Easy Pork Carnitas
Juicy, tender pork carnitas made in 30 min, start to finish! No fuss, no hassle. Serve as tacos or burrito bowls. So easy, so so good.
We are just about to enter week 3 of our quarantine/stay-at-home order here in Chicago. We’re playing trivia via Zoom, going on all the FaceTimes with friends, and doing taco night with all the fix-ins here.
And I know we all have a bit more time to cook as we’re locked insides our home but hey, I am always down for quick carnitas. Specifically 30 minutes start to finish. No fuss, no hassle.
Now you can serve these in warm tortillas or as burrito bowls – there’s no right or wrong, and it is ALL GOOD. I also know it is hard to find some ingredients right now so please feel free to use any kind of toppings/fix-ins you have on hand – black beans, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, and/or romaine lettuce (or other types of greens you have handy) will also work beautifully here.
And if you have some ice cold beers on standby, that will also work perfectly as a side.
Easy Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- Season pork with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork, onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until pork has browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in orange juice and lime juice, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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I thought I was a horrible cook until I found your website! These pork carnitas are phenomenal! I was hoping for leftovers, but family devoured them. We made these with rice, street corn, shredded red cabbage, some fresh salsa and hoped with Tajin for some extra zing. Seriously better than meals we have had in restaurants. Love Dam Delicious
Absolutely delicious! Quick and easy and my two teen-aged boys devoured it. I’m making it again this week. Thanks for your simple and tasty recipes.
So so good. Every single one of your recipes I’ve tried has been a hit and this was no exception. Truly comes together in about 30 min which is amazing! Thank you!
I made these for dinner tonight and they were damn delicious! I used “Mixla” tortillas from
H-E-B (half corn/half flour). Healthy and tasty food.
I can’t stop cooking this for taco night. It’s a favorite for when we have guests. Such an affordable cut of meat and SO easy to make for such delicious results. Thank you!
This was really easy and delicious! Our kids loved this. Served it as bowls with yellow rice as base with whatever toppings and was a hit. Forgot to grab an onion so just used 1.5 teaspoons onion powder and it was great
Easy and oh so delicious! Cutting the pork into small chunks took the most time. I will definitely make this again.
Really delicious, I served this in tacos with a cilantro lime rice.
The only two things that kind of went awry was that my meat didn’t brown like the pic and the prep time took quite a bit longer. If you’re not good with knife skills, just add in an extra 20 mins. But definitely make this recipe.
Great recipe !! Fresh everything with a romain lettuce wrap and stir fried peppers !! Topped with tomatoes cubed and marinated in avocado oil and salt
Excellent!
I absolutely loved these!! When my girls were really young, I had a friend from Mexico teach me how to make these carnitas- the authentic way. They are delicious, I just had a smaller amount of meat and just FYI- you cannot make them the best without making a lot! So be sure you just go ahead and make the amount the recipe calls for or double it! The more the merrier with this dish.
I only did two things differently- I marinaded the pork meat overnight in beer (be sure to use a blonde, light beer so it doesn’t overpower the flavor of the meat). And after I pull the meat out of the roasting pan to prepare it to fry, I lightly coat it with flour & corn starch to crisp it up even more! I use avocado oil and non gmo, non gluten flour & cornstarch.
A crowd pleaser and it was nice and easy to cook. Loaded up on let’s of fresh garnish.
They were awesome. Super moist and tender. My husband enjoyed them. Used pork butt instead of pork loin.
Most excellent like ALL your recipes’
This will be my third time making this recipe!!! My family cannot get enough of it! Followed the recipe and the meat was so tender it was like I slow cooked it for hours! This is definitely in my rotation for “Taco” Tuesday as street tacos. 🙂
Good flavor! My pork did not brown up like your picture. I even used my cast iron skillet. Next time I’d sear the pork, then add onions ect. Kids loved it!! Thanks
I was skeptical of using a lean cut like boneless loin chops, but I’m not anymore.A little prep, 10 minutes cook time, and the payoff was so worth it. Southwest corn and rice, and soft tortillas filled with carnitas and cheese and shredded romaine, I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Bueno
Just Excellent!
Put this into tacos!
Really nice flavor! However I think I bought the wrong kind of pork. It still had a very porky smell/flavor. I don’t know what to do about that… but I feel like if I could find the right pork this recipe is awesome!!!
This recipe is so so good!! We were a bit nervous it wouldn’t be very tender, like most the other reviews, but it was absolutely perfect!!! My child even ate all of their tacos and that never happens!! Will definitely be a new go to
I was skeptical of this recipe, I didn’t want chewy tough pork tenderloin. It was really good! I think the key was to actually overcrowd my cast iron to let it cook long enough to get the browning effect, without being over done. Yum!