I’m so excited to share with you, another power bowl meal! If these Pulled Pork Bowls w/ Cilantro Maple Dressing aren’t on your menu, they need to be. Trust me! The weather has turned(sorry to my summer lovers:’), and that means the slow cooker meals will become more frequent! I’ve included in this pulled pork bowl recipe, a variety of flavors including, cilantro, maple syrup, orange/apple juice, and more. These pork rice bowls are a great meal to serve for guests, because the topping combinations are versatile, and easily adaptable for specific dietary needs.
What goes into a pork rice bowl?
I absolutely love power bowl meals because they can be so versatile, and you can add so many different toppings to them. You can follow the recipe word for word with each ingredient, OR, you can clean out your fridge, and use all the leftover veggies waiting to go bad! Either way, you can make these pulled pork bowls taste delicious, and cater them to your personal taste and dietary preferences! Find a few topping ideas below:
- Kale
- Bell Pepper
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
- Feta Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese
- Red Onion or Chopped Shallots
- Or Really anything you think would taste yummy!:)
What Rice Should I Use?
For these cilantro pulled pork bowls, I used this Thai Hot Mali Jasmine Rice from Costco. For a substitute, any Basmati rice, or Brown rice would work perfectly! You may just have to adjust cooking time, as Basmati, and brown rices will take longer to cook. I used chicken broth as the liquid to cook my rice in, because I feel it adds a rich flavor to the bowl. If you don’t have chicken broth on hand, you can easily skip that, and use water!
Cilantro Maple Dressing:
Preparing this dressing is super easy. All you will need is a blender or a food processor. Combine all ingredients, and blend until smooth. That’s it!
How to prepare and cook your pork roast in a crock pot?
- In your crockpot/slow cooker you will add lemon juice, orange juice, apple juice, maple syrup, chopped cilantro, avocado oil, chopped shallot, garlic cloves, ranch flavor, garlic salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, and sea salt. Use a large spoon or ladle to stir the ingredients and incorporate everything evenly through the mixture.
- Next, take your pork roast out of its packaging, and pat dry with a paper towel. Place roast on a cutting board horizontally. Then, take a knife, and slice about half an inch down into your roast from the top of the roast to the bottom(see pictures below). Depending on how long your roast is, you will make about 5-7 slices, about an inch apart. You will then flip your roast over and perform the same slicing technique so that both sides of your roast has slits.
- Then, place the pork roast in the slow cooker. Ladle the juice mixture up on to the roast. Try to get as much juice/onions/garlic etc. into each of the slices. This will help to saturate the meat internally, and let the flavors cook into your meat.
- Turn your slow cooker on high, and cook for 4 hours.
- Thirty minutes before your roast is complete, take two forks and shred your roast. Then add your sliced purple onion to the pot. I like to add my onions towards the end so they are cooked through, but not too mushy!
Assembling pulled pork bowls w/ cilantro maple dressing
To assemble your pulled pork bowl, begin with a warm bed of rice at the bottom of your bowl. I like to add a little bit of butter, salt and pepper at this time, because it allows the butter to melt. Then you can mix it around to distribute the butter evenly thought your rice. Next, you can add some of the shredded pork shoulder to your bowl. Then, the fun part begins! Have fun piling high all of the delicious topping you have selected, and get ready to fill your belly with so much goodness! Top your bowl with fresh cilantro or green onions. This adds flavor, and a gorgeous touch to the aesthetic of your bowl.
Preparing pulled pork bowls in advance, and meal prep tips:
To meal prep, begin by grabbing yourself a nice set of containers to fit your pulled pork bowls comfortably. To prepare in advance, follow all cooking and preparation instructions. The only thing that will be different is the assembly. Wash, cut and prepare veggies, and toppings. I would assemble the rice and meat in your meal prep containers, but leave all fresh veggies, and dressing out. Store toppings in separate containers until the day you are ready to eat your meal. I keep the veggies and sauce separate, because this keeps vegetables fresh, and prevents anything from getting too soggy(ew). These will keep nicely for up to a week.
Pulled Pork Bowls w/ Cilantro Maple Dressing
Equipment
- blender or food processor
- slow cooker
- medium sized pot
Ingredients
Cilantro Maple Dressing
- 1/2 cup Cilantro fresh and chopped
- 3/4 cup Cottage Cheese
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Lemon (juiced)
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil olive oil works too
- 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Shallot cut into 4 pieces
- 2-3 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 tsp Coriander
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1-2 tsp Sea Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Pork Shoulder/Roast Ingredients
- 2 Lemons juiced(discard peels)
- 1 Orange juiced(discard peels)
- 1 cup Apple Juice Fresh squeezed, not from concentrate
- 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2-3/4 cup Cilantro chopped roughly into small pieces
- 1/2 cup Avocado Oil olive oil works as a substitute
- 1 Shallot diced
- 8 cloves Garlic minced, crushed, or zested
- 1 tbsp Ranch Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Garlic Salt (garlic powder+sea salt works too)
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
Rice and Toppings List
- 2 cups Jasmine Rice uncooked(plus 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp coriander*optional)
- Yellow Bell Pepper chopped or sliced thinly
- Kale washed, prepped with a small amount of olive oil and sea salt
- Cherry Tomatoes or any kind of tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Avocado
- More Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Feta
- 4 1/2-5 cups Chicken Broth optional *see notes
Instructions
Pork Shoulder Prep and Cooking Instructions
- In your crockpot/slow cooker you will add lemon juice, orange juice, apple juice, maple syrup, chopped cilantro, avocado oil, chopped shallot, garlic cloves, ranch flavor, garlic salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, and sea salt. Use a large spoon or ladle to stir the ingredients and incorporate everything evenly through the mixture.
- Next, take your pork roast out of its packaging, and pat dry with a paper towel. Place roast on a cutting board horizontally. Then, take a knife, and slice about half an inch down into your roast from the top of the roast to the bottom(see pictures below). Depending on how long your roast is, you will make about 5-7 slices, about an inch apart. You will then flip your roast over and perform the same slicing technique so that both sides of your roast has slits.
- Then, place the pork roast in the slow cooker. Ladle the juice mixture up on to the roast. Try to get as much juice/onions/garlic etc. into each of the slices.
- Turn your slow cooker on high, and cook for 4 hours.
- Thirty minutes before your roast is complete, take two forks and shred your roast. Then add your sliced purple onion to the pot.
- Cook for thirty more minutes, until onions are tender.
Preparing Cilantro Maple Dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. That's it!
Rice prep, and Power Bowl Assembly
- Cook rice as instructed on the package. If you choose to use chicken broth instead of water its 1:1 ratio of what whatever water is called for in cooking instructions. I also added 1/2 tsp paprika powder+1/2 tsp coriander powder to my liquid as well.
- To assemble your cilantro pulled pork bowl, begin with a warm bed of rice at the bottom of your bowl. I like to add a little bit of butter, salt and pepper at this time, because it allows the butter to melt. Then you can mix it around to distribute the butter evenly thought your rice. Top your bowl with fresh cilantro or green onions.
- Next, you can add some of the shredded pork shoulder to your bowl.
- Then, the fun part begins! Have fun piling high all of the delicious topping you have selected, and get ready to fill your belly with so much goodness!
- Top your bowl with fresh cilantro(or green onions), and cilantro maple dressing.
- Mix it all up for flavor in every bite, and enjoy!
Yum! These pulled pork bowls are addictive! The perfect easy dinner, I can’t get enough!
OH MY GAWD! This looks insane! And your recipe reminds me so much of this meal I had in New York City! So good.
These bowls would be so good to make ahead for lunches! I love just cleaning out all the veggies in my fridge for bowls just like this. The pork looks super tasty and I’m super intrigued by the cilantro maple dressing. I may try it out tonight!
These bowls were delicious! The pork was so tender, and I loved the flavor the maple added in the dressing — made it really perfect for fall too.
I absolutely love pulled pork! These bowls have the best flavors and textures!
This pork bowl looks amazing and I love cilantro so the dressing sounds perfect. Looking forward to making this recipe.
These pulled pork bowls are amazing!
That bowl looks amazing! Full of flavor and so healthy. I’m saving this recipe to give it a try.
My family loved this dinner. It was easy to make and super tasty.
I served these pork bowls at a luncheon I had and everyone loved them. This recipe is so versatile and love that it can be tailored for different dietary needs. Great recipe.
Such a colorful plate, with balance of meat and veggies and Im the only one loving the cilantro a lot!
That was really delicious. Easy to make and perfect for light lunch. Thanks for the recipe.
These bowls were so good, making again next week!
These pulled pork bowls were so good, fantastic flavor! I will definitely be making them again!
everyone loved this recipe last night! Guess i’ll be making this again!
One of my favourite meals. So easy and delicious! I swap for a sugar-free maple to lower the carbs and it is still incredible.