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The Complete Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad Copycat Recipe, right at your fingertips! So easy to make at home, and tastes exactly like the popular restaurant version.
Featured with this Recipe
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad
- Ingredients in a Sweet Pork Salad
- What is the Difference Between the Creamy Tomatillo Dressing and the Cilantro Lime Dressing?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Make the Sweet Pork
- More Cafe Rio Recipes
- How to Make Cafe Rio’s Sweet Pork Salad
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad Copycat Recipe
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad
Thank you to all you die hard Cafe Rio and Costa Vida fans for making us the number one site for Cafe Rio copycat recipes! If you haven’t tried this easy recipe for the famous Sweet Pork Salad yet, you are in for a treat! We LOVE Cafe Rio and Costa Vida – and we’re very picky about our Cafe Rio sweet pork.
This recipe tastes exactly like the restaurant version, but so easy because you can make it right at home! We also played around with the rice, the beans, and the house ranch dressing. Finally, we nailed it! This recipe tastes exactly like having Cafe Rio take-out. You can even use a lot of these ingredients to try and imitate Cafe Rio’s tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or nachos. Try it for yourself and you will see what we mean! Be sure to check out all our other tasty Mexican Recipes! We have all kinds of yummy Mexican dishes to round out your meals and celebrations!
Ingredients in a Sweet Pork Salad
This recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of separate recipes within the recipe. Don’t be intimidated! If you are wanting to simplify, you can just make the sweet pork and the dressing and get everything else store-bought. You can also make the beans, rice, pork, and dressing all a day or two before hand to make assembly quicker.
- flour tortilla < click the link for our homemade recipe
- shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
- cilantro lime rice < click the link for our homemade recipe
- black beans < click the link for our homemade recipe
- Cafe Rio sweet pork < click the link for our homemade recipe
- leafy green or Romaine lettuce (not iceberg)
- pico de gallo < click the link for our homemade recipe
- guacamole < click the link for our homemade recipe
- tortilla strips < click the link for our homemade recipe
- Cotija cheese (crumbled)
- fresh cilantro (they usually do sprigs but I like fresh chopped cilantro)
Cafe Rio’s Dressings
- creamy tomatillo ranch dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe (aka cilantro ranch dressing)
- OR cilantro lime dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe
Ingredient Variations
If you have some picky eaters who don’t like guac or pico de gallo but don’t want the salad too plain or want to try some different ingredients to make your salad your own; here are some great options that will compliment your salad.
- green chilies
- onions
- lime juice
- refried beans
- sliced avocado
What is the Difference Between the Creamy Tomatillo Dressing and the Cilantro Lime Dressing?
We love both of these dressings so much – it is always hard to choose! They are both made with tomatillos, cilantro, and lime so the basic flavor is the same. The difference is that the Ranch Dressing is thick and creamy like a traditional ranch dressing. The Cilantro Lime Dressing is more of a vinaigrette. It really just comes down to preference!
Frequently Asked Questions
The tins Cafe Rio uses are 9″ round disposable foil pans. You can find them at most restaurant supply stores or on Amazon: Disposable Foil Pans (just like what Cafe Rio uses)
The recipe below is the proportions for one salad. However, if you make up all the recipes (rice, beans, pork, etc.) it can make 4-6 salads, depending on how hungry people are.
When you are ordering your salad at Cafe Rio, you have several different options as far as the meat goes. Not just pork. You can get it with grilled chicken, shredded chicken, shredded beef, or steak. Any of these work well with the salad!
As far as preparing the chicken the same way as the pork, I wouldn’t recommend it. They are two totally different types of meat and it really won’t taste the same. If you are going to use chicken, my favorite way is grilled and sliced.
How to Make the Sweet Pork
Read Next: Easy Dinner Ideas
More Cafe Rio Recipes
We have some of the best recipe copycats of our favorite menu items at Cafe Rio. You will want to try them all!
- Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo)
- Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
- Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Sweet Pork Burrito
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Homemade Tortilla Strips
- The BEST Guacamole EVER
How to Make Cafe Rio’s Sweet Pork Salad
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 large flour tortilla < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1/3 cup shredded cheese (Mexican blend)
- 1/3 cup cilantro lime rice < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1/3 cup black beans < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1/2 cup Cafe Rio sweet pork < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 2 cups leafy green or Romaine lettuce (not iceberg)
- 1/4 cup pico de gallo < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1/4 cup guacamole < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1/4 cup tortilla strips < click the link for our homemade recipe
- 1 tablespoon Cotija cheese (crumbled)
- 1/4 cup creamy tomatillo ranch dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe
- OR cilantro lime dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe
Instructions
- Lay a tortilla in the bottom of an aluminum tin, a bowl, or plate. Sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 min or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and add rice, beans, and pork.
- Next add the lettuce. Top with pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla strips, cilantro, and Cotija cheese.
- Serve with the cilantro ranch or vinaigrette dressing and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Tips:
- Get 9″ round Disposable Foil Pans for your burritos for the full restaurant effect:(just like what Cafe Rio uses)
- The Ranch Dressing is thick and creamy like a traditional ranch dressing.
- The Cilantro Lime Dressing is more of a vinaigrette dressing.
- If you are wanting to use a different dressing I would recommend a chipotle ranch or a balsamic vinaigrette.
- The recipe below is the proportions for one salad. However, if you make up all the recipes (rice, beans, pork, etc.) it can make 4-6 salads, depending on how hungry people are.
- We prefer to store the leftovers in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Leftover sweet pork can also be stored in the freezer, thaw in the refrigerator when ready to use.
Nutrition Information
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Have you had the rice turn out mushy with the 3:1 ratio?
I think they are like 9" maybe. they are just the general size pans they sell at the store.
What size deep dish pans did you use?
In our family we try to avoid too much sugar so I used the Coke Zero and didn't notice a taste difference. Thanks for the great recipe!
Do you think root beer would work? Does the soda need caffeine or cola flavoring, or is it more the carbonation and sugar that makes the difference?
sure, I am sure Pepsi would work. Let me know how it turns out!
What about Pepsi instead of Coke? Will that make a difference? I don't know that I can bring myself to buy Coke 🙂
I've only eaten at Cafe Rio twice in my life and had never had the pork, but so many people around here RAVE about Cafe Rio (especially the pork) that I decided I wanted to try to make it. After looking at many copycat recipes online I found yours and it seemed to be the best one. I LOVE how easy you made the directions! We have made the pork, rice, and beans twice now and both times they were AMAZING!!! We don't have anything to compare it to, but we've invited friends/family over both times who are huge CR fans and they LOVED it! These recipes are now a staple at our house!!!
I made this today and YUM! My only problem is I had to drain the black beans after adding 1 1/3 C. of tomato juice. Is there a larger size can of black beans or are they really supposed to be that runny? Or should I let the excess liquid cook off?Thanks!
If you want it to be lower cal use coke zero does not alter the taste enuf to matter also use splenda instead of sugar in the rice
A-
Yikes, I don't know what to tell you. The dressing probably makes 2-3 cups if I remember correctly. As far as the pork goes.. I would say make 10-15 times the amount given. That is saying that each serving of pork will feed 4-6 people. It depends on how many big eaters you guys have! If this doesn't help you or you have further questions, email me at favfamilyrecipes@gmail.com
Erica
Erica
I want to make this for my family reunion in 3 weeks. We plan on about 75 adults so need enough to serve about 85-90 people. Can you give me any suggestions as to increasing it? I hate to overbuy but I don't want to run out of food.
I especially have no idea how far the dressing goes, and how much I need to make.
I will await your response.
Thanks
I would say.. it depends on how big your crock pot is! If you have a huge one, triple the recipe–even quadruple if it will fit. I have had a lot of emails and comments saying it is a crowd pleaser. Good luck!! Email me or leave another comment if you have more questions or if my reply didn't help..
I've got the same question as the other commenters wondering how to expand the recipe. Maybe make this one public on here: how successful is it to make it for a crowd? If this recipe works for 4-6, how much do you think is safe to make in one batch? I need to make it for about 30 peeps. Thanks!
I was going to say the same thing as LizzieB. Cotija cheese is what they use. I think the flavor of cotija is perfect. I bought some at Smith's. Your pork recipe looks like the best one I've seen. I'm making this tomorrow night and can't wait. Thanks!Also, you can buy tortilla strips and tortillas from Cafe Rio. I believe they sell them in packs of 10. Yum!
Try using cotija cheese instead of parmesean – it's more the type they use.
I did this last night for my family and everyone loved it. Someone asked about the "mild" sauce. I use canned green enchilada sauce. I've tried several different brands and they all taste just about the same, and very close to Cafe Rio.
I tried Erica's recipes and they were wonderful! A great hit with the 30 people at our family gathering. The pork was sooo tender and delicious. I think the marinade is the real trick to that one. It was yummy before adding the enchilada sauce, chili's and sugar.Mary Lou
I tried Erica's recipes and they were wonderful! A great hit with the 30 people at our family gathering. The pork was sooo tender and delicious. I think the marinade is the real trick to that one. It was yummy before adding the enchilada sauce, chili's and sugar.Mary Lou
Thanks so much for the recipes!! I have a very similar one for the dressing but I find that mine is really runny and sometimes the taste of cilantro is too strong. I'm going to try your recipe but thought I would ask if yours is the same at all? Thanks!