Whether you have an Instant Pot or Crock Pot, this tasty 2 ingredient pulled pork recipe is one of the easiest weeknight meals using juicy pork tenderloin cooked in BBQ sauce.
It's perfect for sandwiches, carnitas, tacos, nachos or a jacket potato.
Isn't it a great feeling when you've been at work all day and you come home to an easy meal already on the table? And that's where this easy BBQ shredded pork came into our lives.
This recipe was inspired by my recent visit to our local Co-op last week where I found 2 discounted packs of pork tenderloin fillets and a dozen cheese top rolls. Oh, and some food memories of enjoying pulled gammon and Slimming World BBQ pulled pork.
But instead of making a homemade BBQ sauce, what if I could make it even easier by using ready-made bottle or small jar for the busy days ahead of us? Well, I'll give you a heads up, it makes the best pulled pork sandwiches. You'll love it!
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✔️ Why this is the Best Pulled Pork Recipe
- Easy slow cooker recipe
- It also works as a pressure cooker pulled pork
- Long cook time, so this is an amazing recipe for cooking while you're at work
- Little effort and is one of the best slow cooker dump meals
🛒 Ingredients
Pork tenderloin fillet - using tenderloin fillets is the best cut of meat for shredding in our opinion as it's boneless, usually lean and falls apart beatifully in the barbecue sauce.
Alternatively, you could use boneless pork shoulder roast joint (Boston Butt), but after cooking in the sauce, you would need to cut off the extra fat before shredding it, otherwise you'll find spongey bits which is never nice.
Flavorful BBQ sauce - this is where the marinade magic happens and it's important you pick your favorite sauce. We recommend Jack Daniels BBQ sauce with honey or other bourbon sauce like Jim Beam.
However, with everything so costly right now, you could try your local B&M which sell HP Honey BBQ sauce for £2 a bottle, and Bulls Eye, etc.
But with everything so costly right now, you could try your local B&M which sell HP Honey BBQ sauce for £2 a bottle, and Bulls Eye, etc.
Please see the printable recipe card with exact ingredient quantities, nutritional daily values, and instructions at the bottom of this post.
🔪 Equipment
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- Trusty slow cooker
- Chopping board
- 2 forks for shredding
📋 Instructions
Here's how to make this easy pulled pork recipe in the slow cooker.
1. Place the whole pork tenderloin in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Pour BBQ sauce on top, then cover and cook on low or high.
3. Remove the lid and transfer the juicy pork onto a chopping board.
4. Shred the pork with 2 forks into smaller pieces, put it back into the sauce, and serve in hamburger buns.
⌛Cooking Times
Depending on your day, you can plan this slow cooker pulled pork to perfection.
- For the quick method, set your slow cooker on High and cook for 3-4 hours
- When cooking on a low setting, you can cook for up to 8-9 hours if preferred, but a minimum of 6-7 hours
Tips: if using a pork roast with fat that would normally give crackling, you'll need to cut off and discard it just before you shred it.
If you want to add a drink for extra flavors to your marinade, such as Dr Pepper, you'll need to double the cooking time, or try a 50/50 mix so you don't need to compromise on time.
If you prefer more burnt ends, you can transfer it to a baking dish and bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 425F/220c/gas mark 7. However, you will get some along the edge of the slow cooker pot.
👩🍳Substitutions
Here are a few simple swaps you can do when making this slow cooker bbq pork.
- Pork - instead of pork butt roast, you could use chicken breasts, or try braising steak for crock pot pulled beef
- Buns - you can use gluten-free bread rolls, or alternatively, why not try making these GF cheese buns?
- BBQ sauce - Jack Daniels offers a gluten-free version if needed. Alternatively, you could also try a mix of ketchup and mustard sauce, or keto low calorie diet homemade barbecue sauce with sugar-free brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, etc
- Plant-based easy BBQ pulled pork recipe - the boneless pork loin roast can easily be replaced with 5-6 drained cans of jackfruit for a Vegetarian Meatless Monday recipe
⚖️Variations
You could also enhance the flavour even more with the following additions.
- Kosher salt - by adding a good sprinkle of sea salt at the end of cooking enhances the flavour
- Spice - if you don't need to make it kid-friendly, you could add a dry rub, or a ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes for heat, black pepper, or hot sauce
- Luxurious - we think this easy recipe is also great with mature cheddar stirred for a similar Hunters Chicken taste, or eaten with lettuce, onion & chive double Gloucester slices and potato salad or healthy coleslaw!
- Families on a budget - if you want to feed several family members, make it a taco night and serve with lots of red onion, crispy lettuce, and extra bbq sauce. Or another perfect recipe is to spoon some over nachos with chopped tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.
You can find my unofficial Slimming World version of this recipe on my website!
❄️Storage
If you have any pulled pork leftovers, we recommend storing it in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Alternatively, you could store in Ziploc freezer bags immediately for up to 3 months to lock in the moisture and avoid it being dry once thawed.
Reheating
Reheating the next day is simple. You could heat it in the slow cooker again, or microwave it for 4 minutes in a lidded container with vent and stir halfway.
For ovens, transfer to a baking tray and cover with baking foil to lock in the moisture and follow these instructions.
💡Top Tips
- For best results, use the best quality BBQ sauce you can, or simply your favourite.
- Don't worry about needing to add extra moisture to the slow cooker. Once the pork starts to cook in the sauce, moisture will ooze out of the meat.
- If you want to use half the amount of pork, then use 1 cup of BBQ sauce instead
- For extra juicy pulled pork, cover the slow cooker with tin foil to prevent moisture from escaping, then place the lid on top.
- A quick shredding hack I've seen on TikTok recently is using an electric hand mixer to break up the meat while still in the slow cooker. Let me know how it worked!
❓FAQ
Root beer - In addition to BBQ sauce, you could add a 12 oz can of root beer or coke, but this is an even slower cooker recipe, meaning you'll need to double the cooking time and you may want to reduce the sauce down over high heat on your stove top at the end
Diet Coca Cola marinade - this lighter sauce, sweetened with honey can be used instead of BBQ sauce for a cheaper, healthier option
Ginger beer - another great option instead of BBQ sauce. Then add a pinch of brown sugar, whatever spices you wish, like smoked paprika.
Dr. Pepper - this is another of the many different ways you can enjoy it like above
Pineapple - why not skip the BBQ sauce altogether and try Fab Food 4 All's recipe for a Hawaiian taste?
Yes, you can use a dutch oven on the stove, or even on top of a multi-fuel stove. There are many recipes available that recommend cooking over low heat for 3-4 hours.
Once you've put everything in your multicooker and cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes.
You may find this much quicker method more suitable if you need to get a main dish on the table sooner.
Many would say pork butt or pork shoulder as it's usually marbled with fat for juice and flavour. It's also a firm cut, so stands up well for long cooking time without totally disintegrating in the pot.
Although we prefer pork tenderloin fillet as it is leaner and there's almost no handling to do at all because there's no fat to remove after it has cooked in the sauce.
Yes! You can find cooking times here over at Our Salty Kitchen.
2lb (about 1kg) of pork should feed about 6 people and is about 5oz (141g per person). If you're feeding more family members, then simply double the quantity, but try the same cooking time until it falls apart easily.
If adding more meat to the pot, as a rule of thumb, use 1 cup of BBQ sauce per 1lb of meat. We find one standard bottle (around 16-19 oz give or take) is approximately 2 cups. You don't need to be accurate as it's not science and can always add a bit more later.
I use a smaller 1.5 litre slow cooker for this recipe. But if you want to double the ingredients, I recommend a larger 6.5 litre for more surface area at the bottom where the heating element is.
📖 Recipe
2 Ingredient Pulled Pork {Slow Cooker}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb Pork tenderloin fillet (1kg)
- 2 cups BBQ sauce of your choice Or 1 bottle around 16-19 oz
Instructions
- Place your pork tenderloin fillet in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Pour in your BBQ sauce, making sure everything is covered.
- Cover the slow cooker lid and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 6-9 hours until it easily falls apart.
- Transfer the meat to a chopping board and break up using two forks.
- Put the shredded pork back in to the pot, season to taste and stir until everything is coated.
- Serve in hamburger buns with cheese slices, crispy lettuce and onion and enjoy!
Disclaimer
*This is an unofficial page and has no affiliation or endorsement from Slimming World. Slimming World's website can be found at https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/. Any syn values are personal estimates and not verified by Slimming World.
Video
Notes
- For best results, use the best quality BBQ sauce you can, or simply your favourite.
- Don't worry about needing to add extra moisture to the slow cooker. Once the pork starts to cook in the sauce, moisture will ooze out of the meat.
- If you want to use half the amount of pork, then use 1 cup of BBQ sauce instead
- For extra juicy pulled pork, cover the slow cooker with tin foil to prevent moisture from escaping, then place the lid on top.
- A quick shredding hack I've seen on TikTok recently is using an electric hand mixer to break up the meat while still in the slow cooker. Let me know how it worked!
Nutrition
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