Amazing Pork Carnitas Tacos Recipe and Toppings

Mexican food is a staple in our house. Like when we’re home in Orange County we eat it 4-5 times a week, can’t get enough of it staple. 😉 Moving to Utah has made it a bit more difficult to find delicious Mexican food, especially some of our favorites…pork carnitas tacos…so I have gotten desperate and resorted to making my own.

Pork carnitas tacos toppings

I consider myself to be a pretty good cook (my kids might have a different opinion depending on the night ;)) but really, I like to cook and always have. Spending an inordinate amount of time at home over the last six months has really made me up my game in the kitchen like never before.

pork carnitas tacos toppings

We completely stopped eating out when the pandemic hit. For months we didn’t even get take-out. There were so many conflicting reports about how things were spreading, and what was safe, that we made the decision to only eat at home. That really made me start to hunt for new recipes, especially for our beloved Mexican food and pork carnitas tacos. 

pork carnitas tacos toppings

I have made my own carnitas meat before, and it’s not difficult, but it’s a bit more time consuming and I am all about convenience a lot of times when it comes to weeknight dinners. Homemade carnitas meat is another post for another day. 😉 Fortunately, right about the same time that we started cooking more at home, Costco (and many other grocery stores) started carrying this AMAZING pork carnitas tacos meat by Del Real that is pre-made. All you have to do is heat and serve. I use the stove top method and it gives you those crispy pieces of pork just like at a restaurant. SO good!

pork carnitas tacos toppings

Having the meat already to go, gave me the ability to concentrate on the important part…the pork carnitas tacos toppings. Good carnitas tacos toppings make or break the tacos in my opinion. Start by topping your carnitas meat and tortilla with some delicious salsa fresca.  The freshness of the homemade salsa fresca is a carnitas tacos topping that you just can’t get with bottled salsa. It adds so much flavor and color. Delicious!

pork carnitas tacos toppings

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants in OC makes these amazing carnitas tacos topped with onions, cilantro, their incredible homemade salsa fresca (that I could drink by the gallon,) and fresh guacamole. These are the tacos I like to recreate at home, but with one addition. Pickled red onions. The color and flavor of these incredible tacos toppings makes some already amazing carnitas tacos even better. 

pork carnitas tacos toppings

While these pork carnitas tacos have a lot of components and toppings, putting together this meal can be super easy if you want to purchase some of these items pre-made vs. making them at home. I like to make them personally, but it’s totally up to you. 

pork carnitas tacos toppings

Before I let you know what you need for these delicious tacos, let me talk about this incredible tortilla warmer for just a minute. Have you ever gone to one of those “favorite things” parties around the holidays? Well, I usually dread going to them because I always spend a bunch of money on the things I bring and I come home with three things I will never use. I’m not a big lotion/makeup/hair person and with out a doubt it seems like I always end up with those kinds of things. There are the rare exceptions though and this tortilla warmer is one of them. It doesn’t look like much, and to be honest, when I got it I was pretty sure that I would never use it…boy was I wrong!  It is so awesome and now we use it almost weekly and have for years. You simply pop your tortillas in it and stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, depending on how many tortillas you are warming up. It heats them to perfection and keeps them insulated and soft and warm throughout your entire meal. It is amazing! I’m not sure how it works, but it is AWESOME! 

What you’ll need for these pork carnitas tacos and toppings:

Corn Tortillas

Carnitas Meat (pre-made heat and serve like I use, or homemade if you have a favorite recipe)

Guacamole (this recipe is a favorite)

Salsa Fresca (some specialty stores carry a great pre-made salsa, or you can use my favorite easy recipe to make your own at home or google one)

Pickled Red Onions – these are SO insanely easy to make I will post the recipe I use asap, or you can google one

Cilantro

Lime Wedges

Just look at how colorful and amazing these are:

pork carnitas tacos toppings

pork carnitas tacos toppings

Those pickled red onions add so much incredible color to this recipe!

pork carnitas tacos toppings

pork carnitas tacos toppings

You HAVE to try these pork carnitas tacos and toppings at home and let me know what you think, ok? I am dying to know if you love them as much as we do. 

Thanks for visiting the blog!  If you are looking for more fun ideas, you can find all of our recipes here, and tons of entertaining ideas here.

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Have a great day!

Tammy

Tammy

Creative Director at Pink Peppermint Design
Tammy Mitchell is the founder and creative director of lifestyle blog pinkpeppermintdesign.com. Along with being a homeschooling mom of two kiddos, she is also an in-demand prop and event stylist, photographer, interior and graphic designer. On Pink Peppermint Design, she shares creative DIY projects, easy entertaining and gift ideas, inspiring interiors and events. She lives in Southern California, with her husband and two children.

pork carnitas tacos toppings

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