These Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos are packed with juicy, tender, slow-cooked pork, bold spices, and bright toppings for the ultimate weeknight dinner or casual gathering. This recipe delivers incredible flavor with minimal effort and is the kind of recipe that fills your home with amazing aromas all day long.
Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Dinner, Main Course
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 8 hours (slow cooker)
- 🍴 Servings: 8-10 tacos
- 🧄 Flavor Profile: Smoky, savory, citrusy, slightly sweet
- 🍚 Best Served With: Mexican rice, street corn, tortilla chips, coleslaw
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes. Perfect for meal prep and leftovers
Summarize and Save This Content On
If you love taco night as much as we do, these slow cooker pulled pork tacos are about to become a regular in your home. Just you wait and see.
This recipe was inspired by my pulled pork in oven and rotisserie chicken tacos on this site. It pairs well with this amazing slow cooker street corn casserole and my agua de Horchata (homemade Horchata recipe).
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Perfect for Taco Tuesdays: Shredded pork and warm tortillas create the ultimate Mexican-inspired meal.
- Family Friendly: Everyone can customize their tacos with their favorite toppings and if you make a big batch enjoy leftover pulled pork tacos later.
- Affordable Recipe: Pork shoulder is inexpensive and feeds a crowd.
Ingredients
This easy recipe uses simple ingredients, a few pantry spices and your pork shoulder transforms into the most incredible pulled pork tacos ever.
- Pork Shoulder: The best cut for tender, juicy slow cooker pulled pork tacos. Pork Butt also works great.
- Chili Powder and Cumin: Adds classic taco seasoning flavor.Chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and lime create a smoky, vibrant flavor.
- Smoked Paprika: Gives the pork a subtle smoky flavor.
- Garlic Powder and Onion Powder: Boost savory flavor throughout the pork.
- Oregano: Adds herbal balance to the spice blend.
- Onion and Garlic: Infuse the pork with aromatic flavor as it cooks.
- Lime Juice: Brightens the dish and balances the richness of the pork.
- Chicken Broth: Keeps the pork moist during the slow cooking process.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a slight sweetness to balance the spices.
- Tortillas: The perfect vessel for these flavorful pork tacos. Corn tortillas give a more traditional street taco flavor, while flour tortillas are softer and slightly sturdier.
The best Pulled Pork Tacos Toppings:
- Shredded cabbage
- Diced red onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Sliced avocado
- Lime wedges
- Salsa or pico de gallo
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
Variations
- BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos: Mix shredded pork with barbecue sauce or our hot BBQ sauce right before serving.
- Pineapple Pulled Pork Tacos: Add air fryer pineapple or baked Brazilian pineapple for sweet tropical flavor.
- Spicy Pulled Pork Tacos: Add chipotle peppers, sliced jalapenos, avocado hot sauce, scotch bonnet hot sauce or hot jalapeno hot sauce.
- Pulled Pork Taco Bowls: Serve over rice instead of tortillas.
- Cheesy Pulled Pork Tacos: Add shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar.
- Crunchy Pulled Pork Tacos: Use hard taco shells.
- Coleslaw Pulled Pork Tacos: Add my grandmas creamy coleslaw for extra texture.
- Crock Pot Tacos: Try our Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tenderloin for a change.
Serve these on Cinco de Mayo with my delicious strawberry horchata and cucumber agua fresca. Finish the meal off with these impressive dessert tacos and you'll be the neighborhood hero once they taste them.
How to Make Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos
This recipe comes together in just a few simple steps. Prepare the slow cooker by coating it with a light coating of cooking spray.
Step 1: Prepare the pork. Pat the pork shoulder dry and rub it evenly on all sides with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano.
Step 2: Prepare the Slow Cooker: Place the sliced onion and minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Set the seasoned pork on top of the onions.
In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, and brown sugar, then pour the mixture around the pork.
Step 3: Cover and cook the pork: Turn slow cooker on Low for 8 hours or High for 5 hours, until the pork is fork-tender and easily shreds.
Step 4: Remove pork from the slow cooker. Shred it with two forks, discarding excess fat.
Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and stir it into the cooking juices, then let it sit for 10 minutes to absorb flavor.
Step 5: Warm the tortillas and fill. Use a dry skillet until pliable.
Fill each tortilla with pulled pork and top with pulled pork tacos toppings before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Choose pork shoulder or pork butt for the most tender shredded pork.
- Cook on low for the best texture and flavor.
- Make the pork a day ahead for even deeper flavor.
- Serve taco toppings buffet-style for gatherings.
- Shred the pork while it is still warm.
- Let the shredded pork sit in the juices before serving for best flavor.
- Use excess pork to make leftover pulled pork tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas or salads.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our crock pot shredded chicken tacos or smash burger tacos.
Storage Directions
Refrigerator: Store shredded pork in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Freeze cooled pork in freezer-safe, air-tight containers for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Warm in a skillet with a splash of broth or microwave until heated through.
Make Ahead: Prepare the pork a day in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
- Try serving with this Mexican hash brown casserole.
- Pair with Mexican corn casserole, slow cooker corn on the cob and air fryer corn on the cob.
- Add tortilla chips and salsa, black bean and corn salad or the ultimate guacamole.
- Serve with Mexican rice.
- Add a crunchy jalapeno coleslaw or fresh salad.
- Serve with spicy jalapeno margaritas for taco night.
- Serve with salsa con queso, instant pot queso, or homemade queso on the side.
Recipe FAQs
Using a slow cooker or crock pot. The low, steady heat helps the pork become fork-tender while soaking up all the spices and cooking juices.
Yes, leftover pulled pork tacos are a great way to turn extra shredded pork into a quick and easy meal. Just reheat the pork, warm your tortillas, and add your favorite taco toppings.
Pulled pork is ideally cooked for about 8 hours on Low or, if necessary, 5 hours on High in the slow cooker. The pork is ready when it shreds easily with two forks.
The best cut of meat for pulled pork tacos is pork shoulder, also called pork butt. It has enough fat and connective tissue to become tender, juicy, and easy to shred, especially after slow cooking.
To keep pulled pork tacos from getting soggy, avoid adding too much cooking liquid to the tortillas. Let the shredded pork absorb the juices first, then use a slotted spoon if needed before assembling the tacos.
More Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes
Do you like using your slow cooker to make dinner? Here some recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Pulled Pork Tacos
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound boneless pork shoulder pork butt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 small yellow onion sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 12 small corn tortillas or flour tortillas
Optional Toppings:
- Shredded cabbage
- Diced red onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Sliced avocado
- Lime wedges
- Salsa or pico de gallo
Instructions
- Prepare the slow cooker by coating it with a light coating of cooking spray.
- Pat the pork shoulder dry and rub it evenly on all sides with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano.
- Place the sliced onion and minced garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Set the seasoned pork on top of the onions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, and brown sugar, then pour the mixture around the pork.
- Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5 hours, until the pork is fork-tender and easily shreds.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks, discarding excess fat. You should have about 6 cups pulled pork
- Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker and stir it into the cooking juices, then let it sit for 10 minutes to absorb flavor.
- Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet until pliable.
- Fill each tortilla with pulled pork and top with your desired pulled pork tacos toppings before serving.
Notes
- Choose pork shoulder or pork butt for the most tender shredded pork.
- Cook on low for the best texture and flavor.
- Make the pork a day ahead for even deeper flavor.
- Serve taco toppings buffet-style for gatherings.
- Shred the pork while it is still warm.
- Let the shredded pork sit in the juices before serving for best flavor.
- Use excess pork to make leftover pulled pork tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas or salads.
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