It's highly unusual for me to cook with an ingredient like root beer, but I have to admit, I've been extremely curious about this recipe for quite some time. I love slow cooked pork and I couldn't wrap my head around what type of interesting flavor root beer would add to it, so I had to try it for myself.

I was blown away by the smell that wafted from my slow cooker and gently beckoned me awake in the morning. The flavor was equally amazing. In fact, I liked it so much that I've been eating it without any BBQ sauce at all. It's subtle, complex, and slightly sweet. Perfect.

Plus, I love the fact that it only requires a couple of ingredients. So, for people who are just starting out, this is a really easy introductory recipe. If you want something a little more "from scratch" or all natural, check out my original pulled pork recipe (it's still pretty easy).

The price for this recipe only includes the meat, because you can do about a million things with it. Eat it on a bun or wrap it in a soft, fluffy piece of naan like I did. I even put a little on my egg sandwich this morning for breakfast! It's great for tacos, burritos, or even for extra protein on salads.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

Total Recipe cost: $13.54
Servings Per Recipe: 10 (about 3/4 cup meat each)
Cost per serving: $1.35
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 8 hrs. Total: 8 hrs. 15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
5 lbs.	bone-in pork roast	$9.77
2.5 cups	root beer	$0.43
28 oz.	BBQ sauce (divided)	$3.19
1 tsp	garlic powder	$0.05
1 tsp	smoked paprika	$0.10
TOTAL		$13.54

STEP 1: Place the pork roast in the slow cooker. Stir together 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce and 2.5 cups of root beer. Pour the root beer mix over the pork roast in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the garlic powder and smoked paprika over top.

STEP 2: Secure the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for eight hours.

STEP 3: After eight hours, use tongs and a slotted spoon to remove the meat and bone from the liquid in the slow cooker (the bones can be discarded). The meat will be extremely tender and should easily separate from the bone.

STEP 4: Shred the meat using a fork and either serve as is or mix in the remaining BBQ sauce.

Step By Step Photos

This is the pork roast that I bought. It's labeled a "pork end loin roast." It's pretty lean, and only $1.99/lb. which makes it a pretty good deal. Unwrap the pork roast and place it in your slow cooker. If you want, you can cut it into chunks so that more of it is submerged under the root beer as it cooks.


I wanted the flavor of both the root beer and BBQ sauce to infuse into the meat, so I mixed a little bit of the BBQ sauce into the root beer (1/2 cup BBQ sauce and 2.5 cups of root beer).


Pour the root beer mixture over top of the pork roast.


For good measure, I sprinkled a little garlic powder and smoked paprika (for extra smokiness) on top. I used about 1 tsp of each.


Cook on low for eight hours and then you'll have this! Super tender, moist, pork roast that smells absolutely amazing!


Using tongs and a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the slow cooker. It should be so tender that it just falls right off the bone.


Speaking of which, the bones can also be remove and discard.


Shred the meat and either serve as is, or...


Stir in the remaining BBQ sauce. I actually experimented with combining the BBQ sauce, some of the cooking liquid, and root beer, and then letting it simmer until reduced to a thickened state again. I had hoped that it would add more flavor, but in the end I much preferred the straight BBQ sauce.


I have to say, the pork is AMAZING on the soft, fluffy naan... but you can also use it a million different ways. I found myself just snacking on it by itself, even!