This slow cooker pork belly and cabbage is rich, savory, and made with just four ingredients. The pork turns fork-tender while the cabbage cooks down in all those salty, peppery drippings. You’re going to love how easy it is to set up and let the slow cooker do the work.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just four ingredients — pork belly, cabbage, salt, and pepper are all you need.
- Fork-tender pork belly — the slow cooker gently renders the pork until it is melt-in-your-mouth tender.
- Flavorful cabbage — the cabbage cooks down soft, sweet, and glossy in the pork drippings.
- Easy hands-off dinner — prep it early, then let the slow cooker handle the rest.
- Perfect with simple sides — serve with potatoes, buttered noodles, or crusty bread to soak up the juices.
Ingredient Notes
Pork belly is the star, so buy the best-looking piece you can find. You want pork belly with a nice balance of meat and fat; don’t choose one that is mostly solid white fat, but please don’t trim it bare either. The cabbage needs those drippings. That is the whole point. Try our Slow Cooker Corned Beef next.
If the skin is still attached, remove it at home with a sharp knife. It can get a little slippery and annoying. If skinless pork belly is available, use that.
Green cabbage is what you want here—not red cabbage, not Napa, not one of those cute little bags of shredded coleslaw mix. We need thick wedges or broad ribbons that can survive a long cook without disappearing entirely. If you like this, you'll love our Irish Bacon, Cabbage, and Potato Soup.
For salt, use kosher salt. Diamond Crystal works well, though Morton’s works too; it is a touch saltier by volume, so don’t get heavy-handed. And freshly ground black pepper really does make a difference. The pre-ground stuff is fine in a pinch, but it can taste like it has been sitting in a cabinet for far too long.
Ingredients
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork belly, skin removed if attached, cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick slabs
- 1 medium head green cabbage, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds, cored and sliced into thick wedges or wide ribbons
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste if needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste if needed
Instructions
Remove any tough, tired-looking outer cabbage leaves—I swear cabbage always has at least one leaf that looks personally offended to be there. Core the cabbage, then cut it into thick wedges or wide ribbons. Keep the pieces fairly large because they will soften a great deal during cooking, and tiny shreds can go from tender to sad in a hurry.
Pat the pork belly slabs dry with paper towels. This is not the glamorous part, but it helps the salt and pepper cling to the meat instead of sliding around like they have someplace better to be.
Sprinkle the pork belly all over with the 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, rubbing the seasoning in lightly with your hands. It may seem almost too simple, but the long cook concentrates everything. Don’t add other seasonings if you want that pure pork-and-cabbage flavor.
Arrange the sliced cabbage in an even layer in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. It will probably mound above the rim a little at first, especially if your cabbage was on the large side. That’s fine. Put the lid on as best you can; within an hour or two, it will settle down. For another easy option, see our Chicken Chow Mein with the Best Chow Mein Sauce.
Lay the seasoned pork belly slabs in a single layer on top of the cabbage, fitting them snugly without piling them too much on top of each other. You want the pork fat to render down over as much cabbage as possible. This is one of those times when gravity is your helpful little kitchen assistant.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork belly is very tender when pierced with a fork and the cabbage is soft, wilted, and glossy with rendered fat and juices. LOW gives everything a gentler, silkier texture, but HIGH absolutely works on a busy day.
If you want crisp, caramelized edges on the pork belly—and I strongly recommend it, though I do not always bother—carefully lift the cooked slabs out with tongs and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spoon a little of the slow cooker juices and rendered fat over the top. Broil on the top rack for 3 to 6 minutes, watching like a hawk. Pork belly goes from browned and beautiful to blackened disappointment faster than you’d think.
While the pork belly is under the broiler, toss the cabbage around in the slow cooker so all those soft leaves get coated in the juices. Taste it, then add a pinch more salt or pepper if it needs it. Sometimes it does, sometimes it really doesn’t—pork belly has a mind of its own.
Spoon a generous bed of cabbage onto plates or a warm serving platter. Top with the crisped pork belly slabs, then spoon a little extra juice over everything. Serve hot with potatoes, noodles, or plenty of bread for mopping up the good stuff.
Variations
Finish each serving with a squeeze of lemon, which technically adds another ingredient, but it works beautifully at the table. A splash of vinegar works beautifully too, especially if you find the pork belly very rich. Apple cider vinegar is nice, though plain white vinegar will do the job without making a big production of itself.
You can also use smoked black pepper if you want a slightly smokier, bacon-ish flavor while keeping the ingredient list basically the same. Paprika is not bad, exactly, but it covers up the simple savory flavor that makes this dish what it is. Sometimes you should leave well enough alone.
If you need to stretch the meal, add extra cabbage underneath the pork belly. The same pork and seasoning will flavor it surprisingly well. You might also like our 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Bacon and Cabbage.
If you enjoy cabbage, Hungarian Cabbage and Noodles pairs it with wide egg noodles after cooking it in butter until golden.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days in a covered container. Store the pork belly and cabbage together with some of the juices so nothing dries out. That little puddle of fat and broth may look alarming when it firms up in the fridge, but once reheated, it turns back into the lovely savory coating you want.
For the microwave, cover loosely and heat in short bursts until hot. If the cabbage seems dry, add a spoonful of water before reheating. You can also warm it in a covered skillet over low heat with a splash of water.
The pork belly will not stay crisp after refrigeration, naturally. You can broil or pan-sear the pork for a few minutes after reheating if you want those browned edges back.
Final Notes
This is not delicate food. It is not light food. It is rich, savory, and meant for nights when a comforting dinner is exactly what is needed. Try our Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad next.
On a cold evening, with the windows going dark early and a pile of dishes waiting in the sink, it has a way of making dinner feel settled. The slow cooker hums, the cabbage turns glossy and soft, and the pork belly practically melts. If you like this, you'll love our Slow Cooker Ground Beef Chow Mein.
Not fancy. Just good.
Slow Cooker Savory Cabbage Pork Belly
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Ingredients
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork belly skin removed if attached; cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick slabs
- 1 medium head green cabbage about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds; cored and sliced into thick wedges or wide ribbons
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more to taste if needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste if needed
Instructions
- Remove any tough outer cabbage leaves, core the cabbage, and cut it into thick wedges or wide ribbons, keeping the pieces fairly large.
- Pat the pork belly slabs dry with paper towels.
- Sprinkle the pork belly all over with the kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, rubbing the seasoning in lightly with your hands.
- Arrange the sliced cabbage in an even layer in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.
- Lay the seasoned pork belly slabs in a single layer on top of the cabbage, fitting them snugly without piling them too much on top of each other.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the pork belly is very tender when pierced with a fork and the cabbage is soft, wilted, and glossy with rendered fat and juices.
- For crisp, caramelized edges, carefully lift the cooked pork belly slabs out with tongs, place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, spoon a little slow cooker juice and rendered fat over the top, and broil on the top rack for 3 to 6 minutes while watching closely.
- While the pork belly is under the broiler, toss the cabbage in the slow cooker so the leaves are coated in the juices, then taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
- Spoon a generous bed of cabbage onto plates or a warm serving platter, top with the pork belly slabs, and spoon a little extra juice over everything before serving hot.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nutrition values are estimates based on the listed ingredients and serving count. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion sizes.
