Soda Pop Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is super easy and super tasty! The pork roast slow cooks in sugary sweet soda pop all day.
It is then shredded and covered in your favorite BBQ sauce for the perfect easy pulled pork sandwich or loaded nachos…don’t forget to make some yummy Homemade Coleslaw to go with it!
I love a good pulled pork sandwich! I have a recipe that you can make on the smoker and you end up with amazing smoked pork for a sandwich. But this recipe is so much easier!
Ingredients for Soda Pop Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
All you need to get great pulled pork in your slow cooker is a pork roast, BBQ Sauce of your choice (I use my Homemade BBQ Sauce), some seasoned salt, and a can of soda (Root Beer, Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper work the best). Make sure the soda is sugary and sweet. No Diet and no “zero” sodas.
OPTIONAL: Sometimes I will add a sliced yellow onion to the slow cooker – this is optional but adds a little flavor and people love the onions on their sandwiches.
Why do you use soda pop to make pulled pork in the slow cooker?
When you cook meat in the slow cooker you absolutely need some sort of liquid for it to slow cook in. Soda Pop is the perfect liquid to add to the slow cooker for this pulled pork. It adds flavor for the roast to soak up as it cooks!
You just need 1 1/2 cups of soda or 1 can of soda.
The soda pop I usually use are: Root Beer, Dr. Pepper or Coca-Cola. They are all super sweet and full of sugar. DO NOT USE DIET SODA OR “ZERO” SODAS!
You need the sugary sweetness of the real deal soda pop! The soda pop helps tenderize the meat while cooking and gives it a little bit of sweet flavor! So use your preferred soda of choice.
Also, steer clear of fruity flavored sodas or cream sodas.
NOTE: you will not shred the pork and leave it in the soda pop. It is strictly for cooking the meat in it! So if you hate soda pop and hate the sugary taste of it, don’t you worry! You will add BBQ sauce to the pulled pork!
The Pork Roast
I use a boneless pork roast for my pulled pork. It is a budget friendly meat and shreds perfectly after slow cooking all day.
NOTE:You will see in my photo that the roast is wrapped in twine. This is not necessary at all. I usually never have twine. Do not worry if you don’t have twine-the roast will cook just the same!
I will tell you though, that having the meat wrapped in twine makes it super easy to take out the entire roast for shredding once it has cooked.
How to Season Your Roast
You can use any simple seasoning.
I always sprinkle my roast with season salt all over. About 1 to 2 tablespoons is all you need, or enough to cover the roast.
You can use any seasoning of your liking. I just like simple seasoned salt.
How long do you Cook the Pork Roast in the Slow Cooker?
This pork roast will cook the best all day in your slow cooker on low. 8-10 hours is best.
If you cook the roast on high, it will cook in half the time but the meat shrinks quite a bit.
Easy Prep and Cooking
This recipe is super easy! Just pour half your soda in the slow cooker.
Place the meat in the center of your slow cooker.
Pour the rest of the soda over top of the roast. (You can also slice up a yellow onion, and throw it the slow cooker at this point if you choose to do this.)
Let your pork cook on low for 8-10 hours. I let mine cook a solid 9 hours.
NOTE: I do not recommend ever cooking meat in the slow cooker on high. It cooks fast but the meat shrinks more on a higher heat and you end up with less meat. So if time permits, go for slow and low. If you absolutely have to cook it on high, 4-6 hours on high is the time you need.
The Pulled Pork
After your meat has cooked, pull the roast out of the slow cooker (this is where that twine comes in handy).
Place your meat on a plate (a baking dish works great too). Some juices will come with the roast so make sure your plate or pan is big enough and preferably with sides that can catch the extra juice.
If you have it wrapped in twine like I did for these pics, cut off the twine. If you added onions, take those out too if you are wanting to add them to your sandwiches or toss them.
Using 2 forks or your hands, shred your pulled pork, making sure to take out any fat.
Drain the soda out of the slow cooker. You do not need to save any of the juices unless you want to. The meat has already cooked in and soaked up some of the yummy sweetness so its up to you.
You can use a little bit of the juices to pour over the shredded meat. (To be honest, I have tried this and there isn’t much flavor added in doing this, so just toss it! )Add your meat back to your slow cooker.
Next, grab your BBQ Sauce. I use Homemade BBQ Sauce, but you can use any bottled sauce you like. Pour the BBQ sauce over the pulled pork and mix it well.
You can also just eat the yummy meat without sauce!
It is up to you how much sauce you want to add. I have a few that don’t like BBQ sauce on it all, so you can leave it un-sauced and let people add it to their own sandwiches as they wish!
Eating the Pulled Pork
Stack the yummy Soda Pop Slow Cooker Pulled Pork high on bun, add some Homemade Coleslaw (the only way, in my opinion, to eat pulled pork) and enjoy your easy, juicy pulled pork sandwich!
What else can you use this pulled pork for?
I LOVE pulled pork on loaded nachos! The photo below is actually nachos made with my Crock Pot Shredded Mexican Chicken, but Pulled Pork is just as yummy and I wanted you to crave nachos by seeing a photo of them!
Enchiladas, tacos, salads, quesadillas and so many more things can be made with pulled pork!
Leftovers
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat it in the microwave.
TIP FOR MICROWAVE RE-HEATING: I leave my lid loosely on the plastic container when reheating in the microwave. It is not pushed on tight in place, but set on top so the heat makes some moisture that helps the meat not dry out while heating.
You can also reheat on low in the slow cooker with a little bit of water to keep it from drying out! The leftovers are amazing on nachos, or use it for another pulled pork sandwich!
If you are wanting to try my favorite way of making pulled pork try my Pulled Pork on the Smoker. Just note, it takes all day and you have to watch the temperature!
Try your pulled pork with my Homemade Coleslaw and Homemade BBQ Sauce! A great side dish are my BBQ Baked Beans (they are super easy)!
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Soda Pop Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3 lb pork roast, excess fat trimmed
- 1 1/2 cups (or 1 can) soda pop – Root Beer, Dr Pepper, or Coca-Cola work best
- 1 bottle BBQ Sauce (if it's a smaller bottle you will need 2 bottles)- you can add as little or as much as you like *see notes for my recipe for Homemade BBQ Sauce – I do not double my recipe
- 1 to 2 tbsp season salt or seasoning of your choice *just enough to sprinkle on the entire roast
- OPTIONAL: Add one sliced yellow onion to the slow cooker while cooking.
- 8 Buns for serving *if making sandwiches (buns are not included in nutritional calculation values)
Instructions
- Sprinkle the season salt on the outside of your pork roast. If you worried about the salt, you can use as much or as little of the season salt as you wish, it is up to you.
- Pour half of the soda pop in the slow cooker.
- Place the seasoned pork roast in the slow cooker and pour the rest of the soda over it.*OPTIONAL: If adding a sliced yellow onion, add it to the slow cooker.
- Let the roast cook on low for 8-10 hours. I always cook mine about 9 hours.You can cook the roast on high for 4-6 hours, but I don't recommend it. Cooking it faster at a higher heat can shrink the meat, leaving you with less pulled pork.
- Once the roast has cooked, remove the roast from the slow cooker and put it on a plate or a baking dish for shredding. If you added sliced onions, take those out with the pork and set them aside if you want to add them to your sandwiches.
- Using 2 forks, shred the pulled pork. Make sure to remove any fat as you shred the meat.
- Discard the soda pop and juices from your slow cooker.
- Place the shredded pork back in the slow cooker. Pour your BBQ sauce over the pulled pork and mix well. It is up to you how much BBQ sauce you want to add. (see notes below for a link to my Homemade BBQ Sauce).
- Serve the pulled pork stacked high on a bun or eat it just by itself! (It is tasty on nachos!)
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.