Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles
Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles has rattled the leftover routine in our household.
I dedicate a significant portion of my mental energy to our leftover food. Nothing breaks my heart quite like tomatoes that fuzz on our counter or forgotten soup that wastes away in the back of our refrigerator. I’m constantly surveying its shelves like a vigilante, silently portioning our food into two distinct categories: food I can convince Ben to pack for lunch and everything else.
This Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles is a prime example of Ben take-to-work lunch food. It’s easy to pack, can be reheated in a microwave, and he loved it the first time around. Our usual meal routine is that we enjoy a stir fry like this for dinner, then I generously bequeath him the leftovers to pack for lunch—actually, I forcibly insist that he pack them and scour his bag for the empty Tupperware to ensure he ate them. I assign myself the “everything else” to repurpose into meals at home throughout the week. It was a good system—until this Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles entered the equation.
This Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles recipe makes a generous amount, and the leftovers might have kept Ben fed for lunch most of the week…but I wasn’t willing to share them all. Instead of my giving them to Ben, we battled each other on our way to the fridge the next morning, forks extended, straining to fill our individual plastic containers with leftovers before the other had a chance to steal them all. This stir fry, with its fragrant, garlicky peanut sauce, the sweet tang of hoisin, the juiciness of the pork, all laced around long and tender peanut noodles—it was just too good to miss having a second time. Or a third. In fact, I’m making it again over the weekend.
In addition to being spear-your-spouse-with-a-fork-delectable, this Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles is a weeknight dinner winner. Frozen veggies keep the prep fast, the pork cooks in one piece in the slow cooker (no browning required), and the sauce boasts complex flavor from simple ingredients. For the sauce, I was originally planning to stick with only hoisin, garlic, and soy sauce, but then I took a tip from this marriage-proposal Chicken Stir Fry with Thai Peanut Sauce and decided to incorporate peanut butter too.
Whenever possible, I prefer to use natural peanut butter, which contains only peanuts and salt, as opposed to the hydrogenated oils and/or added sweeteners found in many products, including ones that tout themselves as “natural”—check your ingredient label. Though natural peanut butter is a bit more expensive, there are still affordable options. I’ve had wonderful luck with Simply Roundy’s organic peanut putter. It’s just as tasty and creamy as the name brand for a fraction of the price, and the rest of the Simply Roundy’s organic line offers excellent value as well. (I used the Simply Roundy’s organic frozen veggies in this Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles too.) Wisconsin shoppers: you can find Simply Roundy’s products at Pick ‘N Save, and Roundy’s-affiliated stores in other states may carry them also.
If you need me, I’ll be hiding in the corner with my secret container of Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles.
Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles
A healthy slow cooker pork stir fry in a sweet and tangy peanut sauce, served over peanut noodles. Great for weeknights, entertaining, and leftovers too!
Yield: Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1.25 to 1.5 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat*
- 5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, divided
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce, divided*
- 3 tablespoons Roundy's Simply organic creamy peanut butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 8 ounces whole grain pasta noodles or rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 32 ounces Simply Roundy's organic frozen stir fry vegetables, thawed
- 1 cup shelled edamame, fresh or frozen thawed
- 1 cup sliced green onions (white and green parts)
- 1/2 cup dry roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped, plus additional for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus additional for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, if you like a little heat)
Directions:
- Place the pork tenderloin in the bottom of a 4-to-6-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 2 tablespoons hoisin, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, ginger, and garlic. Pour over the tenderloin, spreading it over the surface with the back of a spoon. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, until cooked through (time will vary based upon your slow cooker—mine tends to cook meat very quickly). Remove the pork to a large plate, reserving the cooking liquid. Let rest for 10 minutes, then shred with two forks or your fingers.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente, according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain and set aside, tossing with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- In a wide, deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high. Add the stir fry vegetables and edamame, and cook until hot and lightly crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Spoon any peanut butter sauce still left in the slow cooker into the skillet, along with the reserved cooking liquid, avoiding any excess fat that you can scoop away easily. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, and rice vinegar. Whisk and cook for 1 minute, then add the reserved pork, cooked noodles, cooked vegetables, green onions, peanuts, cilantro, and red pepper flakes (if using), then toss gently to combine. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little bit of reserved pasta water as needed to loosen it. Serve topped with additional chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.
*Pork tenderloin is very lean, and thus will cook more quickly in your slow cooker (2 to 3 hours, depending upon your particular model). If you prefer to let the meat cook for longer, I suggest using pork loin or pork shoulder, both of which have a higher fat content and thus can withstand longer cooking times without becoming dry. Chicken thighs would be an excellent choice too.
*Hoisin sauce is available at most grocery store in the Asian foods section.
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About Erin Clarke
I’m fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food taste incredible. Wearer of plaid, travel enthusiast, and firmly convinced that sweets and veggies both deserve a place at the table. MORE ABOUT ERIN…
Peanut noodles are where it’s at. That would be the best lunch! It’s really nice of you and very responsible to pack lunches. I’m very bad at that!
Girrlllllll!!! This is one of my favs. I’m seriously drooling now.
These are exactly the kind of leftovers my husband likes to take to work, and he’s as big of a fan of peanut sauce as I am. I think all of that means that I need to make this…like, this week.
Yeahhhh, this looks less like leftovers and more like a meal I want to make over and over. Peanuts and pasta is a kick ass combo in my book :)
I can’t believe this was made in the slow cooker. It’s so simple and incredibly flavorful. Love it!
What a winner! I was just trying to think of what to make for Father’s Day; this fits the bill (and won’t heat up the kitchen)! Sounds divine; can’t wait to make it. Thanks Erin!
Thank you Laurie! I hope you love it :-)
Yummy!! This sounds oh so good!!
I love the sound of this recipe! Peanuts are my favourite addition to stir fries!! I love that this is slow cooker too – I’ve never tried that before! What a great idea :)
Peanut noodles are the best and I can imagine how delicious all the flavors are once cooked together in this dish :)
Haha! “food I can convince Ben to pack for lunch and.. everything else” — at least I know our marriage isn’t out of the ordinary! I’m always trying to convince my hubby to pack up leftovers for lunch, but I know which will and won’t strike his fancy. Can I just even applaud how incredible this dish looks for being a SLOW COOKER recipe?! I mean, girl. On top of that.. peanut noodles?! Ughhhhh, I’m dying over here. I wonder if I could teach hubs how to make this to prepare for when our little man arrives…
yum! i have a solution for the “food I can convince Ben to pack for lunch” that i use for my Ben…pack his lunch for him. :) :) works for me! haha. but i totally hear you on this. :) we compete for leftovers of the good stuff too. i hate food waste so we also suffer through the bad when necessary.
I love this and I haven’t even tasted it yet. This sounds SO GOOD!
Anything that provides leftovers that make me excited about going to work the next day (…to eat my lunch) is a complete and total winner in my book. Love this, Erin!
I’d be fighting for leftovers of these as well!
Ahhh you know I love everything about this!!
it is so delicious and I love it. Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles are so perfect to me :)
Love the peanut noddle’s and all this great combo, I make pork in the slow cooker almost weekly, since we love and lets face it it doesn’t require too much effort to me, It never occurred to me to use it in such a creative and delicious way/ Great recipe!
A fun take on “pad thai”! But made easier in the crockpot. Love it!
You know it’s got to be good when you’re fighting for leftovers! It always cracks me up when my husband and I start trying to hide the extras so the other person can’t get to it first! This sounds awesomeee Erin!
This looks incredible! My husband and I would be fighting over any leftovers we had too although I don’t think there would be any :) Slow cooker noodles are the best, love this recipe!
I made this recipe for dinner tonight and we absolutely loved it! Every single person went back for seconds. This is definitely going to be a regular in our recipe rotation.
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear that Dara. Thank you so much for trying the recipe and letting me know. Peanut sauce for the win :-)
Dear Erin, this looks so good. I don’t make peanut noodles nearly as often as I would like. I am going to have to try this! xo, Catherine
Dustin would be hiding these leftovers for sure! he loves anything asian so naturally this has to happen soon!
this peanut butter and peanuts give the noodles a completely different taste and adds to it’s health quotient, lovely recipe.
just double checking its cooked on low for 2 hrs and not high. thanks
That’s correct! Pork tenderloin is super lean, so it cooks very quickly. If you are using a different cut of pork, the cooking time would be different.
Finally got around to making this–has been Pinned for months–and so glad I did! So delicious and makes so much that I will have leftovers for the entire week! I couldn’t find pork tenderloin (I KNOW, but some stores around here only carry certain cuts of meat), so I ended up with 1.25 lbs boneless pork chops, which cooked about 2 hours in the slow cooker to juicy perfection. I think next time I will add a TBSP of Srichaca, bc although I put in chili flakes, I don’t think it was spicy enough for my taste. Thanks for sharing!
Ginny, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this, and I fully support your kicking up the heat a notch :) Thanks also for sharing that boneless pork chops work well. That’s such good feedback for me and for others too!
Wow amazing and healthy looking food, this is what our body needs !
Sesame oil is great for marinade, but when doing stir fry try using vegetable oil to really cook the meat at high heat. This is how most chefs recommend doing stir fry. But again anyone has their preference
Hi Farid, you can certainly use vegetable oil instead of olive oil if that’s your preference!