This easy Pork Carnitas recipe is sure to win you over. They are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside! Let the slow cooker do all the work and you will make restaurant-quality Mexican carnitas with little mess or fuss.
We love re-creating our favorite Mexican-inspired recipes at home, from Guacamole to Fish Tacos and even Chicken Fajitas. These pork carnitas are another family favorite that will be on your regular rotation. You’ll also appreciate that leftovers keep really well.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Carnitas
We love slow cooker recipes that require simple ingredients and minimal clean-up. I’m SO looking forward to sharing this recipe with you! For years, I’ve worked on creating the perfect carnitas. They either came out too dry or too greasy. But, these are JUST right. Here’s why you will love this Carnitas Recipe:
- Easy – there’s no need to pre-sear the meat, just season it and add it to the slow cooker along with all the other ingredients.
- Crisp and Tender – the slow cooker makes the meat super tender and finishing it off in the oven (or skillet – see below) creates the dreamiest crispy edges.
- FLAVOR – the addition of lime and orange juice create a richly flavored broth that bastes the meat as it slowly cooks.
- Leftovers – Pork carnitas store really well in the refrigerator or freezer so they a great idea for your weekly meal plan.
- Crowd-Pleasing – this recipe is easy and makes a generous batch which is perfect for feeding a crowd. It’s a great option for hosting, birthdays or events.
What is Carnitas?
Carnitas, or “little meats” in Spanish, is a popular Mexican recipe. It’s essentially braised or simmered pork that has been cooked in a flavorful broth until ridiculously tender.
If they already aren’t one of your favorite dishes to order at your local taqueria, get prepared to fall in love. This pork packs some serious flavor and is the perfect candidate for weekend meal prepping. From carnitas tacos to burritos to salads, carnitas go great on almost anything.
Ingredients
- Pork Roast – The best roast for Carnitas is a boneless pork shoulder or pork butt.
- Carnita seasonings – Salt, black pepper, and dried oregano make a simple and delicious seasoning.
- Onion and Garlic – add rich flavor to the broth.
- Lime juice and Orange juice – add bright flavor and keep the carnitas from feeling too greasy. The acidity also helps to tenderize the pork roast. This is the key to the best carnitas.
- Bay leaves – If you don’t have bay leaves on hand, you can skip them, but just as with soups, we like to add them for more aroma and flavor.
How to Make Carnitas
Let the slow cooker do ALL the work for you. Cooking your pork low and slow ensures that it will be nice and tender when it is time to chow down. There’s nothing worse than spending a bunch of time prepping carnitas for them to simply turn out bland and dry. Follow this easy step-by-step process for perfect carnitas every time:
- Season – Pat your pork dry and season pork roast liberally.
- In the slow cooker, add your veggies, broth, citrus and bay leaves.
- Add the roast and slow cook on high heat for 5 hours (or on low for 7-9 hours) or until pork is very tender and shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred pork – transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and shred pork with 2 forks. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the slow cooker juices on top.
- Broil the shredded pork for 5 minutes, until the edges are delicious and crispy.
How to Serve Pork Carnitas
- Carnita tacos: Grab your favorite corn tortilla, some onions, Cowboy Caviar, cilantro, and lime wedges. Pack each tortilla with crispy pork. This is the perfect party food!
- Nachos: Oh yes, everyone’s favorite snack food is made that much more delicious with some homemade carnitas. Top your chips off with a scoop of carnitas, cheese, sour cream, and Pico de gallo.
- Burrito: I mean, who doesn’t love a good burrito? Stuff a large, flour tortilla with all the usual suspects and dip it into jalapeno ranch.
- Salad: Add carnitas for our favorite Mexican Salad! This makes for a great weekday lunch.
Common Questions
Unfortunately, a pork tenderloin or pork loin would not work well in this recipe because they are too lean and will end up tough and dry.
Be sure to thaw your pork roast before putting it into the slow cooker, otherwise, your cook times will be off and your pork won’t cook properly. The USDA recommends you always defrost meat before putting it into a slow cooker.
Yes, you can crisp up the carnitas in a skillet after you shred the meat. Oil a skillet, add pork and drizzle with some of the slow cooker juices. Let the meat cook and sear until golden brown on the first side, then flip and briefly sear on the second side to your desired crispiness.
Carnitas are often confused for another dish called “barbacoa”. While the concept is similar, barbacoa is typically beef that has been slow-cooked in dried chiles and spices until tender. Also, barbacoa is much spicier!
Make Ahead
We love that this Mexican pulled pork can be made ahead.
- Refrigerating – Before the final crisping step, carnitas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- To freeze – Carnitas can be frozen for up to 3 months. Pack carnitas in a freezer-safe bag with some of the juices from the slow cooker. To prevent freezer burn, remove as much air as you can when sealing.
- To reheat – Thaw carnitas if frozen, then you can crisp them on a skillet or in the oven per the recipe instructions.
More Pork Recipes
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- Pulled Pork Recipe
- Instant Pot Ribs
- Grilled Pork Chops
- Pork Chops in the Air Fryer
- Cuban Pork Sandwich
Carnitas Recipe (Mexican Pulled Pork)
Ingredients
- 4 lb boneless pork roast, (pork butt or pork shoulder)
- 3 tsp fine sea salt, (or 2 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves
- 4 Tbsp lime juice, (from 2 limes)
- 1/2 cup orange juice, (from 2 oranges)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves, optional
Instructions
- Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Combine salt, pepper and dried oregano and rub pork with the seasoning.
- In the slow cooker, add chopped onion, garlic cloves, broth, lime juice, orange juice, and bay leaves if using.
- Add the pork to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 7-9 hours.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker and transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet. Shredded the pork with two forks and drizzle the top with 1/2 cup of the slow cooker juices.
- To get crispy edges, broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Hi Natasha!
Can you use Bone-In Pork Butt for this recipe? Any different cooking times?
Hi Samantha, I haven’t tested this bone in but I imagine you will need to increase cook time.
Love love love this recipe! I get a little intimated by cooking meats sometimes as I was vegetarian for a few years. But this has got to be one of my favorite meals I’ve made! The meat is juicy & flavorful, no additional seasoning required! We made street tacos out of this & topped it with green Chile salsa & cheese on a corn tortilla, so yummy! Oh & it’s easy! What more can you ask for in a weeknight dinner recipe?!
I love your comments! Thank you so much for sharing that with us, so glad you loved this recipe!
Amazing! Cooked this tonight with a 2.75lb. Pork roast and still used the recipe ingredients as recommended. I let cook on high for 5 hours. So juicy and tender. Made corn tortillas and served with radishes, onion and cilantro and a bit of cheese. So good. I may try it next time with a bit of cumin it spice it up a bit but overall we enjoyed it and will definitely be making it again!!
That sounds so awesome! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for sharing your experience with us!
This sounds wonderful. For the carnitas do you use a pork loin roast?
Thank you
Hi Judith! I hope you love this recipe! We used a 4 lb boneless pork roast.
What if I don’t have orange juice or oranges? What can I use instead? Thanks!
Hi Shannon, I have not tried any other substitute ingredient to advise.
The recipe calls for 5 garlic cloves. Are added whole? Step 2 in the instructions say add garlic cloves then at the end of the sentence it says to add garlic and bay leaves.
Hi, yes those are whole cloves and I apologize we had the word garlic doubled in those instructions.
I love all of Natasha’s recipes. She makes them all sound so easy and so good. I really like the nutritional info after each recipe, BUT while recipes give info on a serving, SERVING SIZE is not given. For those of us on special diets, we need the serving size so we can plan our daily meals and keep nutritional values within our necessary ranges. Can that be included in the nutrition info, please?
Hi Paula, thank you so much for that suggestion. As you can imagine it is a time-consuming process to add those to each post and we are working through our list. We include the serving sized on our printable recipe card.
Looks like that would be an awesome meal for a pressure cooker.
Cooked half the time.
I hope you like it and please share with us how it goes.
Try using smoked pork for making this. It takes it all up to another level of deliciousness. As always, I love your blog and trying your recipes. Good work Natasha!
So great to hear that Sandy. Thank you so much for your suggestion and tip!
It looks delicious. Is that pickled red onions you served them with? How do you make it?
HI Isa, if you marinate sliced red onion in a little vinegar, it will create pickled onion. I don’t have a recipe posted for that yet but that is the simplest way.
Loved this recipe and flavor was good but next time I cook this I will cut the salt in half as it was too salty for me.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I agree, way to salty and this is coming from someone who will literally lick salt from the palm of their hand.
My husband loved it and I did, too!! <3
Great to hear that, Kathy! I hope you both love every recipe that you try.
I have a bone-in pork roast. Should I adjust cook time?
Hi Lia, you’re right – bone-in would require more cook time.
Made these for all the neighbors, they were amazing!! Everyone loved them! Will make again, freezer left overs were just as good!!
That is so nice of you to share it with your neighbors. I’m glad everyone enjoyed this recipe!
THE PICS FOR THE RECIPE SURE DON’T ADD UP?? WHATS THE GREEN STUFF?? WHERE DID THE RED ONIONS COME FROM??
Hi Robert, those are serving suggestions since pork carnitas are just the plain flavored pork without toppings or fixings.
Thanks so much for the recipe, these look so delicious, perfect weekday lunch idea! Can’t wait to prepare these for my family!
I hope your family loves this recipe!
Easier way. Cut a pork shoulder into four sections, place in a oven roasting bag – like the turkey bags but smaller – place in roasting pan and into a 300 degree over for four hours the meat will literally fall off the bone scoop the meat out with a slotted spoon and it’s ready. What happens as the meat cooks the fat is rendered out and the pork will actually deep fry itself in it’s own fat. One can put rubs on pieces before cooking and add a quartered onion to the bag. Comes out like carnitas which is really deep fried pork
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This sounds delicious! Do you think it could be done in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, and how long would that take? Thanks in advance for your advice!
Hi Barbara, typically for this amount of pork, you could make pork carnitas in an instant pot on high pressure for 30 minutes with a 15-minute natural pressure release.
Can I cook on the stove or in the oven of i don’t have a slow cooker? If so, for how long? Thanks
Hi Marina, you can also make baked carnitas in the oven covered in a dutch oven at 300˚F for about 3 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender and easy to shred with forks.
Great for Taco Tuesday
The best! I hope you love this recipe!
These are seriously sooo delicious and flavorful! And so simple! My family is so obsessed! Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m so happy you love the carnitas recipe! Thank you for sharing that with me!