crock pot bbq pulled pork on a bun with coleslaw

I grew up eating dinner as a family with my…family…at least four nights a week, no matter what. As a teenager I thought this was HORRIBLY lame, but as a result, my parents knew everything that was going on in my brother’s and my lives at any given moment. Well, almost everything – a girl’s got to have some secrets! At any rate, the TV was turned off, cell phones weren’t even a thing back then (#old) and there was nothing else on the agenda besides connecting for a bit.

After Ben and I got married we attempted to sit down and eat together a few nights a week, but dinner gradually moved from the table to the couch where we’d scarf our food over conversation and a cocktail. What can I say, most 24 and 25 year olds, at least in our case, do exactly what their parents teach them not to do, right?

juicy crock pot bbq pulled pork on a fork

Fast forward to our early 30s and I think our parents would be proud. We’re back at the table – er, counter (it’s not the location but action that counts, right?!) – eating dinner with little Lincoln almost every night.

I can now fully appreciate how important it is to eat as a family, and not just so Ben and I can trade off convincing our little man to take “ONE MORE BITE, MISTER!” Family dinner is truly the only time of day when all three of us are able to be in the same spot with nothing more to do than talk to each other. And convince Lincoln that my butternut squash noodle bowls don’t taste “gross-o, Mom.” Le sigh. I look forward to it all day. The conversation, not the insults, of course.

hyveefamilymeals

Anyway, Hy-Vee is celebrating National Family Meals Month this September by encouraging families to eat 1 more meal together a week. To further encourage this time of togetherness, Hy-Vee is asking that you share a photo of your family meal on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #HyVeeFamilyMeals – every time the hashtag is used by September 30, Hy-Vee will donate $1 to Meals from the Heartland up to $100,000. This is HUGE!

Meals from the Heartland is an Iowa-based organization that packages and delivers food to not only hungry Iowans, but children and adults in need all over the United States, and the world. Since 2008, they’ve provided nearly 65 millions meals to the hungry and starving. I’m so incredibly proud this organization is essentially located in my backyard, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a local that hasn’t helped them in one way or another. Their packing events can get absolutely enormous and are a great way for schools, churches, and organizations to help (my MOPS groups volunteers every year.)

mfth

I know fall is a tough time of year to get the family together around the table, let alone take a photo of it happening, but the recipe I’m sharing today will ensure there’s plenty of time to eat and snap a picture before racing off to the evening’s events.

Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork

Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork is a 5-ingredient, long-cooking crock pot recipe that slow cooks all day so all you have to do at dinnertime is shred, mix the pork with BBQ sauce, then pile onto buns and eat. This meal is seriously simple, inexpensive, and family-friendly. Don’t forge the homemade cornbread!

If your family doesn’t like buns, add the succulent shredded meat to a wrap. Want to pump up the nutrition of your meal? Toss the pork with greens and vegetables for a filling and nutritious salad. Lincoln loved it over a bowl of rice. This BBQ pulled pork recipe is so, so versatile and absolutely delicious. Plus the leftovers freeze beautifully – just scoop the meat into Ziplock bags then freeze flat. It’s the meal that keeps on giving!

crock pot bbq pulled pork on a gluten free bun

How to Make This Recipe

Start the Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork by trimming a pork shoulder (also called a “pork butt”) of any large pieces of fat and/or connective tissue then slice into big hunks.

By the way, please notice the price of this cut of meat – $2.98 a pound. Definitely budget friendly, especially since this recipe make a TON of food!

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Place the pork into the bottom of a 6-quart crock pot then season generously with garlic salt and add your favorite bbq sauce. Literally any kind will do, though I prefer a sweeter BBQ sauce for this dish.

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Next add root beer or cola. Again, any kind of root beer or cola your family likes will work – that said, I’ve been making this recipe for years and take my word for it – don’t use Pepsi unless you like Pepsi-flavored meat!

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Stir everything together then top the meat with thinly sliced yellow onion. Cover then cook on low for 8 hours or until the pork shreds very easily with a fork. It should literally just fall apart.

Tip: If you want to get this crock pot recipe cooking even faster, combine all the ingredients in the crock at night, place in the refrigerator, then pop onto the base and turn it on in the morning. So simple!

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Last step is to drain the shredded pork of it’s cooking juices then mix with more of your favorite BBQ sauce. Pile onto buns, tortilla chips, wraps, or salads. I went the extra step of tossing bagged coleslaw mix with my go-to Italian vinaigrette to top our sandwiches off with. The mix of tangy slaw and sweet bbq sauce was out of this world. However you make it – enjoy!

crock pot bbq pulled pork on a gluten free bun

Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork

4.5/5 (4 REVIEWS)

Description

Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork is a long cooking crock pot recipe that is simply luscious. Use in sandwiches, or for nachos, salads, and wraps!

Ingredients

serves 6-8

  • 4lb pork butt (also called "pork shoulder",) trimmed of excess fat then cut into large hunks
  • garlic salt
  • 1 cup gluten free BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
  • 12oz root beer or cola (do not recommend Pepsi)
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • gluten free buns, for serving

Directions

  1. Place pork into the bottom of a 6-quart crock pot then generously season with garlic salt. Add BBQ sauce and enough root beer or cola to nearly cover the meat then stir to combine. Sprinkle onions on top then cook on low for 8 hours or until pork shreds very easily. Mix shredded pork with more BBQ sauce then serve on buns.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

photo collage of crock pot bbq pulled pork