This is one of my favorite Crock Pot and Instant Pot recipes! When you’re following the 21 Day Fix or Ultimate Portion Fix, pork carnitas are a perfect red container recipe because you can easily add veggies or carbs to them to get in all of your containers for the day.
I love these 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Carnitas because they’re so versatile. You can top them with all sorts of veggies, eat them on their own, add some to a salad, etc. My family can build theirs exactly the way they like and I can enjoy them as part of my healthy eating program, easy as that!
If you’re looking for an allergy friendly 21 Day Fix pork tenderloin recipe, these Carnitas are gluten free and as long as you don’t top with the Greek yogurt, they’re dairy free as well.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for 21 Day Fix Pork Carnitas:
- Onions
- Pork tenderloin I always look for the leanest I can find–it’s the easiest way to move to a clean eating lifestyle–find products with the least number of ingredients.
- Bay Leaves
- Cayenne Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Green Chile Salsa Loo for the one with the least amount of ingredients.
- Rotel Rotel is just tomatoes and green chilies–if you can’t find this, just grab some diced tomatoes.
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Unflavored Greek yogurt as a topping, if desired. This is in place of sour cream:)
- Whole wheat flour or corn tortillas
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Time needed: 5 hours.
Between prepping and cooking, you’re looking at a 5-8 hour total recipe time for this 21 Day Fix slow cooker Pork Carnitas recipe.
- Slice your onion
Slice one onion into thick slices and line the bottom of your crock pot with them. Dice the other onion and set aside for a topping.
- Add pork
Place pork tenderloin on top of the onions and sprinkle cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, and add bay leaves on the pork.
- Add sauces
Pour half of the jar of salsa and the entire can of Rotel over and around pork.
- Cook
Cook on low for 5-8 hours, depending on the size of your tenderloin. Mine was about 3 pounds.
- Shred the pork
Pull the bay leaves out of the Crock Pot and disard. Pull the pork loin out of the slow cooker and shred it, then add it back into the crockpot.
- Serve!
Serve with the rest of the bottle of green chile salsa, warm flour or corn tortillas, diced onions, and unflavored Greek yogurt.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Spray the bottom of your Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray.
- Slice one onion into thick slices and use them to cover the bottom of the pot. It’s ok if they overlap.
- Add the pork on top of the onions. If you need to cut the pork into chunks so it fits better, you can do that.
- Sprinkle cayenne pepper and chili powder, and place bay leaves on the pork.
- Add 1/2 of the green chile salsa and the entire can of Rotel on and around the pork.
- This recipe does not need any extra liquid added. The salsa and tomatoes are enough.
- Flip your valve to Sealing and Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Allow a 15 minute natural release after the cook time is finished. This means that for 15 minutes after the cook time is done, don’t touch the sealing valve–the pressure will begin to release all by itself. After 15 minutes, flip the valve to Venting and allow the rest of the pressure to release.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- Remove the pork from the pot and shred with a mixer or two forks.
- Add the pork back to the pot. I like to let it sit for a few minutes and soak in the seasoned liquid.
Recipe Tips:
- If you’re looking to make crispy pork carnitas, allow the shredded pork to sit in the pot for 5-10 minutes to add additional flavor, then drain the liquid, move the pork to the sides and spray nonstick cooking spray (or drizzle olive or avocado oil) below it. Press sauté and allow pork to crisp for 3-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you want it. If you made the pork in the slow cooker, sauté it on the stove in a large pan.
- If you’re looking to reduce the spice in this recipe, leave the cayenne pepper out and reduce the chili powder to 1/4 tsp.
- Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before you eat!
21 Day Fix Container Counts
I count these as follows: 3/4 cup of Pork Carnitas = 1 Red Container.
- Add veggies to your carnitas if you’d like for some extra greens–I love adding peppers and more onion!
- Garnish with unflavored greek yogurt and count in your red container.
- 2 small corn tortillas count as 1 yellow container.
- Other optional (free!) toppings are cilantro and lime.
- You can add these toppings based on how much and what you decide to eat with your pork carnitas.
More Slow Cooker and Instant Pot recipes for the 21 Day Fix:
- Chicken Gyro Bowl with Homemade Tzatziki
- Healthy Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
- The Easiest Carne Asada Tostadas Ever!
- Healthy Chicken Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
21 Day Fix Pork Carnitas | Instant Pot and Crock Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large Onions
- 3 pounds Pork tenderloin
- 2 tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 16 ounces Green Chile Salsa the less ingredients the better!
- 1 can Rotel
- 12 oz unflavored Greek yogurt optional topping
Instructions
Slow Cooker:
- Slice one onion into thick slices and line the bottom of your crock pot with them. Dice the other onion and set aside for a topping.
- Place pork tenderloin on top of the onions and sprinkle chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin on the pork. Place bay leaves on top.
- Pour 1/2 bottle of sals and the entire can of Rotel on and around pork.
- Cook on low for 5-8 hours, depending on the size of your tenderloin. Pull pork out and shred it, then add it back into the crockpot.
- Serve with the rest of the bottle of green chile salsa, warm flour or corn tortillas, diced onions, and unflavored Greek yogurt.
Instant Pot:
- Spray the Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Slice one onion into thick pieces and line the bottom of the pot with them. It's ok if they overlap.
- Add pork tenderloin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin into the Instant Pot. Add bay leaves on top.
- Pour 1/2 bottle of the salsa and the can of Rotel on top of the pork. No extra liquid is needed for this recipe.
- Flip your valve to Sealing and pressure cook on high pressure for 45 minutes, then let pressure naturally release for 15 minutes.
- Pull out the pork and shred it, then place it back to the Instant Pot.
- For instructions on how to crisp up the pork carnitas, see the Recipe Tips section.
How big of a pork tenderloin did you use for this?
About 2 pounds, Jill!
Whatdoes “T” stand for? TBSP or TSP?
T is tablespoon, and lower case t is teaspoon :)
How many servings does this make?
It totally depends on how big your pork tenderloin is. 2 pounds gets you about 8 servings.
How big of a bottle of green chile salsa is needed for this recipe? (Assuming I use the 2 lb of meat)
Thanks!
16 oz is what I use, but I’d assume bigger = yummier ;)
Made this with chicken and added some cumin. My family loved it!
Just wondering why 1.5C of pork = 2 Reds?
Wait! Just losing my mind… I was thinking 0.5 in my head, even as I wrote 1.5. All clear now… thanks anyway!
Can you use a frozenloin or thawed?
Hi Katie,
I used thawed :)
Does the cooking liquid count as a green?
No, it’s not a green :)
Hi,
How do I count Rotel when cooking with it?
Thanks :)
What is the white sauce you drizzled over the tacos?
Second time making this recipe.. Absolutely amazing! Thank you so much!
**Using my fitness pal app: how much is one serving?
I used 1.5 cups as a serving in the post :)
I’m so glad you like it!
Can I double this in the crock pot?
If you’ve got a large enough crock pot, that should work!
Hi,
The notes say you count 3/4 cup of carnitas as two red containers. Wouldn’t that only be one red container? I’m confused.
You’re correct! I have zero idea how 2 reds got in there! 🤦🏻♀️
Very Tasty! It was a hit at my house. Thank you!
So you said 3/4 cup counts as 1 red. Does this count as any of your green container since it has onions and tomatoes?
Hi Bekah! It doesn’t, since you’re not using enough of them to equal a substantial amount. If you were to make a salad afterwards with the meat, you could add those veggies into your counts. If you’re looking for more recipes with green containers, all of the ones listed here have at least 1 green container per serving: https://mycrazygoodlife.com/category/21-day-fix/21-day-fix-green-container-recipes/ :)