Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Slow cooker pulled pork is my favorite way to serve a crowd! This pork is coated in a homemade spice rub, then simmered in the crockpot until tender. Shred the meat, then dinner is ready to serve! Crockpot pulled pork is easy, tender, delicious and everyone always loves it!
With just about 10 minutes of prep, this recipe is perfect to add to the slow cooker before heading out for the day. You’ll come home to a crockpot full of tender, juicy pulled pork, perfect for sandwiches.
On busy days when I know I won’t have much time to prepare dinner, I love to use my slow cooker. My family absolutely loves this simple, yet satisfying pulled pork. It’s so delicious, I personally think it’s the best slow cooker pulled pork. And it makes for such an easy and versatile dinner option – it can be used in so many different ways. It’s a great option for a huge family dinner, for game day or even parties. I make this recipe at least once a month!
Let the slow cooker do all of the work, and then pile this pulled pork on toasted buns and top with some fresh homemade coleslaw for a meal that’s always a hit! We also love this slow cooker pulled pork piled on baked potatoes or served with Cauliflower Au Gratin or Mac and Cheese.
How To Make Slow Cooker Pulled Pork?
- Rub the pork with a homemade seasoning blend.
- To give the pork even more flavor, brown the outside of the meat in a pan with some oil.
- Add the pork to the slow cooker and cook it until tender.
- Once cooked, shred with 2 forks and stir back into the juices.
- If you’d like, you can add BBQ sauce to the meat. Serve on buns or rolls!
What Cut Of Meat Is Best For Pulled Pork?
For juicy, tender pulled pork, you want a cut of meat with some marbling for flavor and to keep the pork from drying out. The best cut of meat for pulled pork is pork shoulder. Pork butt and pork shoulder both come from the shoulder of the hog and either will work great. Either part of the pork shoulder will result in a wonderful taste and texture. However, if you have a choice between the top of the pork shoulder (the Boston butt) or the bottom of the pork shoulder (the picnic roast), choose the Boston butt. It will be the most juicy, tender, and super flavorful!
Tips For Crockpot Pulled Pork
- Browning the meat before adding it to the slow cooker is optional. If I have the extra time, I like to brown it because it brings out a lot of extra flavor to the pulled pork.
- The spice rub listed in the recipe card, below, is very tasty and so easy. However, you can use a store bought spice mix, if preferred.
- You can use bone in or boneless pork shoulder. If you use bone in pork shoulder, simply remove the meat from the bone before you shred it.
- For the best results and most tender meat, I recommend slow cooking the pork on low for 8 hours. I would NOT turn the setting to high and only cook the pork for 4-6 hours.
- If you prefer saucy pulled pork, simply add about 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce to the meat once it is shredded.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Serving Suggestions
- My favorite way to serve pulled pork is piled high on a toasted bun and topped with fresh, creamy, crisp coleslaw! Use my easy homemade coleslaw recipe that is absolutely delicious. I give instructions for shredding your own cabbage or using a bag mix.
- Pulled pork is also wonderful spooned over baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes or even baked macaroni and cheese.
- Use pulled pork in tortillas topped with avocado, sour cream and cheese for taco night.
- To use up leftover pulled pork use it as a pizza topping, for nachos or add it to soup or salad.
Slow cooker pulled pork is honestly one of my favorite meals. It always comes out so tender, flavorful and delicious. It’s amazing in a sandwich, on pizza, for tacos, or to simply eat as-is with some chips and potato salad. Using a crockpot makes it such an easy meal too! This one is definitely a crowd pleaser!
More Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
If you try this slow cooker pulled pork recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves them as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re cooking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Slow cooker pulled pork is my favorite way to serve a crowd! This pork is coated in a homemade spice rub, then simmered in the crockpot until tender. Shred the meat, then dinner is ready to serve! Crockpot pulled pork is easy, tender, delicious and everyone always loves it!
- 3-4 pounds pork shoulder, bone in or boneless, can also use country style pork ribs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 onion chopped
- In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and brown sugar. Rub this all over the pork shoulder.
- Heat a large pot with about 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Brown the pork shoulder on all sides about 3-4 minutes per side. on the stove.
- Place pork shoulder in the slow cooker with the onions and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. After 8 hours, shred the pork with two forks and mix it all up with the "pan sauce" that's inside the slow cooker.
Serve on toasted buns with coleslaw.
For BBQ pulled pork: After pork is shredded, stir in about 1 cup BBQ sauce, then serve.
Leftover pulled pork can be stored in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to four months.
Make ahead: The pork can be made a day or two in advance.
Photos by Sasha at Eat Love Eats.
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I made this and it was delicious!! I made pulled pork tacos topped with cilantro and guacamole. This is a good idea for a quick dinner meal since it’s in the crock pot. I used the leftovers to make breakfast tacos with a fried egg on top! So good!!
This pulled pork recipe was so delicious! Loved the flavor!
Just made this for dinner tonight. So easy and super yummy. The family loved it. Will be adding this to our family menu =)
Thank you, Kim, for this delicious recipe! Made it for Sunday dinner and my entire family loved it! The pork was so tender and flavorful.
Excellent recipe. Super easy and tasty! It’s an instant hit with my family. So versatile too! Can make tacos, salads, sandwiches. Thank you Kim! Super yummy go-to recipe!
I made this recipe yesterday for dinner and my family LOVED it! My husband especially!
Hello! The pork came out delicious but I did add 1 c of beef broth to the recipe. Also, do you know how much pulled pork makes up one serving?
Glad you enjoyed! I only divided the recipe into 8 equal servings for calculating nutrition but I’m not sure how many grams or cups each serving is.