Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

16 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, maraschino cherries and candied jalapenos. Perfect for dinners or in sandwiches and so easy!

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, maraschino cherries and candied jalapenos. Perfect for dinners or lunches in sandwiches and so easy to make!

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is a take on one of the first recipes I ever made for the blog, Spicy Cherry Pop Roasted Pork which was of couse based on a recipe from The Pioneer Woman. One of the great things about this recipe is the spicy cherry flavors and the idea Ree had to use Dr. Pepper instead of the classic Cola roasted meat is genius.

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is an easy recipe to make, but it does include ingredients I wouldn’t normally use, mainly maraschino cherries and Cherry Dr. Pepper. I use them here because though I don’t use processed foods as a general rule, this recipe is delightful! If you’d like to skip these items you can swap beef broth for the soda and cherry preserves for the maraschino cherries (it will taste different of course, but still carry similar flavor profiles). Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, and sweet with cherries and brown sugar.

Ways to enjoy this Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork:

  • Serve is like you would a pot roast with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables.
  • Serve it in tacos or burritos like you would a Chipotle Barbacoa filling.
  • Serve it in a sandwich like pictured below. Bonus points if you dip it in the liquid!
  • Make it into a burrito bowl served with rice, a nice easy slaw and beans.
  • Top it on nachos or cheesy fries for a great gameday snack.
  • Serve it in little sliders, topped with cheddar cheese and the rolls brushed with butter and cayenne for a little kick.

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork in sandwich form is the best lunch you'll have this month!

Looking for more Slow Cooker Pork Recipes?

Can I make this dish in the oven?

Yes, absolutely, I actually did that in the original version which appeared on the blog, Spicy Cherry Pop Roasted Pork

Can I make this dish in the smoker?

I don’t typically recommend making dishes which require liquid ingredients in the smoker. You could of course cook the roast in the smoker, then finish it in the oven with the rest of the ingredients.

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is perfect served many different ways including in these sub sandwiches.

Tools used in the making of this Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork:
Cherry Dr. Pepper: Fruitier than the original Dr. Pepper I like the extra burst of cherry flavor.
Maraschino Cherries: This adds sweetness, color and a burst of flavor, they’re a lot of fun in this recipe.
Hot & Sweet Jalapenos: I chose these for the sandwich because the main flavors here are sweet and heat and I didn’t want the bitterness of plain pickled jalapenos in the recipe. You can of course omit them altogether too as the adobo peppers are adding most of the heat.
Adobo Peppers: This is where almost all the heat in the recipe is coming from and some smokiness too. These peppers are SPICY, so if you love spice use half a can, if you can tolerate it okay use a ¼ of the can and if you hate spice, just stick to the jalapenos for the mildest kick of all.
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.

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Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, maraschino cherries and candied jalapenos. Perfect for dinners or lunches in sandwiches and so easy to make!
Yield 16 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

Instructions

  • Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker together, go in order of the list and cover the pork carefully with each item in order.
  • Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
  • If you'd like to serve with the leftover liquids, strain the fat first.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Keyword: Slow Cooker Dr Pepper Pulled Pork
Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, maraschino cherries and candied jalapenos. Perfect for dinners or lunches in sandwiches and so easy to make!
Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, and sweet with cherries and brown sugar.
Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is sweet and spicy with brown sugar, and sweet with cherries and brown sugar.
Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork is perfect served many different ways including in these sub sandwiches.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

    1. You could really pair it with almost anything but I would recommend a light salad like coleslaw, pasta salad or something like that. Enjoy!

  1. I can’t eat anything spicy so I’d like to leave out both types of peppers. Will the recipe have any taste without them? Is there something I can substitute that will taste good without the heat?

  2. I love your recipes and have tried several they never disappoint. I want to try this one but have a few questions can you tell me how big the can is for the chipotle peppers 7 oz or 16oz ? Is there a specific brand you use? I also looked everywhere at the grocery store tonight and could not find sweet jalapenos (what exactly are those and where do I find them) Is this recipe really spicy? If so is there a way to make it not as spicy? THANK YOU for your help.

    1. I used the 7.5 oz can of Adobo – these are very spicy so I would use less than half a can or even just the sauce. If you click on the links in the recipe for the ingredients you will see which brands I use and recommend.

  3. Hi ! Being diabetic, I’m always looking to eliminate sugar when I can. Do you think SugarFree Dr. Pepper would work ?
    Thanks!

    1. As long as you go into it knowing that taste will be different (reg vs sugar free Dr Pepper), I’d say go for it!

    2. Back in the early 1970s my graduate school room mate drank Tab because there was no diet coke yet but I didn’t like it. Diet Dr. Pepper was the first diet soda I learned to drink because it tasted like the regular soda and wasn’t bad. You should try it.

  4. I’ve made a cherry coke pulled pork before, and it was delicious… so I can’t wait to try this Dr Pepper version!!

  5. This looks so good! And perfectly fun for a summer BBQ. I’ve never tried this pork with Dr. Pepper – a must try!