Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe — Salt & Baker (2024)

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by Whitney //May 26, 2023

This Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe is the perfect way to bring the restaurant home! Cooked in a slow cooker with amazing spices and a delicious sauce, you won’t be able to tell a difference from the famous Cafe Rio pulled pork recipe.

When I moved from Utah to Texas, I realized my favorite Mexican American restaurant was nowhere in sight! As a Cafe Rio fan, I knew I needed to have Cafe Rio recipes in my recipe box. Now you can make a full-blown Cafe Rio meal at home with this delicious cafe rio pork recipe plus my Cilantro Lime Dressing, Cafe Rio Black Beans, and Cilantro Lime Rice.

Why This Recipe Works

• Copycat Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe. Now you don’t have to go out to eat to get this delicious Cafe Rio pork! You can make a large batch in your crock pot right at home.
• Tender sweet pork barbacoa. Using brown sugar will provide sweet flavors for the delicious sweet pork recipe, while cooking the meat with Coca Cola will help break down and tenderize the meat.
• Make it a meal! A family favorite is to combine this recipe with my Cilantro Lime Dressing, Cafe Rio Black Beans, and Cilantro Lime Rice to make a full Cafe Rio style meal right at home.

Ingredient Notes

• Seasonings: The pork seasoning rub is made of cumin, paprika, onion powder, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
• Pork Shoulder Roast: Also known as pork butt. Cut the pork roast in equal chunks for an even cook.
• Coca Cola: The carbonation of the soda helps to break down the meat making it ultra tender. I would stick with regular and not diet for the best flavor and results.
• Green Salsa: This is a mild salsa that will add some nice depth of flavor. Feel free to use medium or hot if you’d prefer.
• Red Enchilada Sauce: The red enchilada sauce helps provide the building block for the Cafe Rio pork mixture.
• Brown Sugar: This adds a nice sweetness to the dish.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the seasoning rub. To a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon each of cumin, paprika, onion powder, chili powder, and garlic powder. Then add 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Mix until combined. Remove 2 tablespoons of the seasoning rub and set that aside for later.
2. Prepare the pork. Cut the pork shoulder roast into large chunks. Rub with the seasoning on all sides of the meat. Do not use the 2 T of seasoning you reserved. That’s for later.
3. Slow cook the pork. Add 1 cup Coca Cola to the slow cooker followed by 1 cup green salsa. Stir to combine. Add the seasoned pork and cover and cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours.
4. Shred the pork. Transfer the pork to a casserole dish and shred. Discard any fat. Discard all but 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker.

5. Make the Cafe Rio pork sauce. Add the shredded pork back into the slow cooker. Add the 2 T seasoning rub you reserved from earlier. Add 2 cups red enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 7 oz can diced green chilies and 1 cup green salsa. Stir to combine. Cover and cook until heated through (about 20-30 minutes on high).
6. Serve! We love making this restaurant-style Cafe Rio pork a full delicious meal by serving it with our go-to copycat Cafe Rio recipes like my homemade cilantro lime dressing, Cafe Rio style black beans, and homemade lime cilantro rice. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

The cooking may take more or less time, depending on the size of your meat chunks.

Shred the meat in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet. I find it so much easier than shredding meat on a cutting board. The baking pan catches the juices and keeps everything from spilling over.

If you’d rather not have the chunky diced green chiles, you can blend them prior to adding to the slow cooker.

If you don’t have a 7 oz can of diced green chiles you can use a small 4 oz can. You won’t notice a difference!

After the meat is shredded and the sauce has been added to the slow cooker, I’ll taste the meat + sauce and sometimes I’ll add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar for a slightly sweeter pork.

You can serve this Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe as a sweet pork salad, as burritos, enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas, etc.

Toppings include sour cream, Pico de Gallo, fresh limes, guacamole, slow cooker refried beans, etc. Add some romaine lettuce and tortilla chips to make it look like the real deal!

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

If you’d like, you can marinate the pork in the co*ke and green salsa overnight. You’ll want to remove it from the marinade though so you can rub the meat with the seasoning rub.

You’ll need to make this Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe ahead of time at least because it cooks for p to 6-7 hours in the slow cooker.

Store any leftover Cafe Rio pork in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Let cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months if you want to freeze it.

Recipe FAQs

More Pork Recipes

• Carnitas
• Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe
• Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
• Mississippi Pork Roast Recipe

published on May 26, 2023 // 8 Comments

Posted in: Fall, Main Dishes, Recipes, Valentine's Day, Winter