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A few simple ingredients infuse tons of South American flavor into this fall-apart tender Crockpot Peruvian Pulled Pork. Add a drizzle of fresh and spicy Aji sauce and a sprinkle of queso fresco on top of mouthwatering rice or cauliflower rice bowls for an easy slow cooker dinner! Yes, you can make it gluten free and low carb!
Why You’ll Love This Peruvian-Inspired Crockpot Pulled Pork
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Peruvian
- Primary Cooking Method: Slow Cooker
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
Peruvian cuisine has influences from the native cultures of South America, as well as the Europeans who settled in the area, particularly the Spanish, and Asian immigrants who arrived later. This easy pulled pork recipe combines flavors from all of those cuisines into one tender and delicious dish. Here’s why you’ll love it…
- Easy to infuse lots of flavor. Just stir a few basic spices from your pantry into a mix of lime juice and soy sauce. Then pour it over the pork and let it cook all day. After you shred it and toss it in those juices, you’ll have moist shredded pork with the perfect blend of tangy, smoky, and ever so slightly spicy goodness.
- Great for a crowd or meal prep. It is so simple that you might as well double the recipe for feeding a large group or freeze the leftovers.
- So versatile. Use it to make Peruvian pulled pork rice bowls or cauliflower rice bowls, pile it on rolls or a salad or tortillas, or check out all of my other serving ideas. But no matter how you choose to serve this slow cooker pulled pork, finishing it off with a simple, fresh, and spicy Perivuan Aji sauce really gives it the perfect South American flair. It only takes seconds to whizz in the blender, and truly completes the meal!
What You’ll Need
The slow cooker pork only has six ingredients. Stir everything together in just a couple of minutes, then let the crockpot do all the hard work. When it’s time for dinner, you just need to get your rice, sauce, and toppings ready to go! Here’s a quick rundown, but you can find the full amounts and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
For the Pulled Pork
- Pork: You’ll need a boneless pork loin roast, but a pork tenderloin could also work.
- Soy sauce: Use a brand that is gluten free or make it with tamari or coconut aminos, if needed for gluten free, paleo, or keto.
- Lime: Just squeeze it for the fresh lime juice.
- Cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Dried oregano
- Ground black pepper
For the Aji Sauce
- Jalapenos: Roughly chopped and you should remove the ribs and seeds unless you want it extra spicy)
- Fresh cilantro: You can include both the leaves and stems, though discard the thick, harder parts of the stems.
- Garlic: It can be roughly chopped or you can throw the whole clove in. If you are sensitive to garlic, you can omit it.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Lime juice: Make sure it’s freshly squeezed.
- Olive oil
- Plain Greek yogurt
How to Make Crockpot Pulled Pork
The prep to make Peruvian pulled pork is super quick and easy. Then just let it cook all day while you go about your life. Here’s your overview before you scroll to the recipe card for the details.
- Cook the Pork. Place the pork in the slow cooker. Stir the soy sauce, lime juice, and seasonings together in a bowl and pour it over the pork. Cover and cook it on Low for at least 4-6 hours, or until it shreds easily.
- Make the Aji Sauce. While it cooks, blend together the ingredients to make the Aji sauce. You can do this early in the day and keep it refrigerated or right before serving.
- Shred and Serve. When it is done cooking, remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred it with a fork. Return it to the crockpot and too in the juices. Keep warm until ready to serve.
How to Serve Pulled Pork
My favorite way to serve this Peruvian Pulled Pork on top of cauliflower rice bowls, though regular white rice or brown rice is great too. Or even try quinoa, which is a staple in Peru. You can even add a little more flavor with Cilantro Lime Rice. Then get your toppings ready:
- Corn: A staple in Perivua cuisine, some kernels of corn cut from the cob if you’ve made Air Fryer Corn on the Cob, drained from a can, or cooked from frozen add a nice little pop of texture. You can omit this for paleo or keto.
- Aji sauce: The recipe card tells you all you need. But if you want to know all the details plus more uses, see my full post about how to make Aji sauce.
- Cheese: I like nice, crumbly queso fresco or even cotija cheese. If you can’t find these, feta is a good substitute for the salty flavor and crumbly texture. If you prefer a melty cheese, try some Monterey jack.
- Extras: Add a squeeze of lime, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, or even some minced onion.
Storing Leftovers
- Fridge – If you are feeding a family of 2 to 4 people, you’ll likely have some leftover Peruvian pulled pork. You can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days.
- Freezer – Leftovers can also be frozen for up to 2 or 3 months. This is especially good to know if you make a double batch. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating leftovers – It can be reheated in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove, gently heating just till it is warmed through.
The extra Aji sauce can also keep in the refrigerator for a few days. You can use it to make Peruvian Turkey Burgers or spoon it over roasted potatoes!
Instead of chicken, you can toss the pork in barbecue sauce to make one of these favorites:
Make it a Meal
This pulled pork is so versatile that, although I love making rice bowls as detailed above, there are lots of other ways to enjoy it. Here are some ideas:
- Plate it Up: You can always dish it onto a plate alongside some Peruvian Corn on the Cob also topped with the Aji sauce and cheese.
- Make Tacos: Change up your usual Taco Tuesday and spoon the pork into corn, flour, or gluten free tortillas and serve with Instant Pot Spanish Rice.
- Have a Salad: Use it on top of a bed of greens with fresh tomatoes and a drizzle of the Aji sauce or maybe some Jalapeno Ranch Dressing.
- Serve Sandwiches: Pile it on Gluten Free Hamburger Buns or sub rolls with some Chili Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes on the side.
More Mouthwatering Crockpot Recipes
I love using my slow cooker for easy meals that are ready to enjoy at the end of the day. Here are some that we love!
- Crockpot BBQ Beef
- Sriracha Lime Slow Cooker Turkey Tenderloin
- Crockpot Orange Sesame Chicken
- Cauliflower Hash Browns Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
Slow Cooker Peruvian Pulled Pork
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Aji sauce:
- 2 jalapenos, roughly chopped (ribs and seeds removed unless you want it extra spicy)
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro, including the leaves and stems
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
For the rice bowls:
- 1 large head cauliflower, or 1 package pre-riced cauliflower or cooked rice
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 3 ears corn on the cob, cooked and cut from the cob, or about 3 cups cooked corn niblets, optional
- 2 cups crumbled queso fresco, cotija cheese, or feta cheese
Instructions
For the pork:
- Place the pork in the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the pork, cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until the pork is cooked through and shreds easily.
- Remove the pork, but save the liquid in the slow cooker. Discard the excess fat, shred the pork and return to the slow cooker. Keep warm.
For the Aji sauce:
- Combine the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator.
For the rice bowls:
- Cut cauliflower into florets then, In batches, place cauliflower in a food processor or high-powered blender and pulse until it achieves a rice-like consistency.
- In a large pan, over medium heat olive oil.
- Add the cauliflower and salt, then stir to coat completely, and smooth to a single layer.
- Stir every 4-6 minutes. After about ten minutes the rice will start to brown on the bottom, so you may have to stir more frequently.
- Cook for a total of about 10-20 minutes, until lightly browned or to desired tenderness.
- Add cauliflower rice to bowls. Top each with about half a cup of corn, shredded pork, Aji sauce, and about a quarter cup of cheese.
Notes
Did you make this?
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I’m making this today, it looks delicious- is there enough liquid between the soy sauce and lemon or am I missing something?
I’m so sorry, I was on vacation last week. Typically meats give off moisture in the slow cooker, so that was enough liquid to make it moist, but it is not super saucy. Hope it worked out for you!
Hi! I wasn’t sure so I added half a bottle of Corona beer to the crock pot to have some more liquid. Delicious and just enough liquid to make it saucy.
I’mm so happy that you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for rating the recipe, too. 🙂
If I can’t eat dairy, can I sub the yogurt for coconut cream? Or do you have a better suggestion?
Hi Roberta,
I haven’t tried making the recipe with coconut cream, but I think it would work fine. Or I know that there are dairy free (soy) yogurts available in most larger grocery stores. I hope you find something that works for you!
This looks super yummy! I love cauliflower so that is an awesome touch! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Merry Monday this week!
Boy does that sound good right now! Looking forward to trying this very soon!