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Home » Recipes » Pork

Keto Pulled Pork Recipe (Crock Pot)

By Kim Hardesty

Cook this easy pulled pork recipe in a crock pot (or slow cooker) for fall-apart-tender meat. Cider vinegar gives it a great apple cider taste while keeping it low carb. Great for low carb meal planning!

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This Easy Pulled Pork Recipe seasoned with a dry rub. #pulledpork #easy #crockpot #slowcooker #dryrub #cider #lowcarb #keto

THIS POST INCLUDES AFFILIATE LINKS TO SHARE THE THINGS I LOVE.

I won’t go on record to say that crock pot pulled pork is better than oven pulled pork or smoked pulled pork. Pulled pork cooked in the oven gets a nice crust and smoked pulled pork is the epitome of righteous BBQ. Can we say burnt ends? Mmmm.

But cooking a nice pork butt in your crock pot or slow cooker is a an easy hands-off process. No heating the house with the oven in the summertime. No 16 hour overnight smoke with basting. In other words, you can fix-it-and-forget-it.

BBQ Dry Rub For Chicken and Pork
Keto BBQ Dry Rub for chicken and pork.

Easy keto pulled pork recipe

Pulled pork is super easy to make and perfect for low carb for keto diets. I love that I can make a large amount to use for meal planning during the week. I usually freeze half to use at another time.

Pulled pork cooked in a crock pot (slow cooker) just needs a little dry rub and a small amount of liquid. I don’t worry too much about trying to season the meat it while it cooks because seasoning after cooking is what makes it good.

I love that I can season my pulled pork so many different ways. A good sugar-free BBQ sauce (either tomato based or Carolina style vinegar based) and some salt and pepper is all you need. But, sometimes, I use Italian dressing (either homemade or my favorite store bought) to give it a nice Italian flavor.

Stuffed avocados or avocado boats with pulled pork, cheese, and BBQ sauce in a bowl.
Pulled pork stuffed avocados.

What's the best cut of meat for pulled pork in a crock pot?

I buy pork butt or Boston butt for crock pot pulled pork, but I have used a pork shoulder, too. Pork shoulder is a longer piece of meat and a large one doesn’t fit in my crock pot. I sometimes use a pork shoulder when I make pulled pork in the oven. Pork shoulder leaner, the meat is whiter, it has a large bone running through it, and it can be a little dry. It's my favorite for flavoring with Italian dressing. 

Pork butt is a more compact cut of meat. It has has more fat marbling throughout and yields a more tender product. It contains both light and darker meat and has great flavor. Because it has so much interstitial fat, it's best to remove the extra surface fat before cooking in the crock pot.

Pulled pork stuffed portobello with coleslaw.
BBQ pulled pork stuffed portobello mushrooms with keto coleslaw.

How to cook pulled pork in a crock pot

This easy pulled pork recipe starts with a pork butt. Since crock pots make liquid during the cooking process, it's important to use less liquid. Make sure the liquid is very flavorful since it will dilute while cooking. I often reduce liquid by half before adding it to a crock pot.

Some people brown their pork butts in a pan before placing in the crock pot, but because the pork braises for such a long time, I find it unnecessary.

  1. Remove the fat cap and any other large pieces of fat from the exterior of the pork butt. There’s enough internal fat that it won’t be missed. Let the pork butt come to room temperature for about an hour.
  2. Mix the liquid for the pot and heat. Pour it into crock pot and preheat the crock pot on HIGH.
  3. Rub pork with oil. Salt and pepper. Season well with your dry rub.
  4. Place pork into the crock pot. Tuck a cut onion and garlic cloves around the sides.
  5. Cook on high for 4-8 hours or low for 8-12 or until fall-apart tender depending on the size of your pork butt. All of the connective tissues need to dissolve before it becomes tender. Low and slow is the rule.

Remove the pork from the crock pot and cool. Remove any weird pieces of fat or connective tissue. Shred with two forks or pulled pork shredder claws. Season with salt and pepper then flavor the pulled pork how you like.

Southern green beans with pork and pot liquor in a pot.
Keto Southern green beans will pulled pork.

What to do with the cooking liquid

Don’t throw away the pot liquor - it’s full of collagen and gelatin! It’s a great base for cooking southern green beans or to make green bean soup. Some people like to boil it down and mixed it back into the pulled pork. I find that it has so much collagen that it solidifies, so I use it for soups.

How to make Crock Pot Pulled Pork Crispy

To get it the pulled pork crispy for sandwiches, I sauté it in a frying pan with a little oil. It crisps right up. Then, I flavor it how I want.

How Much Pulled Pork Per Person?

If you're wondering how much pulled pork to serve per person? I found this great blog post from Better Homesteading which talks about how to calculate pulled pork per person both cooked weight and pre-cooked weight. Steve mentions 6 ounces per person for a party. For those who following a low carb keto diet, plan on 3-4 ounces per person to help stay within your macros.

Easy Pulled Pork Recipe is easily shredded with forks on a cutting board.

Keto Pulled Pork Recipe (Crock Pot)

This easy pulled pork recipe is cooked in a crock pot for convenience. Using cider vinegar gives it a great apple cider taste while keeping it low in carbs. Great for keto meal planning!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy pulled pork recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours hours
Total Time: 6 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 264kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork butt or Boston butt (a larger butt will have longer cooking time)
  • 1 small onion, quartered (for the pot)
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed (for the pot)
  • 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Dry Rub (double if your pork butt is 8 pounds or more)

  • 1 tablespoon Low carb brown sugar (brown sugar substitute, coconut sugar, or brown sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
  • 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin

"Apple Cider" Soak

  • â…” cup water
  • â…“ cup apple cider vinegar
  • â…“ cup Low carb brown sugar (brown sugar substitute, coconut sugar, or brown sugar)

Instructions

  • Mix the ingredients for the "Apple Cider" Soak and warm in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. Pour into the crock pot and turn the crock pot to HIGH.
  • Remove the fat cap from the pork and any other large deposits of fat from the exterior of the pork. Rub with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Apply rub to the entire exterior of the pork. Place in the crock pot.
  • Nestle the onion and garlic cloves around the sides of the crock pot. 
  • Cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8-10 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender. A larger pork butt will take longer.
  • Remove the pork from the crock pot and cool for 20 minutes before shredding with forks or a claw. Discard any fat or connective tissue. Save the pot liquor to cook green beans or to make soup.
  • Count on 6 ounces per portion (person) for a party. For those on a low carb/keto diet count on 3-4 ounces per serving for meal planning. Nutritional info reflects a 4 ounce portion.
  • Freezes well. To reheat: MICROWAVE Place in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with cling film. OVEN Preheat oven to 350 F. Place pulled pork in an oven-safe container and cover with foil. Cook until hot. FRYING PAN Add a small amount of oil to a pan and cook the pulled pork until it is heated through and a little crispy.

Notes

NOTE: Any carbs from the onions, garlic, and rub ingredients (yes, dried seasoning ingredients have carbs) is mostly found in the pot liquor after cooking. Much of the fat is rendered from the meat during cooking and can be removed by refrigerating the leftover liquid and skimming it off of the top. The pork will have very little carbs per serving. It's very hard to give accurate nutritional counts for recipes like this.
Nutrition Facts
Keto Pulled Pork Recipe (Crock Pot)
Amount Per Serving (4 oz)
Calories 264 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Sodium 649mg28%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Protein 18g36%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 649mg

Pulled Pork Stuffed Avocado Boats
Pulled Pork Stuffed Avocado Boats

About Kim Hardesty

Kim is a self taught cook with over 30 years experience in the kitchen. She develops and tests low carb and keto recipes in her California home. She began her low carb journey in 2009 and at the urging of friends, started blogging in 2014. Kim shares delicious low carb and keto recipes no one would believe are sugar-free. Her recipes are featured in newsstand publications and on sites all over the internet.

View all posts by Kim Hardesty | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

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  1. Matthews Jennifer

    October 12, 2018 at 4:04 am

    Sounds good! Have you tried this in the instant pot

    Reply
    • Kim

      October 12, 2018 at 8:21 am

      Thanks, Jennifer. No, I haven't tried it in the Instant Pot. I like the instant pot for some things and not others. Even with the slow cooker, you can get some flavor concentration that you just don't get in the Instant Pot. Yes, you absolutely could use it, but I'm not sure how much flavor would be achieved (just because I am a little ignorant about it). -Kim

      Reply
    • Kaila

      October 19, 2021 at 10:02 am

      I have been using this recipe for years and it’s the best one out there! I came to rate finally just because it should have more votes!!!

      Reply
      • Kim Hardesty

        October 20, 2021 at 11:08 am

        Thanks so much Kaila. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and rating on the recipe. Have a wonderful day. -Kim

        Reply
  2. Renan Freitas

    August 24, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    Fantastic recipe

    Reply

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