Hearty and comforting, with bold Southwestern flavor, this pork stew warms you right down to your toes. It’s easy to make in the Instant Pot, the crock pot, or on the stovetop!
As I write this, I sit here enjoying a bowl of this satisfying pork stew, and I think to myself… I wish everything in life was this easy!
You need to add this recipe to your easy keto dinners list. Because it gets top marks both for flavor and for simplicity. It’s what I like to call a dump-and-run recipe. It has minimal prep time, and all you need to do is pop everything into the pot. Turn it on, walk away, and it practically cooks itself!
The addition of spices like chili powder, cumin, and cayenne make this pork stew a flavorful meal the whole family loves.
Easy keto stew recipe
When you think of stew, you most likely picture something more like my Keto Beef Stew, with larger chunks of meat and vegetables. But stew can mean many things to many people.
For this hearty pork stew, the meat is shredded after cooking. This cuts down on prep time and also distributes the meat throughout the entire dish. But it still features a rich broth and chunks of delicious low carb vegetables. So it’s perfect one-pot comfort food!
I’ve made it my slow cooker, I’ve made in my Instant Pot, and I’ve made it on the stove. The only thing that really changes is the cooking time.And with only 5.5g net carbs per serving, this pork stew recipe is perfect for keto and low carb diets.
Easy low carb comfort food, just when you need it most.
Ingredients you need
- Boneless pork chops: I like boneless chops in this pork stew because they cook quickly and shred easily. You can use other cuts here, including roasts, but I recommend cutting them down to size so they cook through faster. I get all of my pasture-raised pork from Wild Pastures.
- Diced tomatoes: A can of diced tomatoes adds to the Southwestern flair of this recipe. Feel free to use fire-roasted for even more depth!
- Chicken broth: How much broth you need depends on what method of cooking you choose. Instant Pot recipes require less liquid, since the pressure extracts so much liquid from the meat and vegetables.
- Turnip: This is my favorite potato replacement in all sorts of keto soups and stews. But you can also try rutabaga or celeriac if you prefer.
- Zucchini: I added chunks of zucchini to the stew to boost the veggie content without raising the carb count.
- Onion and garlic: A little onion and garlic go a long way to boosting flavor.
- Spices: I added chili powder, cumin, and a touch of cayenne. It’s not enough to make the stew spicy but it tastes fabulous! You can adjust to your liking.
- Garnish: Add a little lime and chopped cilantro as you serve.
- Pantry staples: Avocado or olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
- Place all the ingredients except for the lime and cilantro in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Stir to combine. (See Expert Tips for Instant Pot and Stovetop directions).
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. When cooking is complete, remove the pork to a plate and shred with two forks.
- Add the pork back into the pot and stir to combine. Season with additional salt, pepper, and chili powder as desired.
- Serve with a wedge of lime and chopped cilantro.
Expert Tips
If you use boneless pork chops, there is no need to cut the meat any smaller. It will cook through and shred easily in the allotted time. But larger cuts like a shoulder roast should be cut down into more manageable chunks of about 2 inches across.
Cut the vegetables into 1 inch pieces. You don’t want them too small as they get very soft during cooking. If you prefer them firmer, consider adding them halfway through the cooking process.
Instant Pot Method: Reduce the broth to 2 cups. Place all of the ingredients except for the lime and cilantro in an Instant Pot and stir to combine. Seal the lid and set to the stew function for 35 minutes. Proceed as directed.
Stovetop Method: Place all of the ingredients except for the lime and cilantro in a 5 to 8 quart Dutch oven over medium high heat. Stir to combine. Once the liquid comes to a strong simmer, reduce the heat to medium low. Cook 3 to 4 hours, until the pork can be easily shredded. Proceed as directed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Boneless pork chops, country pork ribs, pork loin, and pork butt all make good cuts for this easy pork stew recipe. If you are using larger pieces like loins or roasts, cut them into smaller 2 inch pieces for faster cooking.
Stew takes tougher cuts of meat because the long, slow braising method breaks down the tough fibers. If your meat is tough, it usually means you didn’t cook the stew long enough. It’s also important not to let your stew come to a boil as boiling can toughen the meat.
You can freeze this keto stew but do note that the vegetables will soften even more in the freezing and thawing process.
The chili powder and cumin add flavor but the stew is quite mild. If you don’t like a lot of heat, skip the cayenne. Alternatively, if you want a bit more of a kick, double the cayenne or add 2 teaspoons of chipotle powder.
More delicious keto comfort food
Easy Pork Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 3 lbs (1.36 kg) boneless pork chops or country-style ribs
- 3 cups (705 g) chicken broth
- 15 oz (425.24 g) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 medium (120 g) turnip (120g) , cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium (196 g) zucchini (196g), chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup (80 g) chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.5 tbsp) chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp (0.5 tbsp) ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) cayenne
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) black pepper
- Lime wedges
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
- Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. When cooking is complete, remove the pork to a plate and shred with two forks.
- Add the pork back into the pot and stir to combine. Season with additional salt, pepper, and chili powder as desired.
- Serve with a wedge of lime and chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Hi Carolyn,
I want to try making this recipe using my Instant Pot, but I need to know if, once the cooking time has completed, should I let the pressure release naturally or do a quick release? Thank you so much, and I LOVE all the recipes you so kindly share with us.
I always let it naturally release for 10 minutes or so, and then vent it.
This was super easy to make! I used leftover smoked pork belly and just threw everything into a pot on the stove. I didn’t have the can of tomatoes, but two big tomatoes from my garden subbed just fine. Since the pork was already cooked, the stew was done in less than an hour. It had great flavor, though a touch spicy for a couple of my “milder” kids. A keeper for those times when everyone is a little tired of plain leftover meat!
Simply incredible, perfectly spiced, warm, hearty, filling. We made a batch, ate it right up & the second batch is on the stove; this does not get old. Love that we can cook once & eat for days & also that it is a 1 pot wonder. Going into our winter rotation. Thanks for the recipe!
(We did not use oil, but put butter in our bowls, no lime or cilantro, although we will try it that way eventually, used pork loin & made on stove top. We didn’t shred the meat, just cut it small.)
So glad you liked it!
I was looking for something to make using some leftover pork tenderloin and this stew was perfect! I added some celery and radishes. For the canned tomatoes I added a can of Rotel to lean into the spiciness!
Wow, YUM! This is an excellent stew. I changed amounts of many of the ingredients, but not the ingredients themselves. It was too spicy for my kids, but my husband and I really enjoyed it. This was my first time using pork chops in a stew and my first time really cooking with turnips. The turnip chunks were so potato-like that my non-keto husband thought they were potatoes. The pork turned out great this way. Absolutely going to experiment with both turnips and pork chops in other stew and soup recipes.
My husband rated this 10/10. Going to make it a lot, gotta love a healthy recipe that I can put together quickly since I have 3 very young kids and we began homeschooling last month!
Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
Very nice. We all enjoyed this stew. It was delicious comfort food on a dark and stormy night.
So good! This was a bit of a squeeze for our not-very-large slow cooker, but we got everything into it (just!) and this worked exactly as advertised, cooking on high for around 3 hours. Perfectly cooked pork, gorgeous flavours and utterly delicious. The only change I made was to use smoked paprika instead of chilli powder (as we have chilli powder that I ridiculously spicy, and I was too nervous to use it for a large-batch cook) – and that worked a treat too. Next time I’ll be a little brave and add some of that chilli powder. Thank you so much for another marvellous recipe.
So glad you liked it!
Recipe sounds delicious, but there are SOO many ads and pop ups you can only see 1 line at a time. Even typing this comment only shows 1 line, and there is no way to get rid of them!
Then something is wrong with your browser. Because I can see things just fine and I can easily X out of the ads. I am sorry, not sure what to say. Maybe try updating your browser.