This Easy Crock Pot Shredded Pork Tenderloin makes a small batch of delicious BBQ pull pork from tenderloin—a perfect recipe for a smaller household.
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You will love this pulled pork for some great BBQ sandwiches. Moist and tender, this shredded pork tenderloin is seasoned with a dry rub and only takes a few hours in a crock pot.
Think of it as pulled pork for two—no need to make large amounts with leftovers for weeks. But you can easily scale up the amount for your needs.
Pork tenderloin is lean, so low and slow cooking is not needed. And it will fit a healthy diet like a low-calorie or low-fat diet or even a low-carb keto diet.
Serve on a bun with BBQ sauce with salad, Baked French Fries, Grilled Mixed Vegetables, Stove Top Mac and Cheese, or Microwave Corn on the Cob.
For shredded pork loin, see Baked Shredded Pork Loin or Crock Pot Shredded Pork Loin. And check out some other crock pot BBQ recipes, like Crock Pot BBQ Chicken, Crock Pot Pulled Pork from Butt, and Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs.
This recipe is featured in Pulled Pork Recipes without a Smoker and Smaller Crock Pot Recipe Roundup
🐖Ingredients
- Pork tenderloin
- Liquid smoke—good quality, recommended but not required
- Pantry ingredients for spice rub—brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper
👨🍳How to cook shredded pork tenderloin in a crock pot
- Trim and cut pork tenderloin into 5-6 pieces.
- Use a dry rub of your choice or in a small bowl, mix the provided rub. In a larger bowl, coat the pork with liquid smoke (optional) and coat the pieces with the rub and liquid smoke.
- Place the meat in a 2 quart or larger crock pot.
- Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Check the pork at 2 hours to see if it will shred easily. You may need to cook up to 1 hour longer.
- Shred the meat and mix it with the crock pot liquid. Let it cook another 15-20 minutes on high.
🌡️When is pork tenderloin done and ready to shred?
The minimum safe temperature for pork tenderloin is 145°. But shedding needs to be a bit higher, usually 155°+.
Test it with a fork for "fork tender," which is when a fork can go in the meat and back out with little resistance. That is when it will shred the easiest.
✔️Tips and Variations
- The thickness of a mass of pork will affect the cooking time. You do not want to be piling the chunks on top of others. Or if you do, the cooking time will be longer. Try to keep it to a single layer to help the cooking time and even out the cooking.
- This works in a 2-quart crock pot, but I like to use a 3-4 quart size to stay in a single layer. But a bigger slow cooker will also work.
- If the pork has been frozen, it may not contain as much moisture as a fresh tenderloin. Then add a bit of chicken broth after shredding if needed.
- Older crock pots may have thermostats that do not work well, and the crock pot's temperature may go much higher.
- The dry rub provides the seasoning, but you can use any pork rub you like or check out BBQ Dry Rub for Pork, Chipotle BBQ Dry Rub, or Memphis Dry Rub.
🐖About Pork Tenderloin
The tenderloin refers to the psoas muscle along the lower back. It is chicken tenders in the chicken or beef tenderloin (filet mignon) in cattle. The psoas muscle is generally the most tender cut since it is not used for movement.
A pork tenderloin is not a pork loin. To shred a pork loin, it requires a braising technique.
❓FAQs
Use the barbecue sauce you like. I love the original sauce from Gates of Kansas City but frequently use my homemade Memphis BBQ Sauce.
BBQ sauce should be added at serving but not during cooking or reheating.
BBQ sauce has acid due to the vinegar base. This will deteriorate the texture of pulled pork from a tenderloin or pork butt, especially when heated.
Use a large crock pot and make a double or triple recipe. It will take longer to cook if you need more than one layer of pork.
❄️How to store and reheat shredded pork tenderloin
Store leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the refrigeator for 4 days. Or in a freezer for 3 months.
To reheat, cover in the oven with a few sprinkles of water until hot. Do not reheat in or cover with BBQ sauce. The meat will become mushy due to the acid in the BBQ sauce.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Start with pork tenderloin. Trim off extra fat and the silver skin and cut into 5-6 pieces of about equal size.
If using the included dry rub, mix 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon each pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
In a larger bowl, coat the pork with liquid smoke (optional) and coat the pieces with the dry rub and liquid smoke.
Place the meat in the bottom of a 2 quart or larger crock pot. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Check the pork at 2 hours to see if it will shred easily—it should be over 145° and fork tender. You may need to cook up to 1 hour longer.
Shred the meat and mix it into the crock pot liquid. Let it cook another 15-20 minutes on high before serving.
📖 Recipe
Easy Crock Pot Shredded Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound pork tenderloin - one whole
- 2 tablespoons dry rub of your choice
- 1 teaspoon liquid Smoke—optional but recommended - Wrights preferred
Optional Dry Rub
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Start with pork tenderloin. Trim off extra fat and the silver skin and cut into 5-6 pieces of about equal size.
- If using the included dry rub, mix 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon each pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- In a larger bowl, coat the pork with liquid smoke (optional) and coat the pieces with the dry rub and liquid smoke.
- Place the meat in the bottom of a 2 quart or larger crock pot. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Check the pork at 2 hours to see if it will shred easily—it should be over 145° and fork tender. You may need to cook up to 1 hour longer.
- Shred the meat and mix it into the crock pot liquid. Let it cook another 15-20 minutes on high before serving.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Be sure you use pork tenderloin and not pork loin for this recipe.
- You don’t have to cut the pork tenderloin into chunks, but it will take longer to cook and you will end up with very long pork stands after shredding.
- Bad liquid smoke is worse than no liquid smoke. Use Wright's or skip this ingredient.
- Try to keep the pork in a single layer to help faster, more even cooking.
- This fits in a 2-quart crock pot but will be a single layer in a 3-4 quart crock pot. I suggest a large crock pot for a double batch.
- Add the BBQ sauce you like at serving but do not store or reheat the shredded pork in sauce. It will affect the texture.
- Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 days.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editors Note: Originally Published July 13, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Thai
1/4 pound with what? The recipe calls for 1.5 lbs though
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Thai,
I guess we aren't communicating well. A 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin makes 6 servings of 1/4 pound each, and that 1/4 pound, when shredded, will be about 3/4 cup and will make a large sandwich.
Let me know if that is now what you need.
Dan
Thai
How much is a serving?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
1/4 pound with will be about 3/4 cup shredded pork.
Dan
Lisa
If I am using a frozen tenderloin, other than obviously not being able to cut the meat into chunks, how would that change the process/cooking time?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Lisa,
Welcome to the blog.
Not a good idea. There are two potential issues. Frozen meat can literally break the ceramic inserts commonly used in crock pots due to temperature differential and expansion between the heating element and frozen meat. Not a common thing but obviously a dangerous situation.
The second is food safety with the food staying outside of the safe temperature zone for too long.
So, please thaw first. If you need to get it done, please follow the water thawing method discussed in this turkey recipe. A pork tenderloin should thaw quickly. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/how-to-roast-a-turkey-breast-the-easy-way/
Dan
Merzi
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your recipe! I used you spices mostly as is…I used garlic salt for my salt, I didn’t cut up the tenderloin and cooked it on high for 6 hours….after shredding I mixed some of the pork with Stubb’s Original BBQ sauce and the rest as is…it was delicious! I think your recipe was great and will use this going forward!
Kristin Wrobel
I wanted to make pulled pork tacos and found your recipe to learn about how long to cook it in a crock pot. I cooked a 1.5lb tenderloin on high for 2.5 hours, but found it to be VERY hard to shred. I did more research online and read pork goes from raw to cooked to tender. I don’t believe 2.5 hours is the best time to create tender, easily shredded pork. Perhaps 4 hours? The pork tasted delicious though and was easy to bite into, but it created much larger chucks than desired. But perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing for tacos.
Cheryl
Hi,
I make a recipe very similar to yours frequently; it’s actually my 20 year old sons favorite! He is home from college (for spring break) and I’m going to make it for him; but I am wondering if you could give me times for making this in the Instant Pot?🙏🏼 I thought I’d brown the tenderloins (sauté function) and then add my liquid, but I’m worried about how long to cook. Thanks so much, glad I found you, you’ve got some great recipes!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Cheryl,
Welcome to the blog.
I'm not a big pressure cooker user and have not done this. But it should be in the same range as shredded chicken, so my guess is about 10 minutes under pressure. But again, I have not done this.
Dan
Victoria Ashton
Hello, I'm following this recipe (first time using a slow cooker) but I have a question - should you brown the meat first?
Thanks!
Victoria
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Victoria,
Browning is not needed.
Dan
Sandi
I made this tonight and it was just as described. It's super easy and very tasty. The meat was tender with a nice flavor. Everyone loved it and it will be used again! Thank you!
Kayla Evans
Im in the process of using this recipe and im wondering if i add water or chicken broth to my crock pot ir do i just put the tenderloin in and let it cook. I have already added my spices just curious about liquid?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kayla,
Welcome to the blog.
Some liquid will come out of the meat. No need to add any.
Dan
Rachel
Made it with pork tenderloin and was so easy and tasty that I tried it with chicken too.
Thanks so much!
Mary
Thanks for this recipe. It's a keeper!
I'm confused about crock pots and your answer to the Wrong Temp post. If the only difference between high and low settings is the warm up speed, then why does mine have the option to switch to low after 2 hours on high? Did I misread something?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the blog.
I think I said exactly what I wanted to say.
I only have a couple of reasons your pot could have that setting. First, they aren't using a thermostat (really a bad thing). Most do but some still don't. Many old ones didn't either. Without a thermostat to control it, they worked by applying different amperage to the heating element for low vs high. These are the type of pots that run horribly hot at times even on low since they are applying the same amperage and the temperature just keeps climbing.
The other possibility is that the marketing/design people have no idea of what their product actually does. But I suspect the first.
So the old "know your pot" applies. If it boils much, it is too hot. And buy a different brand next time. KitchenAid seems to win the testing at Cooks Illustrated a lot but they very by model. My All Clads seem very good also. And my Cuisinart 3.5 qt is stellar.
Thanks for the note, question and rating. I love to ramble on.
Dan
Terese
Excellent way to cook that doesn't take 6 hours and it turned out great thank you
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Terese,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delayed response.
I do like this recipe. It is tender like all tenderloin and doesn't make so much I need to freeze things.
Glad it worked well for you.
Thanks so much for the note and rating.
Dan
Mari
Hi! This looks amazing. I have a question... I roasted pork tenderloin last night and it's dry! I don't want to toss it, so I wanted to make this, how would you recommend I do it? Add a bit of water with the spices and maybe some BBQ sauce?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Mari,
Welcome to the blog.
You will definitely need to add some moisture. This recipe depends on the moisture already in the meat for the cooking.
If the meat is already cooked and dry, there may not be much rescuing it. Maybe shred and just add a few oz of chicken broth and the spices, then low for an hour and see if it comes back or if you just want to trash it. BBQ sauce just at the end.
That may or may not help.
Dan
Trish
Tried it. Add my own spices to it as well. Very moist and tender. Turned out fantastic!
DrDan
Hi Trish,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jeanette
My sister makes this recipe all the time. It is a great recipe. I have a question though. I am making this pulled pork for 20-25 guests. There will be lots of other dishes. I will be using 6 pork tenderloins. Any idea on how long to cook?
DrDan
Hi Jeanette,
Welcome to the blog.
I don't think this is the recipe for you really. You would need about 10 pounds for that many people, so 6-8 tenderloins.
I would suggest https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-pulled-pork-from-pork-butt/. It will be real pulled pork (not "fake" like this one) and is great. Use two 4-5 pound pork butts and separate on the pan in the oven. About 10 hours plus or minus.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Marian Manzo
I had a one and a half pound pork tenderloin in my freezer didn't know what to do with it. Then I thought, I loved pulled pork let me see if I can do it with the pork tenderloin in the Crock-Pot.. I looked at several recipes on-line then I chose yours. It is absolutely perfect. I followed it exactly, except I did use a large crock pot but it did not change the cook time. The seasoning is absolutely perfect I will never make pulled. pork any other way! Thank you so much!!
Ann
My crockpot is 6qt. My pork is 2.77lbs. Keep with 2 hour cook time?
Thank you
DrDan
Hi Ann,
Welcome to the blog.
First be sure we are talking pork tenderloin and not pork loin. I have never seen a pork tenderloin that big. This will not work with pork loin.
Assuming you are using two tenderloins. Yep, use the bigger crock pot and double the spices. Cooking time will be about the same 2 hours on high.
Dan
Shannon Zamora
Your recipe says high for temp. My crock pot has temp settings and the highest setting is 400. Will that be too high for 2 hours?
DrDan
Hi Shannon,
I have never seen a crockpot like that. You may have a roaster instead. They tend to be bigger and use degrees not settings. But whatever,
On low most crock pots are about 200 degrees or at least under boiling. On high crock pots should run the same max temperature but just get there faster leading to faster cooking time.
For you, pick 225 and see what happens.
Dan
Lisa Kane
So glad I found this! I tried it last night and it turned out great :) The meat is tender and juicy and nicely flavored. We all like a different sauce in my house, one likes no sauce at all, so this is really perfect. We just finish on the bun with sauce if desired!
I used a larger crockpot for 2 tenderloins. I think it's important to cut it into chunks and have enough room in the crock so they aren't crowded. I mixed the seasonings in a bowl and rolled each piece of meat in them until they were all covered. Also, my crock has a "dual" setting, so it cooked on high for an hour or so then switched to low for the last few hours. I started it at about noon and didn't get home until 4, it was perfect.
Deena
The nutritional facts, is that for the whole pot or what is an actual serving size?
Deena
Nevermind! found it.
Joanne
Left meat in for 2 hours still tough, so set for additional hour. Hope this works. Any advice?
DrDan
How big is the pork tenderloin and how big is the crock pot?
Lindsay
If I wanted to double the recipe in this size crockpot what would you suggest cooking time wise? Thanks great recipe!
DrDan
Hi Lindsay,
I violate the 2/3 full rule for crock pots here. I like this recipe to be mostly if not all in contact with the bottom of the pot. So I would use a 6-7 qt. pot for double.
Dan
Brianna
Do i need any liquids in to crock pot? Will it burn without liquids?
DrDan
No additional liquid needed. The liquid from the meat is enough.
DrDan
Stephanie
I'm wondering if the crockpot size is really important. I tried this in a bigger crockpot and the pork was far from shreddable after two hours
DrDan
I think the size is somewhat important probably due to heating the air faster. Cook it longer probably 30 to 60 minutes longer. Check it a few times. There is probably also some issues with variability between crock pots.
DrDan
Lindsey
Love this one as well. its a regular on our meal rotation
DrDan
Thanks for the note and rating. It does make a great sandwich.
DrDan
Laura R
This works great! One day a while back I accidentally discovered that pork tenderloin shreds nice after a sit in the crock pot. I like the spices you used, will definitely try that over my previous dumping of a bottled BBQ sauce. I bet the leftover meat would make great nachos!
Pat
This recipe looks yummy. Thanks!