Pork Taquitos

Savor these Pork Taquitos, loaded with slow-cooked pulled pork, smothered in a sweet honey-chipotle BBQ sauce. The pork is piled into a tortilla with freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese and browned to crispy perfection in a skillet.

Pair these taquitos with some veggies! We love these Roasted Sweet Potatoes or this simple Corn Salad.

Pork Taquitos

We’re obsessed with these Pork Taquitos! The pork is perfectly tender, the sauce is sticky, sweet, and a little bit spicy, and everything put together gives you the perfect crunchy taquito. And all without any frying! These taquitos start with slow-cooked pork and are crisped up in a skillet. Trust me, you won’t miss the frying with all the flavors going on inside.

While there are a few steps to these taquitos, they all come together nicely since the prep work is broken up throughout the day. The pork is prepared in the morning (or 7-9 hours before eating), the sauce can be prepared whenever, and the assembly is done right before eating.

The honey-chipotle BBQ sauce is customizable to personal spice levels. As written, I’d say its a little spicy, but nothing my little boys turned away from. If you love spice, feel free to increase the chipotles, tasting the sauce as you go. Speaking of sauce, I break down the individual ingredients below.

Chipotle BBQ Sauce

This barbecue sauce is our absolute favorite! It’s sweet, spicy, and best of all, a breeze to whip together! Everything just needs to be blended together and that’s it.

• Ketchup: I can’t recommend Heinz® ketchup enough — it’s the best in this sauce (not sponsored).
• Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar works great; lightly pack it in.
• Honey: Between the honey and brown sugar — these two ingredients really sweeten the sauce– the sweetness is offset a bit with the chipotles, but the sauce is intended to be a bit sweet (like all good BBQ sauces!).
• Chipotle chilies in adobo: Here’s a list of the best canned chipotle peppers; read below on how to store leftover chipotles.
• Apple cider vinegar: The vinegar helps to balance the sweetness from the honey and sugar and the spiciness of the chipotles.
• Worcestershire sauce: We use this ingredient to add to the depth of flavor as well as an umami element to the sauce.
• Garlic: If using full cloves, give the garlic a quick coarse chop before adding to the blender so it blends up and integrates into the sauce nicely.
• Salt and pepper

Storing leftover chipotle peppers

There’s nothing worse than using only one or two peppers and not being able to use the rest of the can before it goes bad. Luckily, canned chipotle peppers freeze beautifully! Here’s how to freeze leftover chipotles after using some of them in these Pork Taquitos:

• Spread a sheet of parchment paper onto a large pan.
• Spoon out individual peppers with sauce, 1/2 inch apart, on to the pan. Place the pan in the freezer until peppers and sauce are frozen solid, about 1 hour.
• Once frozen, the chipotles and sauce will peel off the parchment paper easily.
• Add all the frozen peppers to a freezer-safe plastic bag, seal while pressing out any air, and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. (Be sure to label and date the bag.)
• To thaw: Take as many peppers as needed out of the bag and let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes or until thawed through (or pop individual peppers in the microwave for 10-15 seconds).

Let’s talk corn tortillas

I absolutely love corn tortillas with the pork and BBQ sauce. They can be tricky to work with, though, because they break easily. Here’s how I prepare the corn tortillas to keep them in one piece:

1. Start with thin corn tortillas. (Not sure where to start? Here’s an article breaking down the major brands of corn tortillas so you can better navigate what brand you’d enjoy.)
2. Spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray. I use an olive oil-based spray (canola works as well) and give each side a good spritz.
3. Very lightly char just one side of the tortilla on an open flame on the stovetop. If you don’t have an open flame, warm for 10-15 seconds in a skillet.
4. Immediately remove the tortilla from the heat and roll into a cylinder. Place under a towel and repeat until all the tortillas are rolled.
5. Once all the tortillas have been charred and rolled, add the pork and Cheddar cheese to the tortillas. Place these additions on the side of the tortilla that has been charred.
6. Re-roll the tortillas and add the taquito to the skillet. Brown on all sides.

If you don’t love corn tortillas, use flour ones. Even though flour tortillas roll up nicely, I still like to spray them with cooking spray and brown them in a skillet; this adds so much flavor and helps ensure all the cheese melts nicely.

Pork Taquito toppings

These Pork Taquitos are quite amazing on their own! They don’t need much in way of toppings or dipping, but if you’re feeling like you want a little something extra, here are my serving recommendations:

• Fresh cilantro
• Sliced jalapeños 
• Guacamole or thinly sliced avocado
• Coleslaw (homemade or packaged)

Pork Taquito tips

• Our favorite cheese to pair with the sweet sauced pork is sharp Cheddar. 
• Use pork butt (also called Boston butt) or a pork shoulder for this recipe. The more marbled with fat, the more flavor you’ll end up with. As it slowly cooks, the meat will become tender and shred so easily. For even more flavor, opt for a bone-in pork butt. Also, if the pork has a thick layer of fat, do not cut that off! It will add tons of flavor and render easily to discard once the meat is cooked. I do recommend using a skinless piece of pork; otherwise the rub won’t actually flavor the meat.
• Cook the meat on low. I don’t recommend cooking the meat on high; it tends to dry it out. Also, be sure to adjust the time for larger cuts of pork. A 5-7-pound pork butt/shoulder will take about 9-10 hours on low.

More slow cooker recipes

• Crockpot Hash Brown Casserole with Cheddar cheese
• Nutritious Crockpot Quinoa Chili with chicken
• Beef Ragu served over pappardelle pasta
• Crockpot Cowboy Casserole with red potatoes
• Quinoa Enchilada Crockpot with ground turkey

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5 from 4 votes

Pork Taquitos

By Chelsea Lords

Pork Taquitos stuffed with honey-chipotle BBQ pulled pork and sharp Cheddar, then crisped to perfection in a pan—flavor-packed and delicious!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

• Crock-Pot
• Large pan nonstick
• Blender or food processor

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Pork

• ▢ 2 medium yellow onions thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 5 to 6 pounds bone-in pork roast butt/shoulder, often labeled as pork shoulder butt blade roast
• ▢ 2 tablespoons light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder McCormick recommended to avoid overly spicy chili powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic

Chipotle Honey BBQ Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup ketchup I recommend Heinz
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons canned chipotle chilies in adobo scale up or down to personal heat preference!
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Other Ingredients

• ▢ Thin corn tortillas or flour tortillas, see note 1
• ▢ Cooking spray
• ▢ Freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• ▢ Serving suggestions optional, see note 2

Instructions 

• Thinly slice onions after removing peels. Generously spray the Crock-Pot with cooking spray and add sliced onions in an even layer along the bottom. Add garlic. Pour in chicken broth. Remove pork packaging and dab pork all over to dry with paper towels.
• Combine brown sugar, chili powder, salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir and rub evenly into and all over the pork. Place the pork in the slow cooker on the onions (place the fat cap on the pork facing up on top).
• Cover and cook for 7–10 hours on low or until meat shreds easily. (I don’t recommend cooking on high.) For a 5.5-pound roast, it usually takes 9 hours in my Crock-Pot. Once tender, remove the fat cap on pork (it should pull off easily) and pull out and discard the bone. Transfer pork from the Crock-Pot into a large bowl and shred with two forks. (Enjoy the onions if desired, discarding all the other liquids in the crockpot.)
• Combine all Chipotle Honey BBQ Sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients to preference (you may want more chipotles—add slowly; a little goes a long way; better to add less at first!). Pour the sauce over the shredded pork and gently toss to combine and warm the sauce.
• Prep the tortillas (see note 1). Place about 3–4 tablespoons of the meat mixture in a tortilla. Top with 1–2 tablespoons of freshly shredded cheese and roll up tightly.
• Place 4–5 of the taquitos in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Using tongs, rotate the taquitos to each side for 10–15 seconds or until browned and crispy. Increase the heat if they aren’t browning and decrease if they are browning too quickly.
• Alternatively, you can bake these in the oven (425°F for 10–13 minutes).
• Serve taquitos hot, right off the pan or out of the oven! I think they’re delicious as is, but if desired, serve with some guacamole or thinly sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, and/or jalapeños. Coleslaw also makes a fun topping!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Here’s how I prepare the tortillas:

1. Spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray. I use an olive oil based spray (canola works as well).
2. Very lightly char just one side of the tortilla on an open flame on the stovetop. If you don’t have an open flame, warm for 10–15 seconds in a skillet.
3. Immediately remove the tortilla from heat and roll in a cylinder. Place under a towel and repeat until all the tortillas are rolled up.
4. Once all the tortillas have been charred on one side and rolled up, add pork and cheese on the side of the tortilla that has been charred.
5. Reroll the tortillas and add the taquito to the skillet. Brown on all sides.
6. If you don’t love corn tortillas, use flour! Even though flour tortillas roll up nicely, I still like to spray them with cooking spray and brown them in a skillet; this adds so much flavor and helps ensure all the cheese melts nicely.

Note 2: Serving suggestions: serve with fresh cilantro, jalapeños, guacamole or thinly sliced avocado. Coleslaw is also a fun complement to the BBQ sauce and pork.

Nutrition Note: Calories are for the pork and chipotle honey BBQ sauce; the toppings and tortillas will vary.

Storage: Store in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 69.3g | Protein: 32.5g | Fat: 3.4g | Cholesterol: 99.1mg | Sodium: 688.4mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 64.2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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