When you need to feed a hungry crowd, make this Cheesy BBQ Pulled Pork! Our famous pulled pork recipe mixed with lots of sharp cheddar cheese is absolutely addicting. Just like in our original recipe, you can add barbecue sauce or not, it’s delicious either way. Pile onto buns, stuff in baked potatoes or add on top of nachos.
Why We LOVE This Cheesy Barbecue Pulled Pork
Pulled pork is pretty delicious all on it’s own, but when you stir in a few cups of sharp cheddar cheese it becomes – well, amazing. This Cheesy BBQ Pulled Pork was actually our son’s idea, and we’ve gotta hand it to him, it’s pretty legit.
The cheese literally melts into the pulled pork and I’m telling you guys, you can NOT stop eating it. We make this for parties and holidays, birthdays or just dinner at home for the week with lots of leftovers.
How To Make
To make a basic pulled pork recipe, you can either use your oven or your crock pot. There’s really not much difference in flavor, just the difference in cooking time. Pulled pork made in the oven will take less time, while the slow cooker version will take longer.
Crock pots just make things a little easier, you just add a pork roast to your slow cooker with a dry rub and onions. Turn it on and walk away.
I have found that different brands of slow cookers definitely cook at different temperatures. The “low” setting on one slow cooker doesn’t always equal the temperature of a “low” setting on another slow cooker. So start checking to see if the pork is tender around the 6 hour mark for the low setting.
Once the pork roast is tender, remove it from the slow cooker and set it on a board to cool. Drain the juices from your slow cooker, but save them in a bowl, you’ll be stirring some of the juices into the shredded pork.
Shred the pork butt using two forks or Meat Claws and then return it back to the slow cooker. Add some of the onions and reserved juices to the pork along with your favorite barbecue sauce.
You’ll want to add the cheese in while it’s still warm so that it melts into the pork. If it’s not quite warm enough to melt the cheese, put the lid back on and turn the slow cooker on high for 15 minutes.
Variations
Cheddar cheese not your thing? We went with a sharp cheddar cheese because we love the flavor combined with the rich pulled pork. But there are other options, too!
- Monterey Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack for a little spice!
- Provolone Cheese
- Colby Cheese or Colby Jack
- American Cheese
Spice it up! If you like some heat in your food, add a splash or two of hot sauce or a spicy barbecue sauce.
Ways To Serve
Obviously we love piling this cheesy pulled pork on buns. Sometimes we add a scoop of Creamy Coleslaw to the sandwich and man, that’s good.
- Pile it into a baked potato with toppings
- Add it to a taco salad
- NACHOS!!!
- Use it as a filling for taquitos or tacos
- Make cheesy poutine french fries
This pulled pork is perfect for serving at parties because it’s a make ahead recipe and your guests can even serve themselves! Set out a plate of buns on the side, maybe a bowl of coleslaw and you’re good to go.
Like I said before, we’ve also make this recipe for Sunday dinner so that we have leftovers during the busy weeknights of school and sports activities. Also a great thing when your kids can feed themselves, too.
Looking For More Pork Recipes?
- Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
- Pulled Pork Sliders
- Pulled Pork Taquitos
- Spicy Peanut Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Italian Pork Stew
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Cheesy BBQ Pulled Pork
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeCheesy BBQ Pulled Pork is always a hit at parties! Our famous pulled pork recipe mixed with sharp cheddar cheese has the most addicting flavor!
Ingredients
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (you’ll use the whole recipe)
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups barbecue sauce, plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Start by making our Slow Cooker Pulled Pork. Depending on the size of your pork shoulder or butt, this will take approximately 8-10 hours.
- Remove the pork from the slow cooker to a board then pour the juices into a large bowl.
- Let the pork butt cool slightly, then shred the pork into bite sized pieces. You can use 2 forks to shred the pork, meat claws or if it’s cool enough, your hands.
- Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker with 1 cup of the reserved onions and juices from cooking.
- Add the cheese and bbq sauce to the pork and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook for another 15 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Recipe Notes
This recipe makes about 8 cups of pulled pork, about 1/2 cup is a good size for servings on buns!
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
