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A delicious mix of sweet, savory, tangy and spicy. This is what you get with al pastor tacos. Traditionally made with marinated pork that’s cooked on a vertical skewer, known as a trompo, the process is lengthy. My Easy Al Pastor Tacos recipe is a cheat method to getting the same flavors of a traditional al pastor but in much less time. Make quick and easy al pastor tacos for lunch or dinner. This recipe was inspired by my friend Arnie. Check out his page for more delicious TexMex recipes.
For more taco recipes, check out grilled steak and corn salad tacos, marinated steak tacos or my birria style shredded beef tacos.
Table of Contents
What are Al Pastor Tacos?
A traditional Mexican recipe that is grilled on a vertical skewer or spit. Al Pastor tacos use sliced pork shoulder that is marinated in adobo sauce and stacked on a vertical skewer and slow cooked resulting in very tender meat. This sweet and savory taco is served with pineapple, white onion and cilantro.
Quick and Easy Al Pastor Tacos.
My recipe is a simple version of achieving the same deliciously sweet and savory meal without all the extra work and tools. While some might argue these are not al pastor tacos, the ingredients and flavors are the same. So you be the judge.
Ingredient list for Easy Al Pastor Tacos.
- Ground pork: traditionally, al pastors are made of low and slow roasted pork, however for quick and easy tacos, use ground pork.
- Canned pineapple: canned pineapple is perfect for this recipe.
- Dried chilies: a mix of guajillo, arbol and chipotle chilies are needed for the sauce.
- Corn tacos: traditionally al pastor tacos are enjoyed on corn tortillas.
- Chilies in adobo sauce: smoked heat for the sauce.
- Achiote paste: adds creaminess and thickness to the sauce.
- Seasoning: a mix of garlic, cinnamon, all purpose rub, bay leaves and oregano are used to season the sauce.
Step 1: Make homemade adobo sauce
This homemade adobo sauce is fast and easy to make.
To start, remove the stems and seeds from the dried chilies. Place them in a sauce pan with garlic cloves, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, oregano and cover with water. Bring the water to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chilies are soft.
Next, transfer the chilies and veggies from the water to a blender. Make sure to discard the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Add achiote paste, pineapple juice, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, Dad’s All purpose seasoning, apple cider vinegar and water from the chilies. Blend everything together until smooth.
Step 2: Time to grill the pork.
This is where the recipe starts to become different from traditional al pastor tacos. Instead of using sliced pork shoulder, I used ground pork. It’s simple, easy and cooks much faster.
Preheat the griddle to medium heat and place the block of ground pork on the hot flat top. Leave it on for 1-2 minutes to help build a crust. Start breaking it apart to cook through.
Reduce the heat to low and pour the adobo sauce over the grilled pork and mix it in. Add the diced pineapple, cover and let everything cook together for about 10 minutes.
Don’t forget to warm up your tortillas and it’s time to assemble our tacos. Add a nice scoop of the cooked pork and top with fresh diced white onion and cilantro! Easy and delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions:
An al pastor taco uses grilled pork that is coated in a chili based sauce and is served with pineapple, while Carnitas is slow cooked pork that is flavored with orange and served in chunks or shredded.
A great way to re-use the sauce of meat sauce is enchiladas! Also, pour them over fries or make al pastor nachos!
Spice up your life with these taco recipes:
If you tried this Easy Al Pastor Tacos or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Easy Al Pastor Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Ground pork
- 8 Corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup Diced pineapple
Adobo Sauce Ingredients
- 15 Dried guajillo chilies
- 3 Dried arbol chilies
- 3 Dried chipotle chilies
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 6 Garlic cloves
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1/2 White onion
- 2 cup Water
- 3 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 6 oz Can of pineapple juice
- 2 tbsp Achiote paste
- 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dad's all purpose rub
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chilies.
- Place the chilies in a sauce pan with the garlic, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, oregano and cover with water. Bring the water to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chilies are soft.
- Transfer the chilies and veggies from the water to a blender. Throw out the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and save about 1 cup of the water.
- To the blender, add achiote paste, pineapple juice, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, Dad's all purpose rub, apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of water from the chilies. Blend everything together until smooth.
- Preheat the griddle to a medium high heat and place the block of ground pork on the hot flat top. Leave it on for 1-2 minutes to help build a crust. Start breaking it apart to cook through.
- Reduce the heat to low and pour enough adobo sauce over pork to coat it evenly. Add the diced pineapple, cover and let everything cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Warm up the corn tortillas on the griddle and assemble the tacos with the cooked pork and garnish with chopped white onion and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
