17 Pork Recipes That Range From Quick to Slow-Cooked

Some nights you need dinner on the table in twenty minutes, and other nights the slow cooker can do the work while you’re busy with everything else. These 17 pork recipes are organized around exactly that range, from quick skillet chops and grilled dinners to hands-off slow cooker roasts and ribs that cook for hours. Each one uses a different cut and method, so the active time on your end shifts to match. Pick a fast option for a weeknight scramble, or start a slow cooker pork shoulder before work and walk into a finished dinner.

Slow Cooker Ribs

Sticky with a brown sugar and paprika rub, Slow Cooker Ribs spend four hours in the slow cooker, turning baby back ribs fall-apart tender without any oven babysitting. Barbecue sauce gets brushed on near the end so the glaze stays sticky instead of burning off. Start these before you tackle errands or yard work, since the slow cooker handles everything while you’re elsewhere. They land on the slow end of this list, the kind of dinner that’s basically done by the time you walk back inside.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Ribs

Sweet Asian Style Pork Chops

After a soak in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger sweetened with honey, Sweet Asian Style Pork Chops only need about eight minutes in a hot pan once the marinade has done its work. The recipe makes four servings and leans on pantry staples instead of anything hard to find. Set the chops to soak in the morning or the night before, since dinner itself moves fast once you’re ready to eat. They sit firmly on the quick side of this list once the marinating time is behind you.
Get the Recipe: Sweet Asian Style Pork Chops

Pork Tenderloin

Two whole tenderloins roast under a garlic and paprika rub, and this Pork Tenderloin finishes with a cider vinegar and honey glaze in about 45 minutes total. The glaze caramelizes in the oven, so you get a sticky crust without standing over a pan. This one fits a weeknight when you have under an hour but still want something that looks like more effort than it took. It sits squarely in the middle of the quick-to-slow range here, faster than a slow cooker but slower than a stovetop sear.
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Ham Steaks

Butter, garlic powder, thyme, and paprika build the pan flavor for Ham Steaks, which finish with a maple syrup glaze in just 15 minutes total. The recipe uses two ham steaks, so it scales easily for a quick two-person dinner or a fast lunch. Because the ham is already fully cooked, this is mostly about building flavor in the pan rather than waiting for anything to cook through. It’s one of the fastest options on this list, ready before a side dish would even finish boiling.
Get the Recipe: Ham Steaks

Oven Baked Ribs

With a cumin and smoked paprika rub underneath a ketchup and brown sugar glaze, Oven Baked Ribs spend three hours in the oven and serve four people. Worcestershire sauce and a splash of cider vinegar in the glaze keep the sweetness from tipping into one-note. This sits between the quick skillet dinners and the all-day slow cooker recipes on this list, long enough to walk away from but not an entire afternoon commitment. Plan it for a Sunday when the oven is already on for something else.
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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Pork loin braises for six hours with brown sugar, mustard, and a can of dark beer, and Slow Cooker Pulled Pork makes enough to serve twelve. Bay leaves added to the slow cooker round out the braising liquid before it gets shredded back into the meat. Start it in the late morning for dinner, or set it going before a get-together when you need a big batch without standing at the stove. It’s built for the slow end of this list, rewarding patience over speed.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Grilled Pork Chops

Quick to mix from olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard, the marinade for Grilled Pork Chops works in just 25 minutes total, including time on the grill. Bone-in chops at least an inch thick hold up best to direct heat without drying out. This is a solid pick for a weeknight when the grill is already going for something else, and you want a second protein on it. On a list that ranges from quick to slow, this one lands firmly on the fast end.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Pork Chops

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Under pressure for about an hour, Instant Pot Pulled Pork turns pork shoulder steaks tender using smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder instead of a whole roast. Chicken broth keeps the meat from drying out, and barbecue sauce gets stirred in once it’s shredded. This is the move when you want slow-cooker flavor on a weeknight timeline, since the pressure cooker compresses hours of braising into one. It bridges the gap between this list’s quickest dinners and its longest slow cooker projects.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Boneless chops braise in a sauce of heavy cream and Parmesan, and Slow Cooker Pork Chops need about four hours for the meat to turn fork-tender. Garlic powder and Italian seasoning keep the cream sauce from tasting flat, while a sprinkle of fresh parsley finishes the dish at the table. This one works for a Sunday when you’d rather check on a slow cooker than babysit a skillet. It sits on the slower half of this collection, a hands-off dinner that’s ready when you are.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Chops

Crispy Pork Belly

A scored skin and a simple rub of sea salt and black pepper are all Crispy Pork Belly needs before an hour in the oven turns the fat into a crackling crust. The ingredient list stays short on purpose, just pork belly, oil, salt, and pepper, so the technique does the work instead of a long marinade. This is a weekend project more than a weeknight one, best served sliced thick with something acidic on the side. At an hour total, it sits in the middle of this list’s time range.
Get the Recipe: Crispy Pork Belly

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Rubbed with cumin, oregano, and chili powder, Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas spends five hours breaking down with orange juice, lime juice, and chicken broth in the pot. A quick sear in olive oil at the end crisps up the edges once the meat is shredded. Use it for taco night, piled into bowls, or stuffed into a sandwich, since the citrus keeps the flavor bright instead of one-note. Five hours puts it toward the slower side of this list.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Pulled Pork Sliders

Six hours in the slow cooker turns a pork shoulder roast tender in barbecue sauce, beer, ketchup, and brown sugar, and the result gets piled onto small buns as Pulled Pork Sliders with a quick cumin-spiked coleslaw on top. The slaw comes together in minutes, so the slow cooker carries almost all the actual cook time. These work well for a casual get-together, since the slider format means no plates or forks are required. They land on the slow-cooked end of this list, started in the morning and forgotten for the day.
Get the Recipe: Pulled Pork Sliders

Sweet and Sour Pork

Cubed pork tenderloin gets coated in cornstarch and corn flour before frying, and Sweet and Sour Pork comes together with pineapple and bell peppers in about 35 minutes, start to finish. The fry gives the pork a crisp shell that holds up once it’s tossed in the sauce, instead of going soft. Serve it over rice on a night when you want something with more going on than a plain pork chop. It falls toward the quicker half of this list, doable after work without much advance planning.
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Brown Sugar Ham and Veggies

Halved ham steaks roast alongside sweet potatoes and green beans in a brown sugar, honey, and mustard glaze, and Brown Sugar Ham and Veggies is ready in about 50 minutes on one sheet pan. Rosemary and a touch of Italian seasoning keep the glaze from tasting purely sweet. Since the protein and sides cook together, cleanup stays minimal, which matters most on a weeknight when nobody wants to wash three pans. It sits in the middle range of this list, longer than a skillet dinner but short of anything slow-cooked.
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Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Apple cider vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard build the braising liquid for Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin, which needs four hours to turn two tenderloins fork-tender. A touch of flour stirred in near the end thickens that sauce into something worth spooning over the meat. Fresh ginger and a pinch of red pepper flakes keep the sweetness from taking over. This one belongs with the slow cooker recipes here, started at lunchtime and forgotten until evening.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Thinly sliced potatoes are layered with cubed leftover ham in a cheese sauce built from cheddar and Gruyère, and Scalloped Potatoes and Ham bake for about two hours until the top turns golden. The sauce starts with a basic butter and flour base before milk and heavy cream go in, so it thickens properly instead of staying thin. Make it when you’ve got leftover ham from a holiday and want a different meal out of it. At two hours, it sits between this list’s quick dinners and its slow cooker recipes.
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Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast

Ranch seasoning, au jus gravy mix, butter, and a jar of pepperoncini peppers go into the slow cooker with pork shoulder for Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast, which needs eight hours to fall apart completely. The pepperoncini brine added alongside the peppers keeps the whole thing tangy instead of one-note rich. This is the longest cook time on the list, the kind of recipe you start before you leave for the day and find finished when you get home. Shred it for sandwiches or serve it over rice.
Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast