This copycat recipe for slow cooker Cafe Rio sweet pork tacos will become your new favorite. Don’t forget the highly addictive creamy cilantro dressing!
One of my first Slow Cooker Anyday guest posts was by my dear friend Vanessa. She posted a delicious (and I know because we’ve tried it) version of Cafe Rio-style shredded pork and their famous house dressing.
Because we can’t get enough Cafe Rio around here, I had to share one of my favorite Cafe Rio slow cooker recipes. You definitely need to give this slow cooker Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe a try, and you definitely need to top it with some homemade Cafe Rio creamy cilantro dressing. Most definitely, in fact.
If you have an Instant Pot and prefer to use that, try this Instant Pot Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe. It’s perfection.
Don’t forget a side of Instant Pot Mexican rice, slow cooker creamed corn, and maybe some easy peach cobbler dump cake for dessert!
Printable recipe for slow cooker Cafe Rio sweet pork and creamy cilantro dressing below. Enjoy!
- 3 lb pork roast
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 T butter
- 2 T soy sauce
- ¾ cup lemon juice
- 1¼ to 1½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- 2 T salsa verde
- ¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ⅓ to ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ bunch cilantro (with stems)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Lime juice from 1 lime
- Saute onion and garlic in butter. Place roast in crock pot and cover with onion. Cook about 3 hours on high (or low equivalent).
- Drain liquid and save in fridge; shred pork. Add the soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper and cook an additional 2 hours on high (or low equivalent).
- Skim off fat from reserved liquid and add liquid to pork (to taste).
- Serve on tortillas with Zataran's Black Beans & Rice, cheese, pico de gallo...whatever you like! I used lettuce, shredded cheese and fresh tomatoes from our garden. Top it with creamy cilantro dressing.
- Add ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Chill 1 hour (if you can wait that long).
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Previous Slow Cooker Anyday recipes:
Camille
October 21, 2011 at 1:30 amohhh I shouldn’t be looking at posts like this at an hour like now! I’m tempted to take a little drive to Cafe Rio! (or pull out my crock pot from storage….) Love these recipes you’re posting, Emily!
Emily
October 21, 2011 at 11:52 amCafe Rio is always worth succumbing to temptation!
Kristina P.
October 21, 2011 at 9:45 amI found a blog last week that has the entire recipe for the Sweet Pork salad. Rice, black beans, everything. Delicious!
BTW, I need Linda’s number again! I think we are going to have her clean our new place.
Emily
October 21, 2011 at 11:52 amSend along that link–I’d love to have it! And I will text you Linda’s number. LOVE her!
Steph
October 21, 2011 at 1:20 pmI seriously want that… right now.
Emily
October 21, 2011 at 2:40 pmIt is SO good!
Jeanette
October 22, 2011 at 9:59 pmHow timely! I just bought a huge bunch of cilantro at the farmer’s market today. Guess I know what I will be doing with some of it! :)
Emily
October 23, 2011 at 12:08 amIt is SO good! With the other you should make this: http://www.halfscratched.com/2009/06/quick-easy-homemade-salsa/. Delicious!
Stephanie
July 9, 2013 at 8:32 amWe’ve made these a few times now and just love it. There are few online recipes that actually WORK, and this is one of them. The dressing is really good, and we even use fat free mayo and fat free sour cream. I’m sure using regular mayo and sour cream would make it even better, but we don’t know the difference and love the reduced fat version. Thanks for sharing!
Emily Hill
July 9, 2013 at 12:28 pmI use low-fat sour cream and low-fat mayo but I’ve never tried fat free. I’ll have to do that!
Stephanie
September 1, 2013 at 4:24 pmSome people think that fat free sour cream and fat free mayonnaise ruins the Cilantro Dressing, but that’s the only way I’ve ever made it and it’s delicious.
Emily Hill
September 2, 2013 at 11:26 amI’m going to try that next time! I usually use reduced fat mayo and sour cream but have never tried fat free.
Cari
September 9, 2013 at 12:58 pmI’m a little hesitant to put the pork in the crock pot without any liquid. Do you not put anything in with it the first 3 hours?
Cari
September 9, 2013 at 5:18 pm“Skim off fat from reserved liquid and add to pork (to taste).”
Am I supposed to add back the liquid or fat?
Emily Hill
September 16, 2013 at 5:51 pmNope! The pork will release some juices/fat while cooking. But if you’re too hesitant, then feel free to add a little bit of water. It definitely won’t hurt anything! And you add back the liquid, not the fat. I will clarify that in the recipe–thanks!