Slow cooker Pork Carnitas

Tired of your boring roast? Try this recipe for Mexican pulled pork (pork roast) – slow cooker pork carnitas.

slow cooker pork carnitas

Yummy pork carnitas – it is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. I particularly love them too because there is always enough leftovers for another meal and any night I can get out of cooking is a happy accident! Carnitas literally translates to “little meats.” But if you’ve ever wondered what it is, it’s basically just Mexican pulled pork.

Ingredients

Making Slow cooker Pork Carnitas

Here in Texas, because of the large Hispanic demographic, it’s super easy to find pork perfectly trimmed for carnitas. But don’t fret, all you need is pork shoulder or pork butt roast. Normally it weighs about 2-4 pounds. Some of that will cook down due to the high fat marbling. You will place it whole in the slow cooker, no water needed.

Juice your orange. You can substitute with store bought orange juice. About a half cup to a cup is fine. Pour over your meat. Add your spices and chopped onion.

Now to add your jalapeño If you want it more on the mild side, I recommend deveining the jalapeño. To do this, chop off the top of the pepper. Slice the pepper in half while on it’s side. Pull out all of the seeds and thinly slice the vein of the pepper off and discard both. Then chop your jalapeño as normal. Don’t be afraid to use a whole jalapeño. The pepper heat reduces a lot as it cooks.

Pro tip: Use gloves to stop the pepper oils from getting in your hand, Remember, never touch your face or sensitive areas while handling peppers.

Juice of One orange
Slow cooker pork carnitas

Serving and Storing

Your pork roast will cook on low for about 8 hours. You’ll know it’s ready when you can pull apart the meat with a fork. That’s right. Pork carnitas should be melt-in-your-mouth, fork tender when they are done.

Personally, my favorite way to serve pork carnitas is in soft tacos. There is nothing quite like warm, homemade flour tortilla tacos. I love topping them with cilantro and onion. I prefer to serve them with traditional spanish rice (yup, I have a recipe for that too) and charro beans. During the summer, I’ll often switch it up for a side of Mexican street corn. So yummy!

Store slowcooker pork carnitas in the fridge for 3 days in an air tight container.

Slow cooker Pork Carnitas

Mexican pulled pork with fresh onion, jalapeño, and orange flavors.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 Pounds Pork butt or Pork Shoulder
  • 1 Large Orange Juiced
  • 1 Large Fresh Jalapeno Deveined, deseeded, and chopped
  • 1 Small White Onion Chopped
  • Salt. Pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Cumin

Instructions
 

  • Place pork butt or pork shoulder whole in crock pot.
  • Juice one large and orange and pour over pork. May substitute ½ cup to 1 cup of store bought orange juice.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and cumin. Scatter chopped onions.
  • Prepare jalapeño by cutting the top off and slicing lengthwise. Remove seeds. Cut out the pepper vein and discard. Chop remaining pepper and scatter in crockpot.
  • Cook on low for 8 hours.
Keyword carnitas, crockpot, crockpot recipes, mexican main dish, mexican recipes, pork, pork roast, pork tacos, pulled pork, slow cooker, tacos

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The Best Crockpot Hot Chocolate

I’m making you a promise. This is the best Crockpot Hot Chocolate you’ll ever make. It’s super rich, chocolatey, and creamy. Best of all, it stays hot in the crockpot so guests can serve themselves all night!

Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Christmas isn’t Christmas without hot chocolate. Today I’m sharing one of my most favorite recipes. I make this all the time during the holidays. Sometimes just for us, but mostly, I make it for parties and get-togethers. It never fails. Someone always asks for the recipe. It’s that good. I promise that this is the last hot chocolate recipe you’ll ever use. This Crockpot Hot Chocolate is very rich because it’s made with milk and heavy whipping cream. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are melted into the hot milk and it’s sweetened with condensed milk. The result is steaming cup of chocolatey goodness.

Later this week, I’ll be sharing how I set up a Crockpot hot chocolate bar to entertain your guests (Sshh….it also gets them to serve themselves – don’t tell anyone). I’ll show you how to set up toppings so that it is a fun, entertaining activity that gives your guests something to do. Here is a preview to my Hot Chocolate Bar Printable available for sale on Etsy and in my blog store.

 

 

Crockpot Hot Chocolate

The best hot chocolate you'll ever make, this easy recipe is made in the crockpot - perfect for entertaining or crowds. 
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Dessert, Drinks
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Condensed Milk 14 oz can
  • 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 Cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 6 Cups Milk
  • 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in to a slow cooker. 
  • Heat slow cooker on low setting. Cover and let chocolate melt.
  • Stir frequently until chocolate chips and condensed milk are fully incorporated. Allow 2 hours to reach full temperature
Keyword chocolate, crockpot, entertaining, hot chocolate, slowcooker

Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice Latte

It’s fall, y’all! It’s pumpkin spice season and I’m sharing my favorite, natural, super easy slowcooker pumpkin spice latte.

pumpkin spice latte

I have a confession, for years as soon as it was September, I headed over to Starbucks for a pumpkin latte. Living in Texas, we don’t have much of a Fall here, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying all things Autumn (Check out my Fall Bucket List here). I love them so much that I decided to try making them at home. Today I’m sharing one of my most favorite recipes of all time. Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I’m not always a huge fan of pumpkin spice stuff. I mean, seriously, can we all agree that pumpkin spice tortilla chips have gone too far? So when I say I love this pumpkin spice recipe, you can trust me. It is perfect for crisp autumn mornings in your PJs or you can even take it with you in a thermos for a hike. Personally, I love making a decaf version for evenings by the fire or outdoor bonfire.

Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll start by brewing a strong carafe of your favorite coffee. If you want really good coffee, consider grinding your own beans. and using bottled water to brew your coffee. Using quality ingredients, is what really makes a good cup of coffee.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it calls for canned pumpkin. I discovered this recipe many years ago and I wasn’t a huge fan of pumpkin spice because I had always had it with artificial flavoring. This recipe uses natural canned pumpkin so it isn’t overpowering. Just a lovely, subtle taste of pumpkin. I also prefer using cinnamon sticks to ground cinnamon. If you use ground spices, it floats upward and then accumulates on the top of your coffee, so keep ground spices to a minimum.

For this recipe, I prefer using whole milk even though I’m a typically 2% girl. I think the texture just seems to be better. If you’d like it richer, you may use half and half. If you are serving for a dinner party or if you plan on having several cups of it, you can always brew decaffeinated coffee or do half-caff. Its perfect for dinner parties and Thanksgiving so coffee is always ready with dessert.

Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice latte

Serving & Storing

This pumpkin latte is divine. I make it for all occasions, but it’s especially good for entertaining. You can certainly make it over a stove, but I love doing it in a slow cooker. Guests can serve themselves. Best of all, because you are making it in a slow cooker, it stays hot. Did I mention the house smells delicious too?  The aroma of cinnamon is just lovely in the house when this is in the slow cooker. While we are discussing coffee, if you are looking for a great coffee maker, you need to look into the NINJA Coffee Bar. It is awesome. It brews six different sizes including a full carafe and multiple single-serve sizes. It also has a milk frother and has a cold brew setting. I bought it to replace a Keurig that died after less than a year of owning and I’ll never look back!

I love serving it in beautiful mugs with whipped cream, pumpkin pie spice on top, and a cinnamon stick, but you can make it as fancy or as casual as you want. I will add that I have found this does not store well. So I recommend making a fresh batch instead of warming up again.

Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice Latte

This recipe is great for everyday entertaining. It’s a simple fall recipe you make ahead of time for a crowd. It combines hot coffee and milk with fresh pumpkin and fall spices. 
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Drinks
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

  • 12 Cups Coffee Hot, Strongly Brewed
  • 6 Cups Whole Milk or Half and Half
  • 3 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Cup Pumpkin Puree Canned

Instructions
 

  • Add milk and vanilla to warm crockpot 
  • Add strongly brewed coffee ( I use a French press to control the strength)
  • Add sugar, stirring well
  • Add pumpkin puree and stir frequently until fully incorporated
  • Cover and cook on high. It reaches peak temperature within 2 hours. 
  • (Optional) Serve with whipped cream, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon stick

Notes

Notes: For a sugar-free option, Splenda does well in lieu of sugar. For late night serving, you can use decaffeinated coffee. 
Keyword autumn, coffee for a crowd, crockpot, drinks, entertaining, fall, latte, pumpkin, slowcooker, spice

Looking for other great fall recipes? Try Zuppa Toscana Soup Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for other easy recipes! Don’t forget to PIN this post for later!

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Slowcooker Pumpkin Spice Latte first appeared on My Beautiful Mess

slow cooker pumpkin spice latte