Bavarian Pork Roast (Slow Cooker)
This Bavarian Pork Roast is served with Sour Cream Gravy and it’s a tasty main dish made in the slow cooker! And this tasty pork recipe is low in carbs and extra high in protein!
PIN the Bavarian Pork Roast to make it later.
Bavarian Pork Roast made in the slow cooker is a recipe I first made years ago. Of course, for food blogs re-doing posts and improving the photos is an ongoing process, so few years ago I remembered how good this was, added pork roast to my shopping list, and updated the photos!
The ingredient that makes this recipe a Bavarian Pork Roast is the use of caraway seeds, and if you’re not sure how much you like that flavor (or you’re cooking for kids), you might want to reduce the amount of this strongly-flavored spice. But this was so delicious with the Sour Cream Gravy, that I bet most family members will enjoy this for a slow cooker dinner and never guess it’s low in carbs!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- pork sirloin tip roast
- caraway seeds (affiliate link)
- Dried Marjoram (affiliate link)
- Penzey’s Pork Chop Seasoning (affiliate link), or other seasoning rub for pork
- salt, preferably Vege-Sal (affiliate link)
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- water
- White Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
- sour cream
- cornstarch (affiliate link) for thickening
What gives this pork roast the Bavarian flavor?
It’s the use of caraway seeds and dried Marjoram and the sour cream gravy that gives this slow cooker pork roast the Bavarian flavors.
How low in carbs is this Bavarian Pork Roast?
With the very tiny amount of cornstarch we used to thicken the gravy, this pork roast recipe has only 3 net carbs per serving, and a whopping 60 grams of protein!
What size Slow Cooker did I use?
I used a Crock-Pot 3 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for the Bavarian Pork Roast. If you don’t have one that size, use the smallest one you have that will hold the pork.
How to make Bavarian Pork Roast (Slow Cooker):
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I’d been seeing these inexpensive pork sirloin tip roasts at Costco and used one of them to make Bavarian Pork Roast. Because this cut is so lean, I knew it would need extra time in the slow cooker to make the meat tender, but it turned out great.
- I used a mortar and pestle to grind the caraway seeds, dried marjoram, Penzey’s Pork Chop Seasoning (affiliate link), salt, and pepper to make a spice mix to rub on the meat.
- Rub the pork roast all over with the spice mix.
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan and brown the roast on all sides until it’s well-browned. (Don’t rush this step; the browning adds a lot of flavor.)
- Deglaze the frying pan with the water, mix in the vinegar and pour over the roast.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. If you’re home I would turn the meat a few times to keep the surface moist. Test the meat with a fork to see if it’s tender before you take it out of the slow cooker.
- Remove the roast from the slow cooker, keeping it warm, and strain the liquid into a pan. Simmer 10-15 minutes to reduce and make the flavor stronger.
- Then mix the cornstarch with a little water and whisk in sour cream. Whisk this into the barely bubbling liquid and simmer until it’s slightly thickened. (The sauce will be thin because we’re using the tiniest bit of cornstarch here.)
- Cut the roast against the grain into slices as thick as you’d like and serve hot, with the sauce drizzled over.
- Serve Bavarian Pork Roast hot, with some of the gravy spooned over the meat!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This Bavarian Pork Roast with sour cream gravy would make a perfect low-carb dinner, and it would be great served with one of these side dishes:
- Twice-Baked Cauliflower
- Twice-Cooked Cabbage with Sour Cream and Bacon
- Roasted Cabbage with Lemon
- Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Weekend Food Prep:
This Bavarian Pork Roast recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Bavarian Pork Roast (Slow Cooker)
Bavarian Pork Sirloin gets extra-tender in the slow cooker and then you serve it with Sour Cream Gravy for a tasty main dish that's low in carbs and high in protein.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds pork sirloin tip roast, visible fat trimmed
- 1-2 tsp. whole caraway seeds (see notes)
- 1 tsp. dried marjoram
- 1 tsp. Penzeys Pork Chop Seasoning (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp. salt or Vege-Sal
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 T white wine vinegar
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 2 tsp. cornstarch for thickening
Instructions
- Trim all visible fat from the roast.
- Put caraway seeds, marjoram, Penzey's Pork Chop Seasoning (affiliate link), salt or Vege-Sal (affiliate link) and pepper into mortar (or small ziploc bag) and pound with pestle (or flat side of meat mallet - affiliate link) until caraway seeds are crushed.
- Rub spice mixture all over both sides of meat.
- Heat olive oil in nonstick frying pan, add roast and brown very well on all sides. Don’t rush this step; it will take at least 10 minutes to brown the roast thoroughly.
- Place roast in crockpot, then deglaze pan with the water, scraping all brown bits from bottom of the frying pan.
- Add vinegar to water and pour over roast.
- Cook roast in crock pot 4-5 hours on high or all day (8-10 hours) on low. If you’re home, turn the roast a few times so the surface stays moist.
- When it pierces easily with a fork, remove roast from slow cooker and keep warm.
- Strain liquid from the slow cooker into a small saucepan, bring to a low simmer, and cook 10-15 minutes to reduce and intensify the flavors.
- Turn heat to very low.
- Mix the cornstarch and water with the sour cream, whisk into the liquid and cook until gravy is slightly thickened and starting to bubble. (Gravy will be thin.)
- Slice meat and pour gravy over.
Notes
You can also use 1/2-1 tsp. ground caraway; this is a strong flavor so use less or omit if you're not sure how much you like caraway. Pork Chop Seasoning is optional, but recommended; pork chop seasoning has salt, hickory smoke, garlic, onion, white pepper and ginger if you want to make your own.
I would use a Crock-Pot 3 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, but if you don't have one that small use the smallest size you have that will hold the pork roast.
Recipe adapted slightly from Better Homes and Gardens.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 399Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 6gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 182mgSodium 352mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 60g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach DietSuggestions:
This Bavarian Pork Roast recipe uses a tiny amount of cornstarch, so the amount of carbs per serving is very minimal. If you want to skip the cornstarch and have a thinner gravy, that would make the recipe even lower in carbs. Personally I would eat this for any low-carb or Keto diet or any phase of the original South Beach Diet. South Beach would recommend low-fat sour cream, other low-carb plans would prefer full-fat sour cream.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for This Recipe:
The Bavarian Pork Roast recipe was first posted in 2011. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.
19 Comments on “Bavarian Pork Roast (Slow Cooker)”
I have some of penzeys Bavarian seasoning. Could I replace the caraway with that?
Yes, I think that would be great for this recipe! I have that too, but for the blog I tend to use more traditional spices.
Awesome…thank you. I have a small store of Penzeys..lol
Monica, me too, and I’m also a fan of The Spice House, which is owned by the sister of Bill Penzey!
This looks amazing. Could it be made faster in an instant pot or is this truly a slow cooker meal?
I’m not sure how it would work in the Instant Pot. I’m guessing it might work but I haven’t tried it that way so I wouldn’t be able to tell you the timing for it.
This looks amazing! I have to try this soon. Do you think it would work with a pork tenderloin? Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Sorry I am slow to reply today, busy testing recipes. I think pork tenderloin will work. The cooking time might be slightly less. Glad you are enjoying the recipes!
The roast was flavorful and the gravy was amazing. Definitely will make this again.
So glad you enjoyed it!
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Megan, I don't recommend fat free sour cream because it usually has added sugar, but if it worked for you that's great.
Made this tonight and loved it! Why does it say do not use fat free? I accidentally bought that. Wonder if it changes results?
Shirley, indeed it is!
Oh, yum, Kalyn! I love pork dishes made in the slow cooker. I also love that this dish is naturally gluten free. Thank you! 🙂
Shirley
Thanks Becca. Jake and I loved it. Not sure how the kids would like the caraway seed though. Maybe switch for thyme for them?
Looks and sounds fantastic! Yummy!
Franco, when you cook in a crockpot you will have more liquid when you're done, not less. If that didn't happen then your crockpot lid must not be sealing properly. Sorry it did not work for you, but in a properly working crockpot 1/2 cup of liquid should have been plenty.
How is 1/2 cup of water supposed to survive 4 hours on high? I made this and the thing was dry as a bone by hour 1. Need more water to add to the crock pot!