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
I have a 4 lb boneless pork loin I want to use instead of a pork shoulder. That’s ok right?
Hi Christina, I bet this will work. Someone commented and shared this “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!” I hope that helps!
We absolutely 💯 percent love this recipe. We have been searching for a recipe We both like and this is dynamite 💥💥💥
Natasha, I am going to retire soon and will have time to prepare meals. Your recipies are 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I’m so excited to try all your recipies. Thank you, thank.
Sounds great! Thanks for this review, I hope you will love all of the recipes that you will try.
This is the most awesome recipe for pulled pork and so easy. We smoked it for 2 hours in the Weber grill to get some bark at 250degrees. Because of this I did not add any liquid smoke. This meant that it didn’t take as long in the slow cooker, but it came out so juicy and delicious. The recipe for the sauce is so easy too and adds so much flavor. Definitely our favorite way to make pulled pork from now on.
Hello Andrea, nice to hear from you and thank you for sharing your experience trying our Pulled Pork Recipe. We’re glad to know that you loved it so much!
Made this for my coworkers tonight. Everybody loved it! . the only thing I would change is the amount of chicken broth to put in. Next time I will just put 1/2 cup. It made too much liquid consistency. But an excellent recipe! Will definitely make it again!
Hi! If I make 3 lb of roast… do I half all the other ingredients and keep for 8 hours???
Hi Alice, it should still take about the same amount of time. 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.
I made this pulled pork exactly (almost) as written & it was fantastic!! I used sweet smoked paprika & my husband loved the smokey flavor from the liquid smoke & the paprika combined!! No need for an outdoor “smoker” guys!! I did move the pork from the liquid to cool & just used my fingers to separate meat from bones & fat. Also, I made a 3 lb. roast instead & used this full recipe of ingredients for 6 good size sandwiches!! Love this!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Carol!
I made your pulled pork recipe yesterday …sooo good! I also made your recipe for barbecue sauce to use in the pulled pork recipe. I did use half of the pepper and paprika called for in each recipe. I was afraid it was going to be too spicy hot. My question is can you freeze the pulled pork at some point? Oh and I chopped the pork instead of shredding. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Hi Elizabeth, this will freeze well.
Recipe is on my menu for Boxing Day this year. I would like to make it ahead (so I’m not pulling the meat apart with 14 people watching me 😊) if I froze the finished meat what would be your suggestion for reheating (in the slow cooker). Thank you,
Hi Kim, this would work to make it a day ahead and then reheat the following day. If you need a quicker reheat, I would suggest a deep skillet to reheat it. You can also reheat in the crock pot – put it on low if you have some time to warm it up or set it to high and keep an eye on it and turn it down to warm once it’s well heated through.
Tried this today. Turned out great. Instead of making it into pulled pork, made it a roast. Used an instant pot on slow cook for five hours, then added potatoes and carrots. Pressure Cooked it for another half hour. Made a gravy with the juices. Excellent flavor.
Thank you for sharing, Jonathan! That sounds amazing.
Hi Natasha,
We love these flavors and have made it 3 times. Setting this all in my crock and will let it sit overnight in fridge, cooking in the morning. Haven’t seen this addressed before but the 1st two attempts, so much liquid cooked out of the roast that it bubbled over and seeped into the interior of the crockpot. It was a baked on mess. This time I am omitting the broth. Hoping we get enough flavor from the other ingredients (and no major cleanup inside the aluminum part!). Wish me an easy cleanup this go round!
Hi Miriam! I’m glad your family loves these! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Natasha.
Love all your recipes. I’ve made this pulled pork a couple of times and as a few others have mentioned they find it to be bland. By adding additional bbq sauce after the pork has been removed from the slow cooker it becomes really good and tasty. I did notice today that you have a picture of smoked paprika with your ingredients and myself and others could be using regular paprika as your recipe list calls for Paprika and not smoked. Should we be using smoked paprika and do you think this will help with the flavor. Thank you for all your amazing recipes !
Hi Debbie, regular or smoked paprika works will in this recipe! I hope you love it!
Hi Natasha. I just noticed in your video you mentioned that you used 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke but only one tablespoon of liquid smoke is in your list of ingredients. This might of been why I found my pulled pork to initially be bland and I’d like to try it again. Can you please let us know if it’s 1 or 2 tablespoons. Thank you so much !
Hi Debbie, the written recipe is correct. We reduced it to 1 Tbsp as we found 2 to be overpowering with some brands.
Thank you so much for responding Natasha. I’m making it tomorrow and I know it will be amazing ! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes !
I’m sure it will be!
If I don’t have a crockpot, what temperature and time should I use in the oven?
Hi Maria, 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.
Going to make this tomorrow!
Natasha I love all your recipes
You are my go to person for cooking!!
Thank you for your trust, Donna. I hope you will love the recipes that you will try!
Any advice on adapting it to the InstantPot? I do not have a slow cooker and even if you can do it in the instantpot, it would be great to have it done quicker
Hi Maria, an instant pot or pressure cooker will cook foods much quicker than a slow cooker so you would want to cut the time down significantly. I haven’t tested this particular recipe in an instant pot but from what I’ve researched online, it looks like you would want to cook it on manual high pressure for 45 minutes then let it depressurize for 10 minutes naturally before releasing the remaining pressure via the valve at the top. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha ,
Do I need to add the chuck roast. I have tried many of your recipes, my family loves them.
I’m so glad you love this recipe, Monica!
I like that you add the amount of the ingredient in your description for combining everything.
Never thought about it but you made it effortless to read!
Thanks for appreciating that, Debbie!
Hi.Thank you for the many great recipes of which I have already used some, and at the moment I am making a pulled beef from a slow cooker.Instead of smoke, I gave smoked paprika, I hope it will work.
Marek Herman
Fingers crossed! I hope you love this recipe, Marek!
Hi Natasha.
Thank you for all of your delicious recipes. Can’t wait to make this. If i’m cooking a 4 lb. boneless Pork Shoulder on low in my slow cooker do I cook it for 8 hours or cut the time in half to 4 hours ?
Hi Debbie, it should still take about the same amount of time. 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.
Hi Natasha. Thanks for this amazing recipe. I ended up going with the 6lb. pork just because i read about how much the pork would shrink and am I ever glad that I did. I wasn’t able to get the exact bbq sauce that you used and my pork was on the bland side when taken out of the slow cooker. I guess the sauce I used was a thinner consistency than yours and it diluted too much. I did add quite a bit more bbq sauce than you did in the video after and the outcome was excellent !! Thank you once again for all your hard work and amazing videos. Shout out to Vadim for his excellent video skills !
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and it all worked out, Debbie! Thank you for your wonderful compliment!
My family love this pulled pork recipe. Really good, and so easy to make.
Isn’t it the best with a recipe is a hit for the entire family!! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
This pork is RIDICULOUSLY GOOD!
I cooked it overnight (silly), woke up at 3 am from a super good smell! Couldn’t fall asleep after that.
Whole family (husband and three kids) required this pork after they finish eating it!!!
Highly recommend. Natasha, You are the best!
Oops, too early but I’m sure it was all worth it! Thanks for sharing that with us, Jane.