I saw this recipe awhile back on the Pioneer Woman’s site for a pork roast with apples and onions. It really looked delicious, but then again, just about everything she makes looks amazing.

This was super easy to make and I cooked it in the crock pot rather then on the stove. You can do either. I changed up my recipe just a little to adjust it for the crock pot and that is the recipe I use below.

The one issue I had was that I had forgotten to buy the wild rice mix that she recommended serving with this dish. All I had was plain long grain white rice. I panicked for a second because I knew I couldn’t serve this masterpiece with regular old rice, so I came up with a new recipe that ended up being perfect with this.

Sweet and Savory Pork Roast

• 3-3.5 lb pork roast (my son loves to just yell out PORK BUTT in the store)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 apples, cored and sliced
• 2 sweet onions, sliced
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp butter

Heat butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add in your onions and some salt and pepper and saute for about 10-15 minutes until they get a little caramelized.

At this point you can add in your apples and cook them for a few minutes with the onions if you want to. I added mine in there for just a few minutes.

While your cooking the onions, in another skillet, add in 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and let it get hot. Generously salt and pepper your pork roast on all sides.

Then put it in your pan and sear it on all sides to give it a nice color.

Put 1/2 of the apples and onion mixture in the crock pot and add the roast. I used Better Than Bouillon for my beef broth, so in a small bowl I mixed 1 1/2 tsp of that with one cup of water and used a whisk to combine it. I then added in 1 cup of apple juice and gave it a another stir. Pour this mixture into the crock pot and then top with the remaining apples and onions and your bay leaves.  I cooked this for about 4 hours on high.

When the roast has about 30 minutes left of cooking time, you can start your rice.

Apple and Balsamic Rice

• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped

In a large skillet with a lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add in the dry rice and stir  until rice is coated with the butter. Then add in your apple juice, water and balsamic vinaigrette and stir until well mixed. Cover and let cook for 18-20 minutes. When rice is cooked, add in the chopped pecans and stir until combined.

When the roast is finished cooking, remove it from the crock pot and cut it into pieces. Mine was so tender it just fell right off the bone. Place the meat on a serving platter, top with all the apples and onions and spoon over the sauce.

Serve over the rice and enjoy!