Slow Cooker Pork and Cabbage Stew

Pork and Cabbage Stew is comfort food that will hug you from the inside out. It cooks for hours in the slow cooker while you go about your day.

There are just some days that you want your dinner cooked low and slow with the delicious aroma being allowed to permeate the house all day long. 

I found this recipe in the Taste Of Home cookbook called "Best-loved Recipes" ( page 617) and wound up doctoring it more to my liking as the day wore on.

The prep time on this recipe takes approximately 15 minutes before you can add all your ingredients to the slow cooker, but after that, it only calls for a stir here and there.

Then, about an hour before serving, the addition of a few simple ingredients (just to give the stew just a little zip) will delight your taste buds and make you go back for seconds.

In my rough estimation, you don't have to feel guilty about that either because I think this is a relatively healthy stew with very little fat and packed full of veggies!  You be the judge...

PORK AND CABBAGE STEW      {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
Adapted from Taste Of Home  
Serves 6-8


2 boneless pork chops (about an inch thick) cut into 1-2" cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1 medium red onion (sliced)
1 small head cabbage, cored and sliced
4-5 medium red potatoes, cut into 1-2" cubes
4-5 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" rounds
1 ½ cups apple cider
2 cans of cream of celery soup (undiluted)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

-In a large skillet over medium/high heat brown the pork cubes well. Season with salt and pepper.
-In the bottom of your slow cooker, layer ½ of the onion, ½ of the cabbage, the carrots, and the red potatoes. Season each layer with a bit of salt and pepper.
-Add the browned pork.
-Layer the remaining onion and cabbage over the pork.
-In the same skillet that you browned the pork, over medium/low heat, add the apple cider (scraping up the browned bits in the bottom of the skillet), the cream of celery soup, garlic, caraway seeds, and additional salt and pepper.
-Whisk until all the ingredients are well combined.
-Remove from heat and pour the mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
-Cover and set the cooker to high and allow to cook for approximately 3-4 hours.
-Remove the lid and stir the stew to combine all the layers.
-Replace the lid and turn the cooker down to low.
-Allow the stew to continue cooking for an additional 2-3 hours.
-About an hour before serving, add the butter, vinegar, and brown sugar and stir well to combine.
-Leaving the cover off, turn the slow cooker back to high and allow some of the liquid to evaporate and thicken before serving.
-Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with some crusty bread to sop up the yummy broth!

There...you've just been hugged! I hope you could feel it! 🙂