These Crispy Pork Carnitas are absolutely delicious! They’re made with a few simple ingredients and can easily be made in a dutch oven or your slow cooker. The perfect recipe to make when you need to hit the easy button on dinner.
Juicy Crispy Carnitas That are Perfect for Taco Tuesday!
I’ve made this recipe so many times and every time I’m like why don’t I make this more?!
These carnitas are just so good and honestly I think we all need to add them to our menu this week. They’re made with tender, slowly cooked pork, that has been seasoned with just the right spices, and then crisped up in the oven right before serving.
The best part about this recipe is that it can easily be made in a dutch oven or in your slow cooker. Both ways are simple, easy, and will give you flavorful carnitas every single time.
This is the recipe I like to make for a crowd or deliver to a friend who just had a baby or needs a comforting meal. You can easily use the carnitas in tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, or whatever you’re feeling at the time so they’re such a great gifting option.
This is a reader favorite All the Healthy Things recipe that I know you’re going to love and I cannot wait for you to make them. I’ve included tons of helpful information and tips in this post to ensure that your carnitas turn out perfectly flavorful and juicy every time. There’s also a video, below, if you’re a visual person.
If you want to take your chances and just jump to the recipe you can do that, too! But be sure to look through the post at least once before attempting to make the recipe. I promise it’s worth the quick scroll.
I think I’ve answered everything, but if any questions I may have missed come up be sure to leave a comment and let me know. I’m always happy to help!
— Ashlea
A Quick Overview of Ingredients
The key to flavorful carnitas is a flavorful braising liquid and the key to a flavorful braising liquid is simple yet flavorful ingredients. Here is what you’ll need:
- Orange juice: adds a little sweetness that pairs really well with the pork
- Lime juice: adds a bright, fresh flavor
- Chicken broth: I like to use low-sodium chicken broth for this recipe
- Spices: cumin, dried oregano, and paprika give the carnitas some great flavor!
- Dried bay leaves: another flavor booster!
- Garlic: plenty of smashed whole cloves to braise with the pork
- Onion: thinly sliced and cooks down with the pork for the best flavor
What Kind of Meat Do You Use For Carnitas?
The base of any carnitas recipe is pork. For this particular recipe, you’ll use a boneless pork shoulder which is often called a “boston butt”. You’ll need two and a half pounds of pork shoulder for this recipe.
You can ask your butcher to cut your pork shoulder to the desired weight or you can easily make a double batch of this recipe if you have more pork.
To make things easier, and to get a good sear on the pork, I like to cut the pork into large chunks before searing.
How to Make Pork Carnitas
Step One: The trick to getting the most flavorful carnitas, is to sear the pork before allowing it to braise for hours. First, season the pork with a liberal sprinkle of salt and then sear the pork pieces on both sides until golden brown in avocado oil. Browning the meat helps to develop a rich deep flavor.
Step Two: Next add the orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, and spices to the pot, stir until well combined and then cook for three hours at 300 degrees. If you are using a slow cooker, once the pork has been seared, remove it from the pan and add it to the slow cooker. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook the carnitas on high for 4-6 hours or until it is fork tender.
Step Three: Once the pork is tender and shreddable, remove it from your dutch oven or slow cooker and transfer the meat to a sheet pan. Use two forks to shred the meat and then pour the braising liquid back over the meat. Then, broil the carnitas in the oven until browned and crispy before serving!
What to Do with Leftover Carnitas
- crisp them in a skillet for breakfast and serve with scrambled eggs and roasted sweet potatoes
- use them instead of ground pork for an easy breakfast hash
- make a batch of nachos with all your favorite toppings!
My Favorite Meal Prep Tips for This Recipe
This slow cooker crispy carnitas recipe is a perfect recipe to add to your weekly meal prep. To make things even more simple for you here are a few of my favorite meal prep tips:
- Prep the pork over the weekend or a day in advance of when you plan on eating it
- Chop your taco toppings like tomatoes, radishes, or red onion in advance so you can easily assemble your tacos at a moment’s notice
- Turn your tacos into a salad! Place your carnitas over a bed of mixed greens and veggies for a delicious salad. You can add cilantro lime white rice or cauliflower rice to make a delicious burrito bowl!
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these carnitas in a variety of ways! Here are a few of my favorite options:
- as tacos with all your favorite toppings
- in a burrito bowl with with rice, beans, pickled onions, guacamole, and more!
- try making a homemade quesadilla with the carnitas and your favorite melty cheese
How to Store The Carnitas
- Store any leftover carnitas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze the carnitas for up to 6 months! When you’re ready to eat, thaw the them in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Reheat any the carnitas in a hot skillet until crispy and warmed through. I find the skillet is the best way to reheat the carnitas but the microwave will also work!
More Mexican Inspired Recipes to Love
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- Slow Cook Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowls
- Shrimp Tacos Recipe
- Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Stuffed Sweet
- Sheet Pan Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Chipotle Steak Tacos
- The Best Salmon Tacos
I hope you give these Pork Carnitas a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.
Print
Easy Carnitas Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top / Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Easy Carnitas are absolutely delicious! They’re made with a few simple ingredients and can easily be made in a dutch oven or your slow cooker. The perfect recipe to make when you need to hit the easy button on dinner. This healthy recipe is also Paleo, Keto, and Whole30 compliant!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2.5 pounds pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 6 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 large white onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
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Heat a dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat. While the dutch oven is heating, sprinkle the pork pieces liberally with salt. Once the dutch oven is hot, add in a tablespoon of avocado oil and then add the pork. Sear for 4-5 minutes on each side until browned.
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Add the garlic, onion, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, salt, bay leaves, and spices to the pot. Stir until well combined, cover with a lid, and the braise for 3 hours at 300 degrees.
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If you are using a slow cooker, once the pork has been seared, remove it from the pan and add it to the slow cooker. Next, add the remaining ingredients and cook the carnitas on high for 4-6 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
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Once the pork is tender and shreddable, remove it from your dutch oven or slow cooker and transfer the meat to a sheet pan. Use two forks to shred the meat and then pour the remaining braising liquid back over the meat. Broil the carnitas in the oven on high until browned and crispy. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Eat Love Eat
This recipe is so great! We added BBQ sauce for pulled pork sandwiches and it was a big hit with the whole family! Kids loved it and even my husband who normally doesn’t like shredded meat said it was great and I needed to make it again!
Yay! Love haring that, Emily! The addition of the BBQ sauce sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing!
A great recipe that is both easy and so much flavor. I loved the crispy bits from broiling. Will be going in the permanent rotation. The flavor combo in the marinade is just perfect for the pork.
That’s the best, Jennifer! So glad this has become a regular favorite for you! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I usually don’t write reviews but I am sitting here, trying steaming hot carnitas straight out of the oven on a quick quesadilla and my mouth is watering. This is so good! And surprisingly easy! I have never made carnitas from scratch and assumed it would be a lot of work, but this was the easiest recipe! I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding a touch more seasoning when I seared the pork). The only recommendation I have would be to include what to do with the onion (cut into large chunks) and garlic (smash and leave whole) in the instructions. I had to scroll down to the comments to find and also referenced the picture to make sure I was doing this right. Will definitely be following your advice to have with eggs and on salad…if it even lasts that long to meal prep with. 5 stars!
Made for taco night. My grandson loved them so much he had 4 tacos and leftovers for lunch today! Thanks for the great recipe
That’s the best! I’m so glad you all enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing, Judy!
Followed the recipe exactly as written. DELICIOUS! I made mine in the oven. Used in enchiladas for the kids and ate it as is with vegetables for me and my husband.
Such a great idea, Johnna! So glad everyone loved the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Wow! These were fantastic! I loved how tender the meat turned out. Flavors, we’re on point and I have leftovers too! Thank you 💛
You’re so welcome, Heather! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I was just wondering if I should have drained some of the fat after browning the pork chunks. There was quite a bit of fat in the braising liquid. Also, I couldn’t quite crisp the pork under broiler…should I have only put some (not all) of the braising liquid on top of the shredded pork before broiling? Please let me know what you think
Hi Cristina, You can drain some of the fat after browning if you prefer, but you don’t have to! If you would like, you could try less liquid next time before broiling and see how that works!
This has become a trusted go to and what I love is that we can do SO many things with the end product: spice it up for tacos or bowls, add some bbq sauce to it so much. The meat is flavorful and delicious. It never disappoints!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Shunta! Love how you’re using it for so many different meals. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Do you chop the onion and garlic?
Hi, Alexa! I smash the garlic and cut the onion into large chunks. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This dish is one of my all time favourite!
I find it extremely hard not to pile my plate high and not share with my family 🙈
It’s the best way to cook pork…. flavoursome, tender and everyone LOVES it ❤️
So happy to hear that, Keeley! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
These are so flavorful and simple to make. My whole family loved these!
Thanks, Carrie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These are soooo good and so easy to make! This was the first recipe I tried from the site and I can’t wait to try more.
Thanks for sharing, Valerie! I’m so glad you loved it!
Wow this was amazing!! Pork has always seemed overwhelming to me- but this recipe was so easy and wonderful! I used a bone in pork butt and it was about double the size you called for so I doubled everything. This will definitely be on repeat in our house! I also can’t wait to eat the leftovers all week!
We love doubling this recipe, too, Sam! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is amazing!!! It turned out so tender and flavorful; my family devoured it! We ate it with the cilantro lime rice and they were an awesome combo!
I’m so happy y’all loved it!
Thanks so much for this! First timer and it was so good. Broiling at the end a must. We made way too much so wondering if it can be frozen?
Yes! you can definitely freeze the carnitas and we do it all the time. I just reheat them in a skillet!
Simply the BEST carnitas I have ever made. Highly recommend the Dutch oven to really caramelize everything and send these flavors through the roof. Make sure you save the onions and mix them into your shredded meat – it’s just crazy how delicious this is! I will never need another carnitas recipe again, this is a keeper!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe, Lauren! Thanks for sharing!
These carnitas are delicious and easy to make! I actually used an instant pot and just pressure cooked the meat for about 40 minutes, it turned out great. I would definitely recommend trying these!
Thank you so much for sharing, Clare! So glad you loved the recipe!