Easy Crockpot Kalua Pork

My family absolutely loves this easy crockpot kalua pork! This 3 ingredient dish takes just 10 minutes of prep time and your crockpot does the rest!

This easy crockpot kalua pork is amazingly tender and flavorful. The prep is incredibly quick and easy, and then your crockpot does the work. Soon your house will be filled with the amazing aroma of this kalua pork. This was a huge hit at my house, and I hope you’ll love this dish as much as we do!

Let’s talk about our ingredients!

Traditional kalua pork, often called kalua pig, is a popular Hawaiian dish often served at luaus. A whole pig is roasted underground in a special underground oven called an imu, after being salted and covered with banana or ti leaves. There are many other steps to making traditional kalua pork; but we are mimicking the resulting flavors by using liquid smoke and a crockpot. I used a bone-in pork shoulder roast and left all the fat on it while cooking. For salt, I used pink Himalayan salt. It contains additional minerals that other salts don’t. You can also substitute with sea salt if you’d like. For our smoky flavor, we’re using liquid smoke which imparts an incredible smoky element to our pork. Then we cook it in the crockpot to allow all the flavors to combine which results in an amazingly tender and delicious pork dish!

Do you have any tips for making this easy crockpot kalua pork?

This is an incredibly easy dish to make, but there are a few things you can do to ensure yours turns out perfectly! First, you’ll want to use a large fork, such as a serving fork, to poke holes all over your pork. Then, I use a sharp knife to score the fat layer to impart even more flavor into the pork. You’ll want to evenly rub the salt into the pork shoulder, including into the fat layer. Then you’ll do the same with the liquid smoke. When you place your roast in the crockpot, you’ll want to place it fat side up. I like to start this dish early and let it cook for a good 10 hours! Before shredding the pork, I remove as much fat as I can. Last, you can add some of the liquid from the crockpot to your pulled pork if you’d like.

What can I serve with this easy crockpot kalua pork?

You have some great options for serving this pulled pork! You can serve it with a keto soup or salad. Coleslaw is always a great choice. If you’d like to make it into a sandwich, you can use your favorite keto bread, biscuits, or English muffins. It can also be made into an awesome lettuce wrap. This pulled pork can be served as is, perhaps with some sliced avocadoes or tomatoes. It also pairs nicely with any keto cooked vegetable. If you’d like, you could also serve it with some mashed cauliflower, mashed kohlrabi, or mashed turnips. You can also make an awesome salad using this pulled pork and top it with your favorite dressing. I like to top mine with a barbecue ranch dressing made with 1 cup of homemade ranch dressing combined with ½ cup of keto barbecue sauce and 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika! Yum!

Here are some keto vegetable dishes that would pair nicely with this pulled pork!

Awesome Keto Creamed Spinach

Keto Bacon Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Keto Sour Cream Green Beans

Low Carb Sauteed Rutabaga

Helpful Hints:

*You can substitute sea salt for the pink Himalayan salt if you’d like.

*I like to cook my pork for about 10 hours, but you can cook yours for anywhere from 8-12 hours or even longer.

Main Kitchen Equipment and Utensils:

• Large forks
• Crockpot

Splash of Encouragement:

***Sometimes it’s fun to do a little prep, then let your crockpot do the majority of the work***