message!
I came across a slow cooker recipe for pork that sounded: 1) easy and 2) delicious.
Sounds like a win-win, right?! As I’ve told you before, crockpots are a TOTAL lifesaver for me as a busy, working mom of a 2.5-year-old daughter and a 14-month-old son. On the days I work in a clinic as a Nurse Practitioner I’m working 10-hour shifts. So, having dinner ready when I come home is pretty much the best gift I could give myself! Meal prepping and planning has saved me so much and certainly decreases my stress level during the workweek.
Check out this delicious slow cooker pumpkin chili I shared not too long ago.
I find it hard to find really good pork recipes. Anyone else?
It seems as though there are a TON of fantastic chicken recipes out there, but when it comes to pork tenderloin, I’ve only found few that I love (and are healthy). But this one sounded perfect!
What was the recipe? Slow Cooker Maple Pork Tenderloin!
I was a bit worried though, as the recipe called for arrowroot powder, something I had never tried but I know I’ve seen it in a lot in recent recipes before. So, I decided to give it a whirl! I ordered the arrowroot powder from Amazon, picked up the rest of the ingredients, and got to work.
Well, not much work as the recipe is really simple to follow. In fact, I have to admit that I didn’t do any of the work except picking out the recipe and grocery shopping! I am enrolled in a course right now and was in the middle of an assignment yesterday when I realized we needed to get the crockpot going if we wanted to eat dinner at a decent hour! So, I asked my wonderful husband if he wouldn’t mind getting the crockpot going. So, yes, I have HIM to thank for the amazing pork we had. It. Was. AMAZING.
Many have asked what arrowroot powder is...
Only a very small amount is used at the end of this maple tenderloin recipe to thicken the sauce. It is a great gluten-free option to use in place of cornstarch, or even flour. Perfect for my low FODMAPs diet, why haven’t I tried it before? I have no idea!
This article explains arrowroot well.
If you’re not gluten intolerant and you don’t want to run out to the health food store or order arrowroot powder on Amazon like I did, you can always swap it out for cornstarch or flour (us the conversions below)! But if you’d like to try using arrowroot powder, here’s the link to the one I purchased.
Substitutes for arrowroot powder as a thickener:
Cornstarch: use 1 tbsp cornstarch for every 2 tsp arrowroot powder.
Flour: use 1 tbsp flour for every 1 tsp arrowroot powder.
Our dinner was intended to be ready at half-time of the University of Washington Husky game (Go Dawgs!). I paired the pork with cauliflower buffalo bites, they seemed fitting for a game day, but so much healthier! And of course, my absolute favorite carb: sweet potato!
Here are the pork and cauliflower recipes. However, another option for a delicious veggie side, is a maple roasted veggie dish, that I plan to share in another blog as it was so delicious. Feel free to email me if you’d like that one, too!
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 chopped sweet onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and chopped*
- 2 lbs boneless pork tenderloin
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp Bragg's amino acids
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, coat with olive oil and add garlic, onion, and jalapeño peppers. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
- Add tenderloin and sear on all sides, 2-3 minutes time total. Place tenderloin and veggies into the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl mix together maple syrup, Bragg's amino acid, mustard, and vinegar. Pour sauce on top of the tenderloin.
- Set your slow cooker to low. Cook for 4-6 hours (we did 5 hours and it was perfect!!!) or until fork tender and cooked through. If using two smaller tenderloins it may cook only 4 hours, if you have one large tenderloin it could take up to 6 hours.
- Place arrowroot starch in a bowl and mix with 2 tbsp water. Pour into the slow cooker and let thicken for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Slice or shred the tenderloin and serve immediately with sauce.
- If you would like more spice to this recipe, feel free to keep the seeds in the jalapeño. The spice is mild but can be enhanced with seeds.
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
- Olive oil to drizzle
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 2/3 cup* Frank's RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce (or other wing sauce)
- 1 gallon or larger size plastic bag
- Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
- Place cauliflower florets into a plastic bag. Drizzle olive oil over florets to barely coat.
- Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Close bag and toss ingredients around so all florets are coated.
- Place on greased (I used coconut oil spray) cookie sheet or baking pan and bake on middle rack for 15 minutes, turning florets once during baking. Check them at the 10-minute mark for desired tenderness. You don't want them to be soggy!
- Remove florets from the oven. Melt coconut oil on the stovetop (or microwave as needed). Add hot sauce to oil. Toss cauliflower and stir to cover all florets with hot sauce. Start with about half the sauce and add more to your taste.
- Return to oven and cook for additional 5 minutes.
- You can use less Frank’s if you don’t want it as spicy.
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