This easy slow cooker pulled pork is bursting with bright orange flavor thanks to fresh orange juice and zest. A simple set-it-and-forget-it recipe that delivers tender, juicy pork in a citrusy homemade BBQ sauce—perfect for sandwiches, tacos, or meal prep.
Got leftovers? Find leftover pulled pork recipes here.

I’m down to the last giant bag of oranges from our visit to the orange grove. I have enjoyed baking and cooking with the oranges and trying them in everything.
It’s to the point where no one is surprised when I tell them what they are eating has oranges in it! And this orange barbecue pulled pork is one of our favorite new recipes.
Although we really love smoked pulled pork I don’t always have the time or patience to cook outdoors. I love making crispy pulled pork in the oven, but this pulled pork recipe uses the slow cooker.
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Recipe highlights
- Bright Citrus Flavor: Homemade BBQ sauce means you control the flavor! Fresh orange juice and zest add a bold, citrusy kick that makes this pulled pork truly unforgettable.
- Set-It-and-Forget-It: Everything goes into the slow cooker—no searing or stovetop prep needed. Just turn it on and let it do the work for six hours!
- Fall-Apart Tender: This pork is melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the tangy orange BBQ sauce balances sweet, savory, and citrusy flavors without being overly sweet.
- Family Friendly: This pulled pork is a hit with both kids and adults. Serve it on buns, in tacos, or even over rice—everyone can build their plate their way!
Reader’s Reviews
“I love this recipe! I used pork loin instead of pork butt and it was equally delish! I kinda wish I had made extra sauce it was soooo good. Thank you for posting!!!!” — Annette
Ingredients you need
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- Boneless pork butt roast: You can use a bone in pork shoulder, Boston butt, picnic shoulder or pork loin.
- Oranges: Both the juice and zest of the orange is used. But if you only have orange juice on hand, you can omit the zest.
- Apple cider vinegar: You could use plain white vinegar, but I love the flavor of apple cider vinegar.
- Onion: You can use white or yellow onions. You can also use sweet vidalia onions.
- Garlic: I love the flavor from fresh garlic, but you could use garlic powder instead.
- Sweeteners: I used a combination of honey and mollases to sweeten the sauce.
- Pantry staples: Tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce.
- Seasonings: Paprika, chile powder, cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper. If you like things spicy, add some hot sauce or crushed red pepper.
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Step-by-step directions
- Prep the roast. Trim off the large chunks of fat from roast and season with salt and pepper. Place pork roast in a 6-quart slow-cooker and top with onions.
- Make the sauce. Whisk together sauce ingredients then pour over the pork roast.
- Cook the roast. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours.
- Shred the pork. For the last hour, remove the roast and shred the entire pork. If you have a bone, remove it. Discard any excess fat. Return shredded pork to the slow-cooker and continue cooking for one hour.
Recipe tips and FAQs
For this orange pulled pork, I served them as sandwiches. You can use regular dinner rolls, kaiser rolls, hamburger or hoagie buns. Dill pickles are a must for my family, too. Some of our favorite side dishes to serve with this include:
- Cider Vinegar Potato Salad
- Homemade Curly Fries
- Baked Sweet Potato Chips
- Mango Cole Slaw
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover pulled pork in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.
The most common choice is the pork shoulder. Another great choice of meat for pulled pork is a Boston butt, which is above the shoulder blade and marbled with fat. The picnic shoulder, or picnic ham, is a shoulder cut with the shank attached. This cut is cheaper than the other cuts and it contains more bone. Some people use pork loin, but because it is such a lean meat, it can dry out.
Navel oranges work perfectly, but you can also use Valencia or Cara Cara oranges. Fresh juice and zest give the best flavor.
Nope! The orange BBQ sauce is tangy and sweet. If you want some kick, feel free to add a dash of hot sauce or crushed red pepper.
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Pulled Pork with Orange Juice
Ingredients
- 4 lb boneless pork butt roast
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 cup orange juice freshly squeezed preferred
- 6 oz tomato paste
- ¼ cup cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 ½ teaspoon chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 8 kaiser rolls
Instructions
- Trim off the large chunks of fat from roast and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Place pork roast in a 6-quart slow-cooker with onion slices.
- In medium-sized bowl whisk together orange juice, tomato paste, cider vinegar, honey, worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, paprika, orange zest, garlic cloves, chile powder, cumin, onion powder and molasses.
- Pour barbecue sauce over the pork roast and cover the slow-cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. For the last hour, remove the roast from the slow-cooker.
- Use two forks or your fingers to pull pork apart until the entire roast is shredded. Discard any excess fat. Return shredded pork to the slow-cooker and continue cooking for one hour.
- Place pulled pork into serving dish and mix in with some of the juices from the slow-cooker. Serve with kaiser rolls.
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.
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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 sandwich looks amazing! I am not too too much into sandwiches, but this one certainly stands out :-). I wish this were my lunch….
That is one fantastic looking sandwich! Love your photos too!
I love this recipe! I used pork loin instead of pork butt and it was equally delish! I kinda wish I had made extra sauce it was soooo good. Thank you for posting!!!!
Yay! I love "meeting" other San Diego bloggers! This orange pulled pork is such a great idea. We just launched our online Seasonal Potluck and February is Oranges month! If you’d like to link up your recipe, we’d love to have you! http://bit.ly/zDoNfx
I cooked this up yesterday following your recipe exactly and it turned out AMAZING! So delicious and the orange flavor is fantastic. My husband declared it was the best bbq pulled pork he'd ever eaten.
I love this food styling so much Laura! And the orange bbq pulled pork sounds so delicious that I drool just thinking about it. I am definitely citrus lover. 🙂
Such a good idea! I made peach BBQ sauce this summer and was just thinking, "Oh! I should make that again..but wait, peaches aren't in season – drats!" But ORANGES are! Thanks for the idea!
What gorgeous drrrooooooolsome photos. I love your styling! All good things (like your orange stash) must come to an end but you made great use of the final treasures of your harvest in this flavour combo.
I just want to pick up the sandwich and devour it.
If food porn exists then this bbq pulled pork sandwich is definitely some serious eye candy! I loveeeee pulled pork. The addition of citrus, I can just taste how good it is now! Yummmmy.
Love the orange bbq flavor. And the photo, well it's so beautifully yummy i had to pin it! Yes I would have enjoyed another dessert as well, shame on me 😉
Gorgeous…love cooking pork butt! This sounds fabulous!!
Lovely pictures! And 1554? One of my fav beers ever! Okay, so I don't eat pork, but I bet my husband would love this recipe! 🙂