Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is our favorite way to make shredded pork because the meat is so juicy and tender. The sweet and smoky barbecue flavor makes it perfect for pulled pork sandwiches.
This is an easy, crowd-pleasing crockpot recipe everyone will love. Watch the video tutorial and it will make your mouth water! P.S. You can even freeze leftover pork for another busy weeknight.
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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe:
My sister Svetlana is a natural cook; someone who throws lots of ingredients together and it turns out amazing. This is her recipe and as the story goes, she had planned to make a pot roast and purchased the wrong kind of meat! This crockpot bbq pork turned out to be the best kind of mistake and is now a family and reader favorite.
This pork is easy to prepare; just toss everything into the slow cooker and it does all of the work. You can use all of that free time for making some delicious sides to go along with your meal. We love serving this with our favorite coleslaw (pictured above). This would also be delicious with a side of our smashed potatoes or crispy baked potato wedges.
Ingredients for Pulled Pork:
Here are the things you will need to make pulled pork in a slow cooker: a large onion, 6-7 lbs of boneless Pork Shoulder Chuck Roast, and a simple homemade pork rub with salt, black pepper, and paprika.
For the marinade, you’ll need chicken broth, BBQ Sauce (use homemade Barbecue Sauce or Stubb’s Sticky Sweet storebought), liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, fresh garlic, and brown sugar. The liquid smoke is optional but does add great smoked pulled pork flavor.
How to Make Pulled Pork:
Shredded Pork in the crockpot doesn’t get any easier. There is no pre-cooking or searing required. Watch the video tutorial below.
1. Add diced onion to the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. To make the Pulled Pork Rub, combine 1 Tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp paprika. Sprinkle seasonings over the meat and massage to rub the seasoning into the meat. Place meat in the slow cooker.
3. For the marinade, combine: 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup BBQ sauce, 1 Tbsp liquid smoke, 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and 3 pressed garlic cloves then stir to combine. Pour the marinade over the pork.
4. Cover and set the crockpot on low for 8 hours if using 2 smaller roasts or 8-10 hours for 1 large roast. Remove the meat to a large bowl and remove any fat. Shred with two forks. Pour some of the remaining sauce in the slow cooker over the pork, adding it to taste. Brush the shredded pork with more BBQ Sauce.
How to Serve Pulled Pork:
The great thing about crockpot cooking is it’s easy to take along and serve other places outside your home while still keeping things hot and fresh. Here are a few ideas of other ways to use this great crockpot recipe. Pulled pork leftovers are the best kind of leftovers!
- BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches on a soft potato bun is our favorite way to serve shredded pork.
- Pulled Pork Tacos are a fun twist to Taco Tuesday!
- Shredded Pork Nachos served with tortilla chips, cheese, and all the fixings are great for parties.
- Pork Wraps are delicious with some corn and black beans.
- Pork Salad is a smart and lighter meal option, adding pork for protein.
- Pulled Pork Sliders are so good in homemade dinner rolls.
More Easy Slow Cooker Recipes:
For those busy days, try some of our other crock-pot meals:
- BBQ Chicken – Great with coconut coleslaw.
- Bolognese Sauce – Prepped in the morning, ready when you come home.
- Crockpot Lasagna – Just as good as the classic recipe, but easier.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili – A tasty twist on a traditional favorite.
- Shredded Chicken Tacos – A quick, fun dinner party idea.
- Shredded Beef Sandwiches – great for meal prep!
Watch How to Make Pulled Pork:
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Pulled Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 6 lbs boneless Pork Shoulder Chuck Roast, (or 2 smaller roasts totalling 6-7 lbs)
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup your favorite BBQ Sauce
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke, optional but nice
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 large garlic cloves, pressed
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Chop 1 large onion and place it into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Combine 1 Tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp paprika and generously sprinkle the pork roast. Massage the roast to rub the seasoning into the meat. Place meat over the onions.
- For the marinade, combine: 1 cup chicken broth, 1 cup BBQ sauce, 1 Tbsp liquid smoke, 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, and 3 pressed garlic cloves. Stir to combine. Pour the marinade over the pork.
- Cover and set on low for 8 hours for 2 smaller roasts or 8-10 hours for a single large roast. It's ready when easily pulled apart with forks. Remove the meat to a large bowl and remove any fat. Shred with forks. Pour any drippings from the crockpot over the meat to taste then brush meat with warm barbecue sauce to serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Hi! If I cut this recipe in half, when should I check on it and how will I know if it’s done? Thanks!
Hi Amaris, it should still take about 8 hours. You can check it at 6 and 7 hours and you’ll know it’s ready if it’s easy to pull the meat apart with forks.
We made this tonight and really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing this recipie! 🙂
You are very welcome and thank you for sharing a nice review with us 😀.
I made this about a month ago and it is AMAZING!!! The whole family loved it. I am making this now but with pork ribs. I am sure it will be just as amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!!
You are welcome Wendy and thank you for sharing such a nice review 😄.
Hi. I roasted a pork shoulder with bone in. I stuffed garlic cloves inside and put sliced onions on top. It came out tasteless and dry. Do you think that I can salvage it and make pulled pork with it? If I follow your recipe and cut down on cooking time? Help!! My mother always cooked the pork roast that way. I have cut the meat off the the bone in large chunks. Should I leave some of the fat in the crock pot for moisture ad remove after it is done? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Hi KitSue, to be honest, I’m not sure if it could become tender in the slow cooker after becoming tough in the oven. It might be worth a test…. Maybe someone else could suggest something? I’ve been googling for answers and came up short as far as rescuing a dry roasted pork shoulder.
I’m making this today. Is there a way to shorten the cooking time? I know some recipes either call for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Would that work for this recipe?
Victoria, I think it would work fine using 4 hours on high setting. Also, cutting the pork in half will help to cook it faster.
i still love your photos. the shot of the sandwich is a real stand out. i had already made my pork,i use about the same items but mine is wraped in foil,then in the oven,225,for about 10 hrs.i didnt have the slaw ,but it was still good.next time i will try my slow cooker–it looks great !
Warren, thank you for the compliment and for sharing your version of the pulled pork 😀.
I have a ton of pork tenderloin in my freezer… Could I use that in place of the pork roast?
Hi Haley, I think that would work but start checking it at 4 hours on low because it is a thinner cut of meat and it doesn’t have as much fat so you don’t want to overcook it. P.S. have you tried our roasted pork tenderloin? It’s literally one of the top 3 recipes on my blog (out of about 700) and has excellent reviews. I hope you give it a try! 😉
Having a gathering of about 20 people and want to make this. If I double the recipe would it still take 8 hours on low to cook?
Hi Sue! If your slow cooker can accommodate that much meat, it should take about the same amount of time to cook, maybe 1 hour longer, but test it at the same time per the recipe and turn it off when it pulls apart easily with forks.
In the crock pot now! Smells delicious. Thank you for the recipe! 🙂
You’re very welcome. Enjoy! 🙂
What would you think of no bbq sauce, then serving with a variety of sauces so the guest could choose? Carolina, Sweet Baby Rays, Spicy , Smokey. Or would not adding it and cooking it in make it dryer and not as tasty?
Hi Mike, adding the bbq sauce while cooking is important for the flavor and outcome of the pulled pork but I think it would still taste great if you served it with a variety of bbq sauces since the bbq sauce in the pulled pork mellows out while cooking so I don’t think the flavor profiles would conflict if you served it with other bbq sauces.
How many servings is your recipe. Looking to try this out this weekend for Father’s day!
Thank you
Carly, this recipe makes 8-10 servings. Let me know how it turns out 😀.
Hi Natasha, I’m about to make this delicious meat and am using a 2qt slow cooker. Any suggestion on how long it should cook? Same time or less? Thank you:)
Hi Ester, I’m sorry I’m not sure how I missed your comment! Did you cut down the ingredients or keep them the same? If you cut the ingredients in half, it may finish up sooner – test it at 6 hours and then again at 7 hours. It’s done when it falls apart easily.
Hi, Thanks so much for this recipe. I made this yesterday using smoked bbq sauce and smoked paprika because I couldn’t find liquid smoke in Australia. It tasted sooo good! Will definitely share your website with others.
Adrian, you’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and nice job improvising 😀.
Do pour out any of the liquid from the crock pot after the meat is cooked and you shred it?
Hi Galina, yes, it is in step 4. I add it to keep the meat really juicy.
Thank you Natasha!!! I re-read the recipe again and saw that part… Lol.. It turned out amazing!!! Thanks again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the awesome review 🙂
Hello, I am using half the amount of meat the recipe calls for. Should I also cut the rest of the ingredients in half, or just keep them as listed in the recipe?
Thank you! I can’t wait to try this!
It depends – if you are using a smaller crockpot, you would want to cut the rest of the ingredients in half. If your crock pot is large, you can cut the rest of the ingredients in half but you should also cut the meat into 2 or 3 pieces so most of it is in the liquid. If your crock pot is large you can leave the rest of the ingredients as listed if you wish.
I made this today, and we all loved it! Thank you so much for the great recipe! By the way, I used a 3.5 pound pork loin.
I’m so happy you all loved it! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 So it was a pork loin rather than a tenderloin? Did you make any other changes? Bake time? Thanks!
Hey Natasha,
Where can I buy this bread it looks so good compared to the regular buns.
Olesya, this is a potato bun. I bought it at my local grocery store (Winco).
Any suggestions how to cook the meat without slow cooker? (I don’t have one).
It would probably work well in a dutch oven, using a cooking method like this (Martha Stewart’s)
I love it how you’re using a baby spoon to mix the spices! 🙂 Haha I always used my baby spoons for everything as well! But I can’t wait to try this recipe!
That really is the baby’s spoon. lol. I did wash it well ;). I hope you love the recipe!
Hi
Will it work if i have smoked paprika and dont have liquid smoke
You can use that as a substitute. Liquid smoke just adds a nice smoky flavor but the recipe will still work without it.
hey, how long do you think I would need to cook the meat if i used a 3 pound piece of meat?
It might get done after 6-7 hours. Check it to make sure it is tender and cooked through.