Thick and creamy pork stew made easily right in the slow cooker. The perfect comfort food served all on its own or with biscuits.
Alright, so I’ve had a pork shoulder sitting in my freezer for like, a month.
Okay, maybe two months, to be honest.
Three tops.
For crying out loud, it’s probably been in there for like 6 months, I honestly have no idea. Basically, this Sunday, my internal clock told me that I’d have to use this gosh darn pork meat now or never. (Yeah man. I have an internal clock for frozen pieces of pork.)
How long does pork last in the freezer?
- Cooked or uncooked pork can last in the freezer for 6-8 months.
…Okay. So I was still safe. But it was now or never and I knew it.
I wasn’t really in the mood for experimentation, so I decided to turn to my trusty stand-by stew recipe. Also known as my crock pot creamy chicken stew. (It’s one of my most popular recipes on the blog, ever.) But in this case, I was going to use my trusty pork shoulder instead of chicken. You have probably gathered that by now. So I chucked the necessities into my new Crock Pot (that you can actually put on the stovetop to sear things before you slow cook), and I called it a day. It was time to do something fun and wait for dinner to cook itself.
What cut of pork meat is best for stew?
- Pork Shoulders are the best for slow cooking and for putting in stews.
- Pork Belly can be used in stews, but given it’s high fat content, strip some of the extra fat away first.
- Pork Cheek can also be used and is good for slow cooking. (It’s an underrated cut and very inexpensive.)
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Slow Cooker Pork Stew
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb. uncooked pork shoulder, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 red potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1 cup baby carrots, halved
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup whole milk*
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 oz. packet dry ranch dressing mix
- Salt/pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Parsley flakes
Instructions
- Melt the butter on the bottom of the crock pot.
- Add all of the vegetables on top and stir to coat with the butter.
- Salt/Pepper the diced pork as desired and add to the crock pot.
- Mix together the soup, milk, sour cream and ranch dressing mix. Temper the mixture by heating it for 30 seconds in the microwave.
- Pour the mixture on top of the pork.
- Cover the crock pot and cook on low for approximately 6-8 hours**, or until the potatoes are soft and pork is cooked through. Low and slow is the best with milk and dairy products.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve, (preferably with biscuits!)
This stew was delicious! I made it gluten free by substituting the cream of chicken soup with gluten free creamy mushroom soup. Thank you for the great recipe!
I’m so happy you were able to make this gluten free Anita! Thanks so much for the great review!😃
Does Slow Cooker Pork Stew freeze well? I have had issues with freezing stews containing dairy. Thanks!
Hi Weldon, I have frozen it before and enjoyed it but the consistency is thinner and not quite the same once reheated.
My friend made this and shared with my family and me, It was AWESOME!! So creamy and full of flavor!
I did notice one commenter said she used 2% milk instead of whole, which is one question we had, and that same commenter said one time she cooked it on High for 4 hours, which also answered our question about that! I’m so grateful she posted her comment.
We were wondering if this can be made in an instant pot, or adapted to be made in one.
Hi Shelley! Here are Instant Pot instructions:
Instant Pot Method
Set the Instant Pot to Saute Mode and add the butter, olive, oil and vegetables. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup chicken broth and scrape up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Season the pork with salt and pepper. Add it to the pot.
Place the lid on the pot and ensure the pressure release valve is sealed. Hit Cancel, then hit Pressure Cook and set the timer for 8 minutes. When the time is up, flip the quick release valve.
Open the lid and switch to Soup mode.
Combine cream of chicken soup, and Ranch seasoning. Add HALF of the milk and HALF of the sour cream.
Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes and serve!
Note: Only add the additional 1/2 cup of milk and sour cream if you prefer more broth.
Awesome! Thank you so much for your reply and the Instant Pot instructions. I can’t wait to try this in my instant cooker and to share the recipe with family and friends.
You’re very welcome! I can’t wait for you to try it as well!
Hi, may I substitute cream of mushrooms instead of using cream of chicken?
You sure can! 🙂 And feel free to try my homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup that I just published as well. Have a great day and enjoy the soup! -Stephanie
Thank you for the prompt reply as I am fixing this for dinner tonight. Hope it turns out as awesome as it sounds!! I’ll come back and rate after tonight.
Oh, WOW, was this good. My family really enjoyed it – said it was very yummy. I’ll make this again for my family. Next time, however, I think I will add peas and fresh mushrooms (to go with the cream of mushroom soup that I used instead of chicken).
I’m so glad the family enjoyed it Carol! I think adding peas and mushrooms would be yummy!😋
Im hoping to use this with pork loin leftovers. Im assuming since the juices from the pork during cooking wont mix with the wet ingredients, would you add a little broth? How would you recommend adjusting?
Hi Amanda! I would just use the Pork loin as instructed, I think it would be fine as-is without making any modifications.
Can I use regular ranch dressing instead
Hi Carrie, I think this would take on a bit of a different flavor, I haven’t tried it this way before!
Could you use a pork loin. i have one of those that the clock is ticking on lol
Yes you definitely could! ENJOY!!!
Would you cook the pork whole then cut it up or cut it before you place it in the crock pot?
Hey Nat! I would cut the uncooked pork into cubes before adding it to the Crock Pot! 🙂
cool! thanks so much ill let you know how it goes😊
I like how the first mention of bacon is literally in step 7. No where in the ingredients does it say bacon.
Hi Jared, you can disregard that mention of bacon, that got carried over from the chicken stew that I make, which I garnish with bacon. I dont garnish the pork version with it though.
I’ve made this twice and I love it! Both times, I used 2% milk instead of whole milk and the second time I made it, I cooked it on HIGH for 4 hours instead of LOW. I’ve also found that thick center-cut chops, cut into bite-sized pieces, cook up very nicely in the slow cooker. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Hi Suzanne! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this Pork Stew!!! 🙂 That totally makes my day. Thank you for taking the time to rate and comment! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your “tweaking”
of this recipe. I was wondering if you could use 2% milk, instead of whole milk, and I was also wondering if you could cook it on high, instead of low, when pressed for time, so your review helped me.
When using 2% milk, was it still creamy?
When you cooked it on high, did you have trouble with the dairy products curdling, also was the pork still really tender?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi Shelley! I know that this comment was intended for Suzanne but I just wanted to caution you against using 2% milk and I would definitely advise against cooking it on high unless you reserve the dairy and add that at the very end over very low heat.