Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos are sure to please the whole family with tender barbecue pork and creamy coleslaw.
Enjoy tender and delicious BBQ pulled pork tacos with this great dinner recipe. The pork gets cooked in the slow cooker for convenience and is served in tortillas with an easy but flavorful coleslaw. You’re going to love these flavors and how easily it is to get this dinner on the table.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Cut Of Pork For Pulled Pork?
For this pulled pork recipe, we’ll be using a boneless pork butt. You can also use a picnic cut as long as it’s boneless and also around three pounds. Both of these cuts come from the pork shoulder area and make wonderful pulled pork.
If you have a pork loin, the instructions will be a little different. That’s because pork butt is a bit juicier than pork loin, so they need to be cooked differently. It’s kind of like how you need to cook chicken thighs and chicken breasts differently, you know? I always use chicken thighs for pulled chicken because they’re just so much juicier, as you can see in this Instant Pot Pulled Chicken recipe. Having said that, don’t worry if you have a pork loin instead of a pork butt. You can absolutely use a pork loin to make these tacos. You just need to cook it a bit differently than below. Follow the instructions in my BBQ Pulled Pork Loin recipe and it will all turn out great.
How Should I Cook BBQ Pulled Pork?
For this pulled pork recipe, we’ll be using our handy slow cooker. It’s so easy to get it set up and have delicious pulled pork after four hours on high or six to eight hours on low.
No slow cooker? No problem. Get my recipes for pulled pork in the oven or Instant Pot pulled pork for more options. All of these various version get you juicy and flavorful pork to pile into those tortillas, for sure!
How To Make Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork For Tacos
Pull out that slow cooker and let’s get started! First, sprinkle salt on all sides of your pork butt. Add a cup of BBQ sauce to the slow cooker. You can use your favorite store-bought sauce or try my homemade smoky barbecue sauce recipe, or if you want to have a really basic flavor profile, this basic barbecue sauce base is perfect. Add the pork to the slow cooker and turn it over a couple of times to get coated in the sauce.
For pulled pork in four hours, set the slow cooker to high. If you want it to cook all day, set it to low for six to eight hours.
The Best Coleslaw For Tacos
At some point during the cooking time, you’ll want to make up the coleslaw. When it comes to coleslaw for any kind of tacos, I really prefer a creamy coleslaw over a vinegary one. The recipe below has a bit of tang, but it’s a nice creamy slaw.
The slaw recipe below is going to work in any kind of taco. But, I especially love it paired with pulled pork for two other reasons. One is that it has a nice amount of garlic powder in the dressing. I find that that gives a good savory note that pairs well with the richness of the pork. Second, unlike most coleslaw recipes, this one has brown sugar instead of white sugar. Brown sugar is found in a lot of barbecue sauces and in a lot of pulled pork recipes, making them similar in a way that ties the whole dish together.
You can make the slaw dressing in advance by mixing together the mayonnaise, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, and salt. Cover and refrigerate until you’re almost ready to eat, then mix in your shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix until evenly coated.
I don’t recommend that you mix the dressing with the cabbage more than a couple of hours ahead of time though. The reason is that the salt in the dressing starts to pull water out of the cabbage and you get a waterier dressing. If you want to make the whole mixture ahead, there is something you can do though! I have info on how to make it ahead in my coleslaw recipe over here.
Assembling The Tacos
Once the pork has finished cooking, transfer it to a bowl and shred it up using two forks. Go ahead and mix in a little bit of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker, as needed.
Then, warm up your tortillas if you’d like. For flour tortillas, putting a stack of them onto a microwave-safe plate topped with a damp paper towel for 30-60 seconds usually does the trick. If you’re using corn tortillas, follow my instructions for heating up corn tortillas the easy way over here.
Next, pile some of the pulled pork onto each tortilla. Top with coleslaw, some sliced green onion, and extra barbecue sauce. So good! And if you like this recipe, definitely check out my other taco recipes listed below!
More Delicious And Easy Taco Recipes
- Easiest Shrimp Tacos
- Air Fryer Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- The Easiest Carne Asada Tacos
- Chipotle Chicken Tacos
And for something taco-themed but a bit different, make sure to try my Taco Stuffed Shells Pasta recipe. I can’t wait for you to try my pulled pork tacos, and all of my other taco recipes too! – Christine xo
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Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos are sure to please the whole family with tender barbecue pork and creamy coleslaw.
Ingredients
- 1 (3 lb.) boneless pork butt
- 1 and ½ tsp. salt, divided
- 1 cup barbeque sauce, plus more for serving
- 12 (8-in.) flour tortillas
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. white vinegar
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 (16 oz.) bag shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix*
- 2 green onions, sliced thinly
Instructions
- If the pork butt is tied, remove and discard the string. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the salt evenly over all sides of the pork butt.
- Pour the barbeque sauce into the slow cooker. Place pork butt on top of barbecue sauce and turn it over to coat well in the sauce.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together brown sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, mayonnaise, and remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt to make coleslaw dressing. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When the slow-cooking time has been completed, transfer pork to a medium bowl. Using two forks, shred pork into bite-sized pieces. Add some of the cooking liquid to the shredded pork to moisten it to your preference.
- Remove coleslaw dressing from refrigerator. Add cabbage and toss to coat evenly.
- Put tortillas on a microwave-safe plate. Top with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high until heated through, about 40-60 seconds.*
- Place about ¼ cup of the pulled pork into the center of each flour tortilla. Top them with some coleslaw, green onion, and additional barbeque sauce, if desired.
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Notes
*Instead of a bag of shredded cabbage, use 1 small head of cabbage, sliced thinly. It will be about 6-7 cups of sliced cabbage.
**You can instead choose to not heat the tortillas, or to heat them using a different method. If using corn tortillas, see my quick and easy way to heat up corn tortillas.
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