Crock Pot Pulled Pork
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With only 5 ingredients, this Crock Pot Pulled Pork recipe a great weeknight meal (that will leave you with leftovers) or an easy meal for a large group. It just takes minutes to throw in the slow cooker and then hours later yields a flavorful, fall-apart-tender shredded pork.
You may want to try our Instant Pot Pulled Pork or Smoked Pork Shoulder instead.
This post is created in partnership with Hy-Vee Columbia.
“Super easy and delicious recipe! It is a crowd pleaser. The homemade bbq sauce is amazing, simple and makes the pulled pork that much better.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Kat
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s EASY! Simply season the pork and cook it in the crock pot with Homemade BBQ Sauce (or whatever your favorite store-bought brand is).
- It’s freezer-friendly. A great recipe to double and freeze before cooking. You can also fully cook it and freeze it in small portions.
- It feeds a lot of people. When served on buns, this recipe can easily feed 10+ people. Check out more Easy Meals for a Large Group for ideas.
- It’s a dump-and-go recipe. Practically hands-free except for shredding the pork at the end.
- This recipe can also be made as Instant Pot Pulled Pork or Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder!
Ingredients Needed
You’ll find all 5 main ingredients at your local Hy-Vee (Columbia). Their helpful butcher counter team can help you select the right cut of pork. They also have a wide selection of BBQ sauces, including some local brands.
Ingredient Notes:
- Pork shoulder – Also known as Boston butt. You can use bone-in or boneless.
- BBQ sauce – Whip up our delicious, easy Homemade BBQ Sauce or use one of the store. I like Stubb’s BBQ Sauce–great flavor and pretty clean ingredients.
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How to Make Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and rub it with the seasoning mix to coat all sides.
- Place the seasoned pork in the slow cooker and top with 1 cup of the BBQ sauce.
- Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 9 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours, or until the meat easily shreds.
- Transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred the meat. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir it into the sauce.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to the toasted buns and top with the remaining BBQ sauce as desired. I personally like to top mine with 5-Ingredient Coleslaw too.
Pro Tip: How to Know When Crock Pot Pork Is Done
Oftentimes, people take the pork shoulder out too early because it appears to be tough and dry.
However, the pork needs lots of time to break down the fibers holding the meat together. When cooked correctly, pork shoulder in the slow cooker should be tender and juicy.
Side Dish Ideas
Wondering what to serve with pulled pork? Try one of these winner side dishes.
Can I Freeze Pulled Pork?
YES! Like so many of our freezer meal recipes, BBQ Pulled Pork works great as a make-ahead freezer meal. To make this recipe into a freezer meal, follow these instructions:
Freeze for later: Follow steps 1 and 2. Place the seasoned pork and 1 cup of the BBQ sauce in a gallon-size freezer bag or round container. Seal and freeze. Place the remaining 1/2 cup BBQ sauce in a small freezer bag or container and the buns in a separate freezer bag. Seal and freeze them alongside the pork.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw. Place the pork in the slow cooker. Follow steps 4 through 6.
Recipe FAQs
After testing hundreds of recipes for our slow cooker cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker, we found that cooking a 3-4 pound pork shoulder should take 7-9 hours depending on your slow cooker.
Yes, a bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt will work fine.
Yep! Just slow cooker until it shreds easily.
Any BBQ sauce will work! That is the beauty of this recipe. You can customize it to your liking.
If it’s already cooked, divide it up into small portions and freeze in an airtight container. It’s easy to reheat in the microwave on the defrost setting. Add a little extra BBQ sauce and/or maybe a little water when you reheat to add some moisture if you want.
We recommend safely thawing the pork completely before cooking it in a slow cooker. Cooking frozen meat in a slow cooker can lead to uneven cooking and may result in food safety concerns according to the USDA.
The pulled pork is done when it easily shreds apart with a fork. The meat should be tender and moist. You can also use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, which should reach around 195-205°F (90-96°C) for pulled pork.
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Crock Pot Pulled Pork
This 5-ingredient pulled pork recipe is a cinch to make when you whip it up in the slow cooker. Add some BBQ sauce and your dinner is done!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (3- to 4-pound) boneless pork shoulder* (also known as Boston butt), trimmed
- 1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce, homemade or your favorite all-natural store-bought BBQ sauce
- 8–10 whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted on the insides under the broiler
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- In a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and rub it with the seasoning mix to coat all sides. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Place the seasoned pork in the slow cooker and top with 1 cup of the BBQ sauce.
- Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 9 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat easily shreds.
- Transfer the pork to a cutting board and shred the meat. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir it into the sauce.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to the toasted buns and top with the remaining BBQ sauce as desired. Serve.
Freeze For Later:
Follow steps 1 and 2. Place the seasoned pork and 1 cup of the BBQ sauce in a gallon-size freezer bag or container. Seal and freeze. Place the remaining 1/2 cup BBQ sauce in a small freezer bag or container and the buns in a separate freezer bag. Seal and freeze them alongside the pork.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw. Place the pork in the slow cooker. Follow steps 4 through 6.
Notes/Tips
- Bone-in pork shoulder will work fine, too.
- Oftentimes, people take the pork out too early because it appears to be tough and dry. However, the pork needs lots of time to break down the fibers holding the meat together. When cooked correctly, pork in the slow cooker should be tender and juicy.
- Storage Tip: A great way to store this freezer meal or leftovers is in our favorite reusable freezer bags.
- Where We Get Our Pork: We get our meat from ButcherBox. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like pork, uncured bacon, organic chicken, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves.
I would like to make this a day ahead for a large gathering. Can this be reheated in the crockpot rather than the oven since I will be using the oven at a higher temp for another dish I’m preparing?
Hi Donna! Absolutely, you can use the crockpot! I’d warm it on low for about an hour or so. Add broth or more sauce if it starts to dry out.
I have made this numerous times and it is always a hit! So very easy and tasty! Whenever I see your recipes, I always know it will be good. Thank you!
Hi Susan! Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to leave a review. We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes.
My husband made this at the firehouse for 10 men. He used a 9# pork butt roast. There was only a small container left. All the men said my husband could make it again.
I’ve heard firemen are good cooks, so they wouldn’t say they’d eat it again unless they liked it. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Katie.
Flavor was delicious! Question on crockpot cooking – I cooked it on low for 6 hours and it came out very tough. Does this mean it was over cooked or should I have kept it in longer? Thermometer was saying it was cooked so assuming this just means my crockpot cooks quickly. TIA!
Hi Linda! Glad you enjoyed the flavor. Using a meat thermometer for doneness with a tough cut like pork shoulder or beef chuck roast doesn’t work. Although the temp will say it’s done, you have to slow cook it (on low) until it shreds easily. Hope that helps!
Such a easy and yummy recipe! I’ve been making this a lot during the summer and I love being able to feed my family a delicious meal without heating up the whole house.
Thanks Corinne!
fantastic! thank you
You are welcome Tessa! Thank you for leaving a review.
I made this for the first time last night for a group of 14. It was idiot-proof and delicious! I also made the 5-ingredient slaw which was also a HUGE hit (no leftovers!) and super easy!
Terrific news Mandi. Thank you so much for taking time to leave a review.
Super easy and delicious recipe! It is a crowd pleaser. The homemade bbq sauce is amazing, simple and makes the pulled pork that much better. Thank you for sharing this!!!
Hi Kat. Really thankful to hear this was a winner for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
Yes Yes Yes on all fronts. If you need to feed a large crowd then this is the go to. Trust me, use the BBQ sauce from this recipe… whole different level. Thank you great recipe
Thanks for the feedback! We’re so glad you like this recipe, and we agree that the BBQ sauce is a game changer. 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to leave some feedback. Yep, great one for a crowd and our BBQ sauce is the way to go (but I’m partial, lol).
Just made this. Pork butt roast, nearly 5 pounds. The smallest they had. I used 1.5 cups of BBQ sauce and cut the roast into 5 pieces. Cooked it on low for 9 hours, stirring occasionally to get all the pieces under the liquid. It was done perfectly and just fell apart. This was the easiest “recipe” I’ve ever followed. This is going in my rotation from now on! Delicious AND easy! win win!!
Awesome! Love that it worked out so well for you, even with the super large roast. Pork butt works get in the slow cooker. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
I read a lot of people saying to not put in any liquid as it makes it’s own… thoughts?
From my experience, you will have to put some liquid in there because the heat from the heating element will make the bottom really hot and burn the meat and make it stick.
I’m looking for a freezer make head recipe for pulled pork. Could I make this as stated and then freeze? Then heat the thawed casserole dish in the oven for about 30 minutes and serve on rolls? I’m thinking if I add water to the dish before heating in oven it will not dry out. Any suggestions?
Yep! We reheat it all the time. I’d just reheat it at a low temp like 300-350 and let it take its time. Never had a problem with it drying out!
How long will it take to cook a 5 1/2 lb. roast
Please post cooking times for a larger roast.
Also, did you a whole bone-in pork roast?
I cooked a larger roast (3.5lb) and 5 hours on low was not long enough FYI. It didn’t pull apart when I went to do that part. Leaving it in longer now to see how it goes.
Thanks for the feedback, Jen. I agree, 5 hours probably isn’t enough for a roast that large. We’ll adjust the recipe to reflect varying roast sizes. Sorry it didn’t work as planned for you today!
How do you recommend freezing and reheating this dish? We love pulled pork, but unfortunately a good bit goes to waste because my husband and I can’t eat it all.
Oh yes, be sure to freeze what is left. Just wrap it up tight in some foil and stick in a freezer bag and label it with the name and date. It’s easy to reheat in the microwave on the defrost setting or in the fridge overnight and then on the stove top over low. Add a little extra BBQ sauce and/or maybe a little water when you reheat to add in some moisture, though.