Slow cooker pulled pork tenderloin is an easy make ahead freezer meal. Once it defrosts, just dump it in the slow cooker, shred, and serve. Bbq pork tenderloin in the crockpot is such a great freezer meal to take to new moms.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tenderloin
Ahhh, another slow cooker meal packed with flavor, how exciting! This is easily one of my favorite crockpot meals. It's not just about the meltingly tender pork; although, pulled pork tucked into a soft bun dripping with your favorite barbecue sauce is delicious.
I love this recipe for another big reason: it is literally the easiest make-ahead meal I know. Easy, make ahead freezer meals should be fast and simple to make, wouldn't you agree?
The prep work for this slow cooker pork tenderloin is literally 5 minutes. Just simply:
- Grab your favorite bottle of barbecue sauce; I love a tangy one, but choose your favorite bottle.
- Slice an onion into half moon shapes.
- Add everything to a large freezer-safe bag: pork, barbecue sauce, sliced onion, and freshly ground black pepper. Seal and freeze--yes, that's really it!
- Pull it out the night before you want to eat so it can defrost in the fridge overnight.
- The morning you want to eat, just dump everything in the slow cooker, set it and forget it!
I feel like you should always have the ingredients for this recipe on your grocery list, and you should spend 5 minutes each week prepping it! Your Thursday night 6pm self will thank you, trust me! If you could spend 5 minutes today and know that dinner is nearly done, you would take the opportunity, right?
Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin is easy to make ahead and freeze.
Since this is a freezer meal for me, I want to mention that you can also buy the buns ahead of time and keep them in the freezer next to the pork! The day you're placing the pork in the slow cooker, simply pull the buns out of the freezer and let them defrost on the counter. When the pork is done cooking, your buns will be ready, too!
Also, you're going to want to keep the rest of the bottle of barbecue sauce in the fridge for serving day. Or, keep an extra bottle of the same barbecue sauce in your pantry. You're going to want to top these sandwiches with extra sauce, trust me.
I love a cold and creamy slaw on top of my pulled pork, and I just use a bagged mix from the store to make it. The toppings are entirely up to you--my family also loves dill pickle slices and extra raw onion rings!
What to serve with crockpot pulled pork?
If you want to keep it easy, a can of baked beans and salty potato chips are great on the side with these pulled pork sandwiches. If you make slaw for your pulled pork sandwiches, serve extra on the side. For my toddler, I put carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing on the side. Just keep it simple, because that's the theme of this meal.
Don't forget to check out my other slow cooker recipes for two and other freezer meals!
Other pork tenderloin recipes:
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tenderloin
Slow cooker pulled pork is an easy freezer meal for new moms.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 1-pound pork tenderloin*
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, plus extra for serving
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns, for serving
Instructions
- Slice the onion into half moon shapes, and place in a gallon-size freezer bag.
- Add the pork tenderloin to the bag followed by the barbecue sauce and black pepper. Seal the bag.
- Place the bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Pull the bag out of the freezer the night before you want to cook the pork.
- To cook the pork, dump the entire bag in the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours.
- After 4 hours, test the pork by trying to shred it with 2 forks; it should easily shred. If not, place it back in the slow cooker for another hour.
- Serve the shredded pork on hamburger buns with extra barbecue sauce and any toppings you like.
Notes
*Pork tenderloins typically come two per pack, especially when they're small enough to be about 1-1.5 pounds. You can double this recipe and make two meals for the freezer.
Also, please note that pork tenderloin is different from pork loin. Pork tenderloin is much leaner and thinner and smaller.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 422Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 1008mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 2gSugar: 28gProtein: 35g
Brian Hebert says
The taste was great — I added 1 cup of Stubbs Spicy Legendary BBQ sauce, and just 1/3 cup of the leftover liquid. I had just slightly over 1 cup of leftover liquid in my slow cooker. I await to see if I was wrong since your instructions
said to use all of the leftover liquid. I will be reheating my portions during the week and that’s when I should find out if it’s too dry without all of the liquid. 4 stars for now until I experience the leftovers. Thank you for the recipe!
Lainey H. says
You're a genius! I was really worried that the tenderloin would be too lean, but this came out moist and tasty. Personally, I can't tell the difference between it and Boston butt. I initially cooked it on low, but had to bump up my crockpot to high to get the tenderloin to a pull-able 205 degrees. We have a small family, and it's such a hassle dealing with buying, cooking, and freezing gigantic shoulders/butts. Thanks for giving us a great option for pulled pork that is so much easier for me to prepare!