Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
374 Comments
Updated Sep 25, 2024
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Slow cooker pulled pork is incredibly juicy, tender and flavorful with the perfect blend of spices. It’s an easy “set it and forget it” slow cooker recipe that’ll you’ll love.
Pulled pork is great for serving a crowd or for weekly meal prep – especially as there’s so much you can do with it! And let’s be honest, pulled pork tacos are the best.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
My slow cooker is one of the most used appliances in my kitchen, right after my Vitamix. And it’s perfect for making the best slow cooker pulled pork you’ve ever tasted.
With how busy we all are it’s great to have a recipe that only takes 5 minutes to prep and cooks all on its own. There’s definitely no slaving away in the kitchen with this recipe. In fact, it’s quite possibly the easiest pulled pork recipe that exists.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe Video
Want to know how to make the best pulled pork? Let me show you. Watch the quick tutorial video below!
The Best Cut of Pork for Pulled Pork
When it comes to making pulled pork, look for a boneless pork shoulder. Sometimes it’s also called a pork butt or Boston butt. You can find bone-in pork shoulders, though I prefer a boneless pork shoulder for more meat in my slow cooker.
Choose a pork shoulder that’s well marbled (for extra flavor), but not too much fat on the edges. You can trim any excess fat off as well.
The Most Delicious Pulled Pork Rub
The spice rub I use on this pulled pork is a combination of paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. It’s flavorful spicy, but not hot spicy. And it tastes just as delicious as my brisket dry rub (though that one is more sweet and smoky).
How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – 4 Easy Steps
For the most perfectly spiced, cooked, tender, juicy, oozing with flavor pulled pork, follow these four easy steps:
- Place the diced onion, garlic and orange juice in the slow cooker
- Rub the dried spices on all sides of your pork
- Place the pork in the slow cooker and set the timer for 8 hours on low (don’t use high – it’s much more tender cooked low and slow)
- Remove the pork to a plate or cutting board and use two forks to shred
You barely have to lift a finger with this recipe and the outcome is the most delicious pulled pork you’ve ever tasted!
What to Serve with Pulled Pork
Well, first, let’s not forget that you can eat it all on it’s on. But I also love to serve it with:
- Mashed potatoes (or Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Mashed Cauliflower)
- Baked Sweet Potato (hint: stuff the sweet potato with the pulled pork, like my BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato recipe)
- Avocado Egg Salad
- Easy Cucumber Salad
- Baked Beans
- Pickle De Gallo
It’s also great mixed with your favorite barbecue sauce, made into a pulled pork salad or topped on some fried eggs for a savory, protein-packed breakfast. The options are endless. And that’s what makes this slow cooker pulled pork recipe so darn good.
How to Store Any Leftover Pulled Pork
If you don’t happen to eat it all the pulled pork one sitting, not to worry – it’s delicious meal prep for later in the week. Just place it in a meal prep container. It will last for 4-5 days in the fridge or for 2-3 months in the freezer.
BEST Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe
Description
Video
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the diced onion, garlic and orange juice in your slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix all of the spices together.
- 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.
Lisa’s Tips
- You can add some of the remaining liquid from the slow cooker to the pulled pork for extra moisture.
- This is a delicious BBQ sauce that’s also paleo and Whole30 friendly. It’s great on this pork!
- I’ve also heard great things about this slow cooker, if you’re looking to buy a new one.
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.
This recipe was originally posted May 2015, but updated to include new photos and information.
It smells delicious. Mine is almost twice as big, but I adjusted. I probably won’t hear back from you in time, but want to ask.. what internal temperature am I going for? I’ll let you know later how it turns out.
Hi Sally – you’ll cook it to about 200F, though I go more by how easily it shreds than temperature. Hope you enjoy it!
My FIL hates onions. Can I skip them in this recipe? Should I up the juice or add chicken broth or anything to make up for the juices from the onions? Thanks so much!
Made this today. My pork butt was still a bit frozen in the middle. I needed an onion and some orange juice. So, while waiting for the store to open, i went ahead and rubbed with the spices, put the garlic in the crock, placed the roast in as well. In the 2 hours waiting for the store to open, the roast thawed enough to cut it in half. I added the onion and 6 ounces of oj. Cooked on low for 8 hours. The end result is amazing! I shredded the meat and added 3 ladles of the juices to it. I then added Sweet Baby Ray’s honey bbq sauce. The end resut is to die for!! Thank you so much. Hubby said, “don’t lose this recipe!”
So thrilled you and the hubby both loved this recipe, Michelle!
My pork is frozen. Can I just put in crockpot frozen or do I need to thaw it first? If so will I need to extend the cook time?
Hi Joanne – I would let it thaw first.
Wondering if I want to prep this the day before, the best way to reheat? Should I leave everything in the pot once cooled and reheat the next day on low for a couple hours or pull out and reheat in a pan? Thank you!
Yes, you can reheat this in the slow cooker!
This is a good recipe. I used 3.66lbs pork butt. Added a little more or the spices, and used half smoked paprika and half sweet paprika. But, after tearing the meat apart, and adding a little of the leftover juice, the meat was very flavorful. Will use again! Thank you so much for sharing it!
So happy you loved it!
A great easy and quick to prepare recipe and let the slow cooker do the work. I used a 1.6kg joint and it needed the full 8 hours. Once cooked, it fell apart into juicy shreds of meat, I added some juice from the slow cooker (Yes there is plenty of juice) which added to the juiciness of the meat. However, still a bit bland tasting IMO. This was soon rectified by adding BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s). Served this in a Brioche bun with Apple Sauce and Coleslaw alongside some Animal-Style Fries (another recipe), man this was a great hit with all the family :-)
Thrilled to hear this pulled pork was a success, Chris! Sounds great with all the different sides you served it with.
I made this 8/03/2024 ….i added only one thing —-> 1 sm habanero pepper, crushed & seeds removed. It added a nice deep flavor complimenting the cumin & paprika. It doesn’t add much heat at all. I just love the habanero pepper! I found this recipe to be easy, delicious and so aromatic! Thank You!! It’s my very first time making pulled pork and your recipe made it easy & flavorful……Thank You so much!
Hi Kimberly – I’m so glad it worked out for your first time making pulled pork :)
Hi, do you have to remove the skin/fat off the shoulder of pork before cooking?
Hi Sarah – I do trim it a bit.
This was very delish! I have a family of 3 boys and they all loved it. We had a larger roast, so I made another bowl of the spice mix and added that to the shredded pork. This helped to incorporate all those flavors throughout the meat. Before I did that, the inside pieces were more bland and the edges were flavorful. This will be in our rotation, for sure!
So happy the whole family loved it! Thanks, Pamela!
I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I do this in my Staub either in the oven or on the stovetop?
I made it in my Dutch oven in a 325F oven for 5.5 hours. I tripled the orange juice, but probably only needed to double it. I kept all other ingredients and measurements the same. Like Lisa, I just threw everything into the pot, closed the lid, put it in the oven at 325F and walked away.
Have you ever tried this in an Instant Pot?
Yes, all the time. 45 min on high, 30 min natural release.
I want to use orange juice, how much? Also, that is more than a four pound butt!
One orange worth of juice is typically about 4 tablespoons (2 ounces)
Another excellent recipe. So very good and easy to prepare. Thank you!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Vicky!
In my home, my mom is the cook….I can do small things but am very intimidated by cooking larger meals. Currently my mom is going through some medical hardships, so I’m trying out more things and this recipe seemed easy enough that even I could pull it off.
I’m happy to report that dinner was a big hit tonight and we have plenty for leftovers tomorrow! The only change I made was using pineapple juice instead of an orange (we didn’t have any oranges available). The meat was tender, very flavorful, and shredded easily.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I will definitely be saving it for future meals.
Hi Robin – I’m so glad this pulled pork recipe worked out perfectly (and with ease!). I wish your mom a speedy recovery as well.
Our family are not pulled pork fans but this one hit it out of the ball park. Had a gathering of 21 people and was thinking of something easy to make. Everyone loved it and I would recommend this recipe with out question.
Hi Margaret – Happy to hear this pulled pork recipe ended up being a dinner everyone loved! Perfect for a crowd too.
My wife is allergic to Orange (Migraine Headaches),but is a slow cooker boss! What can i use as a substitute for the Orange?
Hi Peter – how about a little pineapple juice?
I’m also allergic to oranges. Did the pineapple juice work out well?
Well I am 85 yrs old, raised in the mid-west and have eaten plenty of pulled pork and like to try new recipes but I have never heard of a recipe with ORANGE JUICE! So I am giving it a try for Father’s Day with our children. Hope it works!!💜
Hi Sandra – How did this turn out for Father’s Day?
The meat was cooked perfectly with very little juice in it. But my family preferred my bar-b-a recipe, so I had to make and add it the 2nd time around! Sorry. I have to go with. The flow!!💜
Hi Sandra – No worries, I’m glad this turned out great though!
What do you do with the onion and garlic at the end? Mix them with the shredded pork, strain the liquid and use them as a topping, or are those only for adding flavor during the cooking process?
Hi David – Those are meant to add flavor during the cooking process. But you can add them on top before serving as well.
How much is one serving ?
Recipe is very easy and pork comes out very soft, but also very very bland….
Hi Anna – if you’d like a stronger punch of flavor, give my carnitas recipe a try!
Just finished making it with a 6.67 lb, pork butt. I followed the directions and added one and one half orange juice. I cooked it in crockpot for 8 hours on low and it is perfect and tasty. I have lots of juice and am wondering how I’ll use it. I love that this recipe is no sugar and low in sodium. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, Pat!
Another idea, other than barbecue sauce, is gravy. Buy the jars of turkey gravy, mix that into finished pulle pork. Great sansandwiches!
Sounds great, thanks for sharing Pamela!
Trying this for the first time and just realized my husband bought a bone in center cut roast. I have followed all the other instructions. Do you think cook time will be the same? Anything different I need to do now that it’s in the crock pot?
Hello, how many hrs in the slow cooker for an 8lb roast?
Thank you
I cook over night on low for 10 hours. Cut in half before cooking, season each piece
I got myself into trouble because I used an 8lb piece of meat and when you toggle to double the recipe it still says to only cook 8 hours. I’ll let it go for a couple more hours and maybe we can have tomorrow.
Easy and delicious . Great recipe, I used pork tenderloin and turned out soft and juicy.
Thanks for all your recipes that make my life easier!!
Hi Katty – I’m so glad you love this pulled pork recipe!
Should the roast be turned over halfway thru cooking?
Hi Lyn – no, there’s no need to do that. Enjoy!
Can you use pork sirloin rost
I’ve made this several times now and it always turns out great! I was skeptical about the lack of liquid the first time because I’ve read other recipes that nearly submerge the meat in liquid (like coke or Pepsi, which I prefer to avoid), but it’s clearly not necessary! Which is great because it’s less wasteful and healthier anyway. I just mix some of the juices into the finished pulled meat and it’s perfect. Thank you!
So happy you love this pulled pork, Laura! And yes, there’s definitely no need for added liquid. It gets plenty juicy all on it’s own. :) Enjoy!
My family loved it! Using leftovers for pulled pork sandwiches and burritos. A+
Great recipe!
How long and what temp would you cook this in the oven? i have a big pan i’ve used for turkey and such, and my crock pot is broken
Hi Abby – I haven’t tested this in the oven yet. When I do, I will add those notes!
I just did this in the oven today using a 15lb roast, It came in 2 large pieces so I cooked them in 2x 9×13 foil pans (4x Recipe) cooked this at 325F covered in foil for approx 8.5 hrs, made sure it was over 200F internal temp as that means it will pull nicely. Worked out fine! I added a little Apple Cider vinegar to the mix as well. It creates plenty of juice so make sure you put the foil pans on a sheet tray to catch any overflow.
Why is there no liquid in this recipe?
Am I missing something?
Hi there – No liquid is needed as the pork will naturally produce lots of juice as it cooks.
Trying this for the first time. I have Pork Loin, not Pork Shoulder, does that make a difference?
Thank you
Hi Nicholas – Yep, that’s fine!
So glad I found this recipe for crockpot pork! I seasoned according to the recipe even though I was worried about the addition orange juice. Final product pulled apart easily with a couple of forks. I had no reason to worry, the taste was MMM. I was very pleased with the outcome and so were my family & friends.
I offered BBQ sauces for anyone that wanted to add to the flavor. Most people chose to eat it as it was.
I saved this recipe and will make it again!
Hi Sheila – Happy to hear your pulled pork turned out perfectly with this recipe!