Nothing, but nothing beats homemade spaghetti sauce and this crockpot spaghetti sauce recipe makes it so easy you can have it any night of the week. You’ll be blown away by how amazing this smells as it slowly simmers away!

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

I know you can buy spaghetti sauce very inexpensively at the grocery store, but it pales in comparison to this hearty, perfectly seasoned, wholesome, delicious homemade sauce. Imagine coming home to a simmering, fragrant cauldron of homemade sauce. Cook your pasta, make some garlic bread and a salad, and you’re done!

Spaghetti sauce (in crock pot) may change the way you do pasta night. There really is no jarred commercial sauce that can compare to the sensory experience this sauce provides.

As it bubbles away slowly on the counter in your handy dandy slow cooker, you can do what needs to be done! Work, putter around your house, help the kids with homework, train your dog; you name it.

But be forewarned! It smells so good while it cooks, you may want to find jobs to do outside so you don’t nibble constantly and ruin your supper.

Spaghetti Sauce in the Crockpot

There are about as many styles of crock pots out there as there are styles of cooks, and just about any one of them that is large enough ought to do the job here. This old fashioned, large, relatively inexpensive slow cooker is my personal favourite.

My slow cooker doesn’t need bells and whistles. It just needs to be big!

Keep in mind that recipe is a great one for doubling if you have a crockpot with the capacity to hold it all. Since it’s cooking for four to six hours, you may as well make more than one meal’s worth!

Simply divide any sauce you don’t plan to eat in a day or two into meal sized portions and freeze. When you’re in need of a quick meal, you’ll be so glad you did.

Cooking Pasta Sauce in the Slow Cooker

To make this easy slow cooker spaghetti sauce, you’ll need these ingredients:

• Ground beef
• Italian sausage
• Onion
• Garlic
• Diced tomatoes in juice
• Tomato sauce
• Crushed tomatoes
• Tomato paste
• Bell pepper
• Water
• Worcestershire sauce, Soy sauce, or Fish sauce
• Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt
• MSG (like Accent), optional
• Sugar, optional if you prefer sweeter sauce
• Fresh herbs, optional

The recipe calls for both ground beef and Italian sausage, but honestly, you can substitute all ground beef, all Italian sausage, or any combination of the meats. I’ve made it just about every which way, including using ground turkey when I was out of the other options and it’s always crave-worthy.

When it comes to the Italian sausage, you have more choices to make, too. You can opt for bulk raw Italian sausage, raw sausage links, or fully cooked links. Pork or chicken based Italian sausage work equally well, too.

The only thing to keep in mind is raw bulk or link Italian sausage will be browned along with the ground beef (the links will be cut into coins first) whereas fully cooked sausage will be added directly to the crockpot with the other ingredients.

You can use Worcestershire, Soy Sauce, or Fish Sauce in this recipe; just add what you have available. Any of the three will add some serious umami to the party.

Likewise, a little shake of monosodium glutamate will up the savoury quotient in the recipe. This is often sold under the brand name “Accent”. This is optional, but I always use it!

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Cook the ground beef, sausage, onions, and garlic together until no pink remains in the meat. It does not need to be fully brown, just cooked through. Drain fat away as much as possible.

Add the cooked meat mixture along with the remaining ingredients (except for optional fresh herbs) to the crock pot.

Cook on High for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Taste the sauce and adjust salt if needed.

If using fresh herbs, stir it into the sauce just before serving.

Serve over pasta prepared to “al dente” according to package instructions. See notes for tips.

You can choose to use either Italian sausage links or bulk Italian sausage. If using the bulk sausage, break it up with the ground beef as you cook it. If using raw links, cut them into coin shapes and brown along with the ground beef. If using fully cooked links, cut into coins and add them directly to the crockpot without browning them.

Do not add oil to the water for cooking your pasta. Also, do not rinse it when it is done cooking. These steps will help the sauce stick to the cooked pasta.

If you want to add fresh herbs, do so right before serving.

You can divide leftover crockpot spaghetti sauce into meal sized portions and freeze for later use. For best results and texture, do not freeze with pasta.

Crock Pot Recipes Family Friendly

Family friendly crock pot recipes abound here because they are one of the easiest ways to get a nutritious and satisfying meal that everyone will love on the table with limited effort. Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce is just the start!

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork is my go-to; it’s a reliable, easy recipe for the best pulled pork ever. Budget-friendly succulent pork shoulder slow cooks in Jack Daniels forming an irresistible whiskey bbq sauce.

Sweet, tangy, spicy, garlicky, gingery with a velvety sauce and tender chicken, this slow cooker honey sesame chicken is just so very good.

Tender, garlicky Chipotle Barbacoa is the copycat recipe everyone loves! This smoky, fall-apart-tender beef cooks up to perfection in the slow cooker and is easily adjustable to suit anyone’s spiciness preference.

Flavourful Mojo Pork or Cuban Roast Pork has been one of the most popular recipes published on Foodie with Family since it first went live in 2009, and for good reason. Fragrant, garlicky, crispy-edged yet succulent, this mouth-watering pork is as easy to make as it is wonderful and habit forming.

Gentle sweetness from honey brings out the best of the tasty heat from Sriracha in this great Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Barbecue Chicken. Pile the chicken high on sandwiches topped with a cucumber, cilantro salad, and a fried egg ~or~ on a tossed salad, in tacos or on a chicken fajita or barbecue pizza.

Don’t forget your crock pot can do breakfast, snacks, and drinks for you, too!

Fragrant, slightly sweet Slow-Cooker Blueberry Coconut Vanilla Granola. That’s right! Granola made entirely in the slow-cooker without heating your kitchen!

This slow-cooker mulled apple cider slow-simmers with cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and vanilla plus a little lemon to accentuate the apple, and is sweetened just enough with maple syrup. It’s the best mulled cider you’ll ever have and you’ll want it for all your fall gatherings.

Snacks don’t get much easier or tastier than this Spicy Bacon Corn Dip. Toss all the ingredients in a slow-cooker and 2 hours later, you have a dip bursting with flavourful sweet corn, crispy bacon, spicy jalapenos, and green onions all enrobed in a creamy cheese sauce.

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Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Nothing, but nothing beats homemade spaghetti sauce and this crockpot spaghetti sauce recipe makes it so easy you can have it any night of the week.

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword cooking pasta sauce in slow cooker, crock pot recipes family friendly, crock pot spaghetti sauce, crockpot spaghetti sauce, slow cooker spaghetti sauce

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Servings 8

Calories 329kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ pound Italian sausage bulk or links (See Notes)
• 1 large onion peeled and diced
• 6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 28 ounces diced tomatoes in juice Use the liquid in the can as well! Fire roasted diced tomatoes are the best choice.
• 24 ounces tomato sauce
• 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 1 bell pepper stem and seeds diced
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, Soy Sauce, or Fish Sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or adjust to taste after cooking is finished
• 1/4 teaspoon MSG (like Accent) optional
• 1 teaspoon sugar optional if you prefer sweeter sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon ground or cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons each fresh parsley and basil plus extra for garnish if desired

Instructions

• Cook the ground beef, sausage, onions, and garlic together until no pink remains in the meat. It does not need to be fully brown, just cooked through. Drain as much fat as you possibly can from the mixture.
• Add the cooked meat mixture along with the remaining ingredients (except for optional fresh herbs) to the crock pot.
• Cook on High for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Taste the sauce and adjust salt if needed.
• If using fresh herbs, stir it into the sauce just before serving.
• Serve over pasta prepared to “al dente” according to package instructions. See notes for tips.

Notes

You can choose to use either Italian sausage links or bulk Italian sausage. If using the bulk sausage, break it up with the ground beef as you cook it. If using raw links, cut them into coin shapes and brown along with the ground beef. If using fully cooked links, cut into coins and add them directly to the crockpot without browning them.

Do not add oil to the water for cooking your pasta. Also, do not rinse it when it is done cooking. These steps will help the sauce stick to the cooked pasta.

If you want to add fresh herbs, do so right before serving.

You can divide leftover sauce into meal sized portions and freeze for later use. For best results and texture, do not freeze with pasta.

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 1568mg | Potassium: 1095mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 987IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 5mg

Let your slow-cooker do the heavy lifting for dinner with succulent, juicy, versatile Crock pot Dr. Pepper pulled pork. Fewer than 10 minutes of hands-on time yields enough irresistible pulled pork for more than one meal!

Serve your slow cooker pulled pork on hamburger buns or rolls with slaw, but it’s not all just about the pulled pork sandwiches! It’s also great on rice with bbq sauce and pickled vegetables, on mashed potatoes with gravy, on top of a salad, or over toast with fried eggs, just to name a few ideas. Tuck into tacos, grilled cheese sandwiches, in soup, or on pizzas. 

With that tiny amount of effort, you have the base for limitless quick and satisfying meals that make the whole family happy. Isn’t that magical?

Pulled Pork with Dr. Pepper Slow Cooker

None of what is in this Dr. pepper pulled pork recipe should be hard to source and the payoff for such a minute amount of effort is massive. Even with the number of hearty eaters in our home, we get enough for at least 2 generous meals. 

If you’re feeding a smaller crew or a couple, I can imagine getting at least 4 to 5 meals out of one pork shoulder. Considering that pork shoulders are one of the more economical cuts of meat available these days, that makes this not only delicious, but budget friendly to boot.

I promised this is an easy recipe, and I meant it. The ingredients list is brief and the equipment list is equally small. 

Pulled Pork Ingredients

1. Bone-In Pork Shoulder
2. Onions
3. Whole Cloves Garlic
4. Kosher
5. Black Pepper
6. Dr. Pepper
7. Dijon Mustard

It’s called Slow Cooker Dr Pepper Pulled Pork, but you can use just about any dark soda to good effect. You can even mix and match a bit; use a can of Dr Pepper and two cans of root beer. 

Combine cola and Dr. Pepper. Let the spirit move you!

One thing I would not do, however, is use diet dr. pepper or other diet sodas. Because they do not have sugar, they do not reduce to a syrup nicely either flavour-wise or texture-wise.

What Cut of Meat for Pulled Pork

The very best cut of meat for pulled pork is a bone-in pork shoulder. It is a portion of the pig that is well-marbled with tasty fat that helps keep the meat tender and juicy in the long, slow cooking process. 

What cut of pork for pulled pork isn’t a hard and fast rule, though. While pork shoulder is what cut of pork is best for pulled pork, you do have options.

Any of these cuts of pork (whether boneless or bone-in) should work quite well and yield up juicy meat. Remember that if you use a boneless cut of pork for your pulled pork, you may be able to reduce your cooking time slightly.

• Bone-In Pork Shoulder (Best cut of pork for pulled pork)
• Pork Butt
• Boneless Pork Shoulder
• Boston Butt
• ​Bone-In Pork Butt
• Boneless Pork Butt
• Picnic Roast
• Shoulder Roast
• Shoulder Butt Roast
• Boneless Spare Ribs

On the other hand, you may want to avoid the leaner or more delicate cuts of pork. These have a tendency -however counterintuitively- to dry out and get stringy in the moist cooking environment of the crockpot.

The following cuts lack enough fat marbling and connective tissue to yield a silky, tender pulled pork. Save them for quick grilling or broiling recipes!

Cuts of Meat to Avoid for Pulled Pork

• Tenderloin
• Center Cut Boneless Pork Loin
• Top Loin
• Sirloin Roast

Equipment

1. 6 Quart or Larger Slow Cooker
2. Chef Knife
3. Cutting Board
4. Saucepan
5. Spoon

Pork Crock Pot Recipes

Whether you’re looking for the best pulled pork recipe or another pork-licious easy slow cooker recipe, we’ve got you covered! From Slow Cooker Mojo Pork to Slow Cooker Pork Roast with peach salsa and sweet potatoes, and on to Slow Cooker Korean Style Pork Tenderloin and Breakfast Baked Beans, the crockpot is the perfect way to cook up the pork meal of your dreams. 

Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Let your slow-cooker do the heavy lifting for dinner with succulent, juicy, versatile Crock pot Dr. Pepper pulled pork. Fewer than 10 minutes of hands-on time yields enough irresistible pulled pork for more than one meal!

Arrange the sliced onion over the bottom of the slow-cooker. Place pork shoulder on top of the onions. 

Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes on the pork shoulder, then pour one can of Dr. pepper on top of the pork. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. 

Toward the end of cooking time, combine the remaining two cans of Dr. Pepper in a saucepan with the Dijon mustard over high heat. Bring it to a boil then drop the heat medium low to maintain a steady, gentle simmer.

Keep cooking the soda and mustard mixture until it has reduced to about 1 cup total and a very syrupy consistency. Set this aside.

When the pork shoulder is fall-apart tender, shred it in the crockpot while still in its cooking juices, removing the bone and any large portions of fat. Stir in the reduced Dr. Pepper syrup and serve as desired.

NOTES:

The pork should be so tender after cooking that it easily falls away from the bone and cannot hold together when you try to lift it. If it is not that tender, cover and allow it to cook a little longer until it is meltingly tender.

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Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Let your slow-cooker do the heavy lifting for dinner with succulent, juicy, versatile Crock pot Dr. Pepper pulled pork. Fewer than 10 minutes of hands-on time yields enough irresistible pulled pork for more than one meal!

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crock pot dr. pepper pulled pork, crockpot dr. pepper pulled pork, dr. pepper pulled pork, slow cooker dr. pepper pulled pork, slow cooker pulled pork

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 hours hours

Total Time 7 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 221kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 6 Quart or Larger Slow Cooker
• Chef Knife
• cutting board
• saucepan
• spoon

Ingredients

• 6 lb bone-in pork shoulder
• 2 onions peeled and thickly sliced into slabs
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cans 12 oz each Dr. Pepper, divided
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

• Arrange onion slabs over the bottom of the slow-cooker. Toss in the peeled garlic cloves. Place pork shoulder on top of the onions.
• Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes on the pork shoulder, then pour one can of Dr. pepper on top of it. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours.
• Toward the end of cooking time, combine the remaining two cans of Dr. Pepper in a saucepan with the Dijon mustard over high heat. Bring it to a boil then drop the heat medium low to maintain a steady, gentle simmer.
• Keep cooking the soda and mustard mixture until it has reduced to about 1 cup total and a very syrupy consistency. Set this aside.
• When the pork shoulder is falling apart, shred it in the crockpot while still in its cooking juices, removing the bone and any large portions of fat. Stir in the reduced Dr. Pepper syrup and serve as desired.

Notes

NOTES:
The pork should be so tender after cooking that it easily falls away from the bone and cannot hold together when you try to lift it. If it is not that tender, cover and allow it to cook a little longer until it is meltingly tender.

Nutrition

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 537mg | Potassium: 520mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 37IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg

Today’s slow cooker recipe for Jack Daniels Pulled Pork is my go-to; it’s a reliable, easy recipe for the best pulled pork ever. Budget-friendly succulent pork shoulder slow cooks in Jack Daniels forming an irresistible whiskey bbq sauce.

Serve it on rolls, toast, in tacos, on pizza, or simply on a fork! I mean honestly. How could this be anything less than sublime?

And sublime it is. This juicy, fall-apart tender slow cooker pulled pork in sauce is enough to make me weep happy tears. If you’re looking for a special touch for an upcoming game day party, look no further!

Now I know you can buy pre-made versions of this in stores and this is not going to turn into a commercial Jack Daniels Pulled Pork review. Let’s just remember that homemade is almost always better. This time the truism is truly true. 

In fact, I think Mr. Jack Daniel himself would approve of this insanely delectable pulled pork. You get the effect of a bbq spice rubbed, smoked pulled pork with a fraction of the effort.

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork Recipe

It’s equally true that this recipe yields quite a lot of pulled pork. This is good news because it freezes and reheats like a dream! I’ve included heating instructions included in the printable recipe card, too.

Bone-in Pork shoulder is one of the most budget-friendly cuts of meat in existence. Where I live, it’s about $1.69 per pound and that’s music to this mom-of-five’s ears. 

Boneless pork shoulder is also economical, if slightly less so than the bone-in variety. I prefer the bone-in both for the lower cost and the more profound flavour. Use whichever you like best!

You can either start this delicious pulled pork in your crockpot in the morning and have it for dinner that night, or you can divide the tasks up between a couple of days. If you’re inclined, you can cook it overnight and transfer it into a container in the refrigerator to cool during the day, making it easy to handle.

I find it easiest to shred the pork shoulder while it’s still hot, so I prefer to work with it while it’s still eager to fall apart. I will say that if you’re looking to remove more fat from the meat, it’s easier to do this when it’s cold, so proceed according to your preference. 

I’m not usually a Jack Daniels drinker, so I had a bit of a shock when I went to the liquor store to grab a bottle. There are SO many options! 

What you’re looking for is a bottle of Jack Daniels “ Own Tennessee Whiskey ”. To expound, you want the bottle with the black label that says “Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Tennesee Sour Mash Whiskey”. 

Pulled Pork Jack Daniels

I will say that I think Jack Daniels is the perfect choice for this particular recipe because the smoky, distinctive flavour pairs perfectly with bbq flavours. The unique mellow taste of Jack Daniel’s whiskey makes the perfect barbecue sauce.

I know that there is a commercially available Signature Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce, but I can also say that the version that is yielded by slow cooking the pork shoulder in the homemade sauce ingredients is worlds better. The notes of dark brown sugar and rich ripe tomato are unbeatable.

If you’re more of a bourbon lover, you could certainly make it a bourbon pulled pork by swapping in your favourite tipple. I would not, however, use the cheapest whiskey at the store simply because the finest ingredients yield the best quality product at the end!

Just about every liquor store in America carries Jack Daniels, so you should be in good shape! Keep in mind that you’ll be using a full cup of it, so it’s more economical to buy a larger bottle than a fistful of the little airplane sized bottles. 

If you have concerns about whether this is safe to serve to children, I can tell you it is! Despite there being a cup of whiskey in the dish, most of it evaporates during the initial cook, and no measurable alcohol remains after the serious reduction in the sauce.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, alcohol is burned off at a lower temperature than water boiling. By their instruction, you need to cook food for about 3 hours to fully erase all traces of alcohol. Since this dish cooks longer than that initially followed by an aggressive reduction in pan juices, there should be no alcohol left in the final dish!

If you have someone in your home in recovery, though, please tell them about the ingredients. They may be more comfortable eating something else.

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork Instructions

Before we dive into the instructions, let’s go over our ingredients and equipment lists. Don’t let the length of the ingredient list daunt you; you might have everything in your pantry already!

Ingredients

1. Cooking Onions
2. Garlic Cloves (or Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder)
3. Bone-In or Boneless Pork Shoulder
4. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
5. Ketchup
6. Dark Brown Sugar
7. Dijon Mustard
8. Worcestershire Sauce or Soy Sauce
9. Tomato Paste
10. Salt
11. Black Pepper
12. Cayenne Pepper or crushed dark chili pepper flakes
13. Bay Leaves

Not so bad, right? They’re all pretty common ingredients and there’s no insane prep needed. The majority of the work is quite literally cutting the onion and measuring things.

The equipment list is quite short and also pretty ubiquitous. If you don’t have a slow cooker or aren’t inclined to use it, you can certainly make this in a Dutch Oven, but I love the end result of this recipe.

And even more than that, I love coming home to the smell of crockpot pulled pork. It’s suitable to make on even the busiest days because you quite literally dump everything into the crockpot and let ‘er rip. 

Equipment

1. 6 Quarts or Larger Capacity Slow Cooker
2. Cutting Board
3. Chef’s Knife
4. Mixing Bowl or 4-Cup Capacity Liquid Measuring Cup
5. Strainer/Colander
6. 2 Quart Saucepan
7. 9 x 13 inch pan or Other Oven-Safe Pan
8. Aluminum Foil
9. Freezer Bags or Freezer Safe Containers (if you plan on freezing for later use.)

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork

Peel the onions and slice them into three thick slabs each. Lay the onion slabs in a single layer over the bottom of your slow cooker crock. 

If using raw garlic cloves, peel them and scatter them among the onions. Trim the outer sleeve from the pork shoulder and place it on top of the onions. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the pork shoulder. 

In a mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, use a fork or whisk to combine the Jack Daniels, ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and apple cider vinegar. 

Pour this mixture over the pork shoulder then toss in the bay leaves. Cover the crockpot and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, or until the pork is so tender that it falls apart when you nudge it with a fork.

Our next step is to carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred it using your hands or two forks. Remove the excess fat, then use a chef’s knife to help cut any longer strands of pulled pork into bite size pieces. 

Transfer the pork to a 9-inch by 13-inch pan or oven safe serving dish and cover pan with aluminum foil. You can put this in a 145ºF oven to keep it warm.

Strain the cooking juices into a 2-quart saucepan and place pan over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil and reduce it to about ¼ of its starting volume. 

Open the foil covered pan and drizzle the reduced bbq whiskey glaze over the pork. Use forks or tongs to toss the pulled pork so that it is all covered evenly in the sauce.

Serve immediately, if desired. 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or transfer small batches or meal-sized portions into freezer bags, label, and freeze for up to 6 months for best quality. 

Warming Instructions:

Your Jack Daniel’s Pulled Pork can be thawed and reheated in a microwave. Microwave wattage can vary, so if using this method, reheat it in 30 second increments. 

You can also reheat your pulled pork in a foil covered baking dish in a 350ºF oven for 20 minutes or until piping hot. Alternatively, you can heat it in a covered saucepan with 1/4 cup of water over low heat until steaming hot.

Print

Jack Daniels Pulled Pork

Today’s slow cooker recipe for Jack Daniels Pulled Pork is my go-to; it’s a reliable, easy recipe for the best pulled pork ever. Budget-friendly succulent pork shoulder slow cooks in Jack Daniels forming an irresistible whiskey bbq sauce.

Serve on rolls, in tacos, on toast, on pizza, or simply on a fork!

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crockpot pulled pork, jack daniels pulled pork, slow cooker pulled pork

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 9 hours hours

Shredding time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 9 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 346kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 5 Quarts or Larger Capacity Slow Cooker
• cutting board
• chef's knife
• Mixing Bowl or 4-Cup Capacity Liquid Measuring Cup
• Strainer/Colander
• 2 quart saucepan
• 9 x 13 inch Pan
• aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 10 cloves garlic or 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 6 to 8 pound bone-in pork shoulder you can substitute a boneless pork shoulder if desired
• 1 cup Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
• 1 cup ketchup
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 Bay leaves

Instructions

• Peel the onions and slice them into three thick slabs each. Lay the onion slabs in a single layer over the bottom of your slow cooker crock.
• If using raw garlic cloves, peel them and scatter them among the onions. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onions. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the pork shoulder.
• In a mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, use a fork or whisk to combine the Jack Daniels, ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and apple cider vinegar. If you’re using granulated garlic, please whisk that in as well.
• Pour this mixture over the pork shoulder, add the cayenne pepper or crushed pepper flakes, then toss in the bay leaves. Cover the crockpot and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, or until the pork is so tender that it falls apart when you nudge it with a fork.
• Carefully transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred it using your hands or two forks. Remove the excess fat, then use a chef’s knife to help cut any longer strands of pulled pork into bite size pieces.
• Transfer the pork to a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and cover pan with aluminum foil. You can put this in a 145ºF oven to keep it warm.
• Strain the cooking juices into a 2-quart saucepan and place pan over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil and reduce it to about ¼ of its starting volume.
• Open the foil covered pan and drizzle the reduced juices over the pork. Use forks or tongs to toss the pulled pork so that it is all covered evenly in the sauce.
• Serve immediately, if desired.
• Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or transfer meal-sized portions into freezer bags, label, and freeze for up to 6 months for best quality.
• Your Jack Daniels Pulled Pork can be thawed and reheated in a microwave or a saucepan or even in a foil covered baking dish. Microwave wattage can vary, so if using this method, reheat it in 30 second increments.

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 646mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg

Flavourful Mojo Pork or Cuban Roast Pork has been one of the most popular recipes published on Foodie with Family since it first went live in 2009, and for good reason. Fragrant, garlicky, crispy-edged yet succulent, this mouth-watering pork is as easy to make as it is wonderful and habit forming.

Let me tell you, Mojo Pork deserves every bit of its popularity. Cuban Roast Pork is one of those crazy recipes that somehow manages to be dead simple, insanely inexpensive, mind-bendingly delicious, and wickedly versatile.

Cuban Pork Recipe

When I say it’s easy, I mean like New Orleans BIG EASY easy. Our Cuban Pork Recipe is designed to be made in the slow-cooker and crisped in the oven or an air fryer before serving.

I personally make this with as large a pork shoulder as I can lay my hands on because I know we’ll go through a lot. For this, I grab this slow-cooker.

It’s literally as easy as putting a pork shoulder in the slow-cooker, tossing in whole cloves of garlic, oregano, cilantro stems, salt, pepper, lime juice, and frozen orange juice concentrate. All you do then is cover it up and let it cook on HIGH overnight or all day.

I often split the process between two days by taking the cooked pork shoulder and juices and letting them chill to make them easier to handle. It makes it far easier to remove excess fat because the pork fat firms up as it cools; reach in, pull off the hardened fat, and voila!

You break up the pork with your hands and run a knife through it, strain the pan juices and boil them to reduce them, then pour over the pulled pork before reheating in the oven or an air fryer. TA-DA!

Cuban Mojo Pork

“What in the world would I do with 10 pounds of Cuban Pork?” I hear you say. I’m so glad you asked.

First, we need to remember you’re going to lose about 40% of the overall weight of the pork when you cook it. So really, you’re just looking at about 6 pounds of pulled pork.

And considering how much my kids love Cuban Mojo Pork in burritos, quesadillas, and on a fork, we never have found out how to get tired of it before it’s gone. Besides that, it’s amazing in Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches!

Besides, we use leftovers from this recipe for Filthy Burgers (Beef, Barbecue Pulled Pork, & Bacon Burgers),Pulled Pork Huevos Rancheros, Barbecue Pulled Pork Sliders, Barbecue Pulled Pork Pizza, Pulled Pork Walking Tacos, Taco Soup, and BBQ Pulled Pork Overstuffed Shells among other things.

If you want to take a break before you’re done eating it, divide it into meal sized portions and pop it into the freezer. A couple containers of this pork in the freezer is the best guarantee against the “I have no idea what to make for dinner” blues.

Over the past 13 years, I’ve received all sorts of emails from people who have up-sized the Cuban Pork enough to feed a couple hundred people at church suppers, wedding receptions, and down-sized it to feed a singleton or a couple. In fact, I made this for my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding.

If you’ve been around here for a while, and you’re one of the many who have tried the recipe, would you tell us how you made it? Did you have it at a special occasion?

What’s your favourite way to serve Mojo Pork? Fill me in!

Mojo Pork

Place untrimmed pork, fat side up in the slow-cooker. Toss garlic cloves around the roast and scatter the salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes or fresh jalapeño around the pork shoulder.

Dollop the frozen orange juice concentrate over the roast. Pour the 1/3 cup lime juice around the edges and toss in the cilantro stems.

Cover and turn the slow cooker to “HIGH”. Allow to cook for 1 hour, turn the heat to ’LOW’ and continue cooking for another 7 hours or until meat falls apart when prodded with a fork.

When the meat is tender, turn off slow cooker and place the slow cooker bowl in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle comfortably. (If your slow-cooker doesn’t have a removable insert, transfer the contents to a large container with a tight-fitting lid and pop that into the fridge.)

Use a spoon to remove the congealed fat from around the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.

Transfer pork shoulder to a large cutting board, preferably one with a groove to catch juices. Otherwise, keep the paper towels handy! Let sit while attending to the pan juices.

Pour the cooking juices that surrounded the pork through a fine mesh strainer positioned over a saucepan. Remove and discard any solids left in the strainer. 

Add the remaining lime juice to the cooking juices. Whisk until evenly combined and bring to a boil over medium high heat. 

Allow to boil (while working on shredding the pork) until reduced to about 1/4 of the starting volume. Set the reduced sauce aside.

Pull the bone out of the pork and discard. Scrape as much fat as you can from the outside of the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.

Pull large chunks of the shoulder apart. It should naturally come apart at places where there is additional fat you can remove. Take as much of the fat out as you can without wasting meat.

Using your hands -or two forks- shred the meat into small pieces. When you’ve shredded all the meat, you can leave it as is or chop through it quickly with a knife to ensure that you have small bite-sized pieces. 

Transfer the pork to a 9 x 13 baking dish with sides. Pour the reduced pan juices over the pork and toss. 

Tightly cover the pan with foil. If you plan on serving it immediately, put into a preheated 350ºF oven and heat for 25 minutes, or until hot all the way through. If you are preparing this ahead of time you can either place the pan directly into the freezer or into the fridge.

To reheat from chilled:

Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

To heat from frozen:

Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF for 45 minutes, or until heated through.

Print

Mojo Pork a.k.a. Cuban Roast Pork

Of all the recipes published here on Foodie With Family over the years, this remains one of the best loved and for good reason. Fragrant, garlicky, crispy-edged yet succulent, this mouth-watering pork is as easy to make as it is wonderful and habit forming. The recipe yields a large amount making it perfect to feed a crowd or freeze for quick meals in the future.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American, Cuban

Keyword crockpot cuban pork, cuban mojo pork, cuban pork, Cuban roast pork, mojo pork, slow cooker cuban pork

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 152kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 Slow Cooker
• 1 saucepan
• 1 strainer
• 1 baking dish or air fryer

Ingredients

• 1 8-10 pound bone-in pork shoulder, make sure it fits into your slow-cooker. Cut to fit if necessary.
• 1/2 cup frozen 100% orange juice concentrate
• 1/3 cup lime juice fresh squeezed or bottled, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 8 whole peeled cloves fresh garlic or 1 Tablespoon granulated dried garlic
• 2 Tablespoons dry oregano leaves
• 1 Tablespoon or more, to taste ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoon or more fresh ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or a whole, fresh jalapeño, pierced with a sharp knife a couple of times
• 2 stems cilantro

Instructions

• Place untrimmed pork, fat side up in the slow-cooker.
• Toss garlic cloves around the roast and scatter the salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes or fresh jalapeño around the pork shoulder.
• Dollop the frozen orange juice concentrate over the roast. Pour the 1/3 cup of lime juice around the edges and toss in the cilantro stems. Cover and turn the slow cooker to "HIGH".
• Allow to cook for 1 hour, turn the heat to ’LOW’ and continue cooking for another 7 hours or until meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. When the meat is tender, turn off slow cooker and place the slow cooker bowl in the fridge until it is cool enough to handle comfortably.
• (If your slow-cooker doesn’t have a removable insert, transfer the contents to a large container with a tight-fitting lid and pop that into the fridge.
• Use a spoon to remove the congealed fat from around the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.
• Transfer pork shoulder to a large cutting board, preferably one with a groove to catch juices. Otherwise, keep the paper towels handy! Let sit while attending to the pan juices.
• Pour the cooking juices that surrounded the pork through a fine mesh strainer positioned over a saucepan. Remove and discard any solids left in the strainer. Add the remaining lime juice to the cooking juices.
• Whisk until evenly combined and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Allow to boil (while working on shredding the pork) until reduced to about 1/4 of the starting volume. Set aside until pork is fully shredded.
• Pull the bone out of the pork and discard. Scrape as much fat as you can from the outside of the pork shoulder. Discard the fat.
• Pull large chunks of the shoulder apart. It should naturally come apart at places where there is additional fat you can remove. Take as much of the fat out as you can without wasting meat.
• Using your hands -or two forks- shred the meat into small pieces. When you’ve shredded all the meat, you can leave it as is or chop through it quickly with a knife to ensure that you have small bite-sized pieces.
• When pork is fully shredded (and chopped, if desired) transfer to a 9? x 13? baking dish with sides. Pour the reduced pan juices over the pork and toss. Tightly cover the pan with foil.
• If you plan on serving it immediately, put into a preheated 350ºF oven and heat for 25 minutes, or until hot all the way through. If you are preparing this ahead of time you can either place the pan directly into the freezer or into the fridge.

To reheat from chilled:

• Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

To heat from frozen:

• Place, still covered in foil, in a preheated 350ºF for 45 minutes, or until heated through

Nutrition

Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 462mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 114IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg

This post was originally published March 24 and 26 of 2009, was republished in 2012, and republished with new photos in February of 2022.

For 100% pure comfort food, try our 1-pot Crock Pot Beef and Noodles; fall-apart tender beef in silky gravy with old-fashioned egg noodles. This is like a warm hug from the inside out.

This is one of the easiest slow cooker dishes that still delivers big beef-y flavour with minimal effort. Crock Pot Beef and Noodles is a hit with everyone in our house and the favourite dinner for a couple of us.

Beef and Noodles Recipe

Many crock pot beef and noodles recipes start with cans of condensed soup. You can absolutely make it that way (and I’ll share the info on how to do that) but it’s not necessary.

All you need for the ultimate beef and noodles is a large onion, a few cups of beef broth or stock, a beef roast, and some old-fashioned beef noodles.

The beauty of this recipe is in the simplicity of it. And while I am keen on letting the slow cooker do the work for me in our crock pot beef and noodles, you can certainly prepare this recipe on a stove top.

To prepare the beef and noodles recipe on the stove top, simply add all of the ingredients to a dutch oven or heavy bottomed stockpot with a tight fitting lid.

Beef and Noodles

When it comes to choosing a cut of beef for crock pot beef and noodles, you have options. While the recipe is traditionally made with chuck roast, I prefer to use a shoulder roast or a top or bottom round roast.

Chuck roast is nicely marbled and lends itself well to long, slow cooking, but it also tends to have more gristle and connective tissue. Since I love my beef a little leaner, I go with the less fatty shoulder or round roasts.

The long, slow cook time still yields a super tender result whether you go with the fattier, more marbled chuck or leaner shoulder or round. Choose whichever cut your preference and budget dictate.

If you begin with a roast that has a large fat cap on it, trim most of the fat down so you have no more than 1/8 of an inch. This cuts down on the work you have to do at the end of the cooking time and that’s always a good thing.

Beef Noodle Recipe

Now that you’ve got the meat sorted, let’s address your noodle options for your crock pot beef and noodles. There are several options, but the two best are frozen home style noodles or dried “kluski” home style noodles.

The frozen egg noodles are sold in many superstores like Walmart and Target under the brand Reames. Reames frozen egg noodles are also available for ordering directly through their website.

If opting for dry noodles, I have a preference for the home style noodles.

Whether you choose the frozen egg noodles or dried egg noodles, the key is to use the right amount. If you choose frozen noodles, use 24 ounces. If you opt for dried noodles, go with 12 to 16 ounces of dry noodles.

Want a crusty loaf of homemade bread to sop up the gravy? Try our One Hour Bread. You’ll be so glad you did!

If you’re looking for other great crock pot dinners, check out our slow-cooker recipes page. We have everything from main dishes to appetizers to granola.

Crock Pot Beef and Noodles

Scatter the diced onions over the bottom of your slow-cooker/crock pot. Nestle the beef roast (fat side up) into the onions. Sprinkle the kosher salt, black pepper, granulated onion, dried thyme, and nutmeg over the beef then pour 2 cups of the beef broth (or the canned soup) over the beef. 

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef shreds easily with a fork. Use two forks to shred the beef into bite size pieces, removing any excess fat if you see it. Add the remaining 4 cups of beef broth and the egg noodles and stir to distribute.

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Crock Pot Beef and Noodles

For 100% pure comfort food, try our 1-pot Crock Pot Beef and Noodles; fall-apart tender beef in silky gravy with old-fashioned egg noodles.

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword beef and noodles recipe, beef noodle recipe, crock pot beef and noodles

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Servings 6

Calories 202kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion peeled and diced
• 2.5 to 3.5 pounds boneless beef shoulder roast top or bottom round, or chuck roast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon granulated onion
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 6 cups beef broth divided, (see notes)
• 24 ounces frozen egg noodles or 12-16 ounces dried home style egg noodles
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt sour cream, creme fraiche, or heavy cream
• Minced fresh parsley

Instructions

• Scatter the diced onions over the bottom of your slow-cooker/crock pot. Nestle the beef roast (fat side up) into the onions. Sprinkle the kosher salt, black pepper, granulated onion, dried thyme, and nutmeg over the beef then pour 2 cups of the beef broth (or the canned soup) over the beef.
• Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef shreds easily with a fork. Use two forks to shred the beef into bite size pieces, removing any excess fat if you see it. Add the remaining 4 cups of beef broth and the egg noodles and stir to distribute.
• Put the lid back in place, turn the crock pot to HIGH and cook for an additional 60 to 90 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Stir in the Greek yogurt, sour cream, creme fraiche, or heavy cream, and serve in bowls garnished with fresh parsley.

Notes

You can either use 6 cups of beef broth ~or~ 6 cups of water with 6 heaping teaspoons of Beef Better than Bouillon ~or~ 1 can each of French onion condensed soup and beef consommé plus 4 cups of beef broth.

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 1299mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg

Tender, garlicky Chipotle Barbacoa is the copycat recipe everyone loves! This smoky, fall-apart-tender beef cooks up to perfection in the slow cooker and is easily adjustable to suit anyone’s spiciness preference.

What is barbacoa?

In a nutshell, barbacoa is garlicky, tender, shredded beef braised low and slow in a spicy, smoky, flavourful barbecue sauce. It doesn’t hurt matters that it cooks all day (or all night!) while you run errands or do yard work or try desperately not to eat the contents of the pantry while you smell this simmering in the fragrant barbecue sauce. Or is that just me?

This Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe is the jumping off point for a whole host of meals, which is why I call for such a large cut of chuck roast. I’m aware that 6 to 8 pounds is a great deal of meat, but it fits easily into most slow-cookers.

Since you have it going all that time, and the end results of the recipe freeze so incredibly nicely, you might as well get the most bang you can for your energy and food buck.

Even for a family my size, this yields several meals worth of entree portions. Another great option for big batches in the slow cooker is this crockpot chicken breast.

What are some of the magical ways you can serve our Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe?

In warmed homemade corn tortillas with a handful of chopped onions, some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime for a Mexican style taco. Not a corn tortilla fan?

Serve Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe in crispy taco shells or flour tortillas with your favourite taco toppings. You’ll be in heaven!

Ready for burrito night? Serve rolled up in a flour tortilla with refried beans, some cilantro lime rice, a sprinkling of cheese, some sour cream, a little salsa, some pickled onions, and some avocado cubes or any variation on the burrito theme.

Serve on top of hot rice with your favourite taco or burrito fillings for a Taco or Burrito Bowl. This is great for a nutritious, filling, crowd-pleasing meal on busy family nights.

Serve Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe over a baked Russet or sweet potato. A dollop of sour cream or crema (or again, those taco toppings…) would make this a filling and delicious option.

Nacho time, of course. Serve over hot tortilla chips baked with cheese on them (and perhaps Candied Jalapenos?) for some memorable nachos.

Mix into your favourite queso dip recipe for some serious sustenance and flavour. A fork. Just use a fork, man.

And if you’re on the hunt for more beef recipes, try out our Pho {Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup}, Ground Beef Fried Rice, Instant Pot Garlic Beef Stroganoff, and Best Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Bacon.

If you’re looking for more ways to use those delectable chipotles in adobo sauce, look no further than our 5 Minute Restaurant Style Chipotle Salsa, Bold Chipotle Coca-Cola Barbecue Sauce, and Smoked Paprika and Chipotle Sauce | Lemons in Salt.

And you’d best plan on an icy cold beverage no matter how you serve your Chipotle Barbacoa. How about some Watermelon Margarita a.k.a. Sandia En Fuego or some Berry Kombucha Margaritas?

Maybe your tastes run more toward Boozy Strawberry Basil Lemonade or a fabulous Lady Greyhound Cocktail – Tea Infused Cocktail. And if you’re more into the mocktail scene, try these Mixed Berry and Basil Sangria By The Glass (and mocktail variation) or Ginger Switchel Drink {non-alcoholic refresher}!

Chipotle Barbacoa

Chuck roasts are a great cut for this Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe because it’s a selection of beef that has a lot of tissues to break down in the braising process. Additionally, those connective tissues add a velvety texture to the final sauce that you just can’t get from a leaner piece of beef.

This could also be made with the easier to trim (and far more expensive) flank steak. That seems a bit silly, though, when you can get great results from a less expensive cut.

Trim as much of the visible fat as is possible from the outside of the roast (and any large fat veins on the inside) before cutting into 2-inch-ish cubes. While you want some fat to help baste it, you don’t want it swimming in it.

I’ve included an optional step in the recipe, but I do recommend it unless you’re unequivocally morally opposed to cooking anything before it goes into the slow-cooker. I DO heartily recommend taking the 5 or 10 minutes it takes to brown the chuck before soaking it in the barbacoa sauce.

Why? It’s not to seal in moisture. That’s an old wive’s tale. It’s add another level of WOWZA to the flavour profile.

It adds depth to the beef. Can you make this without browning it?

Absolutely. Will it still be delicious? Yep. But do I recommend browning it? Yes, I do. Try it both ways and see which way you prefer it.

I mention that you can use beef or chicken broth or a lager beer in the recipe. It will be equally delicious if different with each of those three options.

Don’t be tempted to go for a hoppy micro-brew in this situation as the hops may compete with the chipotles in adobo. A lighter lager style is where it’s at.

I do suggest you let the beef cubes soak in the sauce overnight to marinate thoroughly. I HAVE, however, been in a hurry and cooked it within roughly 25 seconds of pouring the sauce over the beef.

It was delicious. The one that marinated overnight was even better, though. Consider yourself informed.

After the beef has cooked to the point where it shreds quite easily with a fork, you have a couple of options. If you have a ton of liquid in the slow-cooker, you can dip it out into a pan using a ladle and put the pan over medium heat until the liquid reduces by half or more and thickens.

Pour back into the slow-cooker with the beef and use two forks to shred the beef. This is the easiest method, by far.

Freeze any thoroughly cooled leftovers in air-tight containers or zipper top freezer bags in single meal portions. Date and label those bags so you don’t forget what’s in them. That will make it easier to use on the fly.

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Use this to make Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe:

• Slow cooker
• chef’s knife
• cutting board
• liquid measuring cup

Barbacoa Recipe

Optional flavour building step:

Drizzle the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Brown the beef cubes on all sides in batches (you do not want to overcrowd the pan).

Cool the beef cubes completely before proceeding.~~~~

To Make the Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa:

Add the beef (whether you’ve browned it or not) to the crock of a slow-cooker. Add the chipotles in adobo, onion, garlic, broth or beer, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, cumin, oregano, ground cloves, salt, and black pepper to a blender and blend on high until smooth.

Toss the bay leaves on top of the beef, pour the contents of the blender over the contents, stir, and cover Let the beef stand overnight to marinate.

In the morning, add the crock to the slow-cooker, turn the temperature to LOW. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH, or until the beef shreds very easily with a fork. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Use two forks to shred the meat in the sauces.

To Serve:

Serve the shredded Barbacoa with sauces over rice, in corn tortillas with onion and cilantro, in burritos, soups, on nachos, or just with a fork!

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Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe {slow-cooker}

Garlicky, tender, shredded beef braised low and slow in a spicy, smoky, flavourful barbecue sauce.  Serve in burritos or with lime-cilantro rice.

Course Main Course, Slow-Cooker

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 20

Calories 105kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 pounds boneless chuck roast trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or canola oil
• 6 chipotles in adobo with sauce
• 1 large white onion peeled and roughly chopped
• 10 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth or lager beer
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar preferably raw
• 1/4 cup lime juice preferably freshly squeezed
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons oregano preferably Mexican oregano, but all oregano will do!
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 bay leaves

Instructions

Optional flavour building step:

• Drizzle the vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Brown the beef cubes on all sides in batches (you do not want to overcrowd the pan).
• Cool the beef cubes completely before proceeding.~~~~

To Make the Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa:

• Add the beef (whether you’ve browned it or not) to the crock of a slow-cooker. Add the chipotles in adobo, onion, garlic, broth or beer, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, cumin, oregano, ground cloves, salt, and black pepper to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Toss the bay leaves on top of the beef, pour the contents of the blender over the contents, stir., and cover Let the beef stand overnight to marinate. In the morning, add the crock to the slow-cooker, turn the temperature to LOW. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH, or until the beef shreds very easily with a fork. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Use two forks to shred the meat in the sauces.

To Serve:

• Serve the shredded Barbacoa with sauces over rice, in corn tortillas with onion and cilantro, in burritos, soups, on nachos, or just with a fork!

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 327mg | Potassium: 299mg | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 1.8mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg

Accompany Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe with these delicious recipes:

Spicy Corn and Black Bean Salad

Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad

Perfect Pico de Gallo

This post was originally published May 17, 2018 and republished September 2021.

The impressively flavourful and impossibly tender Crock pot Mississippi Pot Roast is the world’s easiest (and I’d argue best) pot roast in existence. You don’t even have to brown the beef before tossing it into your crock pot or dutch oven (if you prefer that!)

I’ll admit I had my doubts about whether crock pot Mississippi Pot Roast would be delicious when a friend told me about it rapturously. I’m awfully glad I vetoed my own impulse not to try making it, though, because she was SO right.

Mississippi Roast Crock Pot

First a word or two about crock pots a.k.a. slow cookers. I know people either love them or love to hate them.

I’m super keen on my slow cooker for recipes like this Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast, Slow Cooker Spicy Bacon Corn Dip, and Slow Cooker Breakfast Baked Beans among others. If you’re Team No Crock Pots, though, the good news is you can easily shift all of this to a Dutch oven using the same instructions.

If you opt for the Dutch oven, route, you’ll just add all of the ingredients to a mid-sized Dutch oven, cover it up, and plunk it on a low flame, checking after about 3 to 4 hours. You’ll just let it go until fork tender and follow the instructions from there!

Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe

So what is it that makes this Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe so delicious? It’s an unlikely combo that was first created by Robin Chapman in the early 2000’s as a riff on her beloved aunt’s pot roast.

Ms. Chapman plunked a chuck roast into a slow-cooker and topped it with a jar of pepperoncini, a stick of butter, and a packet of dry au jus gravy. She then subbed dry ranch dressing mix in for the Italian dressing mix her aunt usually used.

Her family, understandably, went nutty over it. She then shared it with a friend who shared it in a church cookbook and from there it made it to the blog “A Perfectly Lovely Day” and Pinterest, and the rest? Well the rest is a study in how something perfectly unlikely might break the internet.

All that aside, though, there is a reason for the Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast hype, and that reason is that it is delicious. Oh yeah, it’s ridiculously easy to make, too, which sure doesn’t hurt.

Mississippi Pot Roast Slow Cooker

And while I have expounded for YEARS about how merely dumping everything in a slow cooker and expecting it to be delicious is going to lead to disappointment, Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast is the exception to that rule. You literally dump it all in and come back to dinner a few hours later.

Guys. Mississippi Pot Roast rocked my foundation.

You’ll not want to crowd your slow cooker, though. Make sure to use one that your roast fits into comfortably with some room around the sides.

I like this particular inexpensive slow-cooker which is quite large. Use whichever crock pot dings your chimes, though, so long as it has plenty of room in it.

Mississippi Pot Roast

I will say that after trying it both ways, I permanently swapped out the chuck roast for a top round roast in our Mississippi Pot Roast recipe. Why?

Well, chuck is more expensive where I live, but top round is also a little less rich, and I prefer it here. Don’t fret, though, my swap doesn’t make it a “lite” option.

Don’t forget there’s still an entire stick of butter in his crock pot Mississippi Pot Roast. But don’t you leave that butter out, folks, or you will be sad. Trust me; I tried.

Don’t skip the dried ranch dressing mix, either, friends. I have a recipe here for homemade dried ranch dressing mix if you’d prefer it and I can confirm it works beautifully in our Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast.

And furthermore, don’t make the same mistake I made and be tempted to turn your nose up at the dried packet of au jus gravy mix. It needs to be in there. Besides, you can make your own au jus gravy mix and it’s delightful!

If you categorically refuse to use the au jus gravy mix, you can sub in two tablespoons of Better than Bouillon Beef Base. I’m tellin’ ya, though, that au jus gravy mix justifies its existence merely through this Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe.

I never thought I’d say it, but I buy a few packets of the au jus gravy mix now just to have on hand for the Mississippi Pot Roast cravings. Because they are many.

Our family loves the whole pepperoncini peppers in our Mississippi Roast, because the ones who don’t like them can easily pluck them out. If everyone in your crew loves them, feel free to add in sliced pepperoncini.

If you can’t find pepperoncini, substitute for them with banana peppers. It will be delicious!

The recipe truly does make a large amount of Mississippi Pot Roast, but let me tell you why that isn’t a problem in four words: leftover pot roast sandwiches. All you need are toasted buns and you’re in business.

Whether you opt to serve your Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast the “traditional” way over mashed potatoes or choose to serve it my family’s favourite way as sandwiches, you’ll be thrilled. I’d wager that it’ll become part of your regular rotation, too.

You want more excellent crock pot beef recipes? Look no further than our Slow-Cooker Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe, Vegetable Beef Barley Soup, and Instant Pot or Slow-Cooker Ropa Vieja {Cuban Saucy Shredded Beef}!

Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast

Add the beef roast to the crock pot. Scatter the ranch dressing and au jus mix over the roast, pour in the full jar of pepperoncini, and arrange the butter over the top of the roast.

Put the lid in place, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, or until fall apart tender. Use tongs to transfer the beef roast to a heat-proof mixing bowl and break it into bite sized pieces.

Strain the cooking liquid and pepperoncini over the roast. Serve the roast and gravy over mashed potatoes or on sandwich rolls with cheese, lettuce, pickles, and pickled onions. If desired, serve the pepperoncini with the roast.

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Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast

The impressively flavourful and impossibly tender Crock pot Mississippi Pot Roast is the world's easiest (and I'd argue best) pot roast in existence. You don't even have to brown the beef first!

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword crock pot mississippi pot roast, crockpot pot roast, Mississippi Pot Roast, pot roast, slow cooker mississippi pot roast

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Servings 10

Calories 342kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Beef Top Round Roast or Beef Chuck Roast
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix or 3 tablespoons homemade ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet au jus gravy mix 1 ounce
• 1 jar whole or sliced pepperoncini 12 ounces
• 8 tablespoons butter 1 stick, or 4 ounces, cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

• Add the beef roast to the crock pot. Scatter the ranch dressing and au jus mix over the roast, pour in the full jar of pepperoncini, and arrange the butter over the top of the roast.
• Put the lid in place, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, or until fall apart tender. Use tongs to transfer the beef roast to a heat-proof mixing bowl and break it into bite sized pieces. Strain the cooking liquid and pepperoncini over the roast.
• Serve the pot roast with its juices over mashed potatoes with gravy or in sandwiches with cheese, pickled onions, pickles, and lettuce.

Nutrition

Calories: 342kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 392mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 4mg

Green Chili Pork Stew

Pork Green Chili Recipe

Pork recipes show up on my dinner table with frequency. I almost couldn’t believe it when I realized I’d never shared a recipe for a pork stew. Since we also love all things chili and spicy around here, combining pork with roasted hatch chiles and spices to make a green chili recipe was a no brainer.

This recipe works beautifully with convenient boneless country style ribs. If you don’t have boneless ribs available, pork green chili stew also tastes great made with leaner center cut pork loin or sirloin steaks.

I learned about some of these more economical cuts when I spent some time with my friends at the Pork Board in Illinois last month. The key is to look for a cut that has a little bit of marbled fat through it since it will be simmering.

Looking for more guidance on choosing what cuts of pork to use for recipes? Check out my guide on How to Cook Pork to help you cook perfect pork every time.

Pork is one of my go-to’s for quick, satisfying meals because it’s economical and forgiving not to mention easy to prepare. I am thankful to the U.S. pig farmers for making my dinner preparation so easy.

Back to pork chili, though. Because that’s why we’re all here right now.

Simmered with onions, garlic, roasted green chiles and Chicken Stock , the pork cubes create an unbelievably flavourful stew. The addition of white beans and potatoes make the chili completely hearty and filling (although all my boys were still able to wolf down several bowls, somehow).

At the end of cooking, the chopped cilantro and lime juice give a bright and fresh flavor to this rich stew. I scooped a big helping of sour cream on top of mine along with a generous handful of fritos. I bet it would also be fantastic with a little Mexican cheese sprinkled on top.

Warming and irresistibly delicious, I have a feeling Pork Green Chili Stew is getting added to our repertoire of most frequently requested pork recipes. It’s right up there with Easy Garlic Ginger Glazed Sticky Pork, Apple Cider Pulled Pork, and Garlic Ginger Crispy Pork Noodles on the favourites list, folks. That’s high praise, indeed!

Pork Chili

I’ll put fritos into just about any soup or salad that comes my way and if you’re corn chip nuts, too, you’ll love adding them to this stew. Pork Green Chili Stew would also be amazing served with a fresh pan of Buttermilk Cornbread or tortilla chips!

I love how versatile this recipe is. Make it on the stove top or whip it up in a flash in the instant pot. If you plan ahead, you can also everything to your crock pot and let it simmer all day (filling your house with a to-die-for aroma).

I can’t imagine anything better to come home to than a big pot of Pork Green Chile ready to eat. Okay, maybe my kids and husband. But this Pork Green Chili Stew is up there, folks.

Looking for more delicious pork recipes?

If you haven’t made my Easy Crispy Pork Tenders a.k.a. Pork Fries yet, add them to your meal plan for the week right now. All my kids love these and they’re so easy to make, even for a weeknight meal. You’ll also enjoy this borderline-addicting Slow-Cooker Korean Style Barbecue Pork and Chinese Barbecue Pork (Char Siu), both of which have been known to turn just about anyone into a pork fan.

If you need a few more ideas for cold weather meals this season, I’ve got you covered there, too. When you’re Michigan-born and living in New York, cold weather soup meals become kind of your thing.

We all love Chorizo Chili, Cincinnati Chili and this simple but oh-so-delicious Ham and Lentil Stew. Mexican Chicken Soup {Caldo de Pollo} is guaranteed to warm you from the inside on a chilly day and I’ll never turn down a bowl of Taco Soup, no matter the season.

For a more traditional green chile recipe, it doesn’t get better than this Best Green Chile Stew from Mary at Barefeet in the Kitchen.

Pork Green Chili Stew is full of tender bits of pork, white beans and potatoes with a kick of heat from roasted hatch chiles. Sprinkled with fresh cilantro and served with a lime wedge, this stew makes a perfect winter time meal.

Pork Green Chili

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Pork Green Chili

Hearty and delicious Pork Green Chili hits the spot on a cold winter night. With plenty of flavor from roasted hatch chiles, this pork green chili recipe will have everyone at your table coming back for seconds.

Servings 8

Calories 292kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless country rib pork cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour you can substitute gf flour if desired
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons sunflower or pure olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 6 large cloves garlic minced
• cumin
• 3/4 cup or a 7-ounce can diced green chile
• 3 1/2 cups or 28 oz can salsa verde
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon chicken base such as Better than Bouillon
• 4 cups diced potatoes about 2 large white or gold potatoes
• 1 can small white beans or navy beans drained and rinsed

Instructions

• Add the pork cubes, flour, salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic to a gallon sized zipper top bag, seal the bag, and shake to evenly coat the pork.

To Make Pork Green Chili on the Stove top:

• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil into a heavy-bottomed stockpot or soup pot over medium heat. Add the pork cubes and brown them on all sides. Transfer the pork to a plate.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the diced onion. Stir and sautee until the onion is semi-translucent, lowering the heat if needed to avoid scorching the onion, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the browned pork, diced green chile, salsa verde, chicken stock, chicken base, and potatoes. Cover and simmer on LOW for 45 minutes, or until the pork and potatoes are tender. Stir in the beans and cook just until heated through.

To Make Pork Green Chili in a Slow Cooker:

• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the pork cubes and brown them on all sides. Transfer the pork to your slow cooker.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the diced onion. Stir and sautee until the onion is semi-translucent, lowering the heat if needed to avoid scorching the onion, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Scrape this into the slow cooker.
• Stir in the browned pork, diced green chile, salsa verde, chicken stock, chicken base, and potatoes. Cover and simmer on LOW for 6 hours (or as long as 8 hours if you need to be away from the slow cooker), or until the pork and potatoes are tender. Stir in the beans and cook just until heated through.

To Make Pork Green Chili in an Instant Pot/Countertop Pressure Cooker:

• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil into the pan of your Instant Pot set to sautee. Add the pork cubes and brown them on all sides. Transfer the pork to a plate.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the diced onion. Stir and sautee until the onion is semi-translucent, lowering the heat if needed to avoid scorching the onion, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the browned pork, diced green chile, salsa verde, chicken stock, chicken base, and potatoes. Cover and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes, or until the pork and potatoes are tender. Carefully release the pressure, then stir in the beans and cook just until heated through.

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1281mg | Potassium: 1051mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 634IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 4mg

Apple Cider Pulled Pork gives major flavour pay off for minimal hands-on time. It uses Boiled Cider, which is available on Amazon, but you can just as easily make your own boiled cider using this recipe.

Year after year I am gobsmacked by the beauty of fall. But oh, it always goes far too fast and I find myself in the middle of winter dreaming of Autumn.

It isn’t just the vivid hues of the leaves or the stacks of squash and pumpkins at roadside stands, although those certainly don’t detract from the view.

It’s all of that against a gunmetal grey sky and the full-body experience of chilly winds swirling fallen leaves around your ankles. It is cold fingers warming up against a hot mug of slow-cooker mulled cider or homemade pumpkin spice chai latte. It is a blanket on your lap and a book in your hands while the rain splatters the windows.

It’s the intoxicating aroma of Apple Cider Pulled Pork in the slow cooker winding its way to wherever you’re sitting in the house. It greets you like a hug from your mother when you come home and open the door.

Pulled Pork Apple Cider Vinegar

While many pulled pork recipes use apple cider vinegar, I prefer the slightly sweet, rounder flavour of the boiled cider. It makes for a more comforting, versatile pulled pork that is equally at home on a perfect soft pretzel roll, in a soup, casserole, on a salad, mashed potatoes, polenta, roasted Brussels sprouts, or with bacon fried apples and onions.

Apple Pulled Pork

Apple Cider Pulled Pork -like most of the best things in life- is simple. One bone-in pork shoulder roast, one cup of apple cider syrup (or mulled cider syrup from Not Your Mama’s Canning Book), a couple onions, and a bit of salt go into the slow-cooker.

All of the apple flavour for your apple cider pulled pork is from Boiled Cider, as I’ve mentioned.

Twelve hours later, you have pork that is so tender it is literally falling away from the bone and almost shreds itself. The pan juices are strained into a saucepan where they’re reduced by about 2/3 then enhanced with a little Dijon mustard (homemade or purchased) and honey.

Pour that good stuff all over your shredded pork and toss. You’re in for a comforting taste of fall with Apple Cider Pulled Pork no matter WHAT time of year it actually is.

Can I make pulled pork ahead of time?

You have a great deal of flexibility with this Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork recipe. I’ve given instructions in the recipe for cooking and serving it the same day.

It’s also ideally suited to making ahead of time as you can cook the roast up to 3 days in advance and chill it thoroughly. When you’re ready to finish it, remove the solidified fat from the sauce and reduce the sauce as directed in the recipe.

Shred the now cold pork as directed, and transfer to a baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and put into an oven preheated to 350°F until the pork is heated all the way through, about 45 minutes. When it is steaming hot, pour finished sauce over the top as instructed in the recipe and toss to coat thoroughly.

Leftovers also freeze like a champ, so don’t be tempted to reduce the size of your roast!

Cook’s Notes:

1. This recipe is designed to be made with a bone-in pork shoulder roast. That yields the most succulent, juicy results and best flavour. If you can’t find a bone-in pork shoulder, the next best option is a boneless pork shoulder roast. Third in line would be a boneless center cut pork roast. Those simply don’t pack the same amount of fat and flavour as the more marbled cuts, but will still be tasty if that’s all that is available to you.
2. Guys. Don’t skip the boiled cider syrup, also known as apple molasses. It’s pricey to buy, but ridiculously inexpensive when you make it yourself, and the payoff is immense. If you don’t want to make a full batch, just boil a gallon of plain (not spiced!) apple cider in an open pot until it is reduced to about 2 1/4 cups. Transfer half of that into a jar with a tight fitting lid and pop it in the refrigerator to use for a later Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork roast because you will want to make another soon. Use the other half immediately to make this recipe.
3. A word about the onions: I like to peel them, slice them into thick slabs and lay them on the bottom of the slow-cooker before adding the pork shoulder. I’ve been lazy before, though, and simply peeled them, trimmed the root end off, and popped it whole into the slow-cooker. Both methods work well; I give a slight flavour edge to the slabs at the bottom of the slow-cooker, though.
4. Choose whichever Dijon mustard you like best to add to the Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork. I prefer the whole grain homemade Dijon mustard from Not Your Mama’s Canning Book, but I have also used commercial whole grain Dijon with great results.

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Apple Cider Pulled Pork

For the full printable recipe, scroll down!

1. Lay the slabs of onion on the bottom of a slow-cooker crock like a rack. Lay the pork shoulder on top of the onions, fat side down. Sprinkle the salt over the pork roast and rub it in, flipping the fat side up.
2. Pour the boiled cider syrup over the pork roast, put the lid in place, and cook on low for 12 hours.
3. Use tongs to transfer the pork to a large mixing bowl.
4. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan and let rest for the fat to rise to the top. Skim as much fat as possible from the juices then boil to reduce the sauce by 2/3. While it boils, use your hands or two forks to shred the pork, removing the bone and as much fat as possible. Transfer to a casserole or serving dish, and tent with foil.
5. When the pan juices have reduced, whisk in the honey and Dijon mustard before pouring over the pork. Enjoy!

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Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork

Slow-Cooker Apple Cider Pulled Pork: tender, succulent pulled pork in a memorable sauce of apple cider, honey, and Dijon mustard. This is fall at its best!

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 2 onions peeled and trimmed, sliced into thick slabs
• 1 bone-in pork shoulder roast 6 to 9 pound
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup boiled cider syrup/apple molasses
• 1/2 cup mild honey
• 3 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

Instructions

• Lay the slabs of onion on the bottom of a slow-cooker crock. Lay the pork shoulder on the onions, fat side down. Sprinkle the salt over the pork roast and rub it in, flipping it to fat side up. Pour the boiled cider syrup over the pork roast, put the lid in place, and cook on low for 12 hours.
• Use tongs to transfer the pork to a large mixing bowl. Be careful, as the pork will want to fall apart and may splash back into the hot pan juices.
• Strain the pan juices into a 2 quart saucepan and let stand for 10 minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top. Skim as much of the fat from the pan as possible and then reduce the sauce by 2/3. While it is boiling, use your hands or two forks to shred the pork, removing the bone and as much fat as possible. Transfer to a casserole or serving dish tented with foil to keep warm.
• When the pan juices have reduced, whisk in the honey and Dijon mustard before pouring over the pork and tossing. Serve immediately or cool and divide into meal sized portions in air-tight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them is available to order through these fine retailers!

This post was originally published October 9, 2016. Updated January 2019.

Love this Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge? Check out our other excellent Korean Food Recipes! Here because you have leftover smoked turkey? This is a GREAT recipe for what remains!

Oh, how I love Thanksgiving. I plan for weeks ahead of time to make a memorable and delicious meal. I prepare foods for days leading up to Thanksgiving Day itself. As much as I love it, I am definitely ‘cooked out’ by the end of Thanksgiving Day.

Of course, we have leftovers to nibble on for days to come, but we have a part of our extended Thanksgiving tradition that our family looks forward to just as much as the feast itself: savory Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge, also known as Juk or Congee.

Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge is one of those recipes that make you feel a little like a magician. We put the picked over turkey carcass into a slow-cooker with a little bit of uncooked rice, a piece or two of ginger, a generous splash of Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce, and water, then cover it and turn it on low before we head to bed.

In the morning, whatever little meat we hadn’t managed to eat from the turkey has fallen off the bone of its own accord. The rice has transformed into a thick, hearty soup or porridge that has the incredible ability to keep your stomach satisfied for hours.

This is a loaves and fishes moment. A tiny cup and a half of rice and a turkey carcass that looked like nothing else could be wrung from it have combined to create a dish that can satisfy an entire household and guests with so little hands-on time that it’s almost laughable.

How exciting can rice porridge be? Honestly? VERY. It is one of the most commonly eaten breakfasts in Asia for many good reasons. Yes, it is insanely economical, but it doesn’t get to be that widely eaten without also being incomparably delicious and comforting.

Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge has the unique ability to deliver that comfort and bring a touch of Asia to our Thanksgiving traditions to honor my family’s connection to Asia through my sister, brother, and sister-in-law.

You can stop right there with that delicious and humble Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge, if you’d like. With a little drizzle of soy sauce, it is pure soul food at this point and one of the best sick-day foods in the entire world.

If you want to dress it up a bit (because, while delicious, it is admittedly not a glamourous looking dish when served on its own), you can serve any or all of the following on top: thinly sliced green onions, soft boiled eggs, toasted or spicy sesame oil, and fresh cilantro. I like mine with all of the aforementioned, plus some leftover roasted sweet potatoes and pomegranate arils.

The key to Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge, though, is not to overthink or over-engineer the whole thing. It is simple. It is pure comfort. Use what you have on hand and it will not disappoint. It is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving.

And unlike Thanksgiving Day, I can eat this in my pajamas with no plans for the day other than a good book and a comfy chair.

Cook’s Notes

• The Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge can be made in the slow cooker overnight or in a deep, covered pot on the stovetop. Either will work. My preference is the slow cooker because I love to wake up to my rice porridge, but that is simply logistics. It tastes equally wonderful whether simmered on the lowest setting possible on the stovetop or in your slow cooker.
• You can use whichever long grain, uncooked white rice you prefer as long as it isn’t instant. I like both jasmine and basmati for the job. I’ve not had much luck using brown rice because the intact bran seems to keep the porridge from becoming quite as creamy as I like it.
• Eggs are not strictly necessary on Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge, but I sure love them. For a perfect soft boiled egg, bring about 3 inches of water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan then lower the heat to a simmer. Carefully lower 4 or 6 eggs into the simmering water and set your timer for 6 minutes. At exactly 6 minutes, use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs into an ice water bath just to make them easier to handle. Use a spoon to tap all over the egg, breaking the shell, then peel. The eggs should be perfectly soft boiled. If poached or fried eggs are more your thing, they’ll be just as delicious on top!
• Both for seasoning my Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge and for drizzling over the top, I prefer Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce. I like the umami goodness it imparts without leaving my porridge a salt bomb. I use so much Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce that I buy it by the gallon almost quarterly. I’m a Kikkoman fan girl, really.
• It’s not obligatory to put roasted sweet potatoes on your Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge, but I do so love them there. I am likeliest to top my porridge with a handful of my Roasted Sweet Potato Croutons. They’re pretty and they’re a fun textural and taste addition, plus I almost always have them on hand.
• As for which leftover turkey to use, I’d say go for whatever bird was on your table, obviously. If you’re looking for a delicious and simple turkey recipe, you can try our Cranberry Spice Rubbed Turkey Breast, or this, or this!
• Speaking of the turkey carcass; on the off chance that you haven’t already, please remove any excess fat or skin that remains on the bird. You don’t want a super-fatty rice porridge. Or maybe you do? Who am I to say? I should say “I” don’t want a super-fatty rice porridge. I prefer to add my oil later in the form of chili oil.
• Oh, and it should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway for safety’s sake. Any time you make a soup stock or anything else from a turkey carcass there’s a small chance of little bones falling into the broth. Just eat like you would eat any homemade chicken or turkey soup; carefully.

Use this to make Turkey Congee

• slow cooker

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Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge

Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge magically takes a leftover turkey carcass and a little bit of rice and water and transforms it into a hearty, creamy, and delicious meal.

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• For the Leftover Thanksgiving Rice Porridge:
• 1 leftover turkey carcass trimmed of any excess fat and skin
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 pieces fresh ginger root 2-inches long each, peeled
• 16 cups water
• 1/3 cup Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• Optional Garnishes:
• Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce
• soft boiled egg
• leftover roasted sweet potatoes or other roasted vegetables
• pomegranate arils
• chopped cilantro
• thinly sliced green onions
• spicy chili oil chili garlic sauce, or Happy Lady/Spicy Chili Crisp
• toasted sesame oil

Instructions

• Slow Cooker Instructions:
• Place the turkey carcass in the slow cooker. Pour the rice around the edges of the turkey and place the pieces of ginger root on either side of the carcass. Pour the water and soy sauce over the top and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Put the lid in place and set heat to low. Cook for as few as 8 hours but up to 10. Use a slotted spoon and tongs to remove the carcass from the rice porridge. Pull away any meat that remains on the carcass and return the meat to the slow cooker. Discard the bones. Stir well.
• Stove Top Instructions:
• Place the turkey carcass in a deep pot. Pour the rice around the edges of the turkey and place the pieces of ginger root on either side of the carcass. Pour the water and soy sauce over the top and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Put the lid in place and set the burner to medium high. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Use a slotted spoon and tongs to remove the carcass from the rice porridge. Pull away any meat that remains on the carcass and return the meat to the pot. Discard the bones. Stir well.
• To Serve:
• Ladle generously into serving bowls. Top each serving with as many or as few of the optional garnishes as desired. Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator.

This post originally published November 1, 2016. Updated November 22, 2018.