The juiciest Slow Cooker Pork Tacos! No marinating, just make a simple spice rub and toss it in the crock pot. So easy. Then top it off with a homemade Mexican coleslaw that you are going to LOVE!
We went camping last week, and one night I was trying to get baby Valentine to go to sleep in the tent before the rest of us. So I’m lying down with her, being quiet, when all the sudden she points at my nose. We often play games to get her to learn body parts (where’s your nose?) But I wanted her to go to sleep so I stayed quiet.
She pointed at her nose. Then she put her finger UP my nose and said in the softest voice, “pick. pick.”
I think she heard Eric and I explaining the joke to the other kids about how you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose. Apparently she didn’t get the message because she got way up in there. Needless to say, me busting up laughing did not help her get to sleep.
Well summer is almost over guys, can you believe it?? It went by so quickly for us. I’ve already seen my fellow food bloggers bust out the pumpkin recipes, so we know autumn is coming fast.
But I’m still feeling summer vibes over here. Tacos=summer, right? And am I the only one who uses my slow cooker year round? It doesn’t heat up your house the way the oven does.
Slow Cooker Pork Tacos
I randomly threw together these slow cooker pork tacos the other day (literally standing at the spice cabinet, dumping stuff together.) I made it on the day we got back from camping, when the only vegetables in my mostly-empty fridge were cabbage and radishes. We liked it so much I decided to make it again and share it with you guys.
Slow cooker pork is so tender and flavorful. It just falls apart.
Making Mexican Coleslaw
The Mexican coleslaw is made with homemade mayonnaise. Have you ever tried making it? It’s super easy. You could try adding the jalapeno, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice to store-bought mayo if you want. I bet that would turn out really good too.
Homemade mayonnaise is so delicious though, and literally takes about 2 seconds. But you do have to be okay eating raw eggs. (GASP!!!)
What to serve with slow cooker pork tacos
If you want to upgrade this into an AMAZING Mexican meal, serve these tacos with my favorite Traditional Tejano Pinto Beans (Slow Cooker). You could also make this Vanilla Bean Horchata to drink. And serve chips with 5 Minute Restaurant Style Salsa as an appetizer! Yum, invite me to your dinner party please. ;)
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One year ago: The Best Bakery Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three years ago: Peanut Butter S’mores Bars < huge favorite of mine!
Six years ago: Easy Sweet Cherry Cobbler
Slow Cooker Pork Tacos with Mexican Coleslaw
Ingredients
For the pork
- 2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onions
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
For the coleslaw
- 1 head green cabbage, shredded
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup avocado oil*
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, big fistful
- 1/4 large red onion, roughly chopped
- juice from 1 lime
To assemble tacos
- corn tortillas
- radishes, thinly sliced
- more cilantro, chopped
- extra limes, quartered (to squeeze over tacos)
Instructions
- Pat the pork tenderloin dry with a paper towel and place in your crock pot.
- In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika, crushed red pepper, dried minced onions, dried mustard, and chili powder.
- Rub the meat all over with the spices. Add the bay leaf and chicken broth, making sure not to rinse off all the spices you just rubbed in. Pour it on the side.
- Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
- Remove from the slow cooker and shred on a platter or plate. Drizzle with the juices left in the crock pot. Keep warm until you're ready to serve.
- Meanwhile, prepare the coleslaw. Shred the cabbage into very thin slices. (Click here to see how I shred cabbage) Add the cabbage to a large bowl and set aside.
- The dressing needs to be blended, so you can either do it in the blender (see step 8) or use an immersion blender, which is what I did. I used a mason jar: add the egg and egg yolk to the jar. Add the avocado oil, red wine vinegar, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt. Push the immersion blender all the way down to blend the eggs first, and pull it upward as you blend. Keep pulsing and moving up and down until the mixture looks like mayonnaise. (Hint: it is mayonnaise :)
- To make this in a regular blender, add the egg, egg yolk, red wine vinegar, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt. Blend on low. Remove the small lid on top and slowly pour in the avocado oil while it is blending, until it looks like mayonnaise.
- Add the jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice to the jar or blender. Blend until combined and smooth.
- Add about 2/3 of the dressing to the cabbage and stir it together. Reserve the remaining dressing to drizzle over the tacos. You can make this coleslaw a day ahead of time; keep covered in the fridge.
- To prepare the tortillas, you have a few options. You can either fry them in little bit of oil, about 30-50 seconds per side (heat on medium). Or you can char them over a gas stove, as I have done for the photos: Place one corn tortilla directly over the gas flame, and turn frequently with tongs. Keep going until brown spots appear, then flip the tortilla and repeat on the other side. Wrap the tortilla in a damp tea towel to steam it, adding tortillas as you go and wrapping it tightly each time. Or, the easiest way to prepare corn tortillas is to wrap a stack of 4 tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and microwave in 30 second increments until soft and pliable.
- To serve the tacos, fill a tortilla with pork, and top with Mexican coleslaw, radishes, and cilantro. Squeeze a lime over the top and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Devour!
Notes
Nutrition
More taco recipes you will love!
Traditional Tejano Carne Guisada (Braised Beef for Tacos) << the sister recipe to the Tejano Beans I mentioned above. SO GOOD.
Asian Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Glaze << people have commented on this recipe saying they have used the pork to make a killer Asian style taco. I need to try it!
Cuban Mojo Marinated Pork (Lechon Asado) << the NUMBER ONE recipe on my site! With good reason! This pork would also make amazing tacos.
More taco recipe you are going to love!
Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Taco Slaw from Well Plated
Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from Wine and Glue
Buffalo Chicken Tacos from A Mindful Mom
This recipe is so good! I’ve made it many times and my 7 kids gobble it up. Makes great leftovers too. I don’t always make the coleslaw but it is excellent! Highly recommend.
I’m so glad you like it Heather! It’s definitely a crowd pleaser! Thank you so much for commenting and reviewing, you are awesome.
Can I use boneless pork shoulder instead of tenderloin? It’s what I happen to have in my freezer right now. Would the cooking time be different?
Hi Liz! Yes you could, I would just look up slow cooker times for a pork shoulder! Let me know how it goes! Enjoy!
And if you have never tried a Mexican or Southwest coleslaw, you need to. It is a fun twist on a basic coleslaw that goes really well with this pork. I adjusted the basic recipe my sister gave me by basically tasting it as I made it until I got it how I liked.
Great idea!!
Hi! This looks so delicious!
I was wondering if you had attempted this recipe (or other similar ones) in an Instant Pot- and if so, what would be the changes to the recipe/directions?
Thank you :)))))
Hey Genesis! I haven’t tried this one in the IP yet but I think it would work just fine. The Instant pot manual says cook times for pork loin is about 20 minutes per pound, so that would be about 40 minutes for this recipe. Since I haven’t tested it though, I can’t say for sure that’s the right time. You might want to check out some other pork tenderloin IP recipes to get an idea for times. Great question, thanks for the comment! Let me know how it goes.
This was my first time making this. Just a note to those using a blender to make the mayonnaise… if you add all of the oil immediately it will not solidify like mayonnaise. It is best to blend the eggs with just a bit of the oil until it emulsifies…then gradually add the rest of the oil.
Thank you so much for your note John, that is super helpful! I will go change the recipe right now.
Oh! Yummy! This re ipe is a keeper!
Thanks Muriel! I’m so glad you liked it! Hard to beat a good taco :)
Wow, you guys must not be living in a state that grows produce…….why aren’t you using fresh onion and garlic in this recipe? I’m cooking a pork roast in my InstaPot right now….smells amazing…I don’t understand why you use powdered stuff?…..
Hey Teresa! I live in California, LOTS of fresh produce! But I am a busy mom to three kids and sometimes I just can’t handle one more thing to chop ;) I’m a huge lover of powdered onion and garlic when I’m on a time crunch. Fresh onion and garlic would of course be delicious too!
I usually cook with real produce as well, but… I have four kids with busy schedules and sometimes things happen and I can’t make it to the store when I thought. But… I still have to make dinner (see above where I mentioned 4 kids). Enter spices to save the day! She says she made this recipe the day they got back from camping and didn’t have any food in the house. Kudos to you (seriously, I admire you) if you’re more on top of things than me to have fresh produce always on hand!! In the meantime, it’s nice to have the option of spices when needed. :) Thanks Food Charlatan!!
Thanks Laura!! “But…I still have to make dinner” put this on my tombstone ;) lol
Seriously! I’m always like, you want to eat again!? I just fed you 4 hours ago! Haha
Seriously, the fact that your kids didn’t just have popcorn or cereal the first day after camping is a miracle. There are also people like me who love the flavor of onion but hate the actual onion so this recipe suits me perfectly. Plus if you wanted fresh, just do fresh, why complain about it.
Haha I’m always thinking that to myself, Misty. I JUST FED YOU AND NOW YOU WANT A SNACK??? Popcorn for dinner is a great idea, I should plan on that for our next post-vacation meal. You’re smart, and I’m pretty sure your kids are still alive, so WINNING!! ;)
I make a lot of shredded pork, chicken, beef in the crockpot and freeze in ziplocs for future meals. I like your combo of seasonings and will try this recipe as well as the slaw! Just a sidenote….whenever I cook beef or pork for shredding? I always use beer vs. chicken broth! I’ve used IPA’s, Lagers, etc.! Just love the flavor! However, when doing chicken? I always use chicken broth. I’ve been making several of your recipes, always with great results!
That is a great idea to use beer Ellen! I bet it gives it great flavor! Thanks so much for sharing your tip. I’m so happy that the recipes you’ve tried from my blog have been successful. And thank you so much for commenting!
I thought I remembered someone referred you to a lizard. Rh negative people are considered by some to be descendants of lizards
Haha! Yes, someone made a meme saying I was clearly a lizard person. It must be THEM!! lol. (Here’s the Karen-is-a-lizard-person post, for anyone else wondering what the heck we’re talking about: https://thefoodcharlatan.com/grilled-chicken-marinade/)
These recipes look sooo good!!! I love FOOD …. good food, that is,& these recipes look real GOOD! Thanks sooo much.😊😍
Thank you Connie! Good food is really just the BEST! :)
I find it interesting that for Mexican Pork (carnitas) i didn’t see Cumin (comino) on your spice list, or oregano… both staples in most Mexican dishes. I make carnitas quite often. Fresh squeezed lime juice also brightens the flavor, along with reducing chicken broth or stock and replacing with a Mexican beer. ❤
Hi Stephany! Nobody called these carnitas :) It’s just a mexican inspired dish I threw together in my kitchen one day. Love your ideas though!