Sweet Pulled Pork Salad {Cafe Rio Copycat}

Okay, after this post I am really going to try to lay off the Mexican food.  Gosh, I just love it so much!  It’s also my husband’s favorite type of food (second to hamburgers) so its a win-win!  I do have the excuse that Cinco de Mayo is in two days though and I want to make sure every one is well stocked with yummy ideas. (Click HERE to see all my Mexican recipes.)

I know there are tons of variations of this recipe all over Pinterest, but this is how I make it and it is D-licious!  I think that the only thing that could make it better and more like how they serve it at Cafe Rio would be to make my own tortillas but that’s a little too intense since this salad already involves 3 separate (yet pretty simple) recipes- dressing, rice, and pork (recipe below).  Their tortillas are just so good because they are made fresh right there so they are not only warm but also thick and soft.

Just look at that yummy Sweet Pulled Pork layered on top of the Cilantro Lime Rice and black beans!  I’m getting hungry.And then it’s topped with crisp Romaine lettuce, some tortilla strips for a good ole crunch, yummy Queso Fresco cheese, and then the best salad dressing- Cilantro Lime Dressing.  Yes, this salad is ginormous but once you start you won’t want to stop!

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Sweet Pulled Pork

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes

Servings 6 -8

Author Garnish & Glaze

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds pork loin
• Garlic salt
• 1 can Root Beer Coke or Dr. Pepper work too but NOT diet
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
• 1 4 ounce can green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

• Shake garlic salt all over the pork and lay fat side down in crock-pot. Pour 1/4 cup Root Beer and 1/4 cup water in the bottom of the pot. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6 hours.
• Just before it's done, make the sauce by combining remaining Root Beer, brown sugar, enchilada sauce, green chilies, and chili powder in a blender. Puree until smooth.
• Remove the meat and shred on a cutting board. Discard the juices and fat. Place shredded pork back in the crock pot along with the sauce and cook on low for 2 hours (for the last 15-20 minutes I remove the lid so the sauce can thicken).
• Serve in Sweet Pulled Pork Salad or in burritos.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Favorite Family Recipes (different soda, less soda, more enchilada sauce, slightly different method, less sugar…)

The nutrition facts for the pork were calculated based on using a 2 pound pork loin.

Print Pin

Sweet Pulled Pork Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 8

Author Garnish & Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 recipe Sweet Pulled Pork recipe above
• 1 1/2 recipe Cilantro Lime Rice
• 1/2 recipe Cilantro Lime Dressing
• 1 can black beans drained, heated
• 1-2 heads Romaine lettuce shredded
• 1 1/2 cups tortilla strips
• 1 cup Queso Fresco cheese
• 2 limes cut in wedges
• 1/4 cup cilantro for garnish
• Sour cream optional topping
• guacamole optional topping
• 8 large burrito size tortillas

Instructions

• Assemble salads by layering in the following order: tortilla, rice, beans, Sweet Pulled Pork, lettuce, tortilla strips, cheese, and dressing (or serve on the side). Add a lime wedge and a few cilantro leaves on the side.

Recipe Source: Inspired by Cafe Rio

The nutrition facts for the salad account for everything in the recipe except for the optional sour cream and guacamole.  And yes, the calories of this salad are high so if you want to bring it down I suggest using a smaller tortilla and it will force you to pile on less.