Slow-cooked pork with cider and apples, finished with a splash of cream. A lovely comforting casserole that uses inexpensive pork shoulder steaks.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green veg for a hearty Winter dinner.

Close up overhead shot of creamy pork and apple casserole in a casserole dish.

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It’s still cold in the UK so I’m making all of the comfort food dishes. This one has been tested, then re-tested several times.
Not because it needed it.

Just because I like it 😉

We’re using a relatively cheap cut of meat and cooking it in the oven for about 2 hours altogether.

I’ve included some instructions on how to make this in the slow cooker too – check out the notes section of the recipe card.

📋 What do we need?

Ingredients for creamy pork and apple casserole on a wooden table
  • I use pork shoulder steaks because they have a little bit of fat running through them – which keeps the pork lovely and tender. Cut off any large sections of fat, then slice the rest into large chunks (I cut each steak into 3 or 4 chunks).
    • You can also use a boneless pork shoulder joint and chop into large chunks if you prefer.
    • Pork loin steaks are ok – but they have less fat, so be careful not to overcook them, as they can go dry. I would cook them for 30 minutes less altogether.
  • Cider – this is alcoholic dry cider. You can replace with dry apple juice if you prefer.

🔪 How to make this Pork and Apple Casserole

Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the **end of this post**.

  • Sear the pork in a pan with oil, salt and pepper.
  • Add onions and mushrooms, cooking for a few minutes to soften the mushrooms. Then add in garlic.
  • Stir in a little flour to coat the pork, then add in cider, stock and sage. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 90 minutes.
  • After 90 minutes add in cream and 2 sliced apples. Cook for a further 25 minutes in the oven.
8 image collage showing how to make creamy pork and apple casserole

👩‍🍳PRO TIP You can add more apple and mushrooms to this dish to make it stretch further – serving up to 6 people.

Serve topped with a few fresh sage leaves. I like to serve mine with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted radishes.

Close up of creamy pork and apple casserole on a white plate with mashed potatoes and roasted radishes.

🍽️ What to serve it with

Don’t you just want to dive right in!

Overhead image of creamy pork and apple casserole in a blue casserole dish on a light background. Side dishes of cabbage and radishes are just in shot.

🍲 More fantastic Casseroles

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Overhead image of creamy pork and apple casserole in a blue casserole dish
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4.96 from 24 votes

Creamy Pork and Apple Casserole with Cider

By Nicky Corbishley
Slow-cooked pork with cider and apples, finished with a splash of cream. A comforting casserole that uses inexpensive pork shoulder steaks.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: British

Ingredients

Creamy Pork:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500 g (1.1 lbs) pork shoulder steaks chopped into large chunks
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 medium onion peeled and diced
  • 12 button mushrooms sliced in half
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 240 ml (1 cup) dry cider
  • 420 ml (1 3/4 cups) chicken stock
  • ½ tsp dried sage (or 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage)
  • 2 crisp dessert apples cored and sliced into thick wedges (if they're too thin they'll disintegrate) – I use Jazz apples but Braeburn or Pink Lady are also great options.
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) double (heavy) cream

To Serve:

  • 6 fresh sage leaves (optional)
  • 1 apple cored and thinly sliced

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 170C/325F (fan).
  • Add the oil to a large casserole pan and heat over a medium-high heat.
    2 tbsp olive oil
  • Add the chunks of pork and sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Brown the pork on both sides – this should take about 5-6 minutes altogether.
    500 g (1.1 lbs) pork shoulder steaks, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
  • Turn the heat down to medium and add in the diced onion and button mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens.
    1 medium onion, 12 button mushrooms
  • Add in the cloves of minced garlic and cook for a further minute.
    2 cloves garlic
  • Sprinkle over the flour and stir it all in to coat the meat, onion and mushrooms.
    2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
  • Pour in the cider and the chicken stock. Add in the dried sage.
    240 ml (1 cup) dry cider, 420 ml (1 3/4 cups) chicken stock, 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, scraping up any bits that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
  • Place a lid on the dish and place in the oven for 90 minutes. Check a couple of times towards the end of cooking and add a splash of water or stock if it's starting to look a little dry.
  • Remove the casserole from the oven and add in the sliced apples and the cream.
    2 crisp dessert apples, 80 ml (1/3 cup) double (heavy) cream
  • Stir together, place the lid back on the dish and place back in the oven for 25 minutes – until the apples are tender.
  • Remove from the oven and serve. I like to top mine with a few fresh sage leaves and some very thinly sliced apple for a bit of crunch. I love to serve this dish with mashed potatoes, cabbage and roasted radishes.
    6 fresh sage leaves, 1 apple

Video

YouTube video

Notes

Can I make it ahead?
Yes – make the casserole (including cooking with the cream and apples) then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days.
Reheat in the oven, covered, at 175C/325F for 30-40 minutes until piping hot throughout. You may need to add a splash of stock to loosen the sauce.
You could also reheat in a pan over a low-medium heat, stirring regularly for about 15 minutes, or until piping hot throughout.
Can I freeze it?
Yes – make the casserole, then cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as per the make-ahead instructions above.
Can I make it in the slow cooker?
Yes – cook in a large frying pan right up until it’s ready to go in the oven, then instead of cooking in the oven, transfer to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5 hours.
After this time, add in the sliced apples and cook for a further hour (for high or low heat setting). 
Stir in the cream right before serving.
If you don’t want to mess around with adding apples in the last hour of cooking, you can add them as soon as you add everything to the slow cooker. The apples will be softer and may fall apart a little, but it’s a little simpler and easier and will still taste great.
The total cooking time in the slow cooker will be 4 hours on a high heat and 6 hours on low heat.
I’d also serve with a very thinly sliced apple for garnish too – so you have a bit of crunch and good apple flavour in there.
Ingredient swaps
  • Swap out the cider for dry apple juice
  • Add vegetables – such as baby carrots and/or courgette (zucchini) chunks. These can be added right before the dish goes in the oven.
  • Add green beans – at the same time you add the apple.
  • Add peas – just for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
  • Swap out the cream for creme fraiche.
  • Add a teaspoon of dijon or wholegrain mustard for a little heat kick.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe
You can halve this recipe to serve two people. Use a small casserole pan. Halve all of the recipe quantities EXCEPT the stock – as the dish will dry out quicker using smaller quantities. Use around 360ml (1 1/2 cups) of stock. Cook for the same amount of time as for the full recipe.
You can double this recipe by doubling all of the ingredients. The frying of the pork and onions will take 10-15 minutes longer, but the rest of the timings will remain the same.
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, and does not include side dishes. This recipe serves 4 people.

Nutrition

Serving: 506g | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 1081mg | Potassium: 675mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 375IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

This recipe was first published in October 2014. Updated February 2021 with new photos, video, a few recipe tweaks and a bit of housekeeping.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely gorgeous, served it with creamy mash and carrots, will defo be making again! I used the same cider, think it makes a difference to use a good cider. X

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    After trying the Lancashire Hotpot (gorgeous), I thought I would give this a go. Wow .. it is so tasty. The pork was extremely tender and the creamy sauce had a cider flavour (not overpowering) which was lovely and creamy. I served with fluffy roast potatoes which mashed into the beautiful sauce. Not a morsel left on my (& my husband’s) plate. Amazing. Now I have to decide what next.

    Reply

  5. I cooked this for my wife and son. I made it in a larger pot so increased the amount of topping and used cooking apples instead of Jazz. There was plenty for four people but surprisingly the pot was emptied as we all wanted seconds. Unlike a lot of one pot dishes this recipe has lots of contrasting flavours which really make it interesting to eat. I would be happy to serve this to guests. It was delicious.
    Going to try the Swedish Meatballs next.

    Reply

  6. 4 stars
    Delicious had to substitute some bits we didn’t have cider but there was some moscatel in the cupboard, I used coconut milk had no cream and trying to reduce dairy, used ordinary breadcrumbs as I can’t get panko in Portugal and sweet corn instead of peas, it was fab and enough for two nights a win win

    Reply

  8. Oh my word I used 500ml of stock as I didn’t want to waste the 100ml from the carton & used a whole 200g tub of cream. Not only did it smell amazing it was so delicious that I had seconds will definitely be making it again.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for coming back and letting me know how it turned out Britney. Glad you like it 🙂 I made it for 12 people last night. I had to prepare it ahead, so I added the crumb topping at the last minute and it worked great 🙂

      Reply