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    Home » Dinners » Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

    Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

    Published: Aug 3, 2021 · Modified: Aug 28, 2021 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Slow cooker kalua pork is an easy three-ingredient crock pot dinner recipe that takes less than 5 minutes of prep to make!

    Bowl of slow cooker kalua pork with two forks in it.

    What is kalua pork?

    Authentic kalua pork is a popular staple of Hawaiian luaus. A whole pig is cooked covered in banana leaves in an underground oven to give the pork its delicious smoky flavor.

    This crock pot version replicates the smoky/salty flavor by cooking the pork for hours. The recipe uses just three ingredients - pork, liquid smoke, and salt. There's no other cooking liquid necessary for this recipe.

    Dish of kalua pork next to a flowered napkin.

    Ingredients

    • Pork: For this recipe, you'll want a fattier cut of pork, like a pork butt (Boston butt) or pork shoulder. 
    • Liquid smoke: Liquid smoke is a flavoring that's usually sold either near the barbecue sauce or with marinades. Any flavor of liquid smoke will work. 
    • Sea salt: Hawaiian sea salt (alaea salt) is preferable. However, if you can't find Hawaiian salt, pink Himalayan salt makes a good substitute. White sea salt will also work in this recipe. Just be sure that you don't use table salt as it will be overly salty. 

    How to make slow cooker kalua pork

    Pieces of pork roast in a slow cooker insert.

    Place roast in slow cooker insert, cutting as needed to fit. I don't trim the fat on the roast because the fat helps to flavor the meat and keeps it moist while the meat cooks.

    Pieces of pork roast coated with liquid smoke.

    Pour liquid smoke over the pork.

    Pieces of pork coated with liquid smoke and sea salt.

    Sprinkle salt over the pork. Cover, and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours.

    TOP TIP>> Since the cooking time is so long, I often start the pork late the night before. Once it has finished cooking, I let it switch to WARM so that it's ready when we're ready to eat.

    Shred pork with two forks, and drizzle with cooking juices, if desired.

    Bowl of kalua pork next to a blue napkin.

    Serving suggestions

    Kalua pork goes well with sticky rice and Hawaiian macaroni salad.

    Storage

    The kalua pork reheats well. I recommend reserving some of the cooking juice to pour over the meat when reheating.

    Dish of kalua pork next to a bowl of macaroni salad.

    More easy slow cooker dinner recipes!

    • Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan
    • Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken
    • Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

    If you’ve tried this slow cooker kalua pork recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who've made my recipes!

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    Bowl of slow cooker kalua pork with two forks in it.

    Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

    Easy three-ingredient crock pot dinner recipe that takes less than 5 minutes of prep to make!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 3 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 hours
    Total Time: 10 hours 3 minutes
    Servings: 10 servings
    Calories: 239kcal
    Author: Kate @ I Heart Eating

    Equipment

    • Slow Cooker

    Ingredients

    • 4 pounds boneless pork butt
    • 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
    • 2 tablespoons sea salt

    Instructions

    • Place roast fat side up in slow cooker insert, cutting as needed to fit.
    • Pour liquid smoke over the pork.
    • Sprinkle salt over the pork.
    • Cover, and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours.
    • Shred pork with two forks, and drizzle with cooking juices, if desired.

    Notes

    • Pork: For this recipe, you'll want a fattier cut of pork, like a pork butt (Boston butt). 
    • Liquid smoke: Liquid smoke is a flavoring that's usually sold either near the barbecue sauce or with marinades. Any flavor of liquid smoke will work. 
    • Sea salt: Hawaiian sea salt (alaea salt) is preferable. However, if you can't find that, pink Himalayan salt makes a good substitute. White sea salt will also work in this recipe. Just be sure that you don't use table salt as it will be overly salty. 
    • Nutrition values are estimates. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 239kcal | Protein: 34g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 1520mg | Potassium: 615mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe? Rate it below. Mention @i_heart_eating on Instagram & tag #ihearteating!

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    About Kate

    Kate got her first cookbook when she was five years old, and she hasn't stopped cooking since then! Her delicious recipes have been featured on Food Network, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and more. When she's not cooking or baking, she can be found on her mini farm with her husband and her five kids.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenika

      February 14, 2022 at 11:08 am

      5 stars
      This was delicious! I was hesitant to try it but it was delicious.

      Reply
      • Kate

        February 14, 2022 at 11:19 am

        Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

        Reply

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    I’m Kate Dean- mom to five young kids, recipe developer, and photographer. Here at I Heart Eating®, I share my family’s favorite tried-and-true recipes.

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