Break out the crock pot for this Easy Slow Cooker Pork in a Tomatillo Sauce flavored with cilantro, garlic, onions, and cumin. A delicious filling for taco, burritos, or low carb it and eat it on it's own!
An easy slow cooker pork recipe for Cinco de Mayo
Even if you don't know what Cinco de Mayo is all about, you are probably still going to eat some Mexican food and partake in some sort of a Mexican beverage. Since it falls on a school night this year, I wanted dinner to be a super easy recipe. One that wouldn't take a lot of prep time or finishing time, so you know what that means. The slower cooker is coming out!!!
I've made a similar recipe for Chile Verde pork in the crock pot, but it had a few more steps to it. I cut the meat into chucks, browned them first, used fresh tomatillos, and added chilies.
For this recipe, I didn't do any of that. I just threw a boneless pork butt in the slow cooker and added a large can of tomatillos with some cilantro and spices. Then I turned the cooker on low for 8 hours. Super easy and super lazy, but it turned out great!
Slow cooked pork in a flavorful tomatillo sauce
At the end of cooking, the pork can be shredded and used as is or it can be crispy fried in a pan, like carnitas. Squeeze a little fresh lime on top and put the pork in soft corn or flour tortillas as tacos or burritos.
Spoon it over rice or mashed sweet potatoes. Or just eat it on it's own topped with pico de gallo and other accompaniments.
However you like it, it's a wonderfully easy dish and delicious entree. Plus, there should be enough leftovers to eat the following night for dinner. Another two-fer recipe. Love me some leftovers!
Even though we are celebrating Cinco de Mayo at home this year, we are celebrating it again the weekend after at a taco challenge. This challenge is where all the downtown restaurants make their best taco and everyone walks a "taco" route, buying them and eating them up. All the money is raised for local charities, so we don't feel bad ordering and eating a sh*t ton of tacos. Heeheehee.
Need more Cinco de Mayo recipes? Try this Blueberry Sunrise margarita or these fun margarita shots served in a lime wedge!
Hope you enjoy this Easy Slow Cooker Pork Tomatillo Style for Cinco de Mayo and be sure to PIN IT for later.
Easy Slow Cooker Tomatillo Pork
Ingredients
- 4 pound boneless pork butt trimmed of excess fat
- 2 cups puréed fresh or canned tomatillos
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ cup yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large lime
- optional accompaniments: pico de gallo , shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeños, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, sliced avocados, salsa, sour cream, and soft flour or corn tortillas
Instructions
- Place pork butt in slow cooker. Cover the pork with all the ingredients EXCEPT the lime and optional accompaniments. Place lid on top of slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Remove pork from slow cooker and shred into smaller pieces with two forks. Place the shredded pork back in slow cooker with the leftover sauce and sprinkle with the fresh lime juice. Stir well. Serve with optional accompaniments, if desired.
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- No slow cooker? Cook the pork in a oven! In an oiled Dutch oven over medium-heat heat, brown the pork roast on all sides. Push pork to one side, add the chopped onion and garlic and lightly brown, then add all remaining ingredients. Cover and cook it in a preheated 325F/163C oven for 2-3 hours.
Nancy Jaime
Favorite accompaniments with this?
Karrie
Great sides are Spanish rice or plain rice, any beans whole or refried (pinto, black, etc), sweet potatoes, yuca fries (recipe here--> https://www.tastyeverafter.com/oven-baked-yuca-fries-with-easy-garlic-aioli/). Any green veg is good with it too. It goes well with pretty much anything!
Nickolas McCombe
I would say spice it up a bit
Karrie
Hi Nickolas, Glad you liked it! This pork is supposed to be a more mild dish, but I encourage people to make each recipe their own by adding favorite spices/seasonings.
Clark Sarah
I don’t have a slow cooker and would like to cook in the oven , what temperature and time
Would you suggest?
Karrie
You can brown the pork roast on all sides in an oiled pan over medium-heat heat, then cook it in a preheated 325F/163C oven for 2-3 hours.
Lol
This is definitely a keeper. I modified it by the following:
- I used a tomatillo salsa (with onions and jalapeños) instead of the tomatillos, just because the tomatillo offerings in my area are lacking
- Instead of normal salt and pepper, I used Chef Marla's Super Hot Sh-t arein (sorry for the language)
- I used a mortal and pestle on 2 jalapeños and added that to the slow cooker
As well, I used Herdez Medium Guacamole Salsa over cilantro and onions on the street tacos I made. The verde recipe has incredible flavor (can't wait to try over eggs!) and tastes better the next day
Karrie
Thank you so much for your review and happy you liked it! Love your variations and will have to try them next time with that super hot shit seasoning...hahahaha! Yaaaayyyy to leftovers with eggs!!!!
Adam Baratz
I'm generally anti-slowcooker but for pork shoulder it is the perfect vessel! I love this recipe, I need to use tomatillo's more, they are super delicious. Per always, everything looks great:)
Karrie@tastyeverafter
Hey Adam! Thanks and I know what you mean about slow cookers...I totally have a love-hate relationship with my mine. And I agree with you on tomatillos, they are super delicious!
Sam
This sounds so delicious! I love slow cooker meals for clinical days, so I'll definitely be trying this soon.
Karrie@tastyeverafter
Thanks Sam! Love your site and the name (the story is too cute!).
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Karrie, this sounds scrumptious! I love tomatillos and who doesn't love some slow cooked, shredded & succulent pork butt? Super easy + super yummy = fan-dang-tastic recipe be a doll and send me some cheers, my sweets! Xo
Karrie@tastyeverafter
Amen sistah! I'll trade you this for some of your jerk carnitas...