Meal Prep
Slow Cooker Carnitas Bowls
High Protein Slow Cooked Carnitas Bowls prove that meal prep doesn’t have to mean boring chicken and rice. Citrus-garlic pork slow cooks until tender, then gets finished under the broiler for that irresistible street-taco crunch before landing in a bowl with cilantro-lime rice, black beans, melted cheese, and bright salsa verde. The result is bold, balanced, and ridiculously satisfying- all while staying around 647 calories with strong protein macros. It’s the kind of prep that reheats beautifully all week and turns your slow cooker into a full-blown flavor factory.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
High protein
Slow Cooker Carnitas Bowls
65.6g protein647 calories per serving
- Prep Time
- 20 mins
- Cook Time
- 20 mins
- Down Time
- 360 mins
- Total Time
- 400 mins
Equipment
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Ingredients
Ingredient links open Walmart products from our grocery planner. Links marked “Walmart search” need your product choice. Confirm package details and local availability at Walmart.
For the Carnitas:
For the Sides:
For the toppings:
Instructions
Prepare the Carnitas Base:
2 lb lean pork shoulder, ½ cup orange juice, ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth, 1 limes, 1 whole orange peel, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, 4 cloves garlic, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp chipotle powder
Slow Cook:
Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours (or HIGH for 4-5 hours) until pork is fork-tender. Discard bay leaf and orange peel.
Crisp the Carnitas:
Cook the Rice:
1 cup dry jasmine rice, 1 limes, ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, ½ tsp salt
Assemble Bowls:
Divide rice and black beans among individual meal-prep containers. Top with crispy carnitas, salsa verde, and cheese. Add lime wedges for squeezing at serve.
15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained, ½ cup nonfat shredded cheddar, ½ cup store-bought salsa verde, 2 limes
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving.
- Calories
- 647 kcal
- Protein
- 65.6 g
- Fat
- 13.2 g
- Carbs
- 64.9 g
Full nutrition and how it’s calculated
All values are per serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Saturated Fat
- 3.2 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1.91 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 6.14 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.03 g
- Cholesterol
- 139 mg
- Sodium
- 1,581 mg
- Potassium
- 1,378 mg
- Fiber
- 8 g
- Sugar
- 5.1 g
- Added Sugar
- 0 g
- Vitamin A
- 44 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 35.8 mg
- Vitamin D
- 3.87 mcg
- Calcium
- 232 mg
- Iron
- 6.63 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$3.89 per serving · $15.57 for this batch
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- lean pork shoulder: $9.44
1,209.6 g purchased · Uses listed per-pound price. Purchase weight includes any bones or trim; lean shoulder uses the boneless shoulder product, not a measured lean-only quote. Owner-approved conservative shopping/cost estimate: 75% remains after visible-fat trimming; actual yield varies. Nutrition uses the weighed trimmed amount without another 25% reduction.
Authored ingredient weight. Uses listed per-pound price. Purchase weight includes any bones or trim; lean shoulder uses the boneless shoulder product, not a measured lean-only quote. Owner-approved conservative shopping/cost estimate: 75% remains after visible-fat trimming; actual yield varies. Nutrition uses the weighed trimmed amount without another 25% reduction.
Walmart: Smithfield All Natural Boneless Pork Shoulder Butt Roast 2.4 - 6 lb, 20g Protein Per 4 oz Serving · Price checked 2026-09-21
- orange juice: $0.30
124 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 248 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value 100% Pasteurized Orange Juice, No Pulp, 52 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-sodium chicken broth: $0.20
120 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 240 g Liquid carton treated as 32 US fl oz; stock uses the broth reference where applicable.
Walmart: Great Value Reduced Sodium Gluten-Free Chicken Broth, 32 oz Carton (Shelf-Stable) · Price checked 2026-09-21
- limes: $0.25
70 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- whole orange peel: $0.06
25 g purchased · Whole oranges bought for peel; full fruit cost assigned to peel with an estimated 20% peel yield. Estimated usable yield: 20% of purchased weight; per-100 g price includes the discarded portion.
1 each = 5 g; Editorial 5 g total for the recipe's 2-3 strips, not the peel of an entire orange. Whole oranges bought for peel; full fruit cost assigned to peel with an estimated 20% peel yield. Estimated usable yield: 20% of purchased weight; per-100 g price includes the discarded portion.
Walmart: Fresh Navel Oranges, 4 lb Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil: $0.18
13.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 13.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 17 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.01
6 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.10
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- cumin: $0.04
2.1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.1 g; texture=ground; Editorial ground-cumin estimate: 2.1 g/tsp. Grinding/packing varies; this is not a USDA ground-cumin portion. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Cumin, 2.5 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.03
3.1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 3.1 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- paprika: $0.04
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Paprika · Price checked 2026-09-21
- chipotle powder: $0.11
2.7 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.7 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Chipotle Chili Pepper, 2.12 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dried oregano: $0.04
1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (leaves) = 1 g; texture=leaves Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Oregano Leaves, 0.87 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic: $0.22
12 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
3 clove = 9 g; USDA SR Legacy household weights used as an approximate physical conversion for the current ingredient profile; nutrition remains from its own mapped record. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Spice World Fresh Peeled Garlic, 6 oz, Pouch · Price checked 2026-09-21
- bay leaf: $0.18
0.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 leaf = 0.2 g; Editorial dried bay-leaf estimate: 0.2 g per leaf, included even if discarded after cooking. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Bay Leaves, 0.12 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dry jasmine rice: $0.59
185 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 185 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Jasmine Rice · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black beans, rinsed and drained: $0.92
425.2 g purchased · Charges the full authored package or bone-in weight, including discarded material.
Editorial drained-can yield: 60% of the stated net can weight for beans/corn/chickpeas. Applies only to a can unit or a mass explicitly identified as a can; a weighed drained mass stays unchanged. Canned black beans drained before use. Estimated usable yield: 60% of purchased weight; per-100 g price includes the discarded portion.
Walmart: Great Value Black Beans, 15 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- limes: $0.25
70 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- chopped fresh cilantro: $0.54
4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
0.25 cup = 4 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Cut Cilantro, 0.5 oz Clamshell · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat shredded cheddar: $0.84
56 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup (shredded) = 112 g; Editorial shredded hard-cheese estimate: 112 g/cup (four 28 g quarter-cup portions); loose packing varies. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Kraft Natural Fat Free Cheddar Shredded Cheese, 7 oz Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- store-bought salsa verde: $0.71
120 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
2 tbsp = 30 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Medium Cantina Style Salsa Verde, 16 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- limes: $0.50
140 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
1 lime (medium) = 67 g; size=medium; Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein65.6g41%
- Carbs64.9g40%
- Fat13.2g19%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
The broiler finish is what separates these carnitas from pork that goes straight from the slow cooker into a container. Shred the cooked meat onto a tray, add a little of its cooking liquid, and watch it closely while the edges brown. Remove the bay leaf and orange peel first so neither ends up hidden in a lunch portion.
Cook the cilantro-lime rice near the end of the pork's long cook, then divide the rice and beans before adding the carnitas. Keep the salsa verde and lime wedges separate if you want to preserve more of the browned surface until serving. The cheese can melt into the warm base or be added afterward, depending on the finish you prefer. This is a useful example of a slow-cooker meal with one short, active step at the end.
For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Stir the rice and beans and turn the pork during the pause. The microwave will soften the crisp edges; reheat the pork separately in a skillet or oven if those edges matter most to you. Add salsa verde and lime after heating. For another shredded-meat lunch, browse the pork archive or compare the Mexican-inspired bowl recipes.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
I am a SUCKER for carnitas when I go to sit-down mexican restaurants. But I thought to myself- why have I not made my own carnitas recipe yet? It turned out better than I could have possibly imagined! Let me know if this was a low-effort win for you as well!