Slow Cooker Carnitas
1 Comment Apr 12, 2024
Updated May 26, 2025
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When you’re looking for a dish that yields plenty of fall-apart tender meat, Slow Cooker Carnitas is the perfect meal to try. The flavors of this easy carnitas recipe are basic, yet powerful, leaving the whole family wanting more!
Enjoy Mexican cooking? Give my Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef recipe a try. It’s another one that will feed a large family or potluck crowd.
Carnitas are a Mexican favorite known for their tender texture and crisp edges—and making them in the slow cooker couldn’t be easier. Cooking the pork low and slow gives it that signature melt-in-your-mouth quality, and a quick broil at the end adds the perfect bit of crunch. With just a touch of citrus and spice, this recipe delivers bold, authentic flavor without much effort. Serve them up on taco night, in burrito bowls, or straight from the pan—you really can’t go wrong.
Ingredients for Easy Carnitas
These fresh ingredients are easily thrown in the crockpot. Find the full recipe in the recipe card.
This carnitas recipe starts with a 4-pound picnic pork roast, perfect for slow cooking until fall-apart tender. It’s coated in a flavorful blend of cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper, then combined with olive oil, diced onion, garlic, green chiles, and fresh cilantro. A splash of orange juice and lime juice adds a bright, citrusy kick that balances the richness of the pork, giving it that classic carnitas flavor with minimal effort.
Customizations
Here are some ways to change up this recipe:
Add Sweetness: Pineapple juice can be added for sweetness.
Make it Spicy: Sliced jalapenos, or chipotles in adobo are a great addition if you want your carnitas meat spicy.
Chicken Swap: If you want to make chicken carnitas, use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
How to Make Slow Cooker Carnitas – with a crispy finish
Step One – Pat the pork roast dry, rub it with olive oil, and coat it in a mix of salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and oregano. Add the seasoned pork to the slow cooker along with diced onion, garlic, green chiles, cilantro, orange juice, and lime juice
Step Two –. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours or HIGH for 7 hours, until the pork is fall-apart tender. Shred the pork and transfer it to a baking sheet.
Step Three – Broil for 3–5 minutes until the edges get crispy, then serve hot with some of the reserved cooking liquid.
Best ways to Serve
One of the most traditional ways to enjoy carnitas is tucked into warm flour or corn tortillas with your favorite toppings.
For toppings, try shredded cheese, queso fresco, chopped onion, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, or a scoop of fresh pico de Gallo.
For sides, you can’t go wrong with slow cooker black beans and a helping of Mexican rice. This tender shredded pork also works great in burrito bowls or as a flavorful topping for taco salads.
Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. picnic pork roast
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp. cumin
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz. can fire-roasted green chiles, Drained
- 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry the pork roast with paper towels. In a small bowl mix together the salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Drizzle the pork roast with the olive oil and rub on the spice mixture.
- In the slow cooker pot, add the pork roast, diced onion, minced garlic, green chilies, fresh cilantro, orange juice and lime juice.
- Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 7 hours. When done, remove from the slow cooker pot, reserving the cooking liquid and shred with forks and place on a baking sheet.
- Turn the oven broiler to high and crisp the shredded pork for about 3 minutes, mix and broil again.
- Serve hot with the reserved cooking liquid for dipping.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Pork Recipes:
Honey Apple Pork Loin adds a touch of sweetness to your dinner lineup, while Chile Verde brings bold, tangy flavor with every bite. Try slow cooker cuban pork along with yellow rice for a great sunday dinner.
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork is perfect for burritos, tacos, or salads thanks to its sweet and savory flavor.
Pork Enchiladas and Pulled Pork Burritos are great ways to use slow-cooked pork in hearty, flavor-packed meals.
Looks good &I will try