Pulled Pork Tacos
36 Comments
Updated Feb 27, 2023
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Juicy pulled pork tacos piled with pickled red onions, avocado chunks, cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro leaves. Now tell me that doesn’t sound like a crowd favorite for taco night!
Growing up in Southern California, my love for tacos runs deep. From carne asada tacos to shrimp tacos and even breakfast tacos – there’s never a day where I’ll deny taco night. Especially after I make a batch of my insanely juicy and tender, slow cooker pulled pork.
Pulled pork is one of my favorite meal prep ingredients to make, given how many different types of meals I get out of it (which you can get a glimpse of in my winter meal prep). But when I have a big batch of meat like this – tacos are the quintessential choice, of course.
What’s In These Pulled Pork Tacos
Like any taco recipe, you just need your main source of protein, tortillas, and your favorite set of toppings.
- Pulled Pork: It’s time to put that slow cooker to good use and make a batch of my pulled pork recipe, which I’ve linked above and down below. There’s plenty for a full blown party, or save leftovers to enjoy the following days.
- Tortillas: If you’re gluten-free like me, I’m a big advocate of my cassava flour tortillas. But of course, you can use whichever tortilla your heart desires.
- Pickled Red Onion: These homemade pickled red onions make these tacos taste 1000x better. Plus, they’re super easy to make and ready in just one hour!
- Toppings: For the final touches, I always love to add avocado, goat cheese, and cilantro. For more ideas – I’ve listed out a few favorites below.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Prep the pork. Trim off any excess fat, then rub the spice mixture around the entire pork.
- Prep the slow cooker. Add the diced onion, garlic, and orange juice into the slow cooker. Then place the pork on top.
- Cook low and slow. Let this cook for 8 hours on low. But if you’re short on time, you can cook this 4 to 5 hours on high. By then, your pulled pork should be extremely tender and juicy!
- Time to shred. Carefully pull the pork out of the slow cooker and onto a cutting board. Then shred it up with two forks by pulling pieces apart. Now, you’re ready for taco assembly!
It’s Pulled Pork Taco Assembly Time! Here’s Your Options…
By instinct, it’s easy to go to your default taco toppings. But if you’re looking to give your pulled pork tacos some oomph, give any of these toppings a try!
- Sauces: Since we’ve already got pickled red onions, a drizzle of sour cream or this lime crema will be extra refreshing!
- Cheeses: I love to use cotija cheese for these tacos, but any crumbled cheese will work.
- Fresh Herbs & Veggies: Add refreshing flavors and crunch with chopped cilantro, coleslaw, or radishes.
Tips For Meal Prepping Ahead Of Time
Given that there’s multiple recipes within this recipe, I have a few recommendations to be most efficient (and to not completely destroy your kitchen in one fell swoop, like I did).
- Feel free to make the pulled pork the day ahead and refrigerate. You can then heat it up as needed for individual portions or the entire batch for a party. When reheating, you can microwave the pork or saute it. For the saute method, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and place enough of the pulled pork to cover the bottom of the pan. Let it crisp up on one side for crispy, carnitas goodness.
- Make the cassava flour tortillas in the morning, cool fully, and place in a storage bag. Just make sure to add a small piece of parchment paper between each tortilla to prevent sticking. These can then be microwaved for a few seconds to heat up.
- Make the pickled red onion the day (or days) beforehand. It will keep for a month in the refrigerator, so there’s no need to scurry around at the last minute trying to whip it up.
There’s Never Enough Taco Recipes, Right?
Come outdoor party season (or any time really), you’ll definitely want to make these pulled pork tacos for a hungry crowd. If you do, let me know how they turned out in a comment below!
Pulled Pork Tacos
Description
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 4½ pounds pork shoulder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 orange, juiced
Taco Ingredients
- tortillas
- pickled red onion
- goat cheese
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper together.
- Place the diced onion, garlic and orange juice in your slow cooker.
- Trim all excess fat from the pork shoulder, then rub the spice mixture generously around the entire pork shoulder and place in the slow cooker. Turn your slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours.
- Once your pork is fully cooked, remove it from the slow cooker to a plate or cutting board and use two forks to shred the pork.
- Assemble your tacos by placing a portion of warmed pulled pork, a few slices of onion, cheese, and cilantro on top of each tortilla.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted May 2015, but updated to include new photos.
If I’m doing 3x the recipe do I still cook for 8hrs?
Does it freeze well?
Yes, you can freeze the pulled pork for up to 3 months!
I made these for my family which includes a husband and 4 teenagers. It was a hit. They all loved it! I will definitely be making this again.
Happy to hear the whole family enjoyed these tacos!
EXCELLENT!!! I was so excited to make these & they did not disappoint!! I served them with guac, I made a little dairy free street corn type slaw, picked cabbage, your pickled red onions, & cilantro – they were so delicious!
So glad you enjoyed these pulled pork tacos Madi!
Hi Lisa,
How Can you make these if you don’t have a slow cooker? They look super tasty.
Unfortunately I haven’t tried this without a slow cooker, so will need to do additional testing!
This was so yummy! I was a bit nervous about the pickled onion but it added just the right amount of flavor to balance everything out. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Laura- The pickled onion is the perfect amount of extra flavoring in this recipe. Glad you enjoyed it :)
We loved this! Great for a crowd and super easy to make! The pickled onions really add an extra layer of deliciousness to it! We have also made this using a homemade sweet potato tostada instead of the cassava flour tortillas and it turned out great! And we made the pickled onions whole30 compliant but taking out the honey and that was really good too :)
Hi Badmire – That sounds amazing with a sweet potato tostada! I will definitely have to try this sometime :)
Can you use canned pineapple or does it need to be fresh? Thanks :)
Hi Sarah – You can used canned pineapple if you want! I just prefer fresh pineapple :)
I currently have this cooking in my slow cooker but I didn’t see pineapple in the recipe so I didn’t pick any up. I did juice of an orange. Is there a reason why pineapple isn’t on the recipe?
There’s no need for pineapple!
By far the favorite recipe in our home!! We serve at parties, family game night and community events we host in our home! So flavorful and tender, love the sweetness of a touch of pineapple and the tang of the pickled red onions. Great combo of flavors and knowing they’re healthy is an added bonus! Thanks for your creative genius and sharing your recipes with us! Tacos are big in Texas too, we can’t live without Taco Tuesday!!
Yay, I’m so happy you love these pulled pork tacos Sonya! They’re one of my favorites as well. Enjoy your Taco Tuesday and have an extra one for me! ;) x
These pulled pork tacos sound fantastic. I love pulled pork and pickled red onion. Such a tasty combo!
Yes, once you make pickled onions, no taco is complete with out them! Thanks, Jacqueline!
We had these for dinner last night and they were AMAZING! Thanks so much for sharing!
Of course! So glad you loved the tacos, Jessica! :)
These tacos are gorgeous and delicious! Pineapple is one of my fave taco toppings.
Thanks Emily! Yes, pineapple is amazing on these tacos. :)
Great recipe. I made the tortillas and ate them with some chicken and salsa that I had in my fridge. So good.
Thanks for the kind comment, Emily! So glad you enjoyed the tacos. :)
These pulled pork tacos look and sound so delicious!
They are mouth-wateringly delicious ;) Thanks Shanika!