This healthy Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe with creamy tomatillo ranch dressing is a copycat recipe with healthy, simple, homemade ingredients that are easy to make in the slow cooker. Plus they are a favorite of my immediate family for large family gatherings.
I love to eat at Cafe Rio. It's not my favorite restaurant, but it's relatively affordable and whenever a group of us are going out, we usually end up coming here because everyone can agree on it. Not all of you have the privilege of living near a Cafe Rio. But if you live by Chipotle, I'm told it's sort of like that.
The main thing I don't like about Cafe Rio is that since I eat Clean most of the time if I eat their sweet pork, I feel awful. It tastes so good, but if you look at the copycat recipes for it, they use Coke and brown sugar. No wonder I feel bad after eating it!
So, I played around with the ingredients and come up with this Cafe Rio pork salad recipe that's so much healthier and (I think) better than Cafe Rio's. Each individual part isn't very hard, but all the time involved does add up.
My dad is a traditional eater. He likes American and Italian food and that's about it. My mom hates to cook. I think it's really funny that pretty much all of their children enjoy a wide variety of food and enjoy cooking. Seem off subject? Well, it's hard to come up with a meal to eat for family gatherings that everyone will eat. There are about 30 of us when we're all there and we've found that this pork salad recipe is our go-to meal.
The only person who doesn't like it is my dad. BUT, because he can pick and choose which foods he eats, he comes up with a dish that he may not love, but he doesn't complain about it. The same goes for the children. Some of them, all they eat is a tortilla and cheese, but at least it's something - and it's not hot dogs. And we can easily split up the different parts of the salad so it's hardly any work for each individual.
In fact, as much as I enjoy going to Cafe Rio, I think my wallet does not. So my solution you might ask. I created this healthy Cafe Rio sweet pork salad that I can make at home. This is great because then I can enjoy one of my favorite meals but having more control over what goes into it! The dressing is made from scratch with no ranch mix but tastes just like the real thing! It may be a touch thinner, but still so yummy.
Enjoy!
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 300 minutes
- Total Time: 345 minutes
- Yield: 14 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Clean Eating
Description
No ranch packet, Coke or brown sugar .. Just good, healthy and simple ingredients. Make Cafe Rio at home.
Ingredients
For the sweet pork:
- 3 ½ Lbs Pork Loin Roast
- 28 oz Diced Tomatoes
- 2 in Chipotle Chilis (from canned chipotle chilis adobo sauce any unused portion can be frozen) (for Clean Eating sub 2-3 diced jalapeños)
- 1 Tbl Coarse Real Salt *
- 1 Tbl Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin
- ½ Cup Maple Syrup *
- ⅓ Cup Honey
- ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar *
For the Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:
- ¾ Cup Buttermilk
- ¾ Cup Mayo
- 2 Small Tomatillos (quartered)
- 1 Clove Garlic
- Juice of ½ a Lime
- ¼ Cup Cilantro
- ½ Tbl Dill, fresh (packed)
- 2 Tbl Parsley, fresh (packed)
- ½ tsp Real Salt *
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ⅛ tsp Ground Mustard
For the Salad:
- 8 Large Tortillas (for the Clean Eating diet use whole wheat, spelt or einkorn) (for the gluten-free diet, use gluten-free, corn or omit)
- 4 Cup Cooked Rice, Cilantro lime rice would be a great option (for the Clean Eating diet use brown rice)
- 2-3 Cup Cooked Pinto beans or black beans
- 14 Cups Chopped Romaine Lettuce
- 1 Cup Pico de Gallo, to top (diced tomato, onion, cilantro)
- Cotija Cheese (crumbled, to top)
- Sour Cream, (to top)
- Guacamole, (to top)
- Tortilla chips or Tortilla Strips, to top (Corn tortillas sliced and fried in oil)
Instructions
To make the pork:
- If Pork Loin is very large, cut into two or three pieces.
- Place the pork loin in a crock pot and turn on to high heat. Place all other ingredients in a blender and puree until very smooth.
- Pour over the pork in the crock pot and cook for 5-6 hours, or until tender and shreds easily with a fork. Shred and toss well in sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.
To make the dressing:
- Place the buttermilk, mayo, tomatillos, garlic, and lime juice in a blender.
- Puree until very smooth. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and puree just until the herbs are finely chopped.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To assemble salads:
- Place a tortilla on a plate or in a bowl.
- Place desired amount of sweet pork on the tortilla.
- Top the pork with with a scoop of rice and beans. Top rice and beans with desired amount of lettuce. Garnish with a scoop of pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, a handful of tortilla strips and crumbled cotija cheese.
- Top with tomatillo ranch dressing.
Keywords: Good, Healthy, Simple
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Jeannie
This was great! Thanks for a recipe that doesn't use a bunch of processed food! This was great!
★★★★★
Kathryn
I'm so happy I came across this recipe! I'm from SLC and grew up eating the pork salads at Cafe Rio! Now I live out of state and far away from any Cafe Rio. I can't wait to try the recipe!!
★★★★★
Rebecca
Glad to help. I would love to know if you've tried the recipe and what you thought. . .
Tamra
This looks wonderful, but I’m a bit confused. In the write up of the recipe its says that the pork is sweetened with honey and maple syrup, but when I look at the list of the ingredients I don’t see either of those ingredients listed. Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Rebecca
I am sorry about that. I believe we changed the recipe a while back and missed updating the write up. Thanks for you letting us know. I updated the write up.
Kristy Skinner
This looks so good! I love Cafe Rio and wish we had one here in Texas. The post says :
“The pork in this recipe is made with a homemade enchilada sauce and both maple syrup and honey.” I don’t see any maple syrup or honey mentioned in any of the three recipes. Was it forgotten?
Thanks.
Rebecca
I am sorry about that. I believe we changed the recipe a while back and missed updating the write up. Thanks for you letting us know. I updated the write up.
Sierra
This looks so good! I love Cafe Rio and wish we had one here in Texas.
Carol Cripps
This looks so good, especially the tomatillo ranch dressing. I can see using it on a lot of salads. One problem, though - fresh tomatillos around here are scarcer than hen's teeth. Could I use a couple of tinned ones instead? Also, in your post, you say that the sauce contains both maple syrup and honey, but I see neither in the recipe. Could you let us know the amounts for these ingredients, please? Otherwise, I can't wait to try this. Cheers, Carol
Rebecca
I am not sure about the tomatillos issue but you could give it a try. About the honey and syrup something got accidentally deleted or changed but we have gone through and fixed it. Thank you for letting us know! Let us know if it works out for you!
Lydia
This looks delightful! I have been trying to find some new salad recipes to add to my cook book! Also, I know my husband will be thrilled with some meat on top, especially pork! Thanks for the new recipe, can not wait to try it!!
Rebecca
You are welcome! Let us know how it goes for you!
Allie
Oh my, looks so amazing. So hungry now!
Carly W
YUM! I have pork out for tea tonight ... this looks like it could be tonight's dinner!
Rebecca
I hope you like it, let us know if you enjoyed it!
Debi Walstad
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe with us on Weekend Bites. We thought it looked so good we decided to featured it on this week's post! http://bit.ly/1DIPeDz
Diana Rambles
Congratulations! This post is featured over at Diana Rambles today and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Recommended on G+. Please grab a featured button off my button page or via the post guidelines graphic. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!
Kristina and Millie
ohhh sounds yummy! We do a bbq pulled pork but I am not sure I would want that on a salad. I think this sweet port would be tasty on a bun or salad, I will have to make it just to double check! pinning 🙂 Thanks for linking with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Melissa L.
This looks delicious! I would love to try it. Thanks for the great post!
Rebecca
You are welcome! Let us know if you enjoy it!
Liz j
You're recipe looks great. Cafe Rio is tasty I think you may have triggered a craving.
Lou Lou Girls
Oh my! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for being a part of our party. We really appreciate you! I hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm. Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls
Adelina Priddis
My husband is going to love you 😉 Cafe Rio pork is one of his favorites. Thanks for sharing on Weekend Bites
Pam@over50feeling40
I am so hungry now...this recipe looks amazing!
Shirley Wood
Your Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing sounds delicious! Pinning to my Salads board. Stopping by from Foodie Friends Friday.
Elaine
This looks absolutely yummy!!
Rebecca
Awesome thanks, we will take a look at it!
Apple Pie at Sisterswives.com
Can't wait to try this version. I love sweet pork! Thanks!
Rebecca
You are welcome! I hope that you enjoy it, let me know what you think!
Chantale
So important to have good recipes to stay on track with a healthy diet! Thanks for this one, it looks so good!
Michelle@TheRibbonRetreat
Yummy! I love Pork Salads and this looks divine! Thanks for sharing! PINNED!
Lory
I love, love, love this kind of salad! Thanks for sharing.
Lory