One of the easiest recipes to make in the slow cooker is pulled pork sandwiches! Only two ingredients and you’ll have dinner cooking away.
This is a classic recipe that we love serving with Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese or Root Beer Baked Beans.
I believe this recipe was the third recipe on my blog, first published in February of 2013! Though this is one of my oldest recipes and is one that stands the test of time.
If I know in the morning that I need to feed a large crowd I run to the store and grab what I need for these easy slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches. It’s a crowd pleaser and very economical!
How to cook pulled pork in the crockpot:
- Pork Shoulder: Often called pork butt or Boston Butt
- Barbecue Sauce: We use Sweet Baby Ray’s though any will work great!
- Water: This keeps the roast from drying out
How long do I cook pork in the slow cooker?
- The longer the better for pulled pork.
- 10 hours on low or 7-8 hours on high for larger roasts.
- If your roast is smaller you can get away with 8-9 hours on low or 6-7 hours on HIGH
What the best way to shred pulled pork?
- If your pork is really fatty remove the pork onto a cookie sheet that has a rim on it, this will give you more room to sort out the fatty pieces.
- Shred with two forks, discard any fatty pieces. Add the meat back to the slow cooker along with some of the juices.
Can I add seasoning to this (dry rub)?
- If you would like to add a rub to the roast you can along with the barbecue sauce and water.
- You can use a homemade rub or buy a pulled pork seasoning mix.
- Sprinkle the mix over the pork and rub all over. Continue with the recipe below.
Can I add liquid smoke?
- Liquid smoke is a great addition to pulled pork sandwiches.
- You can use hickory, mesquite or applewood flavored liquid smoke.
- It doesn’t take much at all to flavor this recipe. Only add 1-2 TEASPOONS at the beginning of the cooking time. Not any more.
Can I use a different liquid than water?
- Soda such as Dr. Pepper, Coke, Pepsi or Root Beer.
- Apple Juice or Apple Cider
- Beer or Hard Cider
Can I use pork tenderloin for pulled pork?
- Yes, pork tenderloin will shred just like pork shoulder. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.
- Tenderloin is less fatty and can have less flavor than pork butt but it is a healthier option.
Other pulled pork recipes to make in the slow cooker:
- Slow Cooker Kalua Pig
- Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Hard Cider Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
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First Published: 02/17/2013
Updated: 01/06/2020
Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Simple two ingredient slow cooker pulled pork, great all day recipe.
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Servings: 15
Calories: 272kcal
Equipment Needed:
- Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger
Ingredients:
- 6 lb. pork shoulder or butt (or any size (smaller) will work with this recipe!)
- 1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce (plus more for serving)
- 1 cup water
For serving:
- King's brand sweet Hawaiian buns or rolls (regular buns work great too)
- coleslaw kit (optional)
- barbecue sauce
Instructions:
- Remove the pork from the wrapper and add to the slow cooker. Add the barbecue sauce over the pork.
- Add 1 cup water around the roast.
- Cook on low for 10 hours or on HIGH for 7-8 hours (you can get away with a little less time if your roast is very small)
- Remove the roast to a plate or a rimmed cookie sheet if it is very large. (Keep about a cup of juices from the roast in the slow cooker)
- Shred the pork with 2 forks, discard any fat. Add the shredded meat to the slow cooker with reserved juices.
- Serve the shredded pork on buns with additional barbecue sauce and coleslaw if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Can I add seasoning to this (dry rub)?
- If you would like to add a rub to the roast you can along with the barbecue sauce and water.
- You can use a homemade rub or buy a pulled pork seasoning mix.
- Sprinkle the mix over the pork and rub all over. Continue with the recipe below.
- Liquid smoke is a great addition to pulled pork sandwiches.
- You can use hickory, mesquite or applewood flavored liquid smoke.
- It doesn’t take much at all to flavor this recipe. Only add 1-2 TEASPOONS at the beginning of the cooking time. Not any more.
- Soda such as Dr. Pepper, Coke, Pepsi or Root Beer.
- Apple Juice or Apple Cider
- Beer or Hard Cider
- Yes, pork tenderloin will shred just like pork shoulder. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.
- Tenderloin is less fatty and can have less flavor than pork butt but it is a healthier option.
Nutrition:
Calories: 272kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 659mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg
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Great meal. Easy to make.
I will be trying this recipe today! I’m so excited! Thank you so much for posting simple & easy great tasting recipes!!!!
I don’t use any pork – can this be made using chicken breasts?
Yes, but do add some seasonings to it.
Outstanding Flavor ! A SURE KEEPER!
When do you add the 1 cup of bbq sauce?
At the beginning, thank you!
When do you add the barbecue sauce?
At the beginning, thank you. I added it.
When I click print, the instructions don’t include to add bbq sauce to pork roast in the beginning.
The pork juices are good, take out h pork and shred….add bbq sauce to the juices and drizzle over the pork before you put on the Cole slaw….you can defat the juices by freezing for a while ….skim the fat and add bbq sauce. I hat up the sauce until I get the right consistency…..delicious either way!
Lindy, thank you so much for posting this on your blog! I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
You can use any barbecue sauce for this recipe. I do it all the time. It’s one of m;y favorites.
Can you use Pork tenderloin? Or won’t they fall apart or shred??
It would work good and shred well. The tenderloin has less fat than the pork shoulder, so the flavor may be different.
I make this so often I have done it for over 57 years. What I do I add lots of onion sliced onion in it I use beef or chicken broth instead of water it gives it more flavor I also before I even put it in the slow cooker or in a pan for your oven I brown mine on the stove with a little bit of e d o o l in it and get it kind of crispy or instead of using that you can put it on the barbecue and see red on all sides yum. Then I put it in the Crock-Pot and I cook it all night long on low my house smells amazing. I get up and I take it out the pork roast and take out any fat then I put it back in and I shred it with my hands because it is so tender you don’t need to Forks it just feels right to shred it with my fingers so that I can make sure I feel all that fat that I don’t want in it then I add barbecue thoughts. It is absolutely delicious I tell you though if you want to take a little bit of pork out and get more than one meal out of it you can make carnitas with that pork before barbecue sauce and put hot sauce in it yummy the right good cooking everybody
This looks so good. I really want to try this