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This Mexican Pork Carnitas recipe only takes 5 minutes of prep, then let the slow cooker, oven, or Instant Pot do the rest! It's tender, flavorful, and the perfect meal prep protein. Pile it into tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tamales, bowls, or salads!
Carnitas Made Easy from Home!
This Mexican Carnitas recipe is one of my go-to’s because it gives you big, bold taco-night flavor with almost no effort. Literally just a quick seasoning rub, toss it in the slow cooker (or oven/Instant Pot instructions are down in the notes of the recipe card), and it turns out unbelievably tender and flavorful every time. I also never pass up that quick broil at the end to get those crispy, caramelized edges that make it taste like it came from your favorite Mexican restaurant. You can use pork carnitas to make tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, or salads.
To make your tacos to the next level, try my homemade corn tortillas. or flour tortillas.
Try all of my favorite Mexican recipes, like Tamales, Pork Chile Verde, Mexican Rice, Tacos Al Pastor, Birria Ramen, Chilaquiles, Smothered Burritos,
How to make Carnitas (Slow Cooker Method):
Cook Roast: Stir together chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Trim any excess fat from roast then cover with seasoning on all sides. Place roast in a slow cooker then add garlic, chopped onions, orange juice, and lime juice. Put lid on and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours.
Shred Meat: Take pork out of the slow cooker and shred the meat on a cutting board. Add shredded meat back in pot. Taste and add more seasonings, to taste.
Broil (optional): You can eat it now or to make it more authentic, broil it on a baking sheet for 2-3 minutes to make the edges crispy. In my opinion, this step is absolutely worth it!
Serve: For tacos, serve inside warm corn tortillas and garnish with cilantro. Serve with Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, Horchata, and a piece of Tres Leches Cake if you want to go all out!
Mexican Carnitas Recipe
Equipment
- instant pot (optional)
- Slow Cooker (optional)
- Baking Sheet (optional)
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb pork shoulder
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons Dried oregano
- 2-3 teaspoons salt, or more, to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, , minced
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- juice from 2 large oranges
- juice from 2 limes
Instructions
- Trim and discard excess fat from the pork.
- In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Generously season the pork on all sides.
- Add the seasoned pork to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add garlic, chopped onions, orange juice, and lime juice.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Remove pork from the slow cooker, shred the meat. Taste and add more seasonings and salt and pepper, if needed.
- At this point you can eat the pork as is, or for a more authentic taste, place the meat on a baking sheet and broil it for 2-3 minutes until the edges are crispy.
- For tacos, serve warm inside warm corn tortillas topped with salsa or pico and cilantro. Serve with a side of Mexican rice and refried beans.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe March 2017. Updated March 2020, July 2023 and March 2026.
Wow! These are amazing! I used a combination of Chipotle and Ancho chili powders because that’s what I had. Wow. So good!
My roast is 9.58lbs. Prob about 9lbs when i trim the fat? If I cut in maybe 6 portions, can I use the same cooking time?
Yep, cutting your 9 lb roast into 5–6 chunks will help it cook more evenly—great call! You can still use the same slow cooker time: 7–8 hours on low or 4–5 hours on high should do the trick. Just make sure the pork is super tender and easy to shred at the end. If it’s not quite there, let it go a bit longer
-Stacy
This has become an absolute staple in my household. I do it in a dutch oven, though I rarely add more liquid than the orange and lime provide, and it turns out great. Also, I usually use equal parts cumin and oregano, and much more than a tablespoon of each. I actually have a spice bottle of just the two mixed and use that to fully rub down each quarter of the shoulder. Doing the broiling step isn’t completely necessary, but I find it’s the perfect way to heat up the meat if you don’t braise it the same day you eat it. It gets served with soft tortillas and whatever toppings we’ve got around. Particular favourites are guacamole, fermented turnips (like what goes in a falafel or shawarma wrap) and pickled onions.
Yum! This recipe was a hit with everyone. I served it over a Cuban rice base. I did the Instant Pot version and did do the oven broil step to get the crispy bits which takes it over the top.
This is a fresh take on pulled pork. The citrus flavors really come through. This is a winner I look forward to doing at my next potluck.
I accidently bought a bone in roast. Should I do anything different with it?
Hey! No worries at all—you can totally use a bone-in roast for this recipe! Just cook it the same way in the slow cooker, but keep in mind that the cooking time might be slightly longer since there’s a bone. Once it’s done, just shred the meat off the bone and follow the rest of the recipe as usual. It’ll still turn out delicious! Enjoy!
-Stacy
If cooking in oven, should the pot be covered?
This was so good! I cooked it in the crockpot and then after shredding broiled it in the oven to make it slightly crisp. The flavor was wonderful. I served it with flour tortillas, slices of avocado, pico and lime. My family gobbled it up. No need to make any changes to the recipe it’s great as is
We loved it ❤️ smelled like roasted pineapple while it was cooking
Excellent recipe! I have done both crockpot and oven versions. I actually prefer making it in the oven.
Absolutely amazing flavor! My first time ever make carnitas or cooking pork for that matter and this came out perfect. I did the oven version 🙂