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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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Thanks!! I used my casserole dish at 250 for 8 hours and it was great!! It was a little dry so when I made it again I used tin foil to cover it instead of my casserole lid so less moisture got out and I only cooked it for 6 hours total and it turned out perfect! Again thanks! This recipe is delicious and will tide us over until we can have cafe rio again!!
If the casserole has an oven safe lid, that would be GREAT.. just cook at 250-degrees for about 8 hours. A covered dutch oven would work great too. Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Thanks for this recipe! I am excited to try it. I bought all the ingredients yesterday and realized I didn't pack my crockpot when I moved. Do you know how I could convert the pork recipe to cook it in the oven instead. I have a casserole dish if I can cook it in that. Thanks 🙂
@ Rachel—
I haven't used that version before.. sorry! It would probably taste close to the same. I guess all I can say is read the reviews/comments above!
So I made a sweet pork recipe a while back, and it was good…but I have a party I am hosting that I want to make it for. The recipe I used is very similar but instead of enchilada sauce, it uses tomato sauce and taco seasoning…I really want to use your version for the party, but I am nervous because I don't have time to try it out. Have you used the version I have used before, and you still really like your version better?? Thank you!
I am also a huge fan of the cafe rio pork salad! I found your website and used your recipes for the lime rice and the tortilla strips, it turned out awesome!
Oh my gosh, thank you!! I've been craving this since I first tried it a year ago and resigned secretly hoped that cafe rio would eventually come to NZ. This receipe was amazing!!
@ J Anderson- The past few times I haven't put in any water and JUST did coke. No, it should not be completely submerged. One can of coke should do it.
Thank You, THANK YOU! It takes quite a bit of preparation and work, but we do it together as a family, which makes it fun. And its so great to impress company with! One Question: How much water do you add while its cooking in the crock pot? Should it be totally submersed with the coke?
My husband has been begging for me to make this… luckily he helped. It was very delicious but I would have to say you must be a master chef for it to take only an hour (after meat is in the crock pot) or maybe you separated all your recipes out because that took forever to do. Delicious though. We did the pork recipe, the ranch but slightly different version, the tortilla strips, the beans, the rice, and guacamole… that is 6 recipes!!! I'm tired. :)For anyone who does Bountiful Baaskets… the mexi pack come with all the ingredients you would need… also you can buy their tortilla pack and it has 36 of those large cafe rio style tortillas along with 24 small flour and 24 corn! (When these are available as add ons though, I have seen it once in the past month or so and grabbed them well I could).I LOVE all the recipes on your blog… we are going to be trying out a bunch more!
Oh instead of jalepenos I used serranno peppers, we already had them and they just aren't as hot as the jalepenos but still give a good kick.
THANK YOU!!! I made this last week and everyone that ate it could not get over how much it tasted like the real thing. Your recipes are spot on.
Really?? I wonder if the jalapeno you got was just super spicy? I have never had the ranch turn out spicy, even when we have served it to people who can't handle spicy. I don't know what to tell you… that is unusual!
I put in the whole jalapeño into the ranch and my mouth is on FIRE!!! I even removed the seeds!
Yes, it's the 10oz RED enchilada sauce. I will put it on the recipe, it is a common question!
Hi there,
I didn't read through all of the previous comments to see if this question was already asked but I was curious as to what size cans you used for both the green chilis and enchilada sauce. Also, I am assumming that you used the red enchilada sauce and not the chili verde (green) kind?
Thanks so much for posting this. I am looking forward to trying it.
You rock…thanks so much for posting this. I got ambitious and did a 10 pound roast….needless to say, it took a lot longer, but it tastes soooo good and we are going to be grubbin' Cafe Rio style for a week now! Thanks!!! 🙂
Big hit, making this for the second time in my house tomorrow! Need to copy the recipes to my own cards!
So I found you through a google search when my pregnancy cravings and very long distance from a Cafe Rio led me to believe I might DIE if I didn't get some soon! So I invited over a bunch of people today and followed this to a T and I have to say it was incredible!! We used the tins and everything and everyone was raving and raving about how "good it felt to be back in Utah." So much fun. Thank you!! 🙂
@ Lydia-
Yes you can freeze the pork, just heat it up in a pot on the stovetop when you are ready to use it. It will last probably 5 days in the fridge. I feel like I save $$ because it makes 4-6 salads.. which at Cafe Rio that would be 30-40 bucks. I also make it because we moved to Washington state and there are no Cafe Rios here so we have to make our own to satisfy our cravings! Hope this helps! Thanks for checking out our site!