• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Barbara Bakes™
  • Home
  • About
  • Info
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • Breads
  • Breakfast
  • Dessert
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Ice Cream
    • Pastry
    • All Desserts »
  • Main Dishes
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Pasta
    • Meatless
    • All Main Dishes »
  • Side Dishes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Baking Tips
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Baking Tips
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Salads

    Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad

    Published by Melissa on May 5, 2010 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 49 Comments

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet
    Jump to Recipe

    Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad

    Happy Cinco De Mayo. I hope you have a fun fiesta planned for today. I know I do.

    My family loves Cafe Rio. If we’re going out to eat Mexican, it’s the only place my husband wants to go. Cafe Rio claims to be the #1 Mexican Restaurant in the Nation for overall customer satisfaction. Which sort of made me chuckle because Cafe Rio is only in six Western States. But it is Mexican fast food at it’s finest. It is consistently good and we Utahns love our Cafe Rio.

    Everything is made fresh daily. The tortillas are hand made and you watch them bake them on a circulating stone while you order.  They make your order in front of you as you’re herded along the counter with a throng of other hungry people waiting to get their Cafe Rio fix. Do you want your salad with pork, chicken or beef, black or pinto beans, cilantro lime rice, pico de gallo, Cotija cheese, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, tortilla strips, and Creamy Tomatillo or Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette Dressing? It’s a huge salad served in aluminum tins. My husband and I always share one and still come home stuffed.

    I recently made Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salads for my twin’s birthday party. It’s the perfect way to feed a crowd because everyone can fix it just the way they like it. Frieda from Lovin’ from the Oven recently posted a copycat recipe for the Pork Barbacoa, which she adapted from Favorite Family Recipes. My version below is a combination of both of their versions. Like Frieda, I cut the amount of Coke and brown sugar I used in the recipe and it was still plenty sweet. I’ve also included Favorite Family Recipes copycat versions for the rice, black beans and tomatillo dressing.

    Image
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Sweet Barbacoa Pork

    Cook Time4 hours hrs
    Total Time4 hours hrs
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs. boneless pork ribs
    • 1 12 oz.. can Coke not diet – can use caffeine free
    • ¼ c. brown sugar
    • dash garlic powder
    • ¼ c. water

    Instructions

    • Put the pork, 1 can of Coke and ¼ c. brown sugar in a Ziploc bag to marinade. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.
    • Pour meat and marinade into crock pot. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 on low. Keep lid on to retain liquid.  Drain liquid. Shred meat with 2 forks when done.
    • Put shredded pork and Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours.
    • Note: The meat and the beans are both very saucy, which is nice if they are being served buffet style because it keeps them really moist, but be sure and use slotted spoons to serve them.
    Image
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Barbacoa Enchilada Sauce

    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Total Time5 minutes mins
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup Coke
    • 1 can diced green chilies
    • 1 cup red enchilada sauce
    • ½ c. brown sugar

    Instructions

    • In a food processor or blender, blend Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and ½ c. brown sugar.
    Image
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Cilantro Lime Rice

    Cilantro Lime Rice from [Favorite Family Recipes Recipes|https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2007/11/jared-and-i-love-cafe-rio.html]
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 1 c. uncooked rice long-grain, white rice
    • 1 tsp. butter or margarine
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
    • 1 can 15 oz chicken broth
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
    • 2 tsp. sugar
    • 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

    Instructions

    • In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a boil.
    • Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat.
    • In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
    Image
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Black Beans

    Black Beans from [Favorite Family Recipes|https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2007/11/jared-and-i-love-cafe-rio.html]
    Cook Time10 minutes mins
    Total Time10 minutes mins
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tsp. ground cumin
    • 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
    • 1 ⅓ c. tomato juice
    • 1 ½ tsp. salt
    • 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro

    Instructions

    • In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it.
    • Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through.
    • Just before serving, stir in the cilantro. (Next time I make the beans I’ll use less tomato juice.)
    • Note: The meat and the beans are both very saucy, which is nice if they are being served buffet style because it keeps them really moist, but be sure and use slotted spoons to serve them.
    Image
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    No ratings yet

    Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

    Creamy Tomatillo Dressing from [Favorite Family Recipes|https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2007/11/jared-and-i-love-cafe-rio.html]
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Total Time5 minutes mins
    Author: Barbara Bakes LLC
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix not BUTTERMILK
    • 1 c. mayonnaise
    • 1 c. buttermilk
    • 2 to matillos remove husk, diced
    • ½ bunch of fresh cilantro
    • 1 clove garlic
    • juice of 1 lime
    • 1 jalapeno I used some jalapeno slices from a jar

    Instructions

    • Mix all ingredients together in the blender.
    Pin
    Share
    Tweet
    « Green Chile and Cream Cheese Burgers
    Hot Fudge Sundae Macarons »
    about us

    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Kim

      May 06, 2010 at 12:34 pm

      What is not to love about shredded pork ribs? This sounds delicious and definitely a great way to celebrate cinco de mayo. My husband and I would love this.

      Reply
    2. Sue Sparks

      May 06, 2010 at 3:13 am

      Mexican food is my husband's favorite! It seems everyone in Utah loves Cafe Rio:) All the recipes sound great! My grandma used to make homemade tortillas:) Muchas gracias for your comment on my blog;)

      Reply
    3. sweetlife

      May 06, 2010 at 2:51 am

      great recipe, I could eat mexican food everyday..yum but then again I do..haha

      coke with pork sounds tasty
      sweetlife

      Reply
    4. Lynn

      May 06, 2010 at 1:08 am

      Mmm, I am such a fan of shredded pork. Your version looks delicious. Happy Cinco de Mayo! We're having chicken and artichokes for dinner; a pretty American meal, I believe 😮

      Reply
    5. lisaiscooking

      May 05, 2010 at 11:55 pm

      I wished I'd planned a meal of Mexican food for dinner tonight! I forgot all about it being Cinco de Mayo. Your salad looks fantastic!

      Reply
    6. Holly

      May 05, 2010 at 11:31 pm

      It all sounds so good:) I love all kinds of Mexican food:)

      Reply
    7. Kathleen

      May 05, 2010 at 11:30 pm

      This sounds amazing! I can't wait to try it> I think I could eat Mexican food everyday of the week!

      Reply
    8. Bonnie

      May 05, 2010 at 11:14 pm

      We love this pork. I make another variation but I like to use Dr. Pepper instead of Coke. I know someone who used to work at one of the original restaurants, before they franchised and they told me that is they used when they worked there. Either way, this is a winner.

      Reply
    9. Darlene Young

      May 05, 2010 at 11:01 pm

      Thanks for the recipe! And now, can you just figure out how to make their green mild enchilada sauce? How I love that stuff . . .

      Reply
    10. Julie

      May 05, 2010 at 10:41 pm

      Sounds like a wonderful way to prepare pork!

      Reply
    11. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

      May 05, 2010 at 10:33 pm

      Happy Cinco de Mayo mum! 😀 I seem to have some strange love for recipes that involve Coca Cola so I really like the sound of this sauce! 😀 xxx

      Reply
    12. Candy Girl

      May 05, 2010 at 10:01 pm

      This looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it.

      Reply
    13. Faith

      May 05, 2010 at 8:38 pm

      This is a beautiful Cinco de Mayo dish! I really love the Coke in the sauce!

      Reply
    14. Chow and Chatter

      May 05, 2010 at 7:23 pm

      oh this looks wonderful great recipe and who would have thought to add coke

      Reply
    15. Frieda

      May 05, 2010 at 5:17 pm

      Thanks, Barbara ~ I love the fact that we can tweak recipes to suit our tastes!

      Reply
    16. Maria

      May 05, 2010 at 4:51 pm

      Josh loves their pork. I will have to show him this recipe. Thanks!

      Reply
    17. Lynda

      May 05, 2010 at 4:17 pm

      We are addicted to mexican food, can't wait to try this!

      Reply
    18. The Double Dipped Life

      May 05, 2010 at 3:38 pm

      Who would've thought that they used Coke?? I hate Coke- does it taste like coke? I'm abnormal- I'm a Utahn that really doesn't care for Cafe Rio! There are other places that are just better. Oh well! I will try your tomatillo dressing recipe though!

      Reply
    19. Grumpy and HoneyB

      May 05, 2010 at 3:28 pm

      I could devour this in a heartbeat!

      Reply
    20. Cathy

      May 05, 2010 at 3:20 pm

      We love Mexican food and I know this pork and sauce will be a big hit. Pork ribs have so much flavor and cooking them in the crock pot is perfect. Yum. Gracias.

      Reply
    Newer Comments »

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome!

    Melissa and Barbara smiling

    Baking made easy! Sharing fabulous recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, breads and more. Barbara Bakes (and Melissa too!) Recipes from both of our kitchens to yours.

    Learn More »

    Popular Posts

    Featured Image for post Easy To Make Naan - Indian Flatbread

    Easy To Make Naan – Indian Flatbread

    meat and beans sandwiched between two tacos covered in salsa, cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and a dollop of sour cream

    Mexican Pizza

    A Smash Cake for Baby's first birthday

    Easy-To-Make Smash Cake for a First Birthday Party

    Lemon blueberry coffee cake with streusel topping over white icing, one slice on a white plate

    Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    SEEN ON

    as seen on promo graphic

    SEEN ON

    as seen on promo graphic

    About

    • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Press

    Browse

    • Recipe Index
    • Popular
    • Baking Tips
    • Travel

    Subscribe

    • Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    As an Amazon affiliate, and affiliate with other businesses, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 barbarabakes.com. All rights reserved. DISCLOSURE - PRIVACY POLICY.