Best Pulled Pork

This is our best Pulled Pork recipe that can be made in a slow cooker or instant pot for perfectly flavored and extra juicy pulled pork! It’s easy, delicious and a big crowd pleaser!

Looking for another easy crockpot recipe? Try our Crockpot French Onion Chicken!

Pulled Pork

Few sensations can compare to taking the first bite of a juicy, homemade pulled pork sandwich. When we first tried this recipe, we were blown away at the tenderness of every flavor packed bite, and we knew we just had to share it with the world. We’ve only ever lived in Texas and Florida, so we like to think we know a thing or two about good bbq!

You really can’t skip the coleslaw on top, either. It’s a deliciously creamy way to add a little crunch to an already amazing sandwich! Also, just like the pulled pork, it’s ridiculously easy to make.

We try to make all of our recipes kid friendly – it’s hard not to when you have three little ones running around the house! This recipe is no exception to that. In fact, this is one of my kids’ favorite dinners. Even my pickiest will eat every last bite!

A crowd pleasing – party favorite!

Aside from dinners at home, these sandwiches are also a huge hit just about everywhere else. Potlucks, tailgates, parties, you name it! This is one of my favorite dishes to make when people are coming over because once you throw it all in the slow cooker or instant pot, you don’t have to do much more to it. Just shred the meat, add some bbq sauce and serve! Perfect for when you’re having a party.

That’s one of the best parts about making this recipe for pulled pork. Not only is it delectable, it’s incredibly low maintenance! You’ll probably find that the most challenging part of making this recipe is having to wait for it to cook, especially when you start to smell it. But trust us when we say that the wait is SO worth it!

Ingredients Needed

• Smoked Paprika
• Cumin
• Celery Salt
• Light Brown Sugar
• Boneless Pork Loin
• Onion
• Minced Garlic
• Coke
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Liquid Smoke, optional

If you really like that authentic smokey flavor, but don’t feel like spending all day tending to a smoker or grill, add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to your recipe. It’s a deliciously easy way to give your pork an authentic smokehouse taste!

How to make pulled pork:

1. Mix the smoked paprika, cumin, celery salt and brown sugar together to form a spice rub. Then, cover all of the pork with the spice rub and place it into your slow cooker.
2. Cover the pork with sliced onions and minced garlic. Once you’re done with that, add both the coke and apple cider vinegar to your slow cooker.
3. Now, for the easy (and hard) part! Cover and cook the pork on low heat for eight hours. Make sure you cook it for the full time so your meat absorbs all that flavor and becomes extra juicy and tender!

What if I have an instant pot?

Pour coke and apple cider vinegar into the bottom of the instant pot. Follow step #1, except place pork in an instant pot instead of a crock pot. 😉 Cover roast with sliced onions and garlic. Cook on manual high pressure for 85 minutes. Do a natural, slow pressure release. Then follow directions in the recipe below from step #4 down!

Homemade Coleslaw

It’s optional of course, but this homemade coleslaw is crisp and refreshing and really makes these the Best Pulled Pork sandwiches. When this coleslaw is combined with the sweet pulled pork, all the angels sing!

• Shredded Cabbage
• Mayonnaise
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Celery Seeds
• Sugar
• Salt and Pepper

Can I use white vinegar?

You absolutely can! Really, any type of vinegar will work, but you should already have apple cider vinegar on hand for the pulled pork!

How to make homemade coleslaw:

1. Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, celery seeds, sugar, salt and pepper.
2. Pour your mixture over the cabbage mix and toss to coat.
3. Refrigerate coleslaw for one hour before serving.

One of our favorite things to do is shred half of a purple cabbage and add it to the slaw mix. It not only gives it a beautiful color, it also has a lot of health benefits!

Can I make this ahead of time?

Coleslaw is always best on the first day you make it. Because cabbage has a lot of water, your slaw is likely to have more liquid after a day or so. So I recommend making it one hour before you want to serve it.

Shred the pork!

When you’re ready to serve your pulled pork, remove the roast from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred the meat. Your pork should be juicy, tender, and ready to be shredded!

Make sure you add in about 1/4 cup of the leftover juice from the crockpot to your shredded meat for extra juicy pulled pork. You can choose to add a cup of bbq sauce or not, it’s great either way! We like to add about 1 cup of BBQ sauce to the pork. You can taste to see if you would like to add more, or if you like it just the way it is!

What if we’re not eating it right away?

If you are going to serve the pulled pork in the next few hours, the best way to store this meat is right there in the slow cooker or instant pot! Just keep the setting on warm and serve it whenever you’re ready.

However, if you aren’t wanting to serve it for a day or two, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. It will taste just as good as the day you made it! We love this Pulled Pork for leftovers for the week as well.

How to serve Pulled Pork?

We recommend serving your pulled pork on a lightly toasted hamburger bun with your homemade coleslaw and cooked onions from the slow cooker. It is seriously DIVINE. I’m drooling just thinking about it!

However, here are some other fun ways to serve or use up any leftover pulled pork:

• Stuffed in sweet or white potatoes
• Quesadillas
• Tacos
• Stuff inside a grilled cheese sandwich
• Served on top of mac and cheese

If you can’t tell just by reading through this recipe, nothing beats these Pulled Pork sandwiches! Whether you’re eating one with a side of pickled okra, a sweet tea, or just enjoying the sandwich by itself, you’re bound to fall in love just like we did.

Try it for an easy dinner tonight, or for your next gathering. You’ll have everyone begging for more!