Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Change up your taco menu with slow cooker pork tacos, a Mexican riff on tender pulled pork with green tomatillo sauce. Serve on warm corn tortillas with all the fixings.
How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 6 hours to cook
Equipment you’ll need: slow cooker, sharp knife, blender, tongs
Servings: 6
These Pork Tacos Never Fail
You’ll love these meltingly tender pulled pork tacos with flavorful green tomatillo sauce! Piled on charred corn tortillas with pickled red onions and soft queso fresco, and dripping with warm salsa verde, rich meaty pork tacos are a taste sensation. I love putting the pork in the slow cooker and then coming home to a dinner that’s pretty much already made. (I like chipotle chicken tacos for the same reason!)
What makes it special:
- Makes a big batch. Perfect for parties or for meal prepping, slow cooker pork tacos can be made ahead and simmered in a crockpot all day. Enjoy the rich aroma coming from your crockpot all afternoon. Just before serving, shred the meat, prepare the toppings, and enjoy!
- No last minute fussing. There’s a little bit of prep time at the beginning of this recipe, just twenty minutes or so. Once you get everything in the crockpot, it’s all hands off. Depending on how much time you have, cook it on low or high. It will be ready when you are!
Ingredient Notes
- Pork Shoulder: I find that pork shoulder is the best for this recipe. Sometimes this cut is called pork butt or Boston butt. The pork shoulder has enough fat and connective tissue to make the meat tender and flavorful when slow cooking. You’ll find that most pulled pork recipes use pork shoulder.
- Tomatillos: If you’re not familiar with tomatillos, look for them in the produce section of your grocery store. They look like green tomatoes with a papery husk.
- Garlic, Onion, Jalapeño Peppers: This trio provides plenty of flavor! Be sure to remove the seeds from the peppers if you don’t want the meat to be spicy.
- Fresh Cilantro: Don’t worry about picking off all the leaves. Tender stems are fine, too, because the whole business goes in the blender.
- Worcestershire Sauce, Salt and Pepper: Simple seasonings to complete the sauce.
How To Make Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
Put the pork into the crockpot. Cut the pork into approximately one inch chunks so that it cooks evenly. If you can’t find a boneless pork shoulder, just cut around the bone and discard it. Add the pork to your slow cooker.
Make the sauce. Next, prepare five or six tomatillos and cut them into chunks. Add half an onion, cut into quarters, halve two jalapeño peppers, and peel and halve a couple cloves of garlic. There’s no need to finely dice anything because it’s all going into the blender.
Add the tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, and garlic to a blender, along with chopped cilantro, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Process until the sauce is a slightly chunky consistency. It will look like salsa verde, which it really kind of is.
Slow cook. Pour the sauce over the pork, stir, turn on the slow cooker. Cook the pork for 7 to 8 hours on low, or 4 to 5 hours on high.
Shred the pork. Just before serving, remove the pork from the slow cooker, and shred it with a couple of forks. It should be very tender! Stir in some of the cooking sauce and serve on warm corn tortillas.
Add toppings! Toppings are always welcome. Try shredded lettuce or cabbage, crumbled queso fresco or a Mexican cheese blend, pickled red onions, chopped sweet onion, guacamole, chopped cilantro, or whatever you like.
What To Serve With Pork Tacos
Serve these flavorful pork tacos with Dos Equis or a craft beer of your choice. A specialty cocktail like a spicy Paloma or a strawberry margarita is always fun. Have lots of tortilla chips on hand to scoop up leftover sauce! Make your own baked tortilla chips or air fryer tortilla chips with any extra corn tortillas.
Recipe Variations
- Sear the pork. Some cooks like to sear the meat before slow cooking it. This cooking method is called braising. You can certainly do that for this recipe but I find that the meat is very flavorful without searing, and it’s much easier to skip that step.
- Make a burrito bowl. This rich braised pork is delicious served on cilantro lime rice or quinoa for a burrito bowl. Sprinkle with queso fresco and fresh cilantro.
- Stir in a can of white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini, rinsed and drained, for a more stew-like dish.
- Bake the pork in your oven, using a heavy covered pot, like a Dutch oven. Bake at 300°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Carnitas: Pork carnitas are somewhat similar to these pork tacos. If you don’t want to mess around with tomatillos or jalapeños, you may want to give Instant Pot carnitas or slow cooker carnitas a try.
- Not a fan of pork? Substitute 2 pounds (or more) of boneless skinless chicken thighs for the pork, or try my crockpot salsa chicken recipe.
Refrigerate/Freeze: Leftover pork tacos can be stored in a covered container in your fridge for three to four days, or a couple months in your freezer.
Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. Alternatively, spread the meat on a large rimmed baking sheet and broil it until lightly browned.
Cook the slow cooker pork taco meat, cool and refrigerate or freezer (thaw overnight before reheating). Reheat in the crockpot or use one of the methods above when you’re ready to serve it.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #67. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.
More Taco Recipes
Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- ¾ pound tomatillos (5 to 6 medium-sized tomatillos)
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 2 jalapeño peppers
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro (plus more for serving)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
To serve:
- 12 small corn tortillas (charred, see notes)
- pickled red onions, lime wedges, queso fresco cheese, additional cilantro, avocado (choose toppings you like)
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from pork, if desired. Cut pork into 1-inch cubes (doesn't have to be exact). Place the pork into slow cooker.1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- Husk and thoroughly rinse the tomatillos in warm running water to remove the sticky coating. Cut jalapeño peppers in half, and remove the stems and seeds. Cut tomatillos, onion, and jalapeño into 1-inch pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half.¾ pound tomatillos, ½ medium yellow onion, 2 jalapeño peppers, 2 garlic cloves
- Add tomatillos, onion, jalapeño peppers, garlic, cilantro, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to a blender container. Blend until no large chunks remain. Pour vegetable sauce over pork in slow cooker.¼ cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- Cover, and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove pork from slow cooker with tongs or slotted spoon to large plate. Shred with two forks. Return to sauce in slow cooker.
- Serve immediately on corn tortillas with desired toppings, and a drizzle of the tomatillo sauce from slow cooker.12 small corn tortillas, pickled red onions, lime wedges, queso fresco cheese, additional cilantro, avocado
Notes
- How to char tortillas: Use a low setting on your gas stove and place a corn tortilla directly on the burner grate for about 45 seconds or until flecked with dark spots. Flip over and do the other side. Keep tortillas warm in a cloth towel.
- Cook pork in the oven instead: Prepare the pork and sauce as directed. Put into a heavy covered pot, like a Dutch oven. Cover and bake at 300°F for 2½ to 3 hours.
- Chicken tacos: Substitute 2 pounds (or more) of boneless skinless chicken thighs for the pork, if desired.
- Alternate serving suggestion: This rich braised pork is delicious served on cilantro lime rice or quinoa, bowl-style. Sprinkle with queso fresco and fresh cilantro. Stir in a can of white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini, rinsed and drained, for a more stew-like dish.
- Meal prep idea: This recipe can easily be doubled (hit the 2X button) and will still fit into most crockpots. It’s excellent for meal prep because the pork freezes well. I like to freeze some of it in individual serving portions to use for a quick meal, whether it’s a bowl or a taco.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
looks fantastic.
Thanks Denise! We love these!
Hi! New reader here. Do you use corn or flour tortillas? And how do you get them to be slightly charred like that? Just heat on a stovetop?
Hi! Welcome to Rachel Cooks. :) I use corn, but you could use either. I do just char them on the open flame of my gas stove (they go fast so watch them!). This pork is also great on its own, on nachos, or in a burrito bowl!