Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Pulled Pork is the perfect way to feed a crowd. This slow cooker pulled pork is easy, tender, delicious and everyone always loves it!
With just 5 minutes of prep, this pulled pork crockpot recipe is ready to go before heading off to work. You’ll come home to a slow cooker full of tender juicy pulled pork perfect for sandwiches or topping Baked Potatoes or Mac and Cheese.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork is Easy to Make
This easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork is an easy family favorite! Let the Slow Cooker do all of the work, and then pile this pulled pork on crusty buns and top with some fresh homemade coleslaw for a dish everyone raves over! This slow cooker pulled pork is perfect for Sunday supper, nachos, tailgating or even for parties (on slider buns) or piled on top of baked sweet potatoes!
The best part about this dish is that it cooks in the slow cooker and is ready when you are, which means it’s easy to make.
Pulled Pork Bar: If you are serving a crowd, you can easily turn your slow cooker pulled pork on low to keep it warm until guests are ready to eat. We just set out a basket of rolls and a bowl of slaw and our guests can create their own sandwiches!
What Kind of Pork for Pulled Pork?
While some people use a tenderloin for pulled pork, it’s so lean that it easily becomes dry and tough (it’s more suited to roasting to medium). Like most slow cooker recipes, a pork roast with lots of nice fat marbled throughout becomes very tender in the Crock Pot!
The best cut of pork for pulled pork is pork shoulder. It can go by different names (and names can vary by location). When looking for pork, I choose boneless (bone in still works just fine, may need a little bit extra time but not much). Any of the following will be great:
- shoulder butt roast
- shoulder roast
- blade roast
- pork butt
- boston butt
- picnic roast
- pork steaks (which is slices of pork butt)
Any of the cuts above benefit from cooking low and slow to break down the tissues and make it buttery and tender. Pulled pork crock pot recipes are ideal because of the cooking temperature.
How to Make Pulled Pork in the Crock Pot
- Line the bottom of the Crock Pot with sliced onion.
- Rub the pork roast with seasoning and add to the slow cooker (per recipe below).
- Pour Dr. Pepper (or Rootbeer) on top and let the Crock Pot work its magic.
- Once cooked, shred with 2 forks and stir back into the juices. Add additional BBQ sauce if needed and serve on crusty rolls!
How Long to Cook Pulled Pork in the Crock Pot
The following is for a 4lb boneless pork roast. If you are short on time, cut the pork into 3-inch cubes.
- Cook on High for 4-5 hours
- Cook on Low for 7-8 hours
Slow cooker pulled pork needs just a few simple ingredients to create a dish that is so juicy and delicious.
To tell if the pork is done, use a fork and pull off a small piece. It should be easy to remove and melt in your mouth tender. If the pork isn’t fall-apart tender, it’s not quite done yet so cook it a bit longer!
What to Serve with Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- Classic Coleslaw Recipe – Fast!
- Dill Pickle Coleslaw
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Crock Pot Corn on the Cob
- Baked Beans
- Fresh Corn Salad
Did your family enjoy this Pulled Pork Recipe? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast or pork butt
- salt
- black pepper
- garlic powder
- 1 onion sliced, optional
- 12 ounces Dr. Pepper 1 can
- ¾ cup barbecue sauce or to taste
- Rolls for serving
- prepared coleslaw for serving
Instructions
- Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Rub the outside of the roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Pour the Dr. Pepper over the pork and cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours.
- The meat will be very tender. Using 2 forks, shred the pork and place back in the juices.
- Add barbecue sauce to taste. Allow to cook an additional 30-60 minutes if desired.
- Serve on crusty rolls with coleslaw.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
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So delicious! Made for a gathering, everyone loved it!
I am so glad that your guests enjoyed this recipe!
I have a 7.19lbs pork roast, so do I double the ingredients…..
You should be fine to use the ingredients as listed, it does make quite a bit of liquid. You may want to add a little bit of extra BBQ sauce.
So any ideas to modify the cooking times for an Instant Pot pressure cooker?
Easy and
great
So easy and so delish! Put it in the crock pot at 11:30 the night before. Woke up and it was ready to pull. Kept it on warm and it was ready to go at lunch time. Everyone loved it.
Great idea to cook it overnight for a lunch meal!
My husband and I started with two frozen pork butt and cooked it and it was the best roast our family has ever had and they already want it again and it has been only two days
Hi I am going to make this for dinner tomorrow. I was wondering on what BBQ Sauce you recommend to use. Thank you!
Jack Daniels honey smokehouse
bulls eye Carolina style
sweet baby Ray hickory and brown sugar
the three best in order.
I am trying it now for a Packer Party tomorrow. So that’s almost 10 pounds of pork a cooking. Woohoo! I eat low carb so I used diet soda and it smells awesome. I am cooking it on low the day before. I found some low carb BBQ sauce at Walmart, g Hughes. I cannot wait! I can’t tell for the rating which one is 5 and which one is 1…. I meant to give it 5 stars if I messed up.
I hope this was a hit with your friends!
Chrissy, you can check out Holly’s Easy Low Carb website for more low carb recipes!
Can you cook this in advance?
Yes!
Have you tried this with Chuck Roast? Just curious because I have that on hand. Thank you
I haven’t tried this with Chuck Roast however this cut of meat does very well in the slow cooker. If you try it, please let me know how it works out for you!
Help! I’m planning on making this for my daughters birthday party on Sunday! We have 26 adults (13 men), 2 elementary school kids and 5 toddlers. How much pork shoulder or butt should I buy?! I have multiple crock pots to use so I won’t be trying to squeeze it all in one lol.
You would generally account for ¼ lb per person and pork will lose about 30-40% when cooked. I would suggest about 12-14lbs of pork butt.
I see some pulled pork recipes call for liquid smoke, would I want to add any to this recipe when I put in the Dr. Pepper? Also, any feed back for searing the pork first? It sounds good in theory, but has anyone tried it?
I have only made it as written, so I don’t know what it would be like with the liquid smoke. I think searing the pork would be fine and give good flavor.
Used this for country style pork ribs. It was delicious! Thank you
Hi Holly,
I apologise in advance for the dumb question- I can’t find Dr Pepper in my country unfortunately, what do you reckon I could substitute for it?
Do you think plain Coke would work?
I have never actually tasted Dr Pepper so I don’t know if it’s needed for its particular flavour, or just any carbonated, sweet drink would do.
Thank you so much in advance!
Silvia
You could use Cola or even Root Beer. :)
I’m going to make this tomorrow! I’m so excited my store has 50% off pork right now. I got a 3 1/2 pound pork butt for like 6 bucks. I made some coleslaw today and it’s in the fridge. I’m gonna put it in tomorrow morning at 5:30am. I think I’m going to make some roasted potatoes for a side dish too :)
I hope you love it Sara!
Mine came out tough. I even left it in for 14 hours,what is wrong? Shredded great,but tough
What type of roast did you use?
My husband is currently trying to shred ours and it is tough! I’m hoping once I add the BBQ sauce and put it back it, that’ll help. :(
What if it’s a leftovers pork roast
Can this be made with sugar free soda?
Yes, sugar free or diet soda work well in this recipe.
how many people does this typically serve?
It will depend on the size of your roast. You will lose about 50% in volume after cooking so you will need about ½ lb uncooked per serving (which will give you about ¼ lb per serving). A 4lb roast will give you 6-8 servings. Hope that helps.
Can I add ketchup to this? Has anyone tried it before and how did it turn out?