Crockpot Pork Carnitas
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If you are looking for an easy dinner that tastes like you’ve been cooking all day (without actually having to cook all day), these Crockpot Pork Carnita Tacos won’t disappoint!
Slow Cooker Carnitas are pretty easy and inexpensive to make. This recipe makes a ton of food, so it is perfect for feeding a crowd.
The pork is tender, juicy, and packed with flavor! You can use this recipe to make tacos, burritos, nachos, or even eat the meat over rice with all of your favorite taco toppings.
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If you love shredded tacos, but aren’t a huge fan of pork check out my Crockpot Street Corn Shredded Beef Taco recipe! These tacos are made with a beef roast and topped with a delicious street corn topping.
Ingredients
- 7-9 lb Pork Butt (Boston butt)
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder
- Oil
- Chicken broth
- Orange juice
- Lime juice
- Minced garlic
- Green Chiles
- Onion, chopped
- Salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, black pepper
Make Crockpot Pork Carnitas
To start making the slow cooker carnitas, spray a crockpot with cooking spray and set aside.
Next, season a pork butt generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
I used Heath Riles Everyday Blend, but any blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder will work.
You can use a bone in or boneless butt for this recipe. I have used both, but this time I used a boneless pork butt.
Next, add some oil to a large skillet and sear all sides of the pork butt in a skillet over medium high heat.
Be sure to sear all sides of the pork. Once that has a golden sear, place the roast in the bottom of a slow cooker.
Pour chicken broth, orange juice, and lime juice over the top of your roast along with some minced garlic and a can of diced green Chiles.
Season everything with salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, dried cilantro, and black pepper.
Finally add a chopped onion over the top, place on the lid and flip it to low heat.
Let the roast cook for about 8 hours or until it shreds easily with a couple forks!
I prefer to remove a lot of the extra fat as I am shredding the meat.
This recipe makes a lot of meat which is great for feeding a crowd or having leftovers for at least a couple of days. If you don’t eat all of the meat it also freezes well. I like it vac seal the meat in 1-2 lb portions.
Make Pork Tacos
If you are making the meat into tacos, start by dipping white corn tortillas into the juices from the crockpot.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pan fry the tortillas that have been dipped in the juice over medium heat. Be sure to get both sides browned.
I like to crisp up the pork on the other side of the skillet before adding it to the crispy tortilla with a little Chihuahua cheese!
Keep cooking the tacos in the skillet until they get crispy. It helps to flip them a few times while they crisp up.
Serve Slow cooker Pork Carnitas
I served the pork tacos with some homemade Pico de Gallo, homemade Guacamole, and some tortilla chips. You can add any of your favorite taco toppings to the tacos!
The meat can be used to make tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, or nachos.
We had leftovers the next night by eating the meat over some Spanish rice with white queso and it didn’t disappoint!
We topped our plates with the leftover Pico de Gallo and Guacamole!
Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
- I usually use a 7-9 lb pork butt, boneless or bone in will work for this recipe.
- I like to remove the cooked meat from the crockpot when shredding so I can pick out any large pieces of remaining fat before adding the shredded meat back to the juices.
- When cooking, the pork releases fat into the juices of the crockpot. For crispy and flavorful tacos dip tortillas into those juices before pan frying.
- Any cheese you have on hand will work for these tacos, but I prefer Chihuahua cheese for easy melting and flavor.
- This recipe makes a lot of shredded pork. Any leftover meat freezes well.
- To make the tacos I like using white corn tortillas, but you can use yellow corn if you prefer.
- Homemade Pico de Gallo is so good on these tacos, but you can add any other of your favorite taco toppings.
Similar Recipes
- Street Corn Shredded Beef Tacos
- Crockpot Chipotle Beef Tacos
- Steak and Cheese Tacos
- Beef and Potato Tacos
- Shredded Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 7-8 lb Pork Butt Boston butt
- Heath Riles Every Day Rub (any salt, pepper, garlic powder blend will work)
- 1-2 tbsp oil
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of orange juice
- 1/4 cup of lime juice
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup green Chiles
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 4 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp each of cumin, cilantro, black pepper
Instructions
- Season a pork butt generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can use a bone in or boneless butt for this recipe.
- Next, add some oil to a large skillet and sear all sides of the pork butt in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Once that has a golden sear, place the roast in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Pour chicken broth, orange juice, and lime juice over the top of your roast along with some minced garlic and a can of diced green Chiles.
- Season everything with salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, dried cilantro, and black pepper.
- Finally add a chopped onion over the top, place on the lid and flip it to low heat. Let the roast cook for about 8 hours or until it shreds easily with a couple forks!
- To make your tacos dip white corn tortillas into the juices from the crockpot and pan fry them over medium heat. I like to crisp up the pork on the other side of the skillet before adding it to the crispy tortilla with a little Chihuahua cheese!
- Enjoy! Let me know if you try it out!