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4 Slow-Cooker Pork Tenderloin & Carnitas Recipes With Per-Serving Macros
Four slow-cooker pork recipes: three tenderloin swaps and one classic shoulder mojo. Per-serving macros, plus the cut reasoning behind each one.
Pork in a slow cooker is usually shoulder — fatty, forgiving, fall-apart. That's a real recipe and it has its place. But three of the four below quietly swap in tenderloin, which cuts fat-per-serving roughly in half while still pulling apart under a fork if you treat the cook time right. The fourth is the classic mojo shoulder, listed with its real macros rather than dressed up as something leaner.
Per-serving protein runs 36g to 45g; calories 275 to 420. Every recipe names the cut and the reason for it — tenderloin or shoulder, never just "pork." Pick by what the week needs.
Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin Verde
The leanest entry on the list, and the strongest case for the tenderloin swap. Green-chile pork is traditionally shoulder; tenderloin gets you the same shreddable result at 275 calories and 45g of protein per serving. Salsa verde does all the seasoning, so active time is opening a jar and trimming silver skin.
Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin Verde
A leaner take on green-chile pork. Pork tenderloin instead of shoulder cuts the fat roughly in half while still falling apart in salsa verde.
- cal
- 275
- protein
- 45g
- carbs
- 10g
- fat
- 6g
Crock Pot Tuscan White Bean and Pork Tenderloin
Tenderloin again, paired with cannellini beans so the carbs and fiber come with. Rosemary, garlic, and a hit of lemon at the finish keep it from going one-note over the long cook. 42g of protein per serving at 320 calories — the beans are why.
Crock Pot Tuscan White Bean and Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin swapped in for the usual shoulder — leaner, faster to shred, still hits the savory mark. Cannellini beans, rosemary, garlic, and a hit of lemon at the end.
- cal
- 320
- protein
- 42g
- carbs
- 28g
- fat
- 5g
Slow-Cooker Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sauerkraut
The German pork-and-kraut plate, rebuilt around tenderloin instead of shoulder. Fat per serving drops from a typical 22g to 7g while protein holds at 34g. One catch: tenderloin dries out if you forget about it at hour two, so it goes in for the last three hours over a base of sauerkraut and apple. Kraut in cold in the morning; pork in mid-afternoon.
Slow-Cooker Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Sauerkraut
A lean swap on the classic German pork-and-kraut: tenderloin instead of shoulder cuts fat from 22g to 7g per serving while keeping 34g of protein.
- cal
- 320
- protein
- 34g
- carbs
- 23g
- fat
- 7g
Crock Pot Pork Shoulder Cuban Mojo Bowls
The shoulder recipe on the list, and the one where the tenderloin swap doesn't work — mojo pork needs the marbling to carry the citrus-garlic brine over the long cook. 420 calories and 28g of fat per serving is what it is; 36g of protein comes along. Black beans and rice or lettuce cups, depending on the day.
Crock Pot Pork Shoulder Cuban Mojo Bowls
Pork shoulder braised in a citrus-garlic mojo until it pulls apart. Served over black beans and rice, or piled into lettuce cups.
- cal
- 420
- protein
- 36g
- carbs
- 7g
- fat
- 28g
How we picked
Real pork dishes — tenderloin or shoulder, named on the page, with the cut reasoning written into the description. We weren't rounding up generic "pulled pork" recipes; we picked the ones where the cut choice changes the macros in a way worth knowing. All four clear 34g of protein per serving and stay under 420 calories.
Bottom line
If shoulder is your default, three of these four make a quiet case for tenderloin — same shreddable result, half the fat, protein where you want it. The mojo shoulder stays in rotation for the days the marbling is the point.