The next time you are craving tasty, authentic tacos, you don’t have to go to a restaurant, thanks to this easy recipe that guarantees the BEST pork tacos! 

Best Pork Taco Recipe

When you think “tacos” you probably think of beef, right? That’s not the only taco “game” in town! Pork is a flavorful and tender meat that sets tacos off to perfection. Often referred to as carnitas, the pulled pork meat is seasoned with our favorite Mexican spices.

Pork tacos are a slam dunk meal, that are SO worth the time it takes for them to cook! This great recipe starts with the pork in the crock pot which will keep the preparation time down and the cooking time up!

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This Pork Tacos Recipe

• Serves 12-15 tacos
• Prep Time: 10-15 min
• Cook Time: 4-6 hours

Ingredients Needed for the Pork

• 3-4 pound pork shoulder, trimmed slightly 
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 small onion, diced – we love red onion with pork recipes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel
• 1/3 cup lime juice 
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped 
• 1-2 tablespoons oil – vegetable, canola or olive oil

Ingredients Needed for the Tacos

• Corn or flour tortillas 
• Limes
• Crumbled Cotija, Mexican cheese 
• Pico de Gallo
• Guacamole 
• Mango Salsa
• Pineapple
• Any toppings you like on tacos – red onions, fresh cilantro

Instructions to Make Best Pork Tacos

Step 1

In a small bowl, whisk together the dried oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.

Step 2

Rub seasoning mixture onto pork shoulder on all sides.

Step 3

Add red onions, garlic, orange juice and peel, lime juice and chipotle pepper to slow cooker.

Step 4

Place pork on top. 

Step 5

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until internal temperature is 145 degrees F.

Step 6

Remove pork from slow cooker onto cutting board, let cool slightly.

Step 7

Shred pork with forks.

Step 8

Heat oil in large skillet on stove.

Step 9

Add pork and some of the juice from the slow cooker.

Step 10

Turn often to brown the pork until juices have evaporated.

Step 11

Repeat with more pork if your skillet doesn’t hold all of it.

Step 12

Serve immediately with warm tortillas and toppings.

Step 13

Store leftovers in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Notes:

Don’t have pork shoulder? You can slow cook pork butt or pork tenderloin, though I’d probably use pork butt for this pork recipe. Pork needs to be at 195 F to be falling apart.

Also, if your store sells pork carnita meat you can use that for slow cooking as well. Who doesn’t love some pork carnitas tacos?

Don’t like flour tortillas? Use Corn tortillas! Don’t like soft flour tortillas or soft corn tortillas? You can use crunch taco shells as well.

Don’t have all those seasonings on hand? You can add taco seasoning mix as well. I usually add when I shred meat, leaving a little liquid in so the seasoning mixes well.

Eat These Pork Tacos With Your Favorite Toppings

These pork tacos are yours! Add some hot sauce! Some sour cream! Juice some lime wedges to top it. Add black beans! What about cheddar cheese? Eat them the way you like them!

What Can I Serve With Pork Tacos? 

I love making a batch of my homemade guacamole, and homemade salsa to serve with my pork tacos.

They are also delicious served with black bean and corn salad, and Mexican rice.

If you REALLY want to get fancy, and make a whole night out of this meal, make a batch of empanadas. Kids will have so much fun helping, and working with the dough!

Serving Pork Tacos as Burrito Bowls

All these ingredients work really well in burrito bowls. I like to start with a bowl of plain white rice followed by layers of the ingredients used in this pork tacos recipe and served with warm tortillas. It makes this slow cooker pork tacos recipe very flexible when it comes to leftovers and makes it easy to double the recipe knowing you have several ways to serve it.

More Fun & Easy Taco Recipes From Kids Activities Blog

If you’re as big of a fan of tacos as I am, you’ll appreciate all the different ways to enjoy them! Some of these are traditional taco recipes, the others are a fun spin on the classic concept!

• Get cozy on a cool day with a steaming bowl of taco soup.
• Kids will get a big kick out of taco tater tot casserole because it combines two of their favorite foods! 
• Start your day the right way with breakfast taco bowls–yum! 
• Make delicious restaurant-quality soft tacos in three easy steps! 
• The next time you can’t decide between pasta or tacos you won’t have to choose, thanks to The Nerd’s Wife‘s one-pot chicken taco pasta recipe! 
• Looking for a healthier option on Taco Tuesday? This Western taco salad is big on taste, and nutrients! 
• Let your slow cooker do all the work for you with this easy crockpot shredded beef tacos recipe! 

How did your pork tacos turn out? Do you love the authentic pork tacos flavor as much as we do?