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
Hey Natasha I was wondering if I can use this recipe but put it in the insta pot?
How long would you recommend to pressurize it for?
Thank you!!
HI Kris, I haven’t tested that yet but it would be a great experiment and I will add it to my list. If you test it out before me, please let me know how it goes.
Made this easy pulled pork at my firehouse last rotation, the guys loved it… very easy to make and very delicious! (Firefighters are usually outstanding cooks).
Thanks Natasha
That’s so awesome! Thank you so much for sharing that with us Ilya!
Big fan of your recipes. I am trying to make this in my instant pot on slow cook mode, it only has 2-3 hours left and it’s still uncooked. Do you know what I did wrong?
Hi Jamie, it should cook in that time but I’m more than happy to troubleshoot. Did you substitute anything or alter the time or heat level by chance?
Could you use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika?
Hi Kathy, I saw someone commented on this ” I made this yesterday using smoked bbq sauce and smoked paprika because I couldn’t find liquid smoke in Australia. It tasted sooo good!” Hope that helps.
The “slow cook” option on the instant pot is at a lower temperature than regular slow cooker.
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I had to cook it for 9 hrs in low. So the second time I did 2 hours on high than turned it to 8 hrs on low. Great recipe.
That’s so great, Dustin!
This turned out fabulous! Thank you for the easy recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Allyson! Isn’t the flavor amazing!
one of our favorites!
One of our favorites also! That’s so great, Rachael!
What an easy and delicious recipe! I also love all the suggestions for using up pulled pork in case of leftovers. My favourite is to top nachos!
I bet this is so good over nachos! Great idea, Julia!
This is seriously the easiest to follow most delicious pulled pork recipe I’ve ever made. Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This is definitely a winner. I have a picky family and it got their approval, which is no easy task. Thank you
That’s just awesome! Sounds like you found a new favorite, Brandy!
Can this recipe be made in a dutch oven instead of a slow cooker?
Hi Eleanor, It would probably work well in a dutch oven, using a cooking method like this (Martha Stewart’s). I would prepare everything the same as for the slow cooker except put it in the dutch oven at the end instead of the slow cooker.
Is there honey in this? The one picture looks like honey going into the marinade.
Hi Ann, are you referring to the photo with the liquid smoke being poured in? This recipe does not call for honey bit it does have brown sugar. I hope that helps.
I make this with boneless pork loin, have made 3 or 4 times and I love it! I finally found my permanent BBQ recipe. Thanks!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Susan!
I accidentally bought pork loin roast boneless instead of pork shoulder and went ahead made it. It’s cooking now. I hope it’ll still work pulled pork. Will it?
Thank you, Holly
Hi Holly, pork loin roast is a very lean meat and not generally recommended for use in pulled pork, but I have had a couple of readers report good results using pork loin. I hope it works well for you!
Hi! just wondering if this would work on high for 4-5 hours?
Hi Jocelyne, I haven’t tried cooking this on high, but if I did, I’d put it on high for 4 hours then turn to low for 2 more hours or until it pulls apart easily to be sure it’s done.
Amazing!! It was definitely worth the wait. My family loved it. Thanks for recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Can I use a bone in pork
Hi Maria, I haven’t tested this recipe with bone-in but I would probably let it go 8-10 hours or until very tender.
Hi, I have not made this just yet but plan on making it for my son’s graduation party this month. I am cooking for 30+ people. I will need to make several of these. Do you have any tips for making larger amount? I will be making in the oven or a larger roaster. Thanks!
Hi Amy, my 2 pieces of meat were 6-7 lbs together. If you have a large enough crockpot and wanted to make a double batch, that would work to put both of them in. For 30+ people you may need 2 crock pots.
This recipe looks delicious! I plan to use it tomorrow. How do you think adding 1-4tbsp of bourbon would work in this? I’ve never really cooked with bourbon (other than adding it to buttercream frostings and stuff), but I’ve seen a few other recipes adding it to their pulled pork. I have no idea of the amount needed, but I imagine the flavor could work in this?
Hi Garrett! I honestly haven’t tested that so I cannot advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that!
Can you use a pork butt for this recipe?
Hi Janine, yes I think that would work fine, to use the butt cut.
Just wondering if this can be made with a boneless pork loin?
Hi Lilly, We used boneless pork for this recipe.
Would like coleslaw recipe!!
Hi Pat! You may find a couples versions following this link here! I hope you enjoy that!
This recipe is the best pulled pork recipe I’ve tried, and I’ve tried quite a few. Definitely do not omit the liquid smoke as this added such a depth of flavor. Also do not omit the onions. I had so much pork I had to split it in two separate slow cookers, one of which did not have onions. The batch with onions was better. This will be my go to recipe for pulled pork going forward! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
You’re welcome, Trisha! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Thank you for sharing your great review!