Café Rio Sweet Pork – just like you’d get in the restaurant. Now you can make it at home in your slow cooker! Use for Salads, tacos, burritos, and more!
Cafe Rio is a quick service Mexican chain restaurant that is the Southwest part of the country. They have salads, burritos, tacos and more that you kind of “build your own” as you go through the line. They are especially known for their their sweet pork. Cafe Rio Sweet Pork is super tender, juicy, and yes it has a sweet flavor. I personally get it on my taco salad, topped with the house Cafe Rio Dressing when I go, and it is one of my favorite lunches!
The Café Rio pork recipe is a highly sought after recipe, there are a lot of different versions out there to try to get the same exactly flavor. I am sure this is not exactly how they do it, but the end result tastes almost exactly the same. The best part is all the work is done in the crock pot, so you just spend a few minutes getting it ready in the morning and then you have this delicious Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe waiting for you at night.
You can use the pork to top a salad, put in quesadillas, tacos, burritos, top nachos and so much more. It makes a ton, so you can mix up the leftovers all week long!
I absolutely love using the slow cooker to make dinner. Especially when it takes all day, and I don’t have to worry about it. I just come home to an amazing smelling house and put the final touches together and dinner is ready.
We all know that I love making copycat recipes and sharing them with you. It is such a great way to get restaurant favorites at home, and not have to run all over town to get everyone’s favorites. Not to mention it is cheaper, easier, and better for you almost every time. So that means you can have them more often! I call that a major win.
How to Make Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe
- This does take time, and you need to start the night before. Combine everything for the marinade and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning everything goes in the crock pot. Remove the pork from the marinade and discard anything is left. Then sprinkle the pork evenly with all the seasonings and place in the crock pot with the cola and let it cook all day.
- After the pork is tender and cooked, remove it from the crock pot and use 2 forks to shred it.
- Take all the liquid that is in the base of the crock pot and blend it with the ingredients for the sauce until it is smooth. You can use a stick blender, a traditional blender or even a food processor. Once the sauce is smooth add it and the pork back to the crock pot and let it cook for an additional 20-30 minutes to get everything nice and hot.
More Copycat Recipes to Try
- Pasta Milano (Macaroni Grill)
- Panera Mac and Cheese
- Fiesta Lime Chicken (Applebee’s)
- Chicken Madeira (Cheesecake Factory)
- Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
- Cosmic Brownies (Little Debbie)
- Mexican Pizza (Taco Bell)
- Pesto Cavatappi (Noodles & Company)
- Canes Sauce (Raising Canes)
Cafe Rio Pork
Café Rio pork just like you'd get in the restaurant. Now you can make it at home in your slow cooker!
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 pound boneless pork loin
- 12 oz Coke
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Seasoning
- 12 oz Coke
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp onion salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
Sauce
- 12 oz Coke
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
- 1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
Instructions
- Mix together Coke and brown sugar for the marinade. Place in a large sealable plastic bag. Add pork loin, and massage to coat. Place in the fridge for 8 hours, to overnight.
- Remove pork from marinade and place in slow cooker. Sprinkle pork evenly with garlic salt, onion salt, chili powder and cumin. Pour coke over pork. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
- After the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker and use 2 forks to shred. Pour out the liquid in the slow cooker. Add pork back to slow cooker.
- In a blender or food processor combine all of the ingredients for the sauce. Pour over pork, stirring to coat. Cook for an additional 20-30 minutes until heated through.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per ServingCalories 384Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 109mgSodium 473mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 0gSugar 29gProtein 36g
Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.
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Dorothy Reinhold says
I am trying to prepare things that I can use multiple ways. This will be perfect!
Catalina says
This is is on my list for the next week! Definitely a must try recipe!
Sara Welch says
Adding this to my dinner line up for the week; looking forward to some pulled pork sandwiches, indeed!
Haley D Williams says
This looks amazing! I love how juicy the meat looks!
Suzy says
I am loving that this is made in the slow cooker! The flavor sounds amazing!
Jessica says
It’s been so long since I made this! Definitely need to put this on my menu!