This slow cooker creamy garlic pork tenderloin is rich, cozy, and incredibly easy to make. Tender pork cooks in a creamy garlic Alfredo sauce with just a few minutes of prep. You’re going to love it over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, rice, or cauliflower rice.
Why You’ll Love It
- Minimal prep — whisk the sauce, pour it over the pork, and let the slow cooker do the work.
- Tender pork — pork tenderloin cooks until it pulls apart easily with a fork.
- Creamy garlic sauce — Alfredo sauce, garlic, and Italian seasoning create a rich, familiar flavor.
- Few dishes — the sauce comes together in one bowl or measuring cup.
Ingredient Notes
Use pork tenderloin here, not a big pork loin roast. Tenderloin usually comes packaged as one or two smaller pieces, and either is fine as long as you have about two pounds total. If there are two, lay them alongside each other and tuck those skinny little tail ends underneath. They cook more evenly that way, and it keeps the ends from getting overly done.
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For the Alfredo sauce, use a 15- to 16-ounce jar from the shelf. Choose one that tastes good on pasta. This is not the moment for a jar that tastes like wallpaper paste. A classic Alfredo works especially well rather than a roasted garlic or four-cheese version, since the recipe includes garlic and seasoning.
Low-sodium chicken broth matters more than you might think. Alfredo sauce can be salty already, and so can Parmesan if you add it later. Add more salt at the end if needed; dinner cannot be un-salted. A potato is not a tiny salt sponge with a college degree.
Fresh garlic is wonderful, but garlic powder works just fine when fresh garlic has gone soft in the crisper drawer.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin, 1 or 2 pieces
- 1 (15- to 16-ounce) jar Alfredo sauce, whatever kind your family likes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder if that’s what you’ve got
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a little more later if it needs it
Instructions
- Place the pork tenderloin in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. If you have two smaller tenderloins, lay them side by side and tuck the thinner ends underneath a bit so they don’t overcook before the thicker part catches up. Nothing dramatic—just fold them gently under themselves.
- In a medium bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the Alfredo sauce, chicken broth, minced garlic or garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt until it looks smooth. A measuring cup works well because it has a pour spout and avoids washing one extra bowl. Small victories.
- Pour the Alfredo mixture evenly over the pork tenderloin. Nudge some sauce down around the sides with a spoon if the top of the pork is sitting up above it too much. It does not need to be completely submerged like it’s taking a bath, but it should be mostly covered.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until the pork is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork. Start checking toward the early end of the range because slow cookers are all a little peculiar.
- Transfer the cooked pork to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. While it rests, stir the sauce in the slow cooker. If it looks a little separated or oily around the edges, whisk it for a few seconds. It should come back together into a creamy sauce.
- Slice or shred the pork, whichever suits your mood. Loosely shredded pork catches more of that sauce, though pretty slices are nice for serving. Return the pork to the slow cooker and gently toss it with the warm creamy garlic sauce.
- Taste the sauce and add another pinch of salt if it needs it. Serve hot with plenty of sauce spooned over mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, rice, or cauliflower rice. Green beans or roasted broccoli work well alongside it.
Variations
For a richer sauce, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan during the last 15 minutes of cooking. It gives the sauce a little more depth and makes it especially good over noodles.
For some heat, add 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes to the Alfredo mixture before it goes over the pork. Adjust according to heat tolerance.
A lighter Alfredo sauce and part milk in place of the chicken broth makes a lighter-tasting sauce. Serve it over cauliflower rice for a lighter option.
You can also tuck 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms or 1 cup baby carrots around the pork before adding the sauce. Broccoli added at the beginning can turn the color of an old army jacket. Tasted fine, looked terrible. Add broccoli separately, roast it, steam it, whatever—just don’t make it sit in there all afternoon unless you enjoy sad vegetables.
If the sauce seems too thin at the end, remove the pork and whisk together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water. Stir that slurry into the sauce, cook on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes until thickened, then add the pork back in. This works especially well with a thinner brand of sauce.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a covered container. Keep the pork tucked down into the sauce if possible; it stays moister that way. Reheat individual portions in the microwave at about 50 percent power, stirring the sauce once or twice, because blasting creamy sauces on high can create a strange broken look. It still tastes okay, but it’s not exactly something to photograph.
For a bigger portion, warm it gently in a covered skillet over low heat, adding a small splash of chicken broth if the sauce has tightened up in the fridge. The pork is also very good piled into toasted rolls for a creamy garlic pork sandwich.
Freezing is not recommended. Creamy jarred sauces can separate after freezing.
Final Notes
There’s something about a slow cooker dinner that feels comforting. The house smells like something has been cooking all day, even though the prep takes only about ten minutes.
Serve it with noodles or potatoes, and mop up the sauce with warm bread.
Slow Cooker Creamy Garlic Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin Use 1 or 2 pieces; if using two, lay them side by side and tuck the thinner ends underneath.
- 1 jar Alfredo sauce 15- to 16-ounce jar; use whatever kind your family likes.
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic Minced; or use 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder.
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Add a little more later if needed.
Instructions
- Place the pork tenderloin in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. If using two smaller tenderloins, lay them side by side and tuck the thinner ends underneath so they cook evenly.
- In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the Alfredo sauce, chicken broth, minced garlic or garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt until smooth.
- Pour the Alfredo mixture evenly over the pork tenderloin, nudging some sauce down around the sides so the pork is mostly covered.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until the pork is very tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
- Transfer the cooked pork to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the sauce in the slow cooker until it comes back together into a creamy sauce.
- Slice or shred the pork, return it to the slow cooker, and gently toss it with the warm creamy garlic sauce.
- Taste the sauce and add another pinch of salt if needed. Serve hot with sauce spooned over mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, rice, or cauliflower rice.
