If it’s cold where you are this stew is sure to warm you up over the weekend and your house will be filled with amazing smells of this slow cooked meal. My friend Laura gave me a butternut squash soup recipe which I tweaked a bit and adapted into this satisfying stew.
Pork Loin and Butternut Squash Stew
2.5 lbs pork loin chops, cubed
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 shallots, diced
7-10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 cups cubed butternut squash
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
Place the chopped veggies and cubed pork into your slow cooker. Cover with the spices and pour in the coconut milk, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Mix well and cook for either 5 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
Enjoy!!
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J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
February 19, 2011 at 3:24 pmThat stew sounds amazing!
Roy says
February 19, 2011 at 3:57 pmSarah , can this recipe be done without a slow cooker?
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:16 amHey Roy! It IS done in a slow cooker! Did you mean a pressure cooker?? : )
Elizabeth Duardo says
January 10, 2013 at 8:21 pmHello Sarah,
I have a question. When you say coconut milk are you talking about the canned one or the So Delicious one that comes in half gallon?
Sarah says
January 11, 2013 at 7:13 amCanned!!
Erin says
September 24, 2013 at 6:44 amHi Sarah, is this recipe portioned for a 6 qt. crockpot?
Sarah says
September 24, 2013 at 6:45 amYes!!
marilyn says
October 12, 2012 at 6:52 amThis soup is delish! Make it on top of the stove last night by cooking it for around an hour.
Cindy Fulton says
February 19, 2011 at 6:33 pmSounds wonderful! I’m only just learning about the Paleo lifestyle, and I’m sure I just haven’t come across it yet- but if you haven’t already, could you maybe come up with a Paleo version of a spaghetti recipe, using spaghetti squash in place of the pasta? I apologize if you have already done this. I was just thinking about it as I was reading your squash recipe tonight! Thabks so much for all of the wonderful recipes!
Dain says
February 19, 2011 at 8:16 pmHey Cindy – Sarah is on vacation for a few days and she left me the keys. So happens that I frequently make a spaghetti squash ‘pasta dish’. Here’s the fast way: Take a spaghetti squash and carefully cut (saw) in half. This can be tricky as they are quite firm. I use a serrated bread knife. Scoop out seeds and nasties. Place the squash cut side down in a Pyrex dish filled with 1/4 inch of water – place in microwave for 8 min on high. When done let it steam a while. Remove without scalding yourself and using a fork, scrape the ‘spaghetti’ out of the shell. Toss this with 2TBS of olive oil and a spaghetti sauce of your choosing. If using premade, watch the sugar content of the sauce. Otherwise you could make your own. If using the full squash you can do the same prep but you’ll bake it in a 375* oven for up to an hour.
Michelle says
February 21, 2011 at 1:37 pmThis is not exactly the quick way like you said, but I think the easiest way to cook a spaghetti squash is to put the whole thing in the oven (do not cut open or remove the seeds) at 375 for about 45 minutes depending on the size. When it’s done it will give when squeezed with tongs. Let it cool a little then cut open, scrape out seeds and then scrape out the squash.
Gloria says
February 21, 2011 at 9:19 pmOn the Food Network, I saw someone boil the squash cut in half for 10 to 15 minutes. I tried it and it was easy, fast, great.
Kelly says
February 27, 2011 at 5:22 pmI like to spear the squash with a fork a couple times, and microwave for 1 min to begin with. It’s much easier to cut in half that way, then cook as noted above =)
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:18 amDain’s recipe sounds awesome and I have one too! Here’s the link to mine, it’s actually a cooking demo too! http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/10/04/cooking-demo-paleo-spaghetti-baked-green-beans/
elizabeth carrington says
February 19, 2011 at 9:20 pmthis recipe sounds so good!
as for the spagetti squash, try microwaving it first for a minute to help softened it so it is easier to cut.
Mimi Honeycutt says
February 20, 2011 at 4:43 amOne of my favorite meats, my favorite squash, AND garam masala?! Please, can this be made on a stovetop, sans slowcooker?
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:21 amOf course! Just prep it the same way and cook on low for a couple of hours. You might want to add more chicken stock as you go. : )
Robin says
February 20, 2011 at 7:15 pmI made this tonight and it did not disappoint. Sooooo good!! Sweet and salty, yum! Thank you Sarah!
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:26 amSo glad you liked it Robin and thank you!!
Kent Cowgill says
February 21, 2011 at 10:28 amJust finished putting everything in the slow cooker. I think you should add a big disclaimer that you’ll need substantially bigger than a 5qt slow cooker. I probably should’ve known, but I crammed all but 1.5 cups of the squash in mine.
I decided to sear the pork in some bacon fat first, and then used the chicken stock to deglaze the pan and dumped it all in there. Hopefully that’ll make this turn out *more* delicious than it looks like it’ll be.
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:31 amGreat idea Kent, I was going to sear my pork as well but ran out of time. Oh, and shoot, you are so right about needing to make sure you have a big slow cooker. I just get all silly sometimes and assume that everyone has a big slow cooker like mine and is feeding a huge family. Duh! : )
elizabeth carrington says
February 21, 2011 at 4:40 pmI made this for dinner today and it was fantastic!!!!
I accidently added 3 chives because I thought they could sub for the shallots because I found them dried and decided to just keep them in. My squash was not cooked all the way down so had still some chunks which were very nice!
hubby loved it!
will make again thanks for this great recipe!
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:32 amSo glad it turned out Elizabeth!! : )
Katie says
February 21, 2011 at 9:19 pmAny idea on how many this serves?
Sarah says
February 22, 2011 at 10:33 amOh shoot, I forgot to add that again – that’s what I get for rushing!! This will easily serve 6 adults.
Summer says
February 22, 2011 at 8:54 pmThis looks delicious. I may try to switch out the pork for beef though.
JT says
February 23, 2011 at 12:22 amYum! Had this dish, modified it with the stuff I had on hand. Got a big thumbs up from my hubby and my 5 year old and 2 year old ate it without complaint 2 nights in a row! Thanks for sharing! =) Can’t wait to try another!
Sarah says
February 23, 2011 at 6:54 amHurray JT, that’s awesome!!
Laura says
February 23, 2011 at 11:20 amI have never used garam marsala… but it looks like I just might have to invest in it next grocery trip. I love crock pot recipes, they are so conducive for a busy lifestyle!
Sarah says
February 24, 2011 at 9:56 amYou will love the garam masala! : )
Jessica says
March 6, 2011 at 4:48 pmI have yet to find garam masala in any of my local groceries. I subbed a good helping of green curry paste in, and though it’s not a similar taste substitution, it did turn out quite tasty!
Jake says
March 6, 2011 at 7:12 pmThis was killer. My kids absolutely inhaled it. You should have seen the look of surprise on my wife’s face when my youngest asked for more squash. Priceless!! You are doing a phenomenal job with the site and a great service for all of us. Just wanted to pop in to say thanks.
Sarah says
March 7, 2011 at 1:58 pmThanks so much Jake!
Diane says
March 8, 2011 at 11:47 amI just finished prepping everything and put it in the crockpot. I can’t wait to see how it turns out! Thank you for the recipe!
Sarah says
March 9, 2011 at 1:41 pmYour welcome Diane, hope it turned out!
Jennifer says
March 15, 2011 at 3:27 pmRecipe is cooking right now and we can’t wait to sink our teeth into it. Couldn’t find any shallots at two different markets so had to substitute with a yellow onion. Hope it tastes the same. One question??? Do you use unsweetened coconut milk? That’s what I bought and hope it comes out good.
Sarah says
March 15, 2011 at 6:24 pmHi Jennifer, Yes I always use the unsweetened coconut milk! : ) You should be good to go with the onions, how did it turn out?
Jennifer says
March 15, 2011 at 7:40 pmIt was sooooooooooo good! 🙂 Love your recipes! I also love the fact that my whole family loves them including little boys. 🙂
David says
March 31, 2011 at 3:00 pmThis looks great! How much is 4 cups of butternut squash? Would that be like if I bought a 1lb squash, skinned it, and cut it up?
Sarah says
March 31, 2011 at 4:13 pmYes, that would be perfect!
David Hood says
April 4, 2011 at 12:16 pmI made this on Sunday. I got a late start and got everything on at 1:00PM, so I cooked it on high for about 5.5 hours.
A few notes- one make sure you put the right amount of chicken stock. I overestimated and mine came out more like a soup than a stew.
Make sure you mix up everthing. I missed that step and my meat kind of cooked on top for about 2.5 hours until I stirred it (which I guess is a no-no in crock pot cooking).
I had coconut flour “cornbread” with them, and it was a perfect combo! http://www.paleoforfoodies.com/2010/11/paleo-cornbread-muffins.html
Sarah says
April 5, 2011 at 7:32 amWow, coconut flour cornbread? Thanks for sharing!
Glen says
April 1, 2011 at 7:47 amSarah, having never eaten butternut before I was intrigued by this, but I threw in a few twists of my own. Below is what I did:
I rubbed a baking hen with evoo, sea salt, cracked black pepper, jerk seasoning and basil and placed in my dutch oven. Added about an inch or so of water and sliced some baby carrots until the water would hold no more, covered and baked @ 350 for 1.5 hours.
While this was going on I peeled and cubed a butternut and put it in a pot to boil. I also diced 2 small yellow onions and added them to the pot along with a tad more sea salt and more cracked pepper. Once softened I used a potato masher to mash the squash, then set on simmer.
When the chicken was done I picked the meat and added it to the pot with the squash along with the broth and carrots from the dutch oven.
Phenomenally good, Thanks!
Glen says
April 1, 2011 at 10:55 amP.S. I call it Chicken Carotene, lol…..(sorry :D)
Sarah says
April 5, 2011 at 8:16 amLOL!! : )
Sarah says
April 5, 2011 at 8:17 amSounds AMAZING!!!
Sarah Q says
April 7, 2011 at 8:33 pmOh my goodness, this was delicious! I had most of the ingredients and improvised on the rest (added sweet potato to make up for not enough butternut squash, left out the celery and garlic, used a medium onion rather than leeks and shallots and used trimmed pork shoulder). I threw it together before I ran out the door for the day and it was so tender and yummy when I got home. My husband does not eat paleo and “hates” squash and sweet potato and he had seconds! Ok, I didn’t tell him what was in it.
Bridget says
May 9, 2011 at 2:49 pmIs the coconut milk canned or carton?
Can’t wait to try this!
Sarah says
May 9, 2011 at 7:27 pmCanned!
Michaela says
July 20, 2011 at 1:30 amI made this on Sat evening for dinner, and my boyfriend absolutely LOVED IT!! It was so tasty, the flavours were amazing!! I will definately be making this regularly!
Sarah says
July 20, 2011 at 6:55 amSo glad you both liked it! : )
mike doyle says
August 23, 2011 at 4:56 amMy wife and I loved this one. The only weird thing was that my hand that held the squash when peeling dried out afterwords. I read up on this and it happened to other people. Gloves for me from now on.
Kim says
September 3, 2011 at 4:05 pmHi Sarah,
I have this recipe cooking right now, smells delicious!!! My only one question is that its been cooking on high for now the past 3 hrs and it the butternut squash doesn’t seem like its cooking down like in your pic, any suggestions??
Sarah says
September 3, 2011 at 4:46 pmGive it the rest of the time and I bet it will be fine but every slow cooker is a bit different so it might just take a little longer for yours!
Beth says
October 9, 2011 at 5:08 pmI made this today and made the whole house smell wonderful! We got our first snow up here in Breckenridge yesterday and I think it is my new favorite comfort food.
Christine says
December 11, 2011 at 4:07 amMade this overnight with what I had on hand (beef and a mixture of broccoli and squash) – delicious! I’d never used garam masala before, but it was fantastic. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks Sarah!
Sarah says
December 11, 2011 at 9:09 amSo glad you enjoyed it!
Diana says
January 22, 2012 at 11:57 amHey Sarah,
We aren’t big into pork here. What would be an acceptable chicken or beef alternative? Can I use chicken breast tenders?
Thanks!
Sarah says
January 22, 2012 at 5:59 pmYOu can use beef stew meet or I would suggest using chicken thighs!
Diana says
January 22, 2012 at 8:33 pmI have breast tenders in the fridge from Trader Joes. Will they be too dry?
Kim says
January 31, 2012 at 12:08 pmI doubled this today. Accidentally put in a whole can of coconut milk! Yikes!! I hope it’s not too coconutty! Smelling delish!!! Can’t wait to try it tonight.
Gina says
February 5, 2012 at 5:58 amThis is a spectacular recipe! Full rich flavor and very satisfying. It will definately become a go to recipe for our house. Thanks and keep the great recipes coming!
Hillary says
June 18, 2012 at 11:33 amWhat can I sub for the coconut milk? There is a coconut allergy in my home 🙁
Karen says
September 11, 2012 at 5:11 amI made this last night and while it taste good I will make a few changes. I think browning pork and and leeks first and then deglzing with some of the broth with will increase the richness. I would also suggest adding, apples, carrots and kale for more color.
Next time I plan to use sage and rosemary instead of garam marsala just to change it up.
Thanks for the great fall recipe!
Jeni says
September 23, 2012 at 4:25 pmI made it today. Awesome and so easy!
Bill says
January 27, 2013 at 10:04 amThis was a big hit last night. Had to improvise a little – couldn’t find garam masala anywhere but combined cumin, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, bay leaves, black pepper and ground cloves and I swear you can’t tell the difference.
Mellissa says
February 25, 2013 at 7:01 pmWe had this tonight and the whole family enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing! We used a homemade garam masala 🙂
cat says
February 26, 2013 at 1:15 pmI can’t find gram masala. What can I substitute? Novice cook here. Thanks.
lisa says
April 17, 2013 at 9:04 amI am confused. I found list that said butternut and acorn squash are high glycemic and not allowed on Paleo. Please clarify.
Sarah says
April 17, 2013 at 11:17 amSome old school paleo books preach high and low glycemic foods. Please focus on food QUALITY and not high or low glycemic. Butternut squash is rich with nutrients and a wonderful carbohydrate source. If you have a severe fat loss goal, you might find faster results following a lower carb paleo diet for a WHILE but not forever and if you are active, most people find that they feel much better eating some nutrient carb sources like winter squash and sweet potatoes. Not all lists that you find on the internet of paleo foods will give you clear information. Hope that helps!
Cathy says
June 19, 2013 at 5:30 pmAll I have to say is “Oh My Yummy!”
Elizabeth Estrada says
October 22, 2013 at 12:35 pmJust put it all in the crock pot right now……and omg IT SMELLS DELICIOUS!!! I want to eat it all raw……yummy dinner tonight! Thank you sooooooooo much 🙂
Laura says
October 22, 2013 at 4:28 pmI made this with pork tenderloin last night, it was delicious! The meat was fall apart tender at the end. Yes it will look like not enough liquid at first, but the squash cooking releases a lot, so it will be good, don’t add extra. If it is too runny, turn your crock pot on high and cook with the lid partly open until it cooks off.
Erin says
February 28, 2014 at 10:30 amSo if I have a 5 qt crockpot this recipe will not work?
Sarah says
March 1, 2014 at 8:16 amIt should work, it just will be VERY full!
Gina says
March 5, 2014 at 12:28 pmCan this be done in a pressure cooker? If so any ideas on cooking times/prep changes, etc?
CS says
October 13, 2014 at 5:51 amWONDERFUL recipe. There should be a warning on this though that the smell of it cooking will make you incredibly hungry. Only substitution I did was to use Vidalia onion instead of shallots since my tummy cannot handle shallots. Mine did not come out looking like the picture on here (don’t know why) but no big deal since it is delicious nonetheless. Will definitely be making this again.