Pulled pork is loved by many, but there are only so many times you can grab a bun or bread and make a leftover pulled pork sandwich before going crazy.. If you’ve recently smoked a lot of pork butts for pulled pork, you might have a large amount of leftovers stuffed in bags in your fridge and freezer. Or maybe you totally miscalculated how much pulled pork you would need. So how can you put that leftover pulled pork to best use?
Thankfully, you have a lot of options out there. You can find dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even some snacks and appetizers where your leftover pulled pork can be the star. There’s more traditional BBQ dishes, Tex-Mex options, fusion recipes, and even some ideas that you may not have considered before (or possibly never heard of!).
So here’s our list of the best leftover pulled pork recipes that aren’t sandwiches. However, in a pinch, a good old pulled pork sandwich (with these toppings) will absolutely get the job done for a quick lunch.
Don’t forget to read our guide on reheating pulled pork safely before you try these recipes.
Pulled Pork Breakfast Recipes
BBQ Pulled Pork Savory Waffles
Yes, you can have pulled pork for breakfast. These waffles may be a bit more time-consuming to make than some other recipes, but other recipes don’t make waffles that have a layer of pulled pork in the middle of them. Not only is there pork, but the waffles also have parmesan cheese and honey in them, so you get some salty and some sweet going on.
You can also top with maple syrup at the end to amplify the sweetness or eat them as is.
Pulled Pork Hash
Hash is a filling breakfast, full of meat, eggs, potatoes, and veggies, sometimes with cheese. This pulled pork hash takes all of that and adds smoky pulled pork to the mix.
It starts with a base of peppers, onions, and garlic then adds the pork, potatoes, cheese, and eggs to make a breakfast packed full of flavor. Then you can top it with scallions and jalapeños for even more flavor.
Pulled Pork Appetizer Recipes
Pulled Pork Nachos
You truly cannot go wrong with tortilla chips, pulled pork, and cheese as the basis for a killer appetizer or gameday food. These pulled pork nachos are nice and simple but with lots of ideas on how to jazz them up. The best part is that you get the smoky flavor of the pulled pork and extra grilled flavor from finishing these nachos on the grill.
You can absolutely finish them in the oven as well. If you’ve got frozen leftover pulled pork and it’s too cold in the dead of winter to fire up the grill or it’s over 100 degrees outside, throw these in the oven and you’ll still get great flavor from the pork. If you’re not sure what barbecue sauce to use or want to try something new, we have some recipes including this original barbecue sauce that you can make in your own kitchen.
Pulled Pork Egg Rolls
Egg rolls are a fantastic appetizer, crispy and loaded up with tasty bits of meat and other fillings. These pulled pork egg rolls take the idea of a traditional egg roll and stuff it with leftover pulled pork and cheese. Pairing that fried, crispy exterior with melted cheese and smoky pulled pork will make these the hit of whatever time you serve these.
This recipe calls for a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, so you get a pop of heat when you bite into the egg roll. You can dip these in your favorite sauce to add further flavor. If you want to turn up the heat, you can use a spicy barbecue sauce, or you can balance out the pepper jack with a sweeter sauce.
Smoked Queso Dip
Smoky, creamy, cheesy dip. Who wouldn’t want to dig in with a bag of tortilla chips? If you’re not careful, this smoked queso dip might go from appetizer to meal. Especially when you factor in that this recipe calls for adding smoked meat to it (the author used brisket for the recipe but says that leftover pulled pork works too).
This may not be a quick appetizer, spending around two hours on your smoker, but the result of a smoky, meaty dip is worth it. Tortilla chips are the logical choice for dipping, but the author suggests other options as well, including celery and carrot sticks. Every little bit of healthiness counts to help balance the sheer cheesiness!
BBQ Pulled Pork Loaded Sweet Potato Fries
Loaded french fries are an awesome appetizer, side dish, or gameday food. These loaded sweet potato fries amp that up by adding pulled pork and barbecue sauce under all that cheesy goodness. If you like your pulled pork with coleslaw, this recipe tops it all off with a good-sized scoop on top of everything.
Using sweet potatoes instead of regular french fries changes the flavor profile, adding some extra sweetness to the dish. Using a barbecue sauce that has more of an acidic base can help balance all the sweetness and richness of the dish.
Pulled Pork Entrée Recipes
Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork
Cheese and barbecue just seem to go together. There’s no coincidence that a number of these leftover pulled pork recipes feature cheese. Yet none of them are as cheesy as this mac and cheese. You have layers of mac and cheese around a layer of pulled pork, then the whole thing is topped off with a crispy panko breadcrumb-based topping and baked. If you aren’t a fan of baked mac and cheese, this dish might not be for you.
Then again, it is mac and cheese with pulled pork and then drizzled with barbecue sauce. You owe it to yourself to give it a try regardless of your feeling on baking mac and cheese.
Brunswick Stew
Whether you believe that Brunswick, Georgia is responsible for Brunswick Stew or the more likely Virginia, there’s no doubt that the stew is a Southern favorite. This version takes the traditional stew and adds that extra punch of flavor from leftover pulled pork.
Otherwise, all the hallmarks of this Southern dish are there. Beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, and garlic are here. This is a perfect way to use your leftovers to create a hearty stew for cold winter days.
Pulled Pork Shepherd’s Pie
If you’re looking for another hearty dish for on a cold day, shepherd’s pie is a classic option. This recipe takes that classic and adds a barbecued twist. Whether you are used to ground beef or lamb as the base of a shepherd’s pie, switching to pulled pork tossed with barbecue sauce can give you a whole new perspective.
The peppercorn ranch dressing in the mashed potatoes adds another level of flavor. Then you top it all with cheese for ultimate comfort food.
Pulled Pork Burritos
There is always a Tex-Mex way to use your barbecue leftovers, and leftover pulled pork is no different. These burritos are packed full of pulled pork, rice, and cheese then baked. What could be better?
Topping them with the cheesy sour cream sauce when they come out of the oven. These burritos are cheesy through and through, but the pulled pork’s smokiness and the barbecue sauce will stand up to the cheesy onslaught.
Pulled Pork Poutine with BBQ Gravy
If you aren’t from Canada or the northern portions of the United States that border Canada, you probably don’t know what poutine is, and I feel sorry for you. Poutine is a bed of crunchy french fries covered in cheese curds and smothered in gravy. It may sound weird, but it’s delicious. This take on poutine takes tradition and adds some southern BBQ inspiration.
You add your leftover pulled pork, reheated on a skillet to add some crispy bits, on top of the french fries. However, the BBQ takeover doesn’t end there. You mix brown gravy with your favorite barbecue sauce to give it even more flavor before pouring it over the whole dish. You could have this as an appetizer, but you probably wouldn’t be able to eat a regular meal after finishing everything.
Leftover Pulled Pork Pizza
If poutine might be a bit ambitious conceptually, there’s always pizza. This leftover pulled pork pizza can work with store-bought dough, but the author has a recipe for homemade dough included. We all know homemade is the best way to go, so if you have the time, take advantage of it. Kids love to help with it, too. If you don’t have a lot of time, going with store-bought ingredients works just as well and everyone will love it, too.
The biggest difference between your regular pizza and this recipe is the sauce base. It is a combination of marinara sauce and your favorite barbecue sauce. Then you assemble the pizza as you normally would. This recipe calls for simple toppings beyond the pulled pork with a sharp cheddar cheese and thin-sliced red onions.
If these recipes aren’t making you salivate, I’m not sure what is wrong with you. It was hard to post this roundup without taking a break finding some pulled pork to eat ASAP. Enjoy.