Pork Rio Salads–an easy dump-and-go recipe made with tender salsa verde pork served over fresh salad with rice, beans, cheese, avocado and more. This dish is perfect for feeding a crowd at any summer gathering.
Cabin Meal Series
We’re spending the week of the Fourth of July at our cabin with Reagan, Skyler, and a group of their friends, and this year I decided I didn’t want to spend the whole trip in the kitchen. I’m keeping the menu full of crowd-pleasing meals that are easy to transport, made with simple ingredients, and don’t leave me with a sink full of dishes. They’re all teen-approved and perfect for feeding a hungry group without a lot of stress. So far I’ve shared the french onion sloppy joes, Cabin French Toast Bake and Creamy Ranch Beef and Noodles. Today’s recipe is easy crockpot pork over salads with an array of toppings.
Pork Rio Salads
This is one of those recipes that disappears every single time I make it. The pork couldn’t be easier. Just place it in the slow cooker after breakfast, sprinkle on the seasonings, pour the salsa verde over the top, and let the slow cooker do its thing. By dinnertime you’ll have juicy, fall-apart shredded pork that’s packed with flavor.
One of my favorite things about this meal is the build-your-own salad bar. You can keep it as simple as grabbing a bag of salad, shredded cheese, a can of black beans, tortilla chips, and a bottle of ranch or cilantro dressing from the store. Or you can go all out with avocado, tomatoes, salsa, rice, and all your favorite toppings. It’s the perfect meal for feeding a crowd because everyone gets to make their salad exactly the way they like it. Our group of teenagers loved customizing their bowls. Some loaded up on Fritos and extra cheese while others piled on lettuce, tomatoes and avocado.
If you’d rather use chicken, boneless skinless chicken thighs work great too. Just reduce the cooking time to about 4–6 hours on low. Whether you’re feeding your family on a busy weeknight or a cabin full of hungry people after a day of adventure, this is one of those easy meals you’ll find yourself making again and again. Enjoy!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Pork roast–Pork shoulder, pork butt, pork sirloin roast
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
- Onion powder
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Herdez salsa verde–or another brand of salsa verde
Steps
Place pork roast into slow cooker and season.
Dump salsa verde over the top.
Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. The pork should easily shred at this point. Shred the meat and stir it into the sauce in the crockpot. Serve the pork over salads. We had rice, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, dressing, cheese, fritos and tortilla chips.
Notes/Tips
- Set up all the toppings buffet-style so everyone can build their own salad. We served the pork with shredded lettuce, rice, black beans, dressing, cheese avocaods, tomatoes, salsa, Fritos and tortilla chips. This is an excellent meal for feeding a crowd because everyone can customize their bowl.
- Want to make it easier? Use microwaveable rice packets to save time.
- The leftover pork can be uses to make tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas or rice bowls.
- Fresh lime wedges squeezed over the top brighten all the flavors.
- Store leftover pork separately from the salad toppings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Freeze the shredded pork (with some of the cooking juices) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently.
- If you’re serving this at the cabin or for a reunion, leave the pork in the slow cooker on the Keep Warm setting so people can eat whenever they’re ready.
- I used a 6 quart slow cooker. This would also work in an 8 quart slow cooker. You can cut this recipe in half for a smaller group.
- Other recipes you can make with salsa verde are Instant Pot Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken and Instant Pot Sloppy Dudes.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Pork Rio Salads
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
An easy dump-and-go recipe made with tender salsa verde pork served over fresh salad with rice, beans, cheese, avocado and more. This dish is perfect for feeding a crowd at any summer gathering.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds pork roast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 (16 oz) jar Herdez salsa verde
Instructions
- Place your pork roast in the slow cooker (I bought a package at Winco that had 2 roasts in one package that equaled about 5 pounds).
- Sprinkle the pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder and paprika. Pour the salsa over everything.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Shred meat and stir into juices in the slow cooker.
- Use tongs to serve the pork over salad. We served our salad with rice, beans, shredded lettuce, cilantro dressing, avocados, salsa, tomatoes, shredded cheese, Fritos and tortilla chips.
Notes
You can also make this in the Instant Pot. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth into the bottom of the pot. Add in the pork, seasonings and salsa verde and pressure cook for 90 minutes with a full natural pressure release.
Leftover pork can be used in burritos, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas etc.
- Category: Pork
- Method: Slow Cooker
More Cafe Rio favorites…
Recipe for (Cafe Rio) Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing
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