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Make this Chipotle Carnitas Copycat recipe at home to fill tacos, burritos, or a homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowl. All you need is one secret ingredient and a slow cooker or Instant Pot for delicious, authentic carnitas.
Making copycat Chipotle carnitas is as easy as checking their website. There, you can learn that their not-so-secret ingredient is juniper berries, a piney-tasting spice for the juniper tree.
Beyond the berries, you need just a bay leaf, thyme, water, and a piece of pork. Pork becomes meltingly tender in a slow cooker or instant pot, and I have both methods listed below. Once you know how to make Chipotle Carnitas, build out your bowl with the rest of the Chipotle Copycat menu.
Chipotle Carnitas are great in burritos and burrito bowls, tacos, salads, and your next batch of meal prep. Or, add an American twist with your favorite barbecue sauce and enjoy on grilled garlic bread. Tex-Mex, anyone?
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Pork:Â Look for a boneless or bone-in pork shoulder roast or pork butt. These heavy-duty cuts of pork have a high fat content which translates to more flavor.Â
- Juniper berries: While most Carnitas recipes use citrus juice, readers agree that piney juniper berries really make all the difference. Hunt these down to replicate the flavors you get at Chipotle. You can find them at many grocery stores or buy juniper berries on Amazon.
Step-by-step instructions
- Season all sides of pork liberally with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. To the bottom of the slow cooker, add water, bay leaves, thyme, and juniper berries.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours, or LOW for 8 to 10 hours. The meat should be tender and fall apart easily. Transfer pork to a large bowl and shred with two forks.
- Skim fat off liquid in slow cooker if desired. Discard juniper berries and any thyme sprig stems. Serve shredded pork in tacos, burritos, salads, and burrito bowls.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Chipotle Carnitas recipe makes about 6 cups, enough for 12 servings, ½ cup each. Your exact yield depends on the piece of pork you buy (its weight and fat content).
- Storage:Â Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Feel free to get a head start; this recipe can be made entirely up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to serve. Reheat the meat (more tips below) until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Freezer:Â Pop leftover Chipotle Pork into an airtight, freezer-safe container and put it on ice for up to 6 to 8 months.
- Reheating:Â When reheating frozen or cold carnitas, the easiest way is to use your slow cooker. Reheat pork on LOW until it reaches 165 degrees, using a little broth or water to thin out the sauce, if necessary. To reheat carnitas in the oven, place it in an oven-safe baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at a low temperature of 250 degrees, until the meat registers 165 degrees. Or, microwave individual portions in 1-minute increments.
- Spices: Chipotle uses juniper berries, thyme, and a bay leaf for their pork. However, you can easily switch up the spices to use your favorites. Cumin and Mexican oregano are great on pork, or try my all-purpose pork spice blend made with garlic powder, coriander, paprika, and fennel.
- Instant pot carnitas: Add the ingredients to the pot and cook on high pressure for 45-55 minutes with a 15 minute natural release. Remove the juniper berries, bay leaves, and thyme with a slotted spoon. Follow the instructions for browning, using the SAUTÉ function in the pressure cooker, the broiler, or on the stove.
- Oven-baked carnitas: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a Dutch oven (or other large heavy-bottomed pot) over medium high heat, add a bit of olive oil and sear the seasoned meat on all sides. Add thyme, water, bay leaves, and juniper berries. Put the lid on the pot, place it in the oven, and cook for 4 hours – or until the meat comes apart easily. Remove the juniper berries, bay leaves, and thyme with a slotted spoon. Follow the instructions for browning, using the broiler, or a skillet on the stove.
- For carnitas with crispy edges:
- In a large skillet over high heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil until shimmering. Add pork in batches (3 to 4 batches), along with about 2 tablespoons juice from slow cooker (or chicken broth), and cook without moving until browned on one side.
- Toss the pork to flip and brown the other side briefly (you want both crispy and soft pieces), until all the juice has evaporated. Return to slow cooker and repeat with remaining pork. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the Chipotle ingredient statement, their carnitas are made with pork, sunflower oil, bay leaves, thyme, juniper berries, salt, and black pepper.
Both corn tortillas and flour tortillas are perfect for enjoying carnitas. Soft corn tortillas are the more traditional choice for tacos in Mexico, but large burrito-sized flour tortillas are more appropriate for burritos.
The closest substitute for juniper berries is allspice berries. Add them whole to your slow cooker for different (yet delicious) flavor.
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Chipotle Carnitas Copycat
IngredientsÂ
- 1 (3 ½ to 4 pound) pork butt roast fat cap trimmed to 1/8-inch (see note 1)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large sprig fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons whole juniper berries (see note 2)
InstructionsÂ
- Season all sides of pork liberally with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. To the bottom of the slow cooker, add water, bay leaves, thyme, and juniper berries.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 6 hours, or LOW for 8 to 10 hours. The meat should fall apart easily.
- Transfer pork to a large bowl and shred with two forks. Skim fat off liquid in slow cooker if desired. Discard juniper berries and any thyme sprig stems. Serve shredded pork in tacos, burritos, salads, and burrito bowls.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Pork:Â Look for a boneless or bone-in pork shoulder roast or pork butt. These heavy-duty cuts of pork have a high fat content which translates to more flavor.Â
- Juniper berries: While most Carnitas recipes use citrus juice, readers agree that piney juniper berries really make all the difference. Hunt these down to replicate the flavors you get at Chipotle.Â
- Yield: This Chipotle Carnitas recipe makes about 6 cups, enough for 12 servings, ½ c. each. Your exact yield depends on the piece of pork you buy (its weight and fat content).
- Storage:Â Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Super excited to make these. One question – are the juniper berries dry or fresh?
Hi Lindsay! They are dry, hard and dry. They look a little bit like black peppercorns but 2x – 3x the size, and brown. Similar to allspice berries. You’ll find them in the spice section of the grocery store. Thank you! -Meggan
SĂşper tasty!
Thank you so much Giorgio! I am glad you loved it! -Meggan
If you have trouble procuring pork butt/shoulder you can use tenderloin, but add some ribs to increase the fat and flavor.
Use the juniper berries for sure, but traditional Michoacán carnitas use fresh orange juice, so don’t be afraid to add some of that to the braising water, too!
Really excited to make this recipe! Is it okay to use juniper berry powder in place of juniper berries?
Hi Grace! Do they make juniper berry powder? I mean, of course they do, I just never heard of it. 🙂 I’m sure that will work fine. I don’t know the exact conversion (maybe it says on the bottle?) but juniper berries are really strong, so tread lightly if you’re not sure. I’ll track some down and test it for myself so I can update the post with that info. Thank you! -Meggan
Can the meat be frozen after cooked and cooled?
Yes! Absolutely. I have done it numerous times and it works out great.
Not sure what I did wrong but it Taste like plain pork.
Hi Jennifer, did you use juniper berries? They smell a little, well, piney? That should change the flavor if nothing else. I’m assuming you’ve had the pork from Chipotle. This should taste the same. If you used juniper berries, maybe they were really old? But I just kind of doubt it. I’m sorry about that. -Meggan
Thank you, this is perfect. It’s easy and I’ve made it at least three times since September of 2019. (I was having a chipotle craving for a couple of weeks) this satisfies my cravings and at a fraction of the cost because I do your chipotle rice and black beans as well. It’s so goooood. THANK YOU for doing all the work and then sharing the reward!
Updated. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have been using this recipe for a couple years now and it’s fantastic!!! I make bowls. I make tacos. I make tostadas with it. I even freeze it, thaw it and lightly fry it up in a lil oil and add some Sazon seasoning. I also place chicken breasts in the crock pot with the pork or by themselves with these same seasonings. So good!! I cannot say enough. The juniper berries are the trick. Kinda pricey, so I buy them online and freeze them. I Will say, I like the flavors a so much that I just about triple the thyme and juniper berries. Yum! Thank you one more time!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have been using this recipe for a couple years now and it’s fantastic!!! I make bowls. I make tacos. I make tostadas with it. I even freeze it, thaw it and lightly fry it up in a lil oil and add some Sazon seasoning. I also place chicken breasts in the crock pot with the pork or by themselves with these same seasonings. So good!! I cannot say enough. The juniper berries are the trick. Kinda pricey, so I buy them online and freeze them. I Will say, I like the flavors a so much that I just about triple the thyme and juniper berries. Yum! Thank you one more time!
Haven’t tried the recipe yet…..but…..the ONLY place to buy spices as far as I am concerned is Penzy’s Spices, just google it. As fresh as can be with a LONG shelf life. I don’t buy them with salt, I season my own as I won’t pay the prices for salt weight in the spices I love.
Getting to the point they have a LARGE variety of spices including Juniper Berries that are as “fresh” as a spice can be without being actually fresh.
As for the recipe I am using it to can up a winter stash of ready to go taco meat…OMg!…Thank You!