Pulled Pork Tacos – a simple and delicious meal your whole family will love! Perfect for busy weeknights!
Best Ever Pulled Pork Tacos (Pork Carnitas Recipe)
This is a go-to weeknight dinner in our house! We have SO many different ways to make a yummy batch of pulled pork on the site (see below) – there is just not much better than flavorful, tender and delicious pulled pork with some mango salsa, cilantro and lime juice! Of course, we have tons of other options so you can make this recipe our own. This is not an authentic Mexican recipe, but rather my own spin – if you want some authentic Mexican recipe check out Isabel Eats!
Love Carnitas – try our Beer Braised Smoked Carnitas!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Make Ahead: This is a perfect recipe to make on the weekend and prep either lunches or dinner for the week! It’s seriously so easy.
- Versatile: I love how tacos seem to please everyone – there are so many options and variations – feel free to use whatever you like, but I have a ton of suggestions below!
- Crowd-Friendly: Having crowd over for dinner, prepping for the Big Game …. this recipe is perfect!
Pulled Pork Taco Ingredients
- homemade pork rub: I absolutely love our homemade rub – it includes all the good things like kosher salt, paprika, lemon pepper, a bit of cayenne pepper (optional), garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper and dry mustard. Feel free to add in a bit of cumin, chili powder or oregano too for even more spice!
- yellow mustard + liquid smoke: these are both rubbed on the pork shoulder to add flavor and to help the rub stay on.
- pork shoulder: feel free to use pork butt or pork shoulder and boneless or bone-in.
- beef broth: this is only if you are making the Instant Pot version.
- fresh limes: because that fresh lime juice pairs so well with the pork!
- guacamole: we love our homemade version, but feel free to use store bought if that is easier.
- fresh cilantro: lots and lots of it!
- fresh salsa: again, store bought is fine here, but we really love this mango salsa!
- sour cream: we have a homemade dairy-free sour cream on the blog, but use whatever kind works best for you.
- tortillas: use grain free tortillas, corn tortillas or flour tortillas!
- other toppings: you could throw in your favorite cheese or black beans if you wanted to!
What toppings go on pulled pork tacos?
Here are a few of my favorites:
- fresh cilantro
- guacamole
- fresh lime juice
- salsa (I love using mango salsa!), but really any kind will do!
- dairy-free “sour cream” (paleo/Whole30)
- you could also go more of a BBQ route and do BBQ sauce
Best way to shred pulled pork
The best way to shred pork shoulder or pulled pork is to remove it from the slow cooker/Instant Pot and place on a large plate or platter. Then just use the forks or to pull apart; the meat basically just falls apart. I usually place the meat back into the juices, but that is up to you!
Storage + Freezing Tips
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer: to freeze shred cooked pork and let cool. Place shredded pork + any juices in a freezer-safe container and seal. Freezer for up to 3-6 months. To thaw place in the refrigerator overnight.
Pulled Pork Recipes
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Salsa Verde Chicken (IP + Slow Cooker)
- Short Rib Ragu (IP + Slow Cooker)
- Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken
- Steak Tacos
- Ultimate Pork Roast
Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Pulled Pork Tacos
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 12 servings
- Category: Dinnerr
- Method: Instant Pot + Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pulled Pork Tacos – a simple and delicious meal your whole family will love! Perfect for meal prep and busy weeknights!
Ingredients
Pulled Pork (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)
- 1 batch of this homemade pork rub
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- approximately 1–2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- (1) 3-3.5 lb pork shoulder (with or without the bone)
- 1 cup beef broth (for Instant Pot pulled pork only)
Tacos
- fresh limes, slices
- guacamole
- fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- fresh salsa (mango salsa recommended)
- sour cream (regular or dairy-free)
- tortillas (flour, corn or paleo)
- cotija cheese, crumbled
Instructions
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Place pork shoulder on a large plate or platter.
- Rub with liquid smoke, getting into all the little crevices.
- Then rub with yellow mustard.
- Finally, take the pork rub and rub all over, it will create almost a paste.*
- Place trivet inside Instant Pot and add beef broth. Ensure valve is set to “Seal.”
- Place pork shoulder in Instant Pot and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 90 minutes. Allow to naturally release 15 minutes and then manually release remaining pressure carefully.
- Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks (discarding bone if it had one).
- Feel free to return shredded meat to Instant Pot to combine with the juices or to serve immediately.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Place pork shoulder on a large plate or platter.
- Rub with liquid smoke, getting into all the little crevices.
- Then rub with yellow mustard.
- Finally, take the pork rub and rub all over, it will create almost a paste.*
- Place in slow cooker (no liquid needed) and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
- Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks (discarding bone if it had one).
- Feel free to return shredded meat to slow cooker to combine with the juices or to serve immediately.
For serving:
- Place pulled pork on top of tortilla.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice on top.
- Add cilantro, mango salsa, cotija cheese and other desired toppings.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Other Cooking options: you can also make your pulled pork in the oven or on the smoker!!
- Once you have the applied the liquid smoke, mustard and pork rub you can place it in the slow cooker right away OR you can wrap it up (in plastic wrap or foil) and allow it to sit in the refrigerator overnight. This will help it be little more flavorful, but it is not necessary for the recipe to turn out! It still tastes amazing if you skip that step!
- Cook Time: Cook time was calculated using the Instant Pot cooking method.
- Leftovers: if you have leftover pulled pork feel free to make carnitas, enchiladas or quesadillas!
Originally published January 30, 2020.
Margaret says
This recipe was amazing – 5 stars from all four family members, including the picky tween!! Don’t skip the mango salsa. It is the perfect balance to the savory pork. (I didn’t have pineapple so just used all mango and it was perfect.). This will be on regular rotation in my house. 🤩
Erin says
So happy to hear you enjoyed this one, Margaret!
Leslie says
Wow this pulled pork might be the best I’ve ever had, I didn’t have to add anything extra. I didn’t have liquid smoke but it really didn’t even need it! I’ll be making this pork on repeat from now on! I used a small (3lb roast) so I didn’t use the entire batch of seasoning and it was still perfect! Go make this NOW!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Leslie! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback – I really appreciate it!