Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork is juicy, tender and packed with flavor. This simple crockpot pulled pork recipe is perfect for sandwiches, or even just served over rice.
I love my slow cooker. Now that school has started up again, my afternoons/early evenings are absolutely crazy and it is the worst time to try to prep dinner. This BBQ Pulled Pork recipe can be prepped in the morning (with only a few minutes of prep!) and then the pork cooks all day long, so it’s ready whenever you finally have a few minutes to eat dinner on those super busy days!
Pulled Pork Recipe (Crock Pot Version)
This Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork recipe is a great recipe because it starts with a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce. Add some spices and peppers and onions to make the flavor even better. The recipe is super easy to make, but tastes so much better than just using plain BBQ sauce straight out of the bottle! This is absolutely the best pulled pork recipe that I’ve ever tried – it’s easily become a family favorite! Such an easy recipe to put in the regular meal rotation.
What is the best cut of meat for pulled pork?
I’ve used bone-in pork roast as well as boneless pork roasts and I think they’re both amazing. I tend to use the boneless variety more often because I buy them in bulk at Costco, and they are typically easier to fit into the crockpot too!
Why BBQ Pulled Pork is a favorite recipe
- Easy to make. Only a few minutes of prep for this delicious pulled pork recipe. The BBQ pork can be made in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot to save on time.
- High protein. I know many of you are trying to mindful of eating in a more balanced way and making sure you get enough protein in your diets! Each serving of pork has about 35 grams of protein! If you are trying to reduce your carbs, you can eat the pork over lettuce as a salad.
- Delicious and versatile. Many readers have confirmed that this BBQ Pulled Pork recipe is the best one that they’ve ever tried! My kids are pretty picky eaters, but this is one meal that they all love! Some eat the meat plain, some eat it on buns, some in a salad – everyone can customize the meat however they want, but everyone loves it!
What to Serve with Pulled Pork in a Crock Pot
BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches go really well with sides like Creamy Parmesan Potatoes and Peas or Sugared Asparagus. My family loves when I serve this with Baked Sweet Potato Fries or Pepperjack Mac & Cheese as well! And don’t skip dessert! Have some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies or some Texas Sheet Cake for the perfect ending to your meal.
Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork Ingredients
- Pork shoulder or pork butt roast – I like to use a boneless roast, but you can use one with the bone-in as long as it fits in your slow cooker! I use a 3-4 pound roast for this recipe. You’ll plan on each pound of roast feeding about 3 people.
- Spices: Several basic spices really take the flavor of this pulled pork to the next level. I use salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper and red pepper.
- Onion: I usually use yellow onions with this recipe. Slice the onion really thin before adding to the crockpot. If your kids are picky and don’t like onions, you can add some onion powder instead for some of that flavor.
- Green bell pepper: You’ll need one green pepper, sliced thinly into strips. This can also be left out, but it adds a lot of flavor to the sauce and the pork!
- Barbecue sauce – You’ll need an 18 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce. Whatever kind you prefer, but I usually use one that is more the plain side, since you’ll be adding quite a bit of flavor to it.
- Light brown sugar – Sweetens up the pork and the sauce just a little bit and gives all of it that amazing sweet BBQ flavor we all love!
How to Make Pulled Pork in Crock Pot
- Trim excess fat from pork.
- Combine salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper in small bowl; rub the dry rub all over roast.
- Place onion and bell pepper in slow cooker; add pork.
- Combine barbecue sauce and brown sugar; pour over meat.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Transfer roast to cutting board. Trim and discard any fat from roast.
- Use 2 forks to pull pork apart.
- Serve shredded pork and sauce over rice or place it on buns to make pulled pork sandwiches. You can store any leftover pulled pork in the refrigerator to heat up later.
What BBQ sauce is best for crock pot pulled pork?
In the past, I have usually used Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, but I’ve been trying some others lately. Costco has been carrying the Kinder’s brand which I really love because it is organic, has much cleaner ingredients, and I actually think it tastes so much better than many of the other varieties that I’ve tried. I prefer the Mild BBQ flavor, but they have some varieties that have more kick to them if you like spicy!
Blues Hog has a reputation of having some of the best BBQ sauce out there, but I have actually never tried it. It is also made with all natural ingredients and there are quite a few varieties to try!
Storing and Reheating Pulled Pork
Pulled pork should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb. boneless pork shoulder or butt roast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground red pepper
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium green bell pepper cut into thin strips
- 18 oz. bottle barbecue sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from pork. Combine salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper in small bowl; rub over roast.
- Place onion and bell pepper in slow cooker; add pork. Combine barbecue sauce and brown sugar; pour over meat. Cover; cook on low 8-10 hours.
- Transfer roast to cutting board. Trim and discard any fat from roast. Use 2 forks to pull pork apart. Serve pork and sauce over rice or place it on buns to make pulled pork sandwiches.
Video
Nutrition
FAQ for Crock Pot Pulled Pork
When you cook a pork roast in a slow cooker, how long you cook it for depends on how large your roast is. I use a small 3-4 pound boneless pork roast for this recipe and I like to cook it in a slow cooker on LOW for at least 8-10 hours, but if you have time, 10-12 hours is even better. You can cook it on HIGH for 4-5 hours, but I think the texture and flavor is better when you cook it on low.
I like to cook this pulled pork recipe in a 4.5 quart basic crock pot. (Basic but so pretty!)
Pork gives off enough liquid as it cooks that you don’t need to add anything other than what the recipe states.
Pork releases lots of juice as it cooks, so there’s no need to add water to the crockpot. In this recipe the only added liquid is BBQ sauce and you’ll find you have plenty once it’s cooked!
We find that adding BBQ sauce and flavor through a variety of spices combines with the juices pork releases while cooking to be the best liquid to cook pulled pork in.
Pulled pork is fall apart tender at 195°F degrees, which is reached by about 9-10 hours of slow cooking. Moist pork is pork that is perfectly cooked, so once that temp has been reached, switch your crockpot over to “warm” to prevent it from over cooking and drying out.
Pork will get increasingly more tender until 195°F degrees, when it’s “fall apart tender.” Letting the pork cook on low for the full 8-10 hours will yield the moist, tender pulled pork everyone wants!
HOW TO MAKE PORK ROAST RECIPE IN AN INSTANT POT
I’ve also begun making this in my Instant Pot and it’s AMAZING. It’s quite a bit faster than using a Slow Cooker (it takes about 2 hours total!) and I think I like the results even more! I use a small, 2-lb Pork Sirloin Tip Roast from Costco and add the remaining ingredients. It’s fall apart tender and so flavorful!
Place everything in the Instant Pot and set to Manual High Pressure for about 65 minutes for a 2 lb roast. Add 10 minutes per additional pound of pork roast. When the time is up, let it Natural Pressure Release. Once all the pressure is released, the pork should be super tender and fall apart easily!
LIKE THIS EASY CROCKPOT RECIPE? TRY THESE OTHER SLOW COOKER RECIPES ~
- Easy Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken recipe
- Best Crockpot Beef Stew recipe
- Best Crock Pot Pork Roast
- CrockPot Turkey Breast
- Crock Pot Sweet Pork
- How to make Crock Pot Shredded Chicken
- Best Crockpot Pork Carnitas
- Easy Crockpot Madras Lentils
- Crockpot Roast with Dr.Pepper
- Crockpot Chili
- Crockpot Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
- Best Pork Tenderloin Marinade recipe
- Easy Slow Cooker Sweet Pork
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork is moist, tender and packed with flavor. This simple crockpot pulled pork recipe is perfect for sandwiches, or even just served over rice.
Terry says
Can this be frozen?
Pam says
Love Spare ribs
Nicole says
Those are always great!
Heather says
When ever I make a ham like this, my crock pot fills nearly the entire way with liquid so I get more a boiled ham… should I keep dumping this excess to prevent this? I’ve tried not using a lid but seem to get the same result!
Thank you!
Jessica says
Braised pork is delicious- I don’t see a problem. Maybe reduce the heat on your crockpot?
Kellee says
This recipe was so easy and delicious! I would agree that the longer time in crockpot the better (10-12 hrs). Side note make sure you have extra bbq sauce for topping off the sandwiches!
Alysia Duke says
We love pulled pork all different ways! This recipe was really good!
Nicole says
Glad to hear that you liked it!
Lu Lockwood says
It was wonderful as a burrito or quesadilla. It was so tender and tasty. My husband loved it. This recipe made enough for 3 meals for the two of us. I slow cooked a 3 pound boneless pork shoulder roast. We enjoyed this meal with a large salad.
Nicole says
That sounds like a great way to use up shredded pork
Cathy says
Love pulled pork! We buy the whole loins and then cut them into our family-size. Leave one or two packets uncooked and freeze but then we roast – either in the oven, the smoker or the crockpot the rest of the meat and package it in meal size parcels after “chunking” it or shredding for quick recipes – like pulled pork BBQ either for sandwiches or stuffed baked potatoes – incredibly good stuffed inside baked SWEET potatoes. or for something like pork carnitas.
Jessica says
That’s such a great idea Cathy!!
Sue Matheny says
love BBQ pulled pork
Nicole says
So do we!
Amary says
We are going to try the BarBQ. The kids love barbq pork
Steven Faia says
I’m not a big fan of pulled pork. I like it stuffed with garlic and sliced to desired thickness.
Nicole says
Garlic does make everything better 😉
Tammy says
I love on new years day I put a pork loin in the crockpot, pour a bag of kraut over it then top it off with a cup of hot mustard. You can add a 1/4 cup brown sugar to take the bite out of the kraut but when it cooks all day that smell is to die for. It shreds so easy and you start out the new year on a good note too!!!
Nicole says
Pork and sauerkraut on New Years is a great tradition that can be dated back to the 17th century, but you’ve got to love the modern slow cooker for making it more convenient 😉
Annie Lewis says
I cook a 2 lb. pork roast with 5 cups of water in my crock pot on low for about 9 hours. I season with salt, pepper, minced onion in the jar, parsley, rosemary, basil, and thyme; then add a can or jar of pork gravy. When it’s done, I take the meat out and remove the fat while I break it up in strips. I pour the 5 cups of broth out into a regular enamel pot, let it cool, and then refrigerate it overnight. Then I add the strips of pork back to the slow cooker with some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, and let it cook about an hour. When it’s done, I take it out and let it cool; then I refrigerate that overnight also. The reason I do this the day before I’m going to serve it is because the fat in the broth hardens and comes to the top overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, I take it out and use a slotted spoon to dip out all that nasty fat. We don’t need that in our bloodstreams! Then I heat the broth on top of the stove. I add: carrots and celery; then some potatoes and fresh mushrooms; then some egg noodles. Mercy! That broth flavors those veggies and noodles so good! Then I heat up my BBQ pork in the microwave. We have BBQ pork on buns and have some veggies and noodles on the side. Yummo!
Nicole says
That sounds really good!
Glenda Wood says
I am a big fan of pulled pork. I am a hostel parent in South Africa,
at a mission school with 35 African children. Ranging from 4 years old to 18.we always have to make double the amount as it is one of their favourite dishes. Thank you for an amazing site.
Yours faithfully
Glenda Wood
Tarkastad Eastern Cape. South Africa
Nicole says
Oh wow, hello from the other side of the world! Glad everyone liked pulled pork, it’s such a simple recipe that can feed many.
Jill says
We like pulled pork. Can’t wait to try your pork roast recipes.
Kathleen Vines says
Can’t wait to try this! We are huge BBQ pork fans!!
Nicole says
then you’re going to love this recipe!
Pat Warner says
Haven’t made this yet, but with baby rays sauce it should be excellent!!
Nicole says
That does sound excellent!
Karen says
Can’t wait to try your recipe. I love to put pork on the BBQ. Thanks for the great site.
Nicole says
thanks for reading!
Diane Harrison says
Wonderful recipe! Makes large amount, so I break it down into smaller portions and freeze them!
Nicole says
That sounds like a great idea for meal planning
charles R Cameron says
I love using pulled pork to make Tacos
Nicole says
Oh yes, pulled pork tacos are great
Harry D. Mack says
MADE THIS AS PER THE RECIPE, BUT OMITTED THE GREEN PEPPER AND INCREASED THE ONION DUE TO PERSONAL PREFERENCE. DELIGHTFUL !!!
Nicole says
that sounds great!
elisha says
looks delicious cant wait to try it!
Nicole says
Try it soon so you don’t miss out for too long 😉