These pulled pork tacos are stuffed with delicious pulled pork, avocado pico de gallo, shredded cabbage and topped with a spicy crema. They are perfect wrapped in soft flour or corn tortillas, even crispy taco shells and make a great do-it-yourself meal for a party!
Find leftover pulled pork recipes here.
One family friendly dinner that my family can rally together and enjoy is pulled pork. We make it a number of different ways, from smoked pulled pork to my oven made crispy pulled pork.
So it’s an understatement when I say we always have leftover pulled pork in the house! Shredded pork isn’t just a favorite in American cuisine. Carnitas is basically the Mexican version of this dish.
And do we LOVE Mexican food! I make a lot of recipes using up my pulled pork, including pulled pork nachos and pulled pork Spanish rice. And if you are looking for another Mexican inspired recipe for pulled pork, you are going to love these tacos!
Jump to:
Why this recipe is so awesome
- Economical: Pulled pork is made using some of the cheapest cuts of pork. Make a lot and freeze extras for later!
- Simple: Load up your tacos or keep it simple. It’s a great meal to share with finicky eats because everyone can customize it however they want.
- Versatile: If you want crunch, use taco shells. You can also use corn or flour tortillas. Because you can make it with all of your favorite fixings and toppings, these tacos are the BEST!
- Flavor: Included in my taco recipe is the fresh cucumber avocado salsa I make for my family all the time. It adds a fresh and wonderful brightness to each bite. Add shredded cabbage and a drizzle of the spicy cream and your taste buds will be in heaven!
Reader’s Reviews
“This recipe is so delicious. The salsa was definitely worth making again & again. For the sauce, I was out of sour cream & hot sauce so I mixed mayo & salsa. The cabbage, pork, salsa & sauce made the perfect combination. We also tried everything over tortilla chips for excellent nachos. Loved it! 5 star for sure.
” — Kat A.
Ingredients needed
- Pulled Pork: This recipe uses leftover pulled pork. But if need to make pulled pork first, use my oven pulled pork recipe or my beer braised pork carnitas recipe.
- Tomato: You can use any kind of tomato you have like heirloom, Roma or grape tomatoes. Just choose fresh tomatoes for the best flavor.
- Avocado: My favorite all purpose avocado is the Haas variety, but you can use Fuerto or any other type of avocado.
- Jalapeño: This is a mild heat chile. You can omit if you don’t like spice. If you want more heat use a serrano chile.
- Red onions: For raw salsas, I prefer to use red onions, but you can also use regular onions.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is definitely a must for best flavor. If you don’t like cilantro, you can use fresh parsley instead.
- Lime juice: You can use fresh lime juice or bottled.
- Pantry staples: Corn or flour tortillas and salt.
- Sour cream: This is for the spicy cream drizzle. If you don’t have sour cream, just omit it. Some readers used mayonnaise instead.
- Hot sauce: I love Tapatío or Cholula for this recipe, but you can use any hot sauce you like, or omit if you don’t like spicy foods.
- Cabbage: I used shredded cabbage with the tacos, but you can also use shredded lettuce.
Step-by-step directions
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!
- Make the pico. Combine the diced tomato, avocado, jalapeño, red onions and cilantro in a bowl. Stir in lime juice and salt and reserve.
- Make the spicy cream. In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and hot sauce. Use as much heat as you can handle!
- Warm up the pork. Heat up leftover pulled pork in the microwave or in a pan on the stove. I prefer the pan so I can get some crispy bits!
- Warm the tortillas. Heat tortillas on a skillet or directly over gas burners until warm and lightly browned on both sides. To assemble tacos, add some shredded cabbage down the center of a tortilla.
- Assemble. Over the cabbage spread about ¼ cup pulled pork, then top with avocado pico de gallo and drizzle with a little spicy crema!
Expert tips and recipe FAQs
My favorite part about tacos are all the good things you can stuff into that tortilla! The ideas are endless, but in the recipe below I share my favorite taco topping: avocado pico de gallo.
I like things a little spicy, too, and that spicy crema is both cool and spicy. Deeelish!
Remember, you can use any type of tortilla you want for these tacos, flour or corn. Crispy corn taco shells make for extra delicious tacos! You can also use a flat crispy corn tortilla and make pulled pork tostadas. And if you eat low carb, there are low carb tortillas out there or you can use lettuce wraps.
Here are some taco topping ideas, so you can customize your tacos with your own favorites:
- guacamole
- avocado slices
- pico de gallo
- salsa
- hot sauce
- shredded cabbage
- shredded lettuce
- shredded cheese
- chopped cilantro
- chopped green onions
- chopped onions
- jalapeño slices
- sour cream
- lime juice
Want another great taco recipe? Try my incredible pork adobada tacos, made with a chile paste mix, pineapple and bacon.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftover pulled pork. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months. I wouldn’t freeze assembled tacos.
Once the pork is cooked and shredded, it can easily be frozen. Once cooled, I place the meat in freezer bags, remove the air and seal them. You can also use a vacuum food saver. Pork can stay in the freezer this way for up to 6 months. Even longer if you have one these food savers. To reheat pulled pork, you can heat them up in the microwave or sauté in the pan. It’s super handy to have available for some last minute meals!
If you are enjoying my recipes, please sign up for my newsletter and get my free 28-day meal plan! You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
Pulled Pork Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 avocado peeled and diced
- 1 small jalapeño seeded and diced
- ¼ cup chopped red onions
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce like Tapatío or Cholula
- 2 cups leftover pulled pork
- 8 small corn or flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
Instructions
- To make the avocado pico de gallo, combine the diced tomato, avocado, jalapeño, red onions and cilantro in a bowl. Stir in lime juice and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and hot sauce. Use as much heat as you can handle!
- Heat up leftover pulled pork in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
- Heat tortillas on a skillet or directly over gas burners until warm and lightly browned on both sides.
- To assemble tacos, add some shredded cabbage down the center of a tortilla.
- Over the cabbage spread about ¼ cup pulled pork, then top with avocado pico de gallo and drizzle with a little spicy crema!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!
Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
This recipe is so delicious. The salsa was definitely worth making again & again. For the sauce, I was out of sour cream & hot sauce so I mixed mayo & salsa. The cabbage, pork, salsa & sauce made the perfect combination. We also tried everything over tortilla chips for excellent nachos. Loved it! 5 star for sure.
Hi Kat-
Thank you for taking the time to share your kind words. This is one of my family’s favorite meals, so I am glad you liked it too!
Laura
Just what I was looking for great recipe for pork tacos
I hope you enjoy them, Bridget!
I love pulled pork tacos and yours look SO good. Such great toppings for a complete meal. I could easily eat at least three of these.
Hi MJ-
It’s hard to eat just one taco!!
Laura
I have found that left over pork to be quite dry could I heat it up in a fajita sauce or al pastor type sauce?
Depending on how you prepared the pork, leftover pulled pork can be dry or moist. If you reheat the pork with its own fat, it can be quite moist. You can absolutely reheat it in a sauce. You can sauté the pork in butter, too, and add taco seasoning or chile powder, cumin and the likes.
Laura