Keto Pulled Pork Casserole Recipes: A Delicious and Comforting Low-Carb Meal

Looking for a satisfying and flavorful keto-friendly meal? Look no further than the keto pulled pork casserole! This versatile dish is a fantastic way to use leftover pulled pork and create a hearty, cheesy casserole that fits perfectly into a low-carb lifestyle. This article explores various keto pulled pork casserole recipes, offering options for different tastes and preferences.

Why Pulled Pork Casseroles are Great for Keto

Pulled pork, when prepared with a sugar-free rub and without sugary sauces, is naturally keto-friendly. This makes it an ideal ingredient for low-carb dishes. Casseroles, in general, are convenient and customizable, allowing you to incorporate various keto-friendly ingredients like cauliflower rice, cheese, and low-carb sauces.

Keto Cuban Casserole: A Flavorful Twist

Ditch the bread and go casserole style with this amazing and hearty keto Cuban Casserole. Loaded with all the flavors in a Cubano sandwich, this casserole is meaty, cheesy, and has a sauce so good that you’ll lick your plate clean. This keto Cubano Casserole has everything but the bread!

Ingredients and Preparation

This recipe uses keto pulled pork instead of roasted pork, but you can easily swap in your favorite roasted pork. You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients to make this leftover pulled pork casserole.

Don’t be freaked out by the pickles! Cooked pickles, even the tangiest and strongest flavored ones, get a lovely mild and almost sweet flavor when cooked. They retain some of their crunch, adding texture to this dish. And, they add so much flavor. Recipes with leftover pulled pork have never been tastier! And, this casserole couldn’t be any easier.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

1. Mix the leftover pulled pork with the cream and mustard in a large skillet.
2. Heat it through until just staring to boil.
3. Turn off the heat.
4. Fold in half the Swiss cheese, half the ham, and about half the pickles.
5. Check for seasoning and add a touch of salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Put the pulled pork mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 (or similar sized) oven-safe casserole.
7. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, the ham, and the rest of the pickles.
8. Bake at 400-F for about 15 minutes or until it is hot and bubbly.
9. Combine the mayonnaise, heavy whipping cream, and mustards in a bowl. Mix well.
10. Fill a sandwich size plastic zipper-top bag with the sauce mixture and zip it closed.
11. Cut the tip off one of the bottom corners of the bag.
12. Squeeze the bag lightly, using the bag to pipe out some of the sauce in a zig-zag pattern over the top of the casserole.

Tips and Substitutions

• Pulled Pork: Leftover roast pork is an easy substitute for the pulled pork, just chop it up into small chunks.
• Ham: Use a good-quality and not-too-salty ham. Sliced deli ham can be used in a pinch, or use leftover ham from a spiral ham or ham steak.
• Cheese: Don’t like Swiss cheese? Try this recipe with a mild cheese like gouda or jack.
• Pickles: Go for a strong dill pickle or make your own keto pickles for this recipe. Don’t use dill pickle relish in this recipe - you need bigger chunks of pickle to get the full flavor.

Freezing and Reheating

I make big batches of smoked pork and pull it, freezing portions of it for use in recipes like this keto Cuban Casserole. This is a hearty and rich main dish. You want to keep your sides light. You can, and it’ll be fine, but I prefer this dish fresh. When frozen and thawed, the ham and pickles give off more liquid and can make the dish kind of soupy. To freeze it, thoroughly chill it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Then package the leftovers in an air-tight container and freeze for up to 3 months. To eat, thaw it in the fridge or the microwave and heat it in a 300-F oven until heated through.

Keto Pulled Pork Noodle Casserole

This easy, cheesy keto pulled pork noodle casserole is a great recipe when you’ve got leftovers, or when you’ve got a bunch of people to feed. These egg fast noodles are a great option for many recipes because you can use them in so many different ways. You can also make a double recipe or pork and use the leftover pulled pork for this recipe. The less work you have to do, the better!

Ingredients and Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Melt your butter over medium heat in an oven safe skillet, if available.
3. Sauté the white part of the green onions until translucent.
4. Add your cream cheese and start breaking it up so that it softens and melts.
5. Add in your pork Jell-O. Mix until the cream cheese is incorporated.
6. Add the cheddar and mozzarella and stir it up.
7. Add your heavy cream and whisk everything up until the cheeses have all melted and incorporated.
8. Turn your stove down to low. Add your noodles to the pan and mix them up with the sauce.
9. Add the cold pork to the pan, spreading it around over top of the noodles and sauce.
10. Sprinkle with the sliced green onion tops.
11. Over this you will sprinkle the reserved cheese blend.
12. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. If you're not strict, you could add some sugar-free BBQ sauce over top of the pork before baking or add a little to your plate.

Tips and Substitutions

• Make your pasta noodles a day or two ahead of time, the recipe is linked in the ingredients.
• Use the jellied pork from a roast. You could even use beef jelly or whatever you have on hand. If you don't have anything fresh, you can use stock or even just water.
• If you don't have an oven-safe skillet with a lid, you could make your sauce in a saucepan and move it over to your baking dish. Cover with foil.
• The best cuts of pork to use for this recipe are pork shoulder or pork butt.

Instant Pot and Baked Keto Mexican Pulled Pork Taco Casserole

This is both an Instant Pot and baked keto pulled pork casserole that is bursting with southwest flavors! The best way to make super-tender and flavor-infused meat is in the Instant Pot. You can use this Mexican pulled pork recipe to make pork for tacos, salad, or even keto nachos!

Ingredients and Preparation

1. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, and set it to sealing.
2. Add in the pulled pork, seasonings and enchilada sauce.

Serving Suggestions

This is a very filling casserole, serve it with your favorite low-carb Mexican sides! I love to make it with some keto Mexican street cauliflower. They are roasted to perfection. This is full of classic taco flavors and is perfect when you make it in a skillet. Or add a cold bold of keto aguachile to the table.

Salsa Verde Paleo Pulled Pork Casserole

This Salsa Verde Paleo Pulled Pork Casserole is a great way to use up leftover pulled pork, and you’ll love how flavorful and delicious it is! Ever since I made an endless amount of Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dry Rub, I’ve been using the leftovers in all ways possible. In this yummy recipe, pulled pork is combined with cooked cauliflower rice, then baked in a delicious and creamy salsa verde sauce to create a comforting and spicy casserole. The eggs used in the sauce binds everything together so you don’t need to worry about having a watery casserole, which I get annoyed with when that happens.

Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide

Customization

This Salsa Verde Paleo Pulled Pork can be easily customized if you want to add other ingredients or make substitutions. I think red bell peppers and chopped tomatoes are great too add in if you are looking to up your vegetable intake. If you love spicy food, you can even stir in chopped jalapeño peppers or additional hot sauce to the sauce mixture.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8x8 baking dish.
2. If your cauliflower isn't riced, quarter the head of cauliflower and remove the stems.
3. Grate the florets with a box grater, or place the florets in a food processor and process into small crumbles that resemble rice.
4. Heat coconut oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
6. Add cauliflower rice and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
7. Turn off heat and add in pulled pork.

Pulled Pork and Cauliflower Rice Casserole with BBQ Sauce

Shredded pulled pork and cauliflower rice are smothered in a keto-friendly sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and then baked with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

BBQ Sauce

Making your own keto barbecue sauce is a great idea if you want to ensure you have a low carb option. I used my recipe for Keto BQQ sauce and added a small can of tomato sauce to extend the sauce. You could, however, substitute the homemade BBQ sauce for a jar of G Hughes Sugar-Free BBQ sauce to save extra time. This delicious casserole has 7.9 net carbs per serving using our barbecue sauce recipe.

Assembling The Pulled Pork Casserole

1. Begin by adding a layer of cauliflower rice to the bottom of the 9x13-inch buttered baking dish.
2. Then add half of the prepared bbq sauce over the cauliflower rice and try to spread it evenly across the entire surface.
3. Next, add the shredded pulled pork on top of the cauliflower rice layer spreading it evenly. Then drizzle the remaining sugar-free bbq sauce over the top of the pork.
4. Then, sprinkle the shredded cheese over the BBQ sauce layer.

Keto Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese (Cauliflower Based)

Although I thought about creating a new low carb casserole recipe, I chose to keep the oven off. What I came up with is an easy keto mac and cheese that adds in pulled pork to make a filling meal. Instead of using carb-filled pasta, I decided to cut up a whole head of cauliflower into florets.

Tips and Substitutions

• Want more of a bbq flavor? If you want this to have more of a BBQ flavor, add a few dashes of liquid smoke to the pulled pork when you heat it up. You can also toss the pork in some homemade BBQ sauce!
• The pork rinds are optional. Not everyone enjoys crunchy toppings on their mac and cheese, so it is perfectly acceptable to leave them out.
• To save yourself time, use a steamable bag of frozen cauliflower. Let them cool off quite a bit and then use a paper towel to remove a bunch of the moisture.
• Use precut cauliflower. You can also pre-cut the florets ahead of time and store them in your refrigerator in a resealable plastic storage bag or an airtight container with a lid.

Instructions

1. Blanch cauliflower. Slowly drop cauliflower florets in boiling water. Allow to boil for 1 to 2 minutes, covered. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water. Shake off excess water after 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. If Low Carb Pulled Pork was refrigerated, reheat in a skillet with olive oil over low heat.
3. In a large skillet or saucepan over low heat, combine all ingredients of Creamy Cheese Sauce.
4. Once the sauce is ready, add grated mozzarella cheese and cauliflower. Sprinkle ground black (or white) pepper. Combine ingredients.
5. Once mozzarella has melted, add 1 and ¼ cups of Low Carb Pulled Pork. Mix well. Transfer to a serving platter.

Serving Suggestions

Even if I wasn't on the keto diet, a plate of pulled pork mac and cheese is an entire meal. You don't really have to serve very many other sides with it for it to be a filling dinner. With the being said, this mac and cheese recipe will taste perfect with some low-carb garlic bread.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

Low-Carb Noodle Alternatives

My favorite keto friendly pasta is shiratake noodles. But, a lot of people don't like the texture of them. I just haven't had much luck with the low carb macaroni products. The best macaroni-like product I've tried is made by ThinSlim Foods.

tags: #keto #pulled #pork #casserole #recipe