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This dutch oven pork roast with vegetables is a cozy and delicious dinner, all made in one pan. Pork loin roast is topped with a simple dijon herb sauce and potatoes and carrots for the ultimate easy comfort meal.
Roasting boneless pork loin in the dutch oven with potatoes and carrots gives you a delicious main dish and sides all at one time, like this dutch oven pot roast without wine.
This recipe is paired with cabbage and apples if you want a full holiday dinner, or you can keep it simple with just the pork roast and vegetables. And if you need a faster recipe, don’t miss these air fryer stuffed pork chops.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is a dutch oven pork roast recipe that you’ll come back to each year! Inspired by Ina Garten’s pork roast recipe, the pairing of cabbage and apples takes this meal to the next level. They’re a perfect compliment to the salty dijon pork loin. You’ll love this recipe because it’s:
- Easy – Actual hands on time is very minimal. You just have to add the dijon mixture on top of the pork and roast it!
- Minimal dishes – Using a dutch oven means minimal dishes and clean up! The dutch oven provides a great roasting dish – perfectly cooking the pork and the vegetables all at the same time.
- Great for entertaining and holidays – This is a beautiful and delicious meal that’s also easy to make.
- Versatile – This pork roast works for lots of different diets – Mediterranean diet, dairy free (with edits), gluten free, paleo, whole30, and heal your headache diet compliant.
Ingredients
- Pork Loin Roast – It’s important to get a boneless pork loin roast so this recipe turns out exactly the way it should. If you have pork chops, skip this recipe and make these apple cider pork chops or stuffed pork chops in the air fryer instead.
- Vegetables – In this recipe I use carrots, potatoes, shallots, and a fennel bulb. But if you hate fennel, this can be substituted with more carrots, potatoes or shallots.
- Butter and olive oil – I recommend using both for the best flavor, but if looking to make this dairy free, use all olive oil or use ghee if tolerated.
- Dijon mustard – Look for one made without wine or sulfites, like Annie’s, or use your personal favorite. Whole grain mustard will also work.
- Thyme – This recipe uses dried thyme, but fresh can also be used if you double the amount.
Recommended sides – For delicious and easy sides that go with pork roast, just get a bag of shredded cabbage and honeycrisp apples!
Best Cut of Pork for Pork Roast
A pork loin is a larger piece that runs along the back of the pig. It’s also sometimes called a center cut pork loin roast, center cut pork roast, and pork loin center. It’s a large piece that’s often tied with a string to hold it all together. Generally a roast can range between 2-5 pounds so for this recipe, you’d want a smaller size.
Pork shoulder or pork butt can also be cooked in a dutch oven, but over very low heat. Because it takes longer, I prefer to do slow cooker pork shoulder instead. The texture is shredded pulled pork and not what I personally consider a “roast”.
Pork tenderloin is known as a pork filet or pork tender and runs along the backbone, so it’s a narrow strip of meat. It’s often cooked much faster on a grill, air fryer, or quickly in the oven. Pork tenderloin cannot be substituted for this recipe, as it will be incredibly dry. Try this air fryer pork tenderloin instead.
Variations
- Dairy free – Use olive oil for everything instead of butter. For those who are lactose sensitive, try using ghee!
- Vegetable substitutions – If you cannot find fennel or don’t love the flavor, just increase the potatoes and carrots by 1/2 pound.
- Herb variations – Instead of thyme, or in addition to, rosemary or chives would also be delicious here.
How to Make Pork Loin Roast in a Dutch Oven
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, meanwhile pull pork out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Toss vegetables with butter and olive oil and roast for roughly 25 minutes. Remove the roasted vegetables from the dutch oven and set aside.
Step 2: Meanwhile add a little more olive oil to the pan, season the pork lightly with kosher salt and black pepper, and sear for about 3 minutes on the fat side, until golden.
Step 3: Flip the roast over and top with the djion and thyme mixture, spreading all along the top, and add the pre-roasted vegetables around the pork.
Step 4: Roast pork loin in the oven at 425F, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes or until the middle of the pork roast comes to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. A digital meat thermometer is recommended.
Step 5: (optional) Simply use a large sauté pan and add butter or olive oil to it over medium heat. Add cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and stir often as it softens and caramelizes. This will take about 15 minutes.
Step 6: (optional) Remove the cabbage and set aside, then use the same pan to add butter or olive oil and brown the apples for 2-3 minutes over medium high heat until caramelized and softened.
Recipe Tips
- Use boneless pork loin not pork shoulder, pork butt, or pork tenderloin. This is a larger cut of pork that is often tied together with string.
- Invest in a meat thermometer. Pork roast is very hard to tell when it’s done, so a meat thermometer will save you a lot of guessing without drying out the meat.
- Cooking time will vary based on size – I find a 1 1/2 pound pork loin roast is perfect for 4 people. If you buy a larger one, the cooking time will need to be increased.
Serving Suggestions
You basically already have the sides for this dutch oven pork roast prepared for you with the potatoes and carrots, plus apples and cabbage if you want to make those too, but here are other side dish ideas:
Storage and Reheating
Leftover pork will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or in a freezer for up to 6 months. For optimal results, make sure the pork is well-wrapped and sealed in a freezer container or bag.
To reheat, wrap pork in aluminum foil to seal in the moisture and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 20 minutes, or until warmed through.
To reheat for one person, cover slices of pork roast with a paper towel and microwave in 30 second increments.
Recipe FAQ
I recommend increasing the time cooked to about 15-17 minutes per extra pound.
Pork is done cooking when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature may also raise as it sits, covered. Therefore you can pull it out of the oven at around 140 degrees.
Because this is a small roast for 4 people, roasting uncovered in a dutch oven produces great results, but a large and deep roasting pan would also work here. If you buy a larger pork roast, it may be difficult to hold everything.
I like a smaller dutch ovens for soups (about 5.5 quarts) and a larger one for pork roasts like this (7.5-9 quarts). There are so many great brands out there at all different price ranges like Lodge, Staub, and Le Creuset.
Pork Recipes
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder (Crockpot Pulled Pork)
Pork
Stuffed Pork Chops in the Air Fryer
Recipes
Apple Cider Pork Chops
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Dutch Oven Pork Roast with Vegetables
Equipment
- 1 large dutch oven (7.5qt recommended)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless pork loin roast
- 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 2-3" pieces
- 1 pound fingerling potatoes, cut in half
- 1-2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered (if really large, cut the quarters down into 2-3" pieces)
- 4 large shallots, peeled and cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard or whole grain mustard
- 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Buttered Apples (optional)
- 1-2 large, sweet apples (like honeycrisp), peeled and chopped into 1/2" pieces, *
- 1 tablespoon good unsalted butter, like Kerrygold
Sauteed Cabbage (optional)
- 1 head of green cabbage (about 16oz), cored and sliced/shredded or pre-shredded cabbage, *
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Pull pork out of the fridge to take the chill off. In a 7.5qt Dutch oven or deep roasting dish (big enough to allow the veggies to be on a single level), toss chopped vegetables with melted butter and olive oil. Season to taste (I recommend around 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and about 1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper). Roast for 25 minutes, then transfer the veggies to a plate using wood spoon. The veggies should just be softened slightly but not fully roasted or deep brown. Leave the oven on.
- Meanwhile, season the pork loin with kosher salt and pepper on both sides. On the stove, heat the dutch oven over medium high heat. It should still have a little leftover oil and butter from the veggies, but if not, add 1-2 teaspoons of oil. Sear the pork, fat side down for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the roast so the pork is fat side up, then return the semi-roasted veggies to the dutch oven, surrounding the pork roast.
- Combine garlic, mustard, and thyme in a small bowl and spread on top of the pork roast. Place the dutch oven back in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes, uncovered, until the internal temp of the pork reads 140-145 degrees F. Cover the pork and allow it to rest 10-15 minutes. Slice on a cutting board and serve.
Sautéed Cabbage and Apples
- While the pork is cooking, peel and chop the apples and cabbage. Melt butter in two separate pans over medium heat (or you can use the same one if you'd like and just make one dish after the other). Place chopped apples in the pan and allow them to brown, about 2 minutes, before you toss. Then toss on all sides another 2-3 minutes until softened and nicely caramelized. If using the same pan, melt butter or oil again and sauté the cabbage, until slightly browned and soft, about 10-15 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- There’s a difference between tenderloin (long and thin) and pork loin (shorter and fat). Make sure you buy the “boneless pork loin roast”. A tenderloin would require a different baking time.
- If you do not own a dutch oven, you will need a large, deep roasting pan and tin foil to cover the dish at the end.
- For a lactose free or dairy free option, use ghee or olive oil. This recipe is naturally gluten free.
- For low sodium, omit any added salt.
- Calorie count does not include apples or cabbage side dishes, which add roughly 190 calories.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I started making it a few years ago. It is a family favorite in the fall around our house. Everytime my husband sees it come out of the oven he says “it’s Christmas”. That is how good this meal is! Thanks again!!
I love this so much – thank you!
Making it tonight 😀