These Crockpot Carnitas are the best thing to ever come out of my slow cooker!
There’s fiesta night, and then there’s FIESTA NIGHT! Crockpot carnitas are about as good as it gets at our house. This easy recipe is mostly hands off because you put it in the slow cooker and forget about it (except that your house smells like delicious pork all day). However, there is a little detail about baking it for 45 minutes before serving. I know 45 minutes is a long time, and you could skip this step. However, allow me to show you the deliciousness that 45 minutes brings you:
Carnitas before baking.
Carnitas after baking!
God bless America, that baked version looks brown and crispy and beautiful. Try to make time for the slow-baking step if possible. It gives the taste and texture of authentic fried carnitas without doing any actual frying.
Enjoy your leftover carnitas on their own or in taco salad, quesadillas, or on buns with BBQ sauce. You could also try them as Queso Carnitas Loaded Potatoes!
6/5/2014 Update: This week I revamped this crockpot carnitas recipe. Many of you loved the old version (as did I!), but a few of you commented that it was too bland. I always appreciate your feedback, and while carnitas aren’t supposed to be particularly spicy or saucy, I certainly want you to be happy with the recipe. This new awesome(er) version has a few changes to make it even better:
- Cut the roast into chunks and pierce it to allow more flavor to penetrate the meat
- Eliminate the beef broth and reduce the water content to make the sauce more concentrated
- Use taco sauce instead of salsa and increase the spices to boost the flavor
I feel sure that you are going to love this new version even more, and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Perfect Crockpot Carnitas Recipe You can't beat this easy recipe for homemade carnitas, perfect for tacos! © The Weary Chef 2013-2016 Author: Click here to see your meal plan and grocery list! | |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 8 hours |
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| Servings: | Units: | Rate this recipe! |
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- 3-4 pounds pork shoulder roast
- 15 ounces green taco sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 sweet onion, sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk, (Do not add to crockpot.)
- 10-12 small tortillas, (Corn and whole wheat blend tortillas are my current fav.)
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- Suggested condiments: Finely shredded cabbage, guacamole or sliced avocado, and green salsa.
- Are you a fan of the old version? Just make these simple changes:
- Substitute a 16 oz. jar of green salsa for the taco sauce and a 15 oz. can of beef broth for the water.
- Substitute 1 tbsp. of onion powder for the fresh onion and 1 tsp. garlic powder for the fresh garlic.
Adapted from Carnitas by Honey Pickles.
Please note: This nutritional information is only an estimate. It can vary based on ingredient brands and is not guaranteed to be completely accurate.
Carnitas go great with…
Share your thoughts!
148 Comments on "Perfect Crockpot Carnitas Recipe"
Is there any way to get the old recipe? I can’t handle spicy foods at all. Truthfully, my taste buds are so strong I can tell the color of an M&M by taste alone. I need foods that others would describe as “bland.”
Hi, Stacy! This recipe isn’t spicy at all (just leave out the cayenne pepper). I do have a note in the recipe about how to make it the original way if you want to try that 🙂
I love to cook and I love new recipes. I go through at least 3 new recipes a week and I never leave a comment on any of the recipes I’ve tried. I HAD to comment on this recipe because it has been one of my favorites by far. So easy… great flavor… just delicious! This will be a regular in our house!
Thank you so much, Meghan! This is such a wonderful compliment, and I really appreciate that you took the time to leave a review 🙂 🙂
Just wondered WHY you’d want to crisp up the meat. Doesn’t that make it dry? Making this tonight so wondered about skipping this step.
Hi, Lori. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to reply before you had made this dish. I think the crispy edges do a good job of duplicating the texture of authentic fried carnitas, but you won’t go wrong with eating the meat right of the slow cooker either. I hope you enjoyed it however you decided to make it. Thank you!
Here in the UK we don’t seem to be able to buy the green taco sauce what could I use instead as I would love to make this dish as it looks so good.
Hi, Penny! Do you have any sort of green (made with tomatillos) salsa or green enchilada sauce? If not, just try it with red taco sauce instead if that is available. It will still turn out great I think 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you Andi for your reply I can get salsa and red taco sauce . Can’t wait to try it looks so yummy
OK, great! I really think it’s about the pork, slow cooking, and then crisping them in the oven. If you change the salsa or seasoning a bit, they will still turn out good 🙂
Sounds delicious. Can you make ahead and freeze?
I have to say that I’m not very experienced with freezer cooking because I don’t plan ahead very well 🙂 I would put it in the freezer with about a cup of the broth right out of the slow cooker. Then, I would thaw in the fridge and do the baking step with milk to “wake it up.” I think that would work well. Let me know how it turns out if you try it. Thanks so much!
I made these tonight! So good! I feel like putting them in the oven kind of dried out the top though. Did I do something wrong, or was it supposed to do that? Thank you for a new favorite! I would try to post my pic, but I don’t know how!!
Hi, Abby! Drying them out on top is kind of what it’s supposed to do. I call it crispy 🙂 If you didn’t like that texture though, you could just skip that step next time. I’m so happy that you liked the recipe otherwise! You can post your pic on my Facebook page if you want: facebook.com/wearychef/. I’d love to see it!
These look fabulous! And so easy… I was looking for an easy recipe to make to take camping this weekend and Im going to make this one! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you, Julie! I hope it turned out well for your camping trip. So sorry I missed your comment until now! Have a good weekend 🙂
I have this recipe in my slow cooker as we ‘speak’. I had no idea what green taco sauce is, so I used red enchilada sauce and some green salsa (it’s what I had on hand). And all the seasonings, of course. Getting ready to shred it, milk it, and throw it in the oven. I hope it tastes as good as it smells –IOW, totally and completely amazing! Thanks for the share, Andi.
I hope you love it, Jayla. I just made this for dinner Friday night, and it’s still one of our favorites 🙂 Thank you!
Update: It was 110% delicious! Husband loved it, so I will be making it often.
So glad to hear it, Jayla! Thank you!