Pulled Pork Tacos are the perfect weeknight dinner. With cilantro-lime slaw, creamy avocado sauce, and pickled onions, you will have everyone coming back for more!
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A Super Easy, Sweet-and-Savory Taco Dinner Idea
Do you love tacos? Me too! Taco night is a favorite around here, but let’s be honest: like most favorite meals, sometimes tacos feel a little… predictable. If you’d like to shake up your approach to tacos, you’ve got to try this easy pulled pork taco recipe! Using your favorite pulled pork, whether homemade or store-bought, you can make this festive meal with minimal time and effort, and maximum flavor.
Along with the pulled pork, this recipe includes a coleslaw that might just become your new favorite. You can dollop it on top of these tacos, but you can also serve it with any barbecue recipe, with fried chicken, or with fish or fish tacos – it’s super tasty and is simple to make. Let’s do this!
(For more ways to use pulled pork, check out this Pulled Pork Crescent Ring, BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders, Pulled Pork and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas, and Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potato!)
Is Carnitas the Same as Pulled Pork?
Not quite! While carnitas and pulled pork are both made with braised, shredded pork, carnitas are crisped up after shredding, and are seasoned with spices and herbs like oregano and cumin.
In the United States, “pulled pork” usually means a barbecue-style pulled pork, sometimes slow-cooked in sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, and sometimes slow-cooked with a spicy rub and then topped with sauce. Either way, pulled pork is almost always sweet, and is not usually crisped up after shredding.
Recipe Ingredients
While this recipe is incredibly easy to make, there are a number of ingredients you’ll need to gather. Here’s what you need to make each component.
Basic Taco Ingredients
- Pulled Pork: You will need some pulled pork, of course, whether store-bought or homemade.
- Corn Tortillas: Flour tortillas will also work, but corn tortillas have a bit more flavor and texture for this recipe and stand up well to the sauciness of pulled pork.
- Queso Fresco: This crumbly, soft Mexican cheese is similar to feta. You could also use goat cheese.
- Limes: Cut into wedges.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro, chopped. If you don’t like cilantro, you can leave it out or replace it with parsley.
Cilantro Lime Slaw
- Cabbage and Carrots: Thinly slice up some red cabbage, green cabbage, and carrots. You could also choose to use just one type of cabbage, or substitute a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix instead of making your own.
- Roasted Corn: I use canned roasted corn, but you could also roast an ear of corn and cut off the kernels.
- Cilantro: Roughly chopped. If you don’t want to use cilantro, leave it out or replace it with parsley.
- Pickled Jalapeños: You will need some of the actual pickled jalapenos, and some of the brine from the jar. For spicier tacos, use diced fresh jalapenos or serranos.
- Cumin: Ground cumin. Be sure to check the date on your spices, since expired spices can be bland or bitter.
- Lime Juice: Fresh is best, but bottled is also good.
- Salt
Avocado Crema
- Avocados: Look for ripe avocados that have a nice give when you press them with your thumb, but don’t feel super mushy.
- Mexican Crema: Or sour cream.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder and onion powder.
- Pickled Jalapenos: Again, you will want some of the pickled jalapenos and some of the brine from the jar.
- Lime Juice: Fresh or bottled.
Pickled Onions
- Onion: A red onion, halved and thinly sliced.
- Vinegar: You will need both apple cider vinegar and white vinegar.
- Water: To dilute the vinegar a bit.
- Sugar: Plain granulated sugar, or substitute honey.
- Salt
How to Make Pulled Pork Tacos
To make these tacos, you’ll basically just mix together the slaw, make the pickled onions, warm up your tortillas, and go! Here are the steps in order, with photos.
- Making the Slaw: To make the cilantro lime slaw, just combine all of the ingredients and give them a good stir.
- Making the Avocado Crema: Place the peeled and pitted avocados, Mexican crema, garlic powder, onion powder, jalapenos, brine, and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Pulse this mixture until smooth. Add more crema (or pickled jalapeño brine) as needed, to thin it to the consistency you like.
- Pickling the Onions: To make the pickled onions, combine the vinegars, water, sugar, and salt in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave these ingredients for 30 seconds, stir to combine, and allow the mixture to cool. Next, place the onions in a bowl or jar, and pour the vinegar mixture over the onions. Let the onions marinate in the vinegar mixture for a few minutes, or just stick them in the fridge overnight.
- Warming The Tortillas: You can do this in the microwave, or on the stove. For the microwave version, dampen 2 paper towels with water and squeeze them dry. Place your tortillas in the middle, fold the paper towel over them, and microwave on high for 30 seconds. If you like your tacos crunchy, heat just a bit of oil in a pan and cook each side of the tortilla for 15 seconds. Either way, wrap the heated tortillas in foil to keep them warm.
- Assemble the Tacos: Fill each tortilla with a couple of heaping tablespoons of pulled pork, and then top them with the slaw, avocado crema, queso fresco, chopped cilantro, and pickled onions.
- Enjoy!
What Goes Well on Pulled Pork Tacos?
These tacos are served with cilantro lime slaw, crema, queso fresco, and pickled onions. This creates a balanced and super-flavorful pulled pork taco, but you can feel free to omit any (or all) of these and add others. Try some of these:
- Avocado (sliced or diced)
- Cheddar cheese or other hard cheese, shredded
- Salsa, chopped tomato, or pico de gallo
- Sliced or chopped green onion (or white onion, if you want something even sharper)
- Pickled banana peppers
- Finely chopped jalapeno
- Taco sauce, hot sauce, tomatillo salsa, etc.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
This quick dinner couldn’t be easier to pull together, especially with these helpful tips. Read on, and enjoy!
- Pickled Onions: Homemade pickled onions are not only easy to make, they’re also great on everything from tacos to sandwiches to pizza, and more.
- Pulled Pork Perfection: I like to make a big batch of crockpot pulled pork and divide it up, freezing several containers for tacos, sliders, and BBQ.
- Pre-Cooked Pulled Pork: There are a lot of precooked pulled pork options in the grocery store. I also like to get extras from a BBQ restaurant to use in easy dinners like this.
Yummy Sides
What should you serve with pulled pork tacos? These simple side dishes go really well with sweet and savory food:
- Esquites: Mexican Street Corn Salad, also known as esquites, is creamy, tangy, zesty, and savory all at once. The crisp, crunchy texture of the fresh ingredients is perfect along with tender pulled pork tacos. Yum! Or you could also go with some traditional Elote – Mexican Street Corn!
- Fruit Salad: To cut the richness of the pork, but play up the sweetness of the sauce, try serving a fresh fruit salad with your tacos. I love this old-fashioned Creamy Grape Salad.
- Tostones: Crisp, fried green plantains are smashed and fried twice to make these authentic Tostones. They’re great with any dipping sauce and perfect with pulled pork tacos. Or go with some Maduros (pan fried plantains) for a sweeter spin.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
It’s best to store all of these components separately so things don’t get soggy – zip-top bags or small airtight containers work well. These leftovers should last for around five days in the refrigerator.
What About Freezing?
The slaw, crema, and pickled onions won’t freeze well, but pulled pork freezes beautifully. Just cool it down, store it in freezer-safe containers with as little air in the container as possible, and freeze it for up to six months.
Pulled Pork Tacos
Ingredients
For the Tacos:
- 2 pounds pulled pork
- 12 corn tortillas
- ½ cup queso fresco
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- ¼ cup cilantro
Cilantro Lime Slaw:
- 1 ½ cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 3 carrots, shredded
- ½ cup roasted corn
- ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeños, or diced fresh jalapeños for a spicier flavor
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno brine
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Avocado Crema:
- 2 avocados
- ½ cup Mexican crema, or sour cream
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños, chopped
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno brine
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Pickled Onions:
- 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Slaw: Combine all the ingredients for the slaw and let it sit while you get everything else ready.
- Avocado Crema: Place all ingredients for the Avocado Crema in a food processor, or blender, and pulse until smooth. Add more crema, or pickled jalapeño juice, as needed to thin it to the consistency you like.
- Pickled Onions: To make the pickled onions, combine the vinegars, water, sugar and salt in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir to combine and let it cool. Place the onions in a bowl or jar and pour the brine over the onions. Allow to marinate for a few minutes, or overnight, before using.
- Warm The Tortillas: Dampen 2 paper towels and squeeze dry, then place the tortillas in the middle, folding the paper towel over them. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Or, if you like your tacos crunchy, heat just a bit of oil in a pan and cook each side of the tortilla for 15 seconds, flip and continue cooking. You can wrap the tortillas in foil to keep warm.
- Assemble: Fill each tortilla with a couple heaping tablespoons of pulled pork, then top with slaw, avocado crema, queso fresco, chopped cilantro and pickled onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: It’s best to store all of these components separately so things don’t get soggy – zip-top bags or small airtight containers work well. These leftovers should last for around five days in the refrigerator.
- Pickled Onions: Homemade pickled onions are not only easy to make, they’re also great on everything from tacos to sandwiches to pizza, and more.
- Pulled Pork Perfection: I like to make a big batch of Crockpot Pulled Pork and divide it up, freezing several containers for tacos, sliders, and BBQ.
- Pre-Cooked Pulled Pork: There are a lot of precooked pulled pork options in the grocery store. I also like to get extras from a BBQ restaurant to use in easy dinners like this.
Nutrition
Categories:
More Pork Recipes
- Chuleta Frita (Fried Pork Chops)
- Stuffed Pork Loin
- Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Chops
- Easy Red Beans and Rice
- Crockpot Pork and Beans
- Ensalada de Coditos con Jamon (Puerto Rican Pasta Salad with Ham)
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