[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/","headline":"Gluten-Free Healthy Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe","name":"Gluten-Free Healthy Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe","description":"This healthy Cafe Rio pork salad recipe with creamy tomatillo ranch dressing is a copycat Cafe Rio salad recipe with healthy, simple, homemade ingredients that's easy to make in the slow cooker and a favorite of my immediate family for large family gatherings.\t\t\t\t\t\t","datePublished":"2016-10-12","dateModified":"2023-01-05","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Baron","url":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":1,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/633db4fb7ed9d2590b227dabf72c5c29660269aeb3ce3e15c319a88a5df98ef3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/633db4fb7ed9d2590b227dabf72c5c29660269aeb3ce3e15c319a88a5df98ef3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"My Natural Family","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/mnf-logo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/mnf-logo.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Healthy-Pulled-Pork-Salad-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Healthy-Pulled-Pork-Salad-2.jpg","height":902,"width":600},"url":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/","commentCount":"32","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2019-04-29 14:54:59","description":"This was great! Thanks for a recipe that doesn't use a bunch of processed food! This was great!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeannie","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2017-04-17 21:44:21","description":"Glad to help. I would love to know if you've tried the recipe and what you thought. . .","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca","url":"https:\/\/mynaturalfamily.com"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment3","dateCreated":"2017-03-05 05:52:50","description":"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!!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Kathryn","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment4","dateCreated":"2015-04-16 12:04:00","description":"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!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment5","dateCreated":"2015-04-16 11:59:21","description":"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.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment6","dateCreated":"2015-02-13 14:39:49","description":"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.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment7","dateCreated":"2015-02-12 10:24:59","description":"This looks wonderful, but I\u2019m 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\u2019t see either of those ingredients listed. Am I missing something?\nThanks!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Tamra","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment8","dateCreated":"2015-02-12 10:20:23","description":"This looks so good! I love Cafe Rio and wish we had one here in Texas. The post says :\n\u201cThe pork in this recipe is made with a homemade enchilada sauce and both maple syrup and honey.\u201d I don\u2019t see any maple syrup or honey mentioned in any of the three recipes. Was it forgotten?\nThanks.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Kristy Skinner","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment9","dateCreated":"2015-02-12 10:18:14","description":"This looks so good! I love Cafe Rio and wish we had one here in Texas.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Sierra","url":""}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#Comment10","dateCreated":"2015-01-29 15:52:17","description":"You are welcome! Let us know how it goes for you!","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca","url":""}}],"about":["Healthy Dinner"],"wordCount":997,"articleBody":"Jump to Recipe·Print RecipeSpread the loveThis 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!PrintRecipeclock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5 Stars\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4 Stars\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3 Stars\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2 Stars\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 Star\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5 from 2 reviews\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAuthor: Rebecca Baron\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrep Time: 45 minutes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCook Time: 300 minutes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTotal Time: 345 minutes\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYield: 14 1x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCategory: Main Course\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCuisine: Clean Eating\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDescription\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo ranch packet, Coke or brown sugar .. Just good, healthy and simple ingredients. Make Cafe Rio at home.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIngredients\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScale\t\t\t\t\t\t1x2x3x\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor the sweet pork:3 \u00bd Lbs Pork Loin Roast28 oz Diced Tomatoes2 in Chipotle Chilis (from canned chipotle chilis adobo sauce any unused portion can be frozen) (for Clean Eating sub 2-3 diced jalape\u00f1os)1 Tbl Coarse Real Salt1 Tbl Chili Powder1 tsp Garlic Powder1 tsp Cumin\u00bd Cup Maple Syrup *\u2153 Cup Honey\u2153 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar *For the Tomatillo Ranch Dressing:\u00be Cup Buttermilk\u00be Cup Mayo2 Small Tomatillos (quartered)1 Clove GarlicJuice of \u00bd a Lime\u00bc Cup Cilantro\u00bd Tbl Dill, fresh (packed)2 Tbl Parsley, fresh (packed)\u00bd tsp Real Salt\u00bd tsp Garlic Powder\u215b tsp Ground MustardFor 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 beans14 Cups Chopped Romaine Lettuce1 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)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCook Mode\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrevent your screen from going dark\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInstructions\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTo 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.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFind it online: https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/You may also like...The Best Healthy Crockpot Recipes from My BlogHealthy White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe {Video}Instant Pot Thai Basil Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk RecipePaleo Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala RecipeGluten-Free Crock Pot Recipes IndexHealthy Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken RecipePaleo Slow Cooker Pork Roast Recipe with Chimichurri SauceSlow Cooker Gluten-Free Molten Lava Cake Recipe"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Gluten-Free Healthy Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe","item":"https:\/\/www.mynaturalfamily.com\/sweet-pork-cafe-rio-gluten-free\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]