Pork Carnitas Enchiladas

Overhead of enchiladas, with melty cheese in blue dish

Pork Carnitas Enchiladas are a delicious entree for your Cinco de Mayo get-together! Pork simmers in the slow cooker on low all day. Once the meat is fall-apart tender, it is shredded. Combine it with onion and green chiles in a skillet, brown the ingredients slightly, then roll it up. The enchiladas are slathered in spicy enchilada sauce and baked until crisped on the edges. This entree is best served immediately, though it does freeze well!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 7 25

Total Time 7 45

Servings enchiladas

Calories 575kcal

Ingredients

Pork

4 ¼ lb. pork shoulder butt roast bone-in
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (homemade or store-bought)

Enchiladas

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
4 oz. diced green chiles drained
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
3 cups pulled pork
20 tortillas (corn or flour)
8 oz. pepperjack cheese shredded
Spicy Enchilada Sauce

Instructions

Make the pork

Place the bone-in pork shoulder butt roast in the slow cooker. Season liberally with the taco seasoning.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the pork begins falling apart.
Remove the pork from the slow cooker. Remove any large fat caps. Shred using two forks. Set aside.

Make the enchilada filling

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper and chiles to the pan. Season with the taco seasoning. Sauté until softened.
Add the pork to the skillet with the vegetables.
Cook until the pork crisps up, then remove from the heat.
When the filling has cooled slightly, begin rolling the enchiladas.

Make and bake the enchiladas

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.
Dollop 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the tortillas. Carefully roll the enchiladas, and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
Pour the Spicy Enchilada Sauce over the enchiladas, then transfer them into the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Once the enchiladas are slightly crispy on the edges and heated through, serve on individual plates. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

Total time INCLUDES slow cooker cook time. This is (obviously) NOT all hands on time.

Please note that if your pork shoulder is similar to mine and doesn't have a ton of additional fat that needs tossing, you'll have 2-3 cups left of pork AFTER cooking these enchiladas. You can buy a smaller pork shoulder, but I cannot 100% guarantee it will produce enough pulled pork for these enchiladas.

This recipe is freezer friendly. Freeze any leftover enchiladas (or an entire serving) in an aluminum or ceramic baking dish with the sauce frozen separately. Seal the enchiladas with plastic wrap and foil, and it can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to consume, remove the plastic wrap but leave on the foil and transfer directly to a 350°F oven. Bake covered for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven. While the enchiladas bake, defrost the sauce. Then when they come out of the oven after 40, add the enchilada sauce on top of them. Crank the heat up to 375°F. Bake the enchiladas and sauce uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until cooked through.

Nutrition