This mouthwatering, tender pulled pork is perfection on a bun! Just 3 ingredients is all you need to let your slow cooker do the cooking for you. Perfect for weeknight meals and football parties!
Barbecue is kind of a religion in the South. Some prefer their meat deity slathered in sloppy sauce, smoked and served with heaps of potato salad. Some think a slow, low cook in the oven and a crispy finish on the grill gets the job done (my personal preference). And the sauces? Well, I have yet to find a favorite one, but it lies somewhere in between all the sweet-tangy-peppery-spicy options out there. A bit of a tall order, wouldn’t ya say?
The good news is, every root beer and barbecue sauce I’ve ever used in this recipe has produced the most scrumptious, finger-lickin’ good pulled pork.
Welcome to mouthwatering meat heaven, barbecue worshipers!
Every bite is sweet, salty, and full of tender goodness… all done much more easily than other complicated barbecue recipes! My style has always been to let the oven do the fussin’, leave your barbecue be, and crack a beer while it cooks.
You won’t believe how easy this is for how DELICIOUS the results are. It just melts in your mouth. Adults and kids will love this as a weeknight meal, or party food for watching football. Served on a big fluffy bun with your favorite sauce and tangy pickles, this pulled pork is perfection on a plate. I’m never one to pick incessantly at a savory dish before dinnertime, but this “taste test” went a little far!
Just 3 ingredients is all you need, so grab the goods and get to cookin’. Or, rather… sitting on the couch while your slow cooker takes care of the work!
3-Ingredient Root Beer BBQ Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 2 lb. pork tenderloin, (pork shoulder or butt can also be used)
- 1 12 oz. can root beer (I used diet)
- 1 18 oz. bottle barbecue sauce
For serving:
- 8 hamburger buns
- Pickle slices, optional
Instructions
- Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker and pour root beer over meat. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
- Once cooked, drain and discard liquid. Shred pork and place back into the slow cooker. Toss with barbecue sauce and serve immediately, or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns.
- Enjoy!
You are so right about barbecue sauces. I am actually making pulled pork in my slow cooker tomorrow (first time) for a gathering on Sunday. It’s not quite as easy as your recipe but I’ll try it and if all goes smoothly, I’ll have to try this! It sure looks sensational!
Oh wow does that look amazing!
I love everything about this! So incredibly delicious!
Looks delicious! I really should buy a slow cooker…
Love this so much! And I just so happen to have some root beer hanging around!
These days 3 ingredients is the way to my heart. LIFE IS CRAZY. It also helps that root beer happens to be my favorite soda on the planet!
What a fun recipe. My slow cooker is my dear friend. Pork does so well with that method of cooking.
I love the root beer bbq sauce on these pork sandwiches. They look like a great meal to have during a football game!!
I love how you just make magical things appear on the plate with less than a handful of ingredients, this looks amazing, and I LOVE root beer and ginger ale, this sounds fantastic, and look even better :D Thanks! x
Root beer is so perfect for pulled pork! One of my favorite little tricks too!
3 ingredients?? Love it! And I also love pulled pork! So clearly this must be made :)
I am a huge BBQ worshiper — you’ve got my number! And that number is “3” — 3 ingredients is the best reason to make this (besides it looking out of this world delicious, that is)! :)
I have root beer and I have pork. This is so mine!! I’ve never tried this before but I have heard about it.
Those sandwiches look so good… I wish I could grab one from the screen!
I was wondering if you have a preference for brand of barbecue sauce for this recipe? Also..is their a certain flavor of barbecue sauce that you would recommend..plain..garlic..honey..
Whatever you like! I prefer a sweet-spicy barbecue sauce, but it really is up to you.
Yummy sounds delicious this, thanks for posting this up.
Simon
this is in my slow cooker as i write this, thanks for the recipe.
does the pork need to be defrosted or can it be frozen
I would recommend using defrosted pork. However, if you start with frozen pork, increase the cooking time by 1-2 hours.
Used my slow cooker for the first time ever and made this recipe. So delicious and yummy! Best part how simple it is to make! Thanks :)
Do u need to increase the root beer if using more pork?
It depends how much extra pork you are using, but you can easily double this recipe, or increase the root beer in small increments, as needed.
I have this cooking right now in the slow cooker can I increase the heat to high and cut down the number of hours it cooks? Thanks!
I like to add two regular Hersey chocolate bars placed on top of meat when cooking. Follow all else the same.
hi, my friend made your recipe and said it was GREAT! I have 2 questions… 1) I have a FROZEN pork butt – can I put it in the slow cooker frozen or does it need to be thawed? 2) The pork is 4 lbs – so double the size in the recipe – should I double the other 2 ingredients or just add in increments as you indicated above for Georgia? Thanks!
I would recommend using defrosted pork. However, if you start with frozen pork, increase the cooking time by 1-2 hours. Add double the root beer, but only as much barbecue sauce as you prefer.
Love your recipes! I just put this one in my crockpot…6:30 a.m….lol! Hope to serve it for lunch with Vinegar Slaw and a veggie tray. I’m also using diet root beer and sugar-free bbq sauce. My family members have diabetes so those two ingredients are a must. The slaw will be lowfat and sugar-free also. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love easy things that taste as if one cooked all day
Fantastic. This’ll be dinner tonight, thanks for sharing :D
Don’t have root beer, had this been tried with any other soft drinks?
I would recommend getting root beer; I’ve never tried with any other soft drinks.
Ok, I’m going to give this a try!! I heard the ladies at work talking about pulled pork with Root Beer so now I have to try it. Let’s see how this turns out!!
I have a 6# pork shoulder how do I adjust the ingredients and time for this size
Double the amount of root beer and add additional barbecue sauce, to taste.
Made just as the recipe said, mmmmmmmm! Did not alter anything…cooked on low for 8 hrs.
BBQ sauce of choice was 75 % Sweet Baby Rays & 25 % eastern Carolina vinegar style sauce. WOW. I’m from Carolina & used to the vinegar base style.
Coca Cola works really well in this preparation as well. Also, so does Dr. Pepper. I have tried all three, and all were very good with unique flavors!
I don’t own a slow cooker! Any suggestions as to how to cook in the oven?
I made this last year, and wanted to make it again. It was delicious
If you want even faster I use my pressure cooker