Break out the crock pot for this 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 whenever the holiday rolls around. Since it falls on a school night this year, I wanted dinner to be a super easy recipe and 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, where I cut the meat into chucks and brown them first, use fresh tomatillos, and add more varieties of chilies. For this recipe, I didn’t do any of that. I just threw a boneless pork butt in the slow cooker, topped it with a large can of puréed tomatillos, fresh chopped cilantro and some spices, then turned it 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, but with a beautiful tomatillo sauce flavored with cilantro, garlic, and onions. 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.
If you are in need of some recipes for a Cinco de Mayo party, there’s this different kind of margarita or even try this fun way to have them in a lime wedge!
Hope you enjoy this Easy Slow Cooker Pork Tomatillo Style for Cinco de Mayo tomorrow or PIN IT for later.
- 4 pound boneless pork butt trimmed of excess fat
- 2 cups puréed fresh or canned tomatillos
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 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
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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.
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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.
I love how easy this is to put together, Karrie! I can imagine all the flavors of the tomatillo, onion, garlic and spices really developing and flavoring the pork. Sounds delicious and looks fantastic!
Thanks so much Beeta. Happy Cinco de Mayo to you
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
Amen sistah! I’ll trade you this for some of your jerk carnitas…
This sounds so delicious! I love slow cooker meals for clinical days, so I’ll definitely be trying this soon.
Thanks Sam! Love your site and the name (the story is too cute!).
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:)
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!
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
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!!!!