Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
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.
You’ll love these meltingly tender pulled pork tacos with flavorful green tomatillo sauce! Piled on a charred corn tortilla with pickled red onions and soft queso fresco, and dripping with warm salsa verde, rich meaty pork tacos are a taste sensation.
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!
About these slow cooker pork tacos:
There’s a little bit of prep time at the beginning of this recipe. Once you get everything in the crockpot, it’s all hands off. Yay!
First off, cut up the pork shoulder. Aim for approximately one inch chunks. If you can’t find a boneless pork shoulder, just cut around the bone and discard it.
Put the pork into the crockpot.
Next, prepare five or six tomatillos. Trim and remove the husks, and rinse off the sticky coating. Cut them into one inch pieces, more or less. Add half an onion, cut into quarters, halve two jalapeño peppers, removing the seeds, and peel and halve a couple cloves of garlic.
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.
Pour the sauce over the pork, stir, turn on the slow cooker, and walk away. Your job is done, at least for a while — “a while” meaning 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
Just before serving, remove the pork from the slow cooker, and shred it with a couple of forks. It will be v-e-r-y tender. Stir in some of the cooking sauce and serve on warm corn tortillas. So flavorful, like a Mexican carnival in your mouth!
Toppings are always welcome too! Try shredded lettuce, crumbled queso fresco or a Mexican cheese blend, pickled red onions, chopped sweet onion, guacamole, chopped cilantro, or whatever you like.
Serve pork tacos with Dos Equis or a craft beer of your choice. Have lots of tortilla chips on hand to scoop up any leftover sauce!
What is the best cut of pork for tacos?
I like to use a boneless pork shoulder. 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. Pork tenderloin and pork loin roasts are leaner and perfect for quicker cooking methods.
How to make this taco meat your own:
- Not a fan of pork? Substitute 2 pounds (or more) of boneless skinless chicken thighs for the pork.
- Not in the mood for tacos? 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.
- If you prefer, prepare the pork in your oven, using a heavy covered pot, like a Dutch oven. Bake at 300°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Storage and Reheating Tips
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 on the stovetop or in the microwave. Alternatively, spread the meat on a large rimmed baking sheet and broil it until lightly browned.
Make ahead:
Prepare the slow cooker pork taco meat, cool and refrigerate. Reheat in the crockpot or use one of the methods above when you’re ready to serve.
Taco Tuesday?
Tacos are welcome on Taco Tuesday or any day of the week. Try one of these exciting taco fillings:
- Instant Pot Carnitas
- Easy Fish Tacos Recipe with Blood Orange Salsa
- Crispy Sweet Potato Tacos — a vegan recipe, with beer marinated sweet potatoes
- Cauliflower Tacos with Chickpeas — another meatless idea
- Shrimp Tacos with Avocado, Mango and Pineapple Salsa
- Healthy Taco Meat (in 30 minutes!)
- Cherry Chicken Tacos with Lime Sour Cream
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken — 2 Ingredients, 4 Variations
Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
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.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3/4 pound (5 to 6 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into quarters
- 2 jalapeños, stemmed, halved and seeds scraped out
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- Garnishes: pickled red onions, lime wedges, queso fresco cheese, additional cilantro, avocado
Instructions
- Place pork chunks in slow cooker.
- Cut tomatillos, onion, and jalapeno into 1-inch pieces. Add vegetables, garlic, cilantro, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to blender. Blend until no large chunks remain. Pour vegetable sauce over pork in slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 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 tomatillo sauce from slow cooker.
Notes
- If you prefer, prepare the pork in your oven, using a heavy covered pot, like a Dutch oven. Bake at 300°F for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- For more servings, double all ingredients.
- 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. 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.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 of 6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 814Total Fat: 60gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 223mgSodium: 536mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 59g
RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.
4 Comments on “Slow Cooker Pork Tacos”
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!