I love the rich, hearty flavors of Pulled Pork Ragu – tender shreds of pork in a rich marinara sauce with lots of garlic, fresh herbs, and a healthy dose of red wine. It’s a flexible main dish that can be served over pasta, polenta for a gluten free version, or zucchini noodles if you’re paleo. This easy weeknight recipe is made using leftover pulled pork for a fast and comforting meal you can pull together in under 45 minutes. No crock pot or pressure cooker required!
Jump to:
If you’re anything like me, you’re a fan of pulled pork not just for it’s kick ass flavor, but for it’s versatility. Citrus carnitas? YUM. Enchiladas? Gimme. Pulled pork sandwiches? Holla!
But if you’re also like me, you get…um…frustrated with having to cook a huge portion of pork shoulder for each recipe. That’s why I created a basic, super customizable pulled pork recipe that works with endless cuisines and flavors. I can pull out a pound or so at a time and toss together easy weeknight meals in just a fraction of the time the more in-depth parent versions take.
I’ve adapted a handful of my favorite pulled pork recipes into quick and easy 45-minute or less versions and I’ll be sharing them with you over the next few weeks or months – basically, whenever I feel like it. As promised, today I’m going to share my adaptation for weeknight pulled pork ragu.
Pulled pork ragu is one of those deliciously comforting, slow-cooked hearty meals that warms you up from the inside out. It makes all the dreary wearies go away. The only drawback? It takes for-like-ever to cook. At least 4 hours. But by using leftover pulled pork, it’s ready in under 45 minutes, making it perfectly doable when you need a bit of savory comfort on a weeknight.
Pin it now! Click here to save this pulled pork ragu to your Italian recipes board on pinterest.
Quick Pulled Pork Ragu Recipe Notes
First things first – get your hands on some leftover pulled pork. If you’re super prepared, you’ll have some stashed away in the freezer for just this purpose. If you’re trying to use up a whole mess of leftover pulled pork from something else, you’re in the right place!
To make this recipe you’ll need a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot. You’ll start by sautéing some onions in your fat of choice, and then adding in a little garlic. Add a few glugs of dry red wine for complexity, and then add the leftover pulled pork along with some crushed tomatoes, herbs, and seasoning. Simmer, simmer, simmer…’bout 20 minutes should do it.
Taste for seasoning, and you’re done. Ladle over pasta, polenta, or zoodles and dive on in.
Pulled Pork Ragu Serving Suggestions and Dietary Modifications
Guys, not only is this recipe easy, but it’s super customizable to lots of dietary persuasions. In the winter I serve it over whole wheat pasta or polenta. In the summer I like it over zucchini noodles. Here’s quick n’dirty run-down of how adapt it to your dietary preference.
Make it Gluten-Free: serve as-is over polenta or gluten-free pasta
Make it Paleo: swap out butter for ghee or avocado oil; serve over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash
Make it Whole 30: swap out butter for ghee or avocado oil; substitute 2 tablespoon tomato paste for the red wine (for richness); serve over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash
Did you make this Pulled Pork Ragu? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
While you’re at it, let’s be friends – follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for the latest and greatest.
Pulled Pork Ragu (Using Leftover Pulled Pork)
Description
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter, ghee, or avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
- 1 c. red wine
- 1 lb cooked pulled pork
- 1 large carrot, shredded or julienned
- 1 28-oz can pureed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven over medium high. Add butter and heat until it foams and subsides (or heat other fat until shimmering). Add the onion to the fat and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and sauté, stirring continuously, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pot with the red wine and cook until the wine stops bubbling.
- Add the pulled pork, carrots, diced tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper to the dutch oven and give everything a good stir.
- Reduce heat to medium low, then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is a deep red, 20-25 minutes.
- Fish out the bay leaf and thyme and rosemary stems. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Ladle over cooked pasta, polenta, spaghetti squash, or zucchini noodles.
Jennifer Turcotte
This recipe was a huge hit in my household! I am an experienced cook but have never really had leftover pulled pork before. This Ragu turned out to be be perfecting, not changing a single thing!
Thanks!!
Danielle
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jennifer! It’s one of our favorites too – even the kids love it 🙂
Amy Merriweather
Easy and delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
Danica
Excellent! My husband made pulled pork for tacos on Christmas day and of course we got sick of them. Hence we found this recipe on line. Thank you for it!!! We tripled the herbs with great results. The only change would be to tie them with a string because we had a lot of stems. Thank you for posting this delicious recipe.
Karen
THANK YOU!! Had too much pulled pork and was craving a chipped-rib type of Italian sauce. It was great. I added a few mushrooms too!!
James
Made a 2lb pork shoulder in the crockpot this morning and didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. Came across this recipe and decided this will be our Easter dinner. It was delicious. Making it was super easy and fast. Didn’t change a thing.
Bonnie
OMG! I made this for my husband & I tonight, after searching high & low for something to make with leftover pulled pork. I’m SOOOO glad I found your recipe. It was delicious!!!! It’s definitely something we’ll be having again! Thank you for sharing!
Laura
Question is,it poured or diced tomato? In the ingredient list it says purée but in the instructions it says diced?
Danielle
Oh, thanks for catching that! I’ve used both, but I prefer pureed for a saucier consistency. If you only have diced, you can give them a quick blend in the blender to crush them up a bit, or simply use them as-is (the sauce will be chunkier).
Laura
Great. Thanks for the quick reply. I am making now
Mark Williams
Sometimes you just want a recipe. Not someone’s long winded story about the ingredients or their family history. Combine the boring read with the pop up ads, this is crap.
Linda
That’s what the “go to recipe” button is for :-).
Jeff Horwitz
This was fantastic. Everyone wanted more.