Pulled Pork Tacos with Avocado Salsa – Pork shoulder is slow-cooked, pulled and then placed in a flour tortilla, along with homemade avocado salsa and white onions.
Tacos are a new favorite of mine. But most importantly, I love simple tacos with just a couple components. Today’s recipe features just that. It’s got one protein, one sauce, and a little garnish on top. That’s it! But man, does it pack a punch of flavor!
The recipe is for my Pulled Pork Tacos with Avocado Salsa. The tender pork, the sweet and spicy salsa, the crisp white onion – you just cannot go wrong!
Making the pulled pork
I wanted a pulled pork recipe that took very little effort so I went to my trusted slow cooker. All I had to do was rub down the pork with a few spices and then place in the slow cooker with some onion wedges. A can of Dr Pepper is poured over the top for some sweet flavor to balance out the spices.
The pork is cooked for 7-9 hours or until the pork gently falls apart when pulled.
Making the salsa
This avocado salsa is my latest obsession. It’s so flavorful, yet refreshing. Oh and did I mention addictive?
The first time I tried avocado salsa, I couldn’t get enough of it. It even had a hint of spice, which I typically can’t handle. But I pushed through and kept on dipping my chips in that incredible salsa.
To make the salsa, tomatillo, avocado, serrano peppers, cilantro, onion, garlic, salt, and lime juice are added to a blender and then blended until smooth. That’s it! If you don’t have a powerful blender, a food processor will work just as well.
Tips & Tricks
- Rub the pork well. Make sure you rub all of the spice mixture deep into the pork. It’s a big piece of meat so we want to make sure all of it is seasoned.
- Use a good blender or food processor. The salsa can only be blended in a powerful blender or food processor. The tomatillos are thick so it takes a strong tool to break it down.
- Make salsa ahead. The salsa’s flavor get’s stronger the longer it marinates together. So make it ahead of time if possible.
- Stand mixer for shredding pork. My pro tip of the day is to use a stand mixer to help shred the pork. It will make that process incredibly efficient.
Pulled Pork Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Ingredients
For the pulled pork:
- 1 3-4 pound pork butt or shoulder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 12-ounce can Dr. Pepper
For the avocado salsa:
- 1½ pounds tomatillos husks removed; quartered
- 1 medium avocado peeled and pitted
- 1 large bunch fresh cilantro stems removed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 serrano peppers stem removed
- ¼ white onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1½ teaspoon salt
For the tacos:
- 15 small flour tortillas
- ½ white onion chopped
Instructions
For the pulled pork:
- Add all spices to a small bowl and stir together until combined. Rub the entire mixture into the pork. Cover the pork and refrigerate for an hour.
- Cut yellow onion into wedges. Place at the bottom of the slow cooker. Remove pork from refrigerator and add to slow cooker on top of the onions. Open can of Dr. Pepper and pour over the pork. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 7 hours (9 hours on low) or until the pork false apart when you gently pulll it.
- Remove pork from slow cooker and discard the liquid. Place pork in bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn on low to shred the pork. Turn off once completely shredded. Taste pork and add salt or pepper, if needed.
For the avocado salsa:
- Add all ingredients to a blender. Place lid on top and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.
For the tacos:
- Place a damp towel on a plate. Stack flour tortillas on top of damp towel and wrap completely with the towel. Microwave for 30 seconds.
- Remove from microwave and fill one tortilla with ¼ cup of pulled pork, 2 tablespoons of salsa, and chopped onion. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Easy Birria Tacos
Fried Chicken Tacos
Avocado Cucumber Salad
These sound amazing and that avocado salsa!! YUM
That avocado salsa is to die for! I love it! Gonna have this soon!
Yum we love tacos and taco tuesday is our thing around here! The avocado salsa looks great as a topping to dress them up.
I tend to love all things with avocados. These tacos look incredible!
Are you secretly a mind-reader because I have been craving this exact mix of ingredients lately! The pulled pork and avocado was such a refreshing and tasty combo. Bravo!
All so wonderful. Avocado salsa is a treat! What a great recipe!
I love how there is very little hands-on work in this recipe! The avocado salsa is amazing and pair so well with the pork.
Perfect recipe and helpful tips! Shredding the pork with a mixer is life changing!
I don’t see anywhere to leave a rating, this recipe deserves 5 stars! I love your tip about the can of Dr Pepper to balance out the spices, it really worked. We made this for lunch and the flavors were amazing! We couldn’t get enough of the avocado salsa!