This melt-in-your-mouth pork belly recipe in the slow cooker is infused with garlic & herbs, and it is a whole new level of cooking pork belly! This recipe is incredibly juicy, tender, and super easy to prepare following some simple steps. It is ideal for serving along with veggies, rice, tacos, or wraps, and makes stellar leftovers to eat throughout the week.
I am a big fan of slow cooking recipes because they're a wonderful way of preparing a big batch of food with very little effort. I love the concept of letting the slow cooker (or simply pot on the stovetop) work its magic for hours, while I don't need to be actively cooking. For more slow cooking recipes, you might want to check this slow cooker lamb ragu, this slow-cooked BBQ pulled pork, or this pulled BBQ beef brisket. Yummy! 🤤
Jump to:
- Why you will love this slow cooker pork belly recipe
- Ingredients
- How to make this slow cooker pork belly recipe
- What to serve with this pork belly recipe
- Equipment
- Storage
- How to reheat the pork belly
- Top tips to make the best pork belly slow cooker recipe!
- FAQ's
- More pork recipes you will love!
- Love this recipe? Let's stay connected!
- Melt-In-Your-Mouth Slow Cooker Pork Belly Recipe
- See what other people think about this recipe!
Why you will love this slow cooker pork belly recipe
It is a melt-in-your-mouth recipe that pork lovers will rave about. Get ready for the most tender meat with delicious flavor.
This simple recipe is super easy to make and requires very little active cooking time and minimal effort.
A slow cooker recipe that is super versatile, it can be either served as a main with some veggies or rice, or used as a meat filling for tacos, wraps, or sandwiches.
This recipe makes the most yummy and tender leftovers, honestly! There's nothing better than having a delicious and ready-to-eat dish on the fridge at the end of the day, and this recipe hits the spot.
Ingredients
This slow-cooked pork belly recipe is made with only 7 ingredients (plus salt and pepper!):
- One large piece of pork belly - ask your butcher the thickest piece possible
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh thyme
- Garlic cloves (peeled and diced)
- Ground coriander (optional)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Beef stock (can be substituted for veggie or chicken stock)
- Ground black pepper
- Sea salt
Top tip to simplify the ingredients: Use only one type of herbs and garlic. Use only fresh rosemary or thyme and garlic. No need to use ground coriander either!
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make this slow cooker pork belly recipe
The cooking process for this recipe is super easy following the simple steps below:
Start by preparing the garlic-herbs mixture
Add the diced garlic and herbs to the mortar and pestle and crush. Add the extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground coriander, and keep crushing until they're nicely combined.
Prepare the meat & sear
Using a very sharp knife, make cuts on the skin of the pork belly in a diamond pattern (like in the photo below). The cuts need to be the depth of the whole skin & fat layer. Rub salt & pepper on the whole piece of pork belly.
Heat a large skillet or non-stick pan on high heat with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Sear the pork on all sides until golden brown on the pork belly skin side and dark brown on the other sides. It is super important that all sides (including thinner sides and ends of the pork belly piece) are well seared.
Rub herbs and slow-cook
Add the pork belly piece to the slow cooker. Rub the herbs and garlic mixture along the whole piece of pork belly, spreading very well in between the cuts on the skin side. This will ensure the fat melts with the delicious combination of garlic and herbs and soaks the entire piece while cooking.
The pork belly skin side must end up facing up. Add the beef stock (or veggie/ chicken stock) and a few more herbs to the slow cooker, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
Slice
Once the piece is cooked, you can cut pork belly slices of around 1.5-2cm thick. They're so tender and I promise they will literally melt in your mouth. You're in for a treat.
I usually get rid of the skin of the pork belly, but you could also do crispy skin using the oven grill.
TIP! It's important to leave the pork belly skin side facing up while cooking, so the fat melts with the garlic and herbs mixture and soaks the entire piece of pork belly. Are you drooling already? 🤩
What to serve with this pork belly recipe
This is the perfect recipe to serve at dinner parties or family gatherings, your guests will devore it. Success is guaranteed!
You can serve it sliced or even cut it into smaller pieces depending on what is going to be eaten with. Some suggestions are below:
Serve pork belly slices with some veggies like these Asian-style green beans and cauliflower mash.
Cut the pork belly into smaller pieces and make some yummy tacos. These air fryer peppers in thin slices would work great in the tacos too!
Make a simple meal serving pork belly slices with steamed rice.
Equipment
All you need to make this recipe is...
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Mortar and pestle
- Large skillet or non-stick pan
- Slow cooker
Storage
Store the leftover pork belly in an airtight container for up to 5-6 days in the fridge. This recipe is also suitable for freezing in an airtight container for up to three months.
How to reheat the pork belly
Simply heat on the microwave for a couple of minutes or 5 minutes at 200C/392F in the air fryer.
Top tips to make the best pork belly slow cooker recipe!
My top tip is to sear the meat very well! Just don't skip this step and don't try to rush it either. The skin side needs to end up golden brown and the rest of the sides need to be dark brown. Searing the meat properly will lock in the juices and enhance the delicious flavor of this recipe. Just do it properly 🙂
Skin side must be up in the slow cooker, so the fat melts down through the meat combining with the delicious flavor combo of herbs and garlic.
FAQ's
Cook this pork belly recipe slowly, to allow the pork belly fat to slowly melt and also to break down the tissue, and make the meat extra tender. Make sure to sear the meat before transferring it to the slow cooker though, this is a must.
While it's tempting to just throw the raw pork in the slow cooker to save time, I always recommend searing the pork before putting it in the slow cooker. Searing the meat will help to lock in the juice of the meat and will result in super tender meat (trust me, it's worth the extra effort!).
It is very difficult (nearly impossible) to overcook pork belly on the low setting on the slow cooker. The longer you cook it, the softer it will become, and past some point, the meat will be so soft you can pull it apart.
More pork recipes you will love!
Love this recipe? Let's stay connected!
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Melt-In-Your-Mouth Slow Cooker Pork Belly Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 serving 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Slow-cooking
- Cuisine: Australian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This melt-in-your-mouth slow cooker pork belly recipe infused with garlic & herbs is a whole new level of cooking pork belly! This recipe is incredibly juicy, tender, and super easy to prepare following some simple steps. It is ideal for serving along with veggies, rice, tacos, or wraps, and makes stellar leftovers to eat throughout the week.
Ingredients
- 1.2kg piece of pork belly
- Small handful of fresh rosemary
- Small handful of fresh thyme
- 3 garlic cloves (peeled and diced)
- ¼ tsp of ground coriander (optional)
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil + extra for searing the meat
- ⅕ cup of beef stock (can be substituted for veggie or chicken stock)
- ½ tsp of ground black pepper
- ½ tsp of sea salt
Instructions
- Start by preparing the garlic-herbs mixture: Add the diced garlic and herbs to the mortar and pestle and crush. Add the 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and ground coriander, and keep crushing until they're nicely combined.
- Prepare the meat: Using a very sharp knife, make cuts on the skin of the pork belly in a diamond pattern (see photo in post). The cuts need to be the depth of the whole skin & fat layer. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt & ¼ teaspoon of pepper to the whole piece of pork belly.
- Sear the meat: Heat a large skillet or non-stick pan on high heat with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Sear the pork on all sides until golden brown on the pork belly skin side and dark brown on the other sides. It is super important that all sides (including thinner sides and ends of the pork belly piece) are well seared - see notes below.
- Rub herbs and slow-cook: Add the pork belly piece to the slow cooker. Rub the herbs and garlic mixture along the whole piece of pork belly, spreading very well in between the cuts on the skin side. This will ensure the delicious combination of garlic and herbs soaks the entire piece while cooking. The pork belly skin side must end up facing up. Add the beef stock (or veggie/ chicken stock) and a few more herbs to the slow cooker, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Slice: Once the piece is cooked, you can cut pork belly slices of around 1.5-2cm thick. They're so tender and I promise they will literally melt in your mouth. You're in for a treat.
NOTE! I usually get rid of the skin of the pork belly, but you could also do crispy skin using the oven grill.
Notes
My top tip is to sear the meat very well! Just don't skip this step and don't try to rush it either. The skin side needs to end up golden brown and the rest of the sides need to be dark brown. Searing the meat properly will lock in the juices and enhance the delicious flavor of this recipe. Just do it properly 🙂
MUST DO! It's important to leave the pork belly skin side facing up while cooking, so the fat melts with the garlic and herbs mixture and soaks the entire piece of pork belly. Are you drooling already? 🤩
Top tip to simplify the ingredients: Use only one type of herbs and garlic. Use only fresh rosemary or thyme and garlic. No need to use ground coriander either!
Serving suggestions: serve with some Asian-style green beans and cauliflower mash. Cut in small pieces and make some delicious tacos topped with some air fryer peppers sliced. Serve with steamed rice for an easy dish.
Storage: Store the leftover pork belly in an airtight container for up to 5-6 days in the fridge. This recipe is also suitable for freezing in an airtight container for up to three months.
Clay Young says
Just now put everything in the slow cooker, but even from searing it and covering it in the herb and oil mixture I can tell it's gonna be amazing.
My ONLY "complaint" is I'm not really sure what a small handful of fresh thyme or rosemary is. Is that with the stems? Only the leaves? Whose hands?
Still 5 stars because that's just a skill issue on my part. Hope my girlfriend loves it!
alicia gonzalez tome says
Hi Clay, thanks so much for the comment and your feedback, it made my day 🙂 Fair point about the measure of "handful". It is only the leaves measured on an adult's hand but I now is relative. I will update the post to make it clearer 🙂 Thanks for your feedback as it helps me to improve the post. Would love to hear how much your partner loved it. Thanks a million again.
Heidi says
My family loved this recipe
So easy and tasted delicious!!
I love slow cooking and all the herbs grow in my garden
Thank you for sharing Bites in the Wild it’s a winner
alicia gonzalez tome says
Thanks Heidi glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Skye says
5/5 this dish was easy to make, and everyone enjoyed! Will definitely be making this again
alicia gonzalez tome says
Glad to hear Skye!
Will says
Incredible! You weren’t kidding it is so damn easy.
I’m always impressed by your recipes, you make everything super simple and fun to make. And the best part… They are always so delicious!
Bravo to you Bites in the wild!!
alicia gonzalez tome says
Thankyou Will!
Joe says
Woah this pork belly recipe turned out amazing. It is really easy to make and the meat is incredibly tender, it does melt in your mouth indeed!! Will make it again.