Slow Cooker Carnitas
These slow cooker carnitas are an easy and delicious one-pot dish! With crispy pulled pork shoulder, citrus, and fresh herbs, this dish is packed with flavor for tacos, bowls, and more.
Featured review
“Really good and easy base for a ton of meals!” – Timothy
Why you’ll love this slow cooker chicken and broccoli
Carnitas is a Mexican dish made with slow-cooked pork shoulder, simmered with fresh citrus, herbs, and spices until tender and falling apart. This is one of the staple dishes in my family that I’ve made for years, and will always keep coming back to!
Here’s why you’re going to love this recipe…
- Quick and easy! This recipe is so hands-off, with the slow cooker doing most of the work.
- Total crowd pleaser. This is the main dish that I always default to for when we have company! I set up a bar with rice, quick-pickled onions, beans, and more so my guests can build their own bowl, and it’s always a huge hit.
- Meal prep magic. This recipe is perfect for meal prep! I love making it on a Sunday and reheating it with various dishes throughout the week.
- Versatile for so many different dishes. It is so perfect for serving with tacos, nachos, burrito bowls, and more!
My take on carnitas is made in the slow cooker without any nightshade spices to make it AIP-friendly.
Recipe Ingredients
- Pork shoulder. You can either use pork shoulder with a bone, or without! Pork with a bone will have some more flavor, but you, of course, have to remove the bone and account for the weight from the bone.
- Orange and lime juice. I prefer to use fresh juice, but you can also use storebought juice.
- Onion and garlic.
- Coconut sugar, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper.
How to make slow cooker carnitas
Here are the simple steps, with photos, to make this recipe. Find full instructions in the recipe card.
Step one. Make the spice rub.
Step two. Add the dry rub to the pork shoulder.
Step three. Slow cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
Step four. Once cooked, remove the bay leaves an shred the pork.
Step five. Crisp the carnitas in the oven!
Michelle’s Tips & Tricks
- Trim the excess fat. If you have an excessively fatty pork shoulder, I suggest trimming some of the fat so you’re not chewing on fat pieces. However, you do want to leave a few small fatty spots to ensure the pork shoulder has flavor!
- Use fresh juice. Fresh orange and lime juice will always have the most flavor! But if you do use store-bought juice, use about 1/2 cup of orange juice and about 1/4 cup lime juice.
- Don’t skip crisp! This is key for the best texture and flavor! You’ll only need about 10 minutes in the oven.
Recipe FAQS
The best cut to use for carnitas is pork shoulder! Boston butt is another good option.
I love using the slow cooker for this recipe. However, you likely can also make this recipe in the instant pot by cooking it on high pressure at around 90 minutes.
How can you serve carnitas?
Carnitas are so great for adding to a variety of meals! Here are some ideas for how you can eat them…
- Burrito bowls. This recipe would be perfect with rice, instant pot refried beans, lettuce, and toppings!
- Nachos. I love these plantain carnitas nachos.
- In a breakfast hash. My mexican breakfast skillet would be great with carnitas instead of ground beef.
- Tacos. I like making these tacos topped with quick-pickled onions.
More Recipes to Try
Slow Cooker Carnitas
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Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar,
- 1 tbsp dried cilantro
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper, omit for AIP
- 3 lb pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed, see notes
- 2 oranges
- 2 limes, halved
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the coconut sugar, cilantro, oregano, salt and pepper (plus other seasoning if using) to create a dry rub. Rub the pork shoulder until evenly coated. Add to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Squeeze the juice of orange and limes over the pork shoulder. Add the onion, garlic and bay leaves.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Once cooked, discard the bay leaves. Carefully shred the pork with two forks until fully shredded.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and add the shredded pork to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon 3-4 spoonfuls of the cooking liquid over the pork shoulder. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until crisped to your liking!
- Serve topped with cilantro and additional lime wedges if desired.
Notes
I have made this twice and I adore it! Rhank ypu!!!! Wondering if you have anything similar I could do in slow cooker with pork chops? I have a bunch in the freezer, but I don’t like pork chops so I have been ignoring them
I don’t have any slow cooker pork chop recipes, but I love this one-pot pork chop recipe: https://unboundwellness.com/easy-one-pan-apple-pork-chops/
This is a family favorite – perfect every time and so flavorful! Thank you!
I recently became intolerant to pork. Do you think the recipe would work as written with chuck roast, or do I need to modify at all?
I love this recipe. I serve ot with the purple cole slow. Can’t find that recipe any more. Please bring it back
Really good and easy base for a ton of meals!
Thank you!!
You don’t add any liquid to the crockpot?
You do add the liquid from the oranges and limes, and the roast its self is very fatty so it creates its own liquid! You don’t need broth
Can this be made in the instapot? If so, what do you think the setting and cook time can be?
I like making it in the slow cooker, but you probably can make it in the instant pot by cooking it on high pressure at around 90 minutes.
I made this a long time ago & it was super yummy. I was just coming back to check the recipe & make it again, but the recipe I have printed out calls for 1/2 CUP BONE BROTH & I don’t see that listed here. I’m sure it needs it because all of your other crock pot recipes call for some sort of broth. I just wanted to point it out for new people, so they make it correctly, & it comes out as good as I know it is. This version also has the optional 1 Tbsp coconut sugar & mine doesn’t, but I might try adding that cause it sounds good too!
This recipe looks wonderful :). I have a 6 lb bone in pork butt – how long should I cook it in the crockpot? Also, I will be serving this to my MIL tomorrow, who can’t tolerate onions or garlic. Can I leave them out and/or sub something else (like carrots if it needs more moisture from vegetables, or bone broth)? I’m thinking after it’s been shredded, to separate her’s out and sprinkle it with horseradish then place it in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes, and sprinkle the rest of it with garlic powder and place that under the broiler. What do you think of that idea?
I think that’s a great idea! The recipe is for a 3 lb pork butt so I would recommend cutting it into 4 chunks and so it cooks faster and then do it the full 8 hours on low.