Peanut noodles are the mouth watering base for this easy crock pot pork recipe. Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles has rattled the leftover routine in our household. It’s safe to say that it’s one of the best crock pot recipes for Asian stir fry made the easy way!
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 stir 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 (or Stir Fry Noodles) 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 stir fry entered the equation.
Easy Lunch Idea: Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles
This pork stir fry 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 crock pot 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.
Winner Winner Pork for Dinner
In addition to being spear-your-spouse-with-a-fork-delectable, this stir fry 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 Simply Roundy’s organic frozen veggies in this slow cooker stir 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 stir pork stir fry with peanut noodles.
Slow Cooker Pork Stir Fry with Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 1.25 to 1.5 pounds 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 peanuts (unsalted) 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
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
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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!
really I like the great sound of this recipe! Peanuts are my favorite addition to stir fries!! I love that this is slow cooker too
I hope you love it!
Thank you for sharing your experience! so everyone benefits.
Best recipe I have ever made! My expectations were high based on this article, but the flavor still managed to exceed expectations!
Samantha, I’m glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks so much for reporting back!
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delish!!!!
I’m glad it was a hit, Nicole! Thanks for taking the time to leave this review!
My husband and I enjoyed this. We consistently enjoy your recipes! I cooked my pork in the instant pot which saved on time and everything came out great. Tasty and healthy! Thanks you!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Lisa! Thank you for sharing this kind review!