These easy slow cooker carnitas are made with pork cooked low and slow until fall apart tender! A quick trip under the broiler ensures edges are crispy and caramelized.
You may also love these Mexican recipes in the slow cooker! Slow cooker chicken tinga tacos, ranch chicken tacos or slow cooker taco lasagna.
Table of Contents
Easy Crockpot Carnitas
There’s no better way to cook tender pork than in the crockpot. It gets perfectly tender and will literally fall right apart. These crockpot carnitas do just that, as well as my sweet pork tacos and kalua pork. So yummy!
These slow cooker pork carnitas are seriously the best ever. They aren’t made the typical way (with lard), but are a lot healthier and taste just as great! They are so easy to make and will take less than 5 minutes to throw together. Just set it and forget it.
Carnitas Ingredients
The seasonings and spices are what gives the carnitas so much flavor. The juice adds a hint of sweetness, while the taco seasoning gives them that wonderful Mexican flavor.
- Boneless pork shoulder or pork butt
- Apple or orange juice
- Lime
- Onion
- Taco seasoning
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Salt and pepper
- Jalapeno (optional)
How to Make Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Add ingredients to crockpot and cook on low. Pour juices into crockpot then mix the seasonings together in a small bowl and rub onto the pork shoulder. Add the pork to the crockpot and top with sliced onion and jalapeno. Turn crockpot to low and cook for about 8-10 hours.
- Shred the pork. Once the pork is tender and falling apart, remove it from the crockpot, place on cutting board and shred to remove excess fat. Return to crockpot to soak up juices.
- Broil the pork. Place the shredded pork on a large baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add 1-2 Tablespoons of the juice from the crockpot to the pork. Toss with tongs, then broil for another 3-5 minutes, until the crockpot pork carnitas are golden and crispy.
Carnitas in the Instant Pot
If you are in a hurry Instant Pot carnitas is a great timesaver and cooks in just 45 minutes in the pressure cooker vs hours of slow cooking!
- Add ingredients to Instant Pot.
- Cook on high 45 minutes then use Natural Release for 15 minutes before releasing remaining steam.
- Shred pork, return to Instant Pot to soak up juices.
- Broil in the oven until the edges are crispy.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Top the pulled pork with fresh cilantro and bam! Perfectly crispy pork carnitas recipe with tons of flavor. Enjoy straight out of the bowl, in carnita tacos, burritos or enchiladas!
Use carnitas to make:
- Add to corn tortillas for tacos
- Wrap in tortillas to make burritos
- Pork enchiladas or quesadillas
- Oven baked nachos
- Taquitos
- Adds to a taco salad with refried beans
- Swap the chicken for pork in this taco bowl
You may also love these Mexican recipes including crockpot Mexican chicken, easy crockpot chicken fajitas and green chili burritos.
More Mexican Slow Cooker Dishes
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Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup apple or orange juice
- 2 limes , juiced
- 4 to 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder/pork butt , excess fat trimmed
- 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ onion , quartered
- 1 jalapeno , deseeded and chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Add juices to slow cooker. Place the slow cooker on low and pour in 1/3 apple or orange juice and the juice of 2 limes.
- Cook on low. Combine 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin and pepper in a small bowl. Then rub onto the meat. Place 4 pounds pork into the slow cooker and then top with the 1/2 an onion and jalapeno. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 5 to 6 hours, or until meat falls apart.
- Shred meat. Remove meat from the slow cooker and onto a cutting board. Remove any excess fat and shred into smaller pieces. Remove any fat and the onions from the juices and then place meat back into the slow cooker. Stir the meat, so the juices are able to soak into the meat. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Broil edges. Turn on the broiler and set out a large baking sheet. Once oven has heated, place the meat onto the baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and add a Tablespoon or two of the juices to the meat. Toss with tongs and then places back into the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat has reached your desired crispiness. Enjoy while hot!
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: Cinco De Mayo, Crockpot, Crockpot, Dairy-Free, Dinner, Freezer-Friendly, Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Mexican, Nut-Free, One Pot, Pork, Whole 30
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
My mouth is watering just think about this!!
The pork is perfectly tender & has perfect flavor! I l love using pork, so thanks for sharing this delicious recipe! It’s very easy!
So yummy and easy to make! I agree no better way than the crockpot for shredded pork! :)
These were delicious! The meat was super flavorful and my kitchen smelt amazing all day to boot.
These were super yummy in tacos! Loved how easy it was in the slow cooker.
I love breaking out my slow cooker this time of year, perfect excuse to give these a try!
We LOVE Carnitas! Can’t wait to give this version a try! Pinning now!
I love that you didn’t use lard! Not a fan of that. And these look sooo good!
I love using the slow cooker! This recipe looks like it packs a ton of flavor! Thanks for sharing!
We love carnitas! These look perfect for our Taco Tuesday!
Mmmmm, I know what I want for dinner now!
With all those deliciously looking slow cooker recipes that are everywhere to be seen lately, I can’t believe I still don’t have one! It’s definitely time for some shopping!
Mmmmm, that looks so good! I LOVE how meat get when you let it simmer for so long – we had a beef version yesterday! I’m going to remember the oven step, haven’t done that before.
Have a great day!