The ultimate recipe for tender, flavorful carnitas made right in your crockpot. With minimal effort and incredible results, these slow-cooked pork carnitas are perfect for tacos, burritos, or simply served with a side of rice and beans.
For more crockpot Mexican favorites, try our slow cooker chili lime shredded beef or our slow cooker sweet pork.
Why Our Recipe
- Foolproof crockpot method for perfectly tender and flavorful carnitas every time.
- A magical seasoning blend delivers authentic Mexican flavors with minimal ingredients.
- Crispy finishing options ensure irresistibly golden and caramelized meat.
This is a recipe inspired by a Mexican restaurant featured on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that had people lined up out the door for their carnitas. They made theirs in huge batches, but after watching it over and over again, we figured out the proportions of the ingredients. After a few experimental tries and several years of making them, we consider these pork carnitas mastered! This meat is as good as it comes and makes one killer taco
Ingredient Notes
- Boneless Pork Butt Roast: Look for a roast weighing 3-5 pounds. Trim large pieces of fat if you prefer less gristle in the final dish.
- Ground Cumin: Essential for authentic carnitas flavor.
- Chili Powder: Use your favorite blend for a touch of smoky heat.
- Cayenne Pepper: Adjust to taste if you prefer less spice or leave it out entirely.
- Ground Cloves: A little goes a long way in adding depth to the spice blend.
- Vegetable Oil: Creates the signature slow-fried texture. Alternatives include peanut oil, corn oil, or lard for a richer flavor.
- Optional Orange: In some regions of Mexico, carnitas contain orange juice or zest. You can add both to this recipe for a citrus zing. Simply add 1/2 cup of orange juice and up to 1 tablespoon of orange zest into this recipe with the oil and spices.
Prepping Your Pork Roast
Trimming isn’t necessary, but it all depends on your personal tastes. Fat does not render in a slow cooker so you will end up with gristle and blobs of fat. If you’re not a fan of gristly meat, you’ll want to trim off some of the larger pieces of fat. Don’t worry about trimming it all though, just the larger pieces.
So Much Oil!
We are essentially slow-frying the pork, which requires a lot of oil. The secret to the most amazing carnitas is a crisp exterior and tender interior, and you can’t do that without a good amount of oil. In the end, there will be a good amount of oil remaining to drain out, so you’re not actually eating all of that oil.
Keep in mind that this recipe makes a lot of meat. This is much more than just a couple of servings. While you could certainly replace the oil with broth, beer, Coca-Cola, or other liquids, we highly recommend using oil for the most amazing results.
Oven Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place roast into a 5 to 7-quart oven-safe pot with lid or use a roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil later. Follow all instructions in the recipe, but instead of placing the meat into a slow cooker, place it in your pot or roasting pan.
Cover with lid or aluminum foil tightly cover the roast with foil. Roast at 350 degrees for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until pork shreds easily with a fork. Shred in the pot or pan.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the carnitas on their own with a side of Mexican rice, refried beans, or a fresh salad for a simple yet flavorful meal. Or use your carnitas (or leftovers) in other Mexican food favorites like quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, or nachos.
Tacos: The classic option! Load up warm corn or flour tortillas with your crispy carnitas. Top with fresh cilantro, diced onions, a squeeze of lime, and your favorite salsa for an authentic street taco experience.
Burrito Bowls: Skip the tortilla and serve your carnitas over a bed of rice and beans. Add toppings like guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, and pico de gallo.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze portions in airtight containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheat on the stovetop or in the oven at 350°F until heated through. Crisp up as needed before serving. Microwaving works, but is not preferred as it dries out the pork and impacts flavor.
More delicious Mexican meats…
Carne Asada
2 hrs 30 mins
Tacos Al Pastor
4 hrs 25 mins
The Best Beef Barbacoa
3 hrs 10 mins
Easy Weeknight Chicken Tacos
1 hr 20 mins
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I am going to make this in a few days for 16 adults. Do you have a suggestion on how is best to heat the corn tortillas so they don’t break upon rolling? Also, will doubling your recipe be plenty?
Yes, doubling it should be plenty. For the corn tortillas, it’s all about using a quality corn tortilla and a simple tortilla warmer. Look for a tortilleria in your town for the absolute best.
I am going to try this this weekend for a large party I volunteered for. I need to do approx. 3 pork butts. Can I do them in my electric big roaster?
Yes, you’ll just have to make sure it fits and watch it closely.
Tried this recipe and my family love it. I recently bought an intant pot, can I use same recipe on the slow cooker setting?
You can do it on the slow cooker setting, but it’s very important that you never try it on the pressure cooking setting due to the oil content.
I want to try this but all I have is coconut oil. Does anyone know if coconut oil will yield the same results?
It’ll work, but it will impart a coconut flavor into the meat.
I’ve been using this recipe for years, and is my go to for large gatherings. Everyone raves about the flavor and I’ve shared this recipe countless times. One of our favorites.
Very good and tender. I crisped them in the oven. Next time I plan on adding a half cup of orange juice and Coca-Cola to the slow cooker at foo more flavor and caramelization , true carnitas style.