These easy Pulled Pork Enchiladas involve slow cooked shredded pork engulfed in flour tortillas, swaddled in enchilada sauce and bathed in melted cheese. The perfect homemade enchilada recipe for pork lovers!
You’re looking at my idea of the ultimate comfort food! These slow cooker shredded pork enchiladas are teaming with flavor on account of the tender pork, smoky savory sauce, and luxurious melted cheese.
While slow cooking the meat requires a chunk of time, the process itself is straightforward and the recipe can be prepared in parts. For instance, you can slow cook the meat days in advance, and the actual process of putting together the enchiladas goes super quick!
I see this as one of those delicious dinners that is perfect for serving guests or for making for friends and family that could use a helping hand.
So if you’re a fan of Mexican food, and you can’t get enough of carnitas-style pork, this easy recipe is for you! I love the idea of preparing it in advance and making it the next day or even freezing it for meal prep.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for shredded pork enchiladas.
Ingredients for Pulled Pork Enchiladas:
For the Pulled Pork:
Boneless Pork Roast: Pork butt or pork shoulder roast are my top recommendations because both are easy to find and both result in tender shredded pork. You’ll need 4 to 5 pounds of boneless meat.
Seasonings: Sea salt, paprika, dried oregano, and ground cumin are our simple seasonings that bring subtle smoky flavor to the meat.
Avocado Oil: Used to sear the meat, we need a quality cooking oil that can withstand high temperatures. I don’t recommend using olive oil, because it burns at a relatively low temperature.
Yellow Onion and Fresh Garlic: Plenty of onion and garlic flavors the meat while it slow cooks. These two ingredients make all the difference!
Fresh Orange Juice and Fresh Lime Juice: True to traditional carnitas, we’re using orange juice and lime juice as the cooking liquid. You can also add a little chicken broth if you’d like, but be sure there is plenty of lime juice for the classic tangy flavor.
For the Enchiladas:
Red Enchilada Sauce: Staying true to traditional enchiladas, we need a big can of red enchilada sauce. Homemade enchilada sauce is also a great option, and green enchilada sauce works too.
Large Tortillas: Pick your favorite brand of flour tortillas to serve as the soft caravan to deliver delicious meat and cheese to your mouth!
If you follow a gluten-free diet, use your favorite gluten-free tortillas.
Cheese: I like grating a brick of colby jack cheese, but you can also use any combination of melting cheeses you like, such as cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack cheese, mozzarella cheese, etc.
For Serving:
- Chopped green onions
- Sour Cream
- Fresh cilantro
- Refried beans
- Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice
Recipe Customizations:
- Swap the Meat: Make my 5-Ingredient Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken for a chicken version, or my Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef for a beef version.
- Make Them Green: Use green enchilada sauce (made with green chiles) instead of red enchilada sauce.
- Use Leftover Pulled Pork: Instead of making the recipe in this post for shredded pork, use 6 cups of shredded leftover pork.
- Corn Tortillas Version: For a gluten free version, you can use corn tortillas by layering the tortillas, meat, cheese, and sauce similar to lasagna. You can see my Ground Beef Enchilada Casserole with Corn Tortillas for a visual aid if need be.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s make these easy slow cooker pulled pork enchiladas!
How to Make Pulled Pork Enchiladas:
Prepare the Shredded Pork:
Remove the pork roast from its packaging, and discard the netting around the roast (if applicable). Pat roast dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
Place it on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the roast into large chunks.
Combine the sea salt, paprika, dried oregano and ground cumin in a small bowl and stir well.
Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the chunks of pork roast. Allow the pork to sit in the seasonings for a few minutes while you sauté the onion.
Heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet and add the chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften and turn slightly golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add in the fresh minced garlic and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.
Transfer the sauteed onion and garlic to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Return the skillet to the stove top over medium-high to high heat. If needed, add another tablespoon or two of avocado oil. Allow the skillet to heat back up for a minute or two to become sizzling hot.
Carefully place the chunks of seasoned pork in the hot skillet in a single layer. You may need to perform this step in two batches depending on the size of your skillet.
Sear pork for 2-3 minutes per side, until each side has a nice golden brown crust. There is no need to cook the pork through at this point.
Transfer the seared pork to the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients. Secure the lid on the slew cooker and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours or until fork tender.
Note: You can cook the meat on high heat for 5 to 6 hours, although I strongly recommend going with the low heat option for the best results as the pork turns out more tender when cooked longer.
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the chunks of pork to a large cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat. Transfer the shredded pork back into the crock pot with the juices until you’re ready to make enchiladas.
Make Enchiladas:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour 1/3 cup of sauce in the bottom of a large 13” x 9” casserole dish and spread it around to coat the bottom of the dish.
Transfer 1.5 cups of sauce into a large mouth bowl. Dip a tortilla into the sauce to coat the full surface of one side.
Add your desired amount of pulled pork to the center of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over the meat to create an enchilada and place it seam side down in the casserole dish.
Repeat for remaining meat and tortillas. You should have enough pulled pork for 8 to 10 enchiladas.
Pour any remaining sauce from the bowl you used to dip the tortillas over the enchiladas, then pour all of the rest of the can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas evenly.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the enchiladas.
Bake enchiladas on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
Note: if the meat is still warm when you make the enchiladas, they will take closer to 20 minutes, but if you’re using shredded pork that has been chilling in the refrigerator, you’ll need closer to 30.
Remove enchiladas from the oven and allow them to cool 10 minutes before serving. Garnish the top of the enchiladas with green onion, cilantro, and sour cream, and serve with black beans and Mexican rice.
Storage Options:
- Refrigerator: Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Either prepare the recipe and freeze it before baking it, or bake it then freeze it. To reheat, bring the casserole out of the freezer to thaw at room temperature. Then, bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
- Reheat Leftover Enchiladas: Microwave leftover enchiladas with a cover on top for 1-2 minutes, or reheat in the hot oven or air fryer. If you’re making the recipe ahead of time, reheat it at 350 degrees F in the oven for 25-35 minutes, until hot.
The next time you’re craving Mexican food for dinner, whip up these amazing enchiladas! You can start the pulled pork in your crock pot before leaving for work and finish the enchiladas after work for a restaurant-quality meal.
If you love making Mexican-inspired home cooked meals, also try some of my other Mexican food favorites.
More Mexican Food Recipes:
- Crock Pot Birria Tacos
- Carne Asada Tacos
- Albondigas Soup Recipe
- Crock Pot Al Pastor
- Instant Pot Chile Colorado
I hope you enjoy this pork enchiladas recipe as much as we do!
Frequently Asked Questions:
I recommend using boneless pork butt or pork shoulder roast, both of which can easily be found in the meat section of any grocery store.
If you have access to a larger bone-in pork roast, feel free to use it! I love slow cooking bone-in roasts but I don’t find them at the grocery store very often.
Yes! For the instant pot instructions, follow my Instant Pot Carnitas recipe. It includes all the steps needed in order to make perfect shredded pork carnitas.
Yes! There are two basic options here.
Option 1: You can prepare the enchiladas and skip the baking portion until you’re ready to bake. To do so, simply follow the recipe and store the casserole dish in the refrigerator or freezer covered tightly with a sheet of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
When you’re ready to bake, bring the baking dish out of the freezer or refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Then, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until the enchiladas are heated through.
Option 2: Prepare the full recipe, baking and all. Allow the dish to cool, then cover in aluminum foil and refrigerate. When you’re ready, reheat the enchiladas covered in foil at 350 degrees F for 25-35 minutes, or until they are hot. I recommend bringing the enchiladas out of the refrigerator at least 10 minutes prior to baking to get them closer to room temperature.
Pulled Pork Enchiladas
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pulled Pork:
- 1 (4-lb) boneless pork butt roast or pork shoulder roast
- 1 Tbsp sea salt or 2 tsp table salt
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup lime juice
For the Enchiladas:
- 1 (28-oz) can red enchilada sauce or green enchilada sauce
- 8 to 10 flour tortillas
- 3 cups colby jack cheese grated*
Instructions
Make the Shredded Pork
- Remove the pork roast from its packaging, and discard the netting around the roast (if applicable). Pat roast dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
- Place it on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the roast into large chunks.
- Combine the sea salt, paprika, dried oregano and ground cumin in a small bowl and stir well. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the chunks of pork roast. Allow the pork to sit in the seasonings for a few minutes while you sauté the onion.
- Heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet and add the chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften and turn slightly golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the fresh minced garlic and continue cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.
- Transfer the sauteed onion and garlic to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Return the skillet to the stove top over medium-high to high heat. If needed, add another tablespoon or two of avocado oil. Allow the skillet to heat back up for a minute or two to become sizzling hot.
- Carefully place the chunks of seasoned pork in the hot skillet in a single layer. You may need to perform this step in two batches depending on the size of your skillet.
- Sear pork for 2-3 minutes per side, until each side has a nice golden brown crust. There is no need to cook the pork through at this point.
- Transfer the seared pork to the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients. Secure the lid on the slew cooker and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours or until fork tender. Note: You can cook the meat on high heat for 5 to 6 hours, although I strongly recommend going with the low heat option for the best results as the pork turns out more tender when cooked longer.
- Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the chunks of pork to a large cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat. Transfer the shredded pork back into the crock pot with the juices until you’re ready to make enchiladas.
Make Enchiladas:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour 1/3 cup of sauce in the bottom of a large 13” x 9” casserole dish and spread it around to coat the bottom of the dish.
- Transfer 1.5 cups of sauce into a large mouth bowl. Dip a tortilla into the sauce to coat the full surface of one side.
- Add your desired amount of pulled pork to the center of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over the meat to create an enchilada and place it seam side down in the casserole dish.
- Repeat for remaining meat and tortillas. You should have enough pulled pork for 8 to 10 enchiladas.
- Pour any remaining sauce from the bowl you used to dip the tortillas over the enchiladas, then pour all of the rest of the can of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas evenly.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese over the enchiladas.
- Bake enchiladas on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Note: if the meat is still warm when you make the enchiladas, they will take closer to 20 minutes, but if you’re using shredded pork that has been chilling in the refrigerator, you’ll need closer to 30.
- Remove enchiladas from the oven and allow them to cool 10 minutes before serving. Garnish the top of the enchiladas with green onion, cilantro, and sour cream, and serve with black beans and Mexican rice.
In the recipe for pulled pork enchiladas, when do we incorporate the orange and lime juices?