7 Best Side Dishes for Pork Carnitas to try in 2024

Name: 7 Best Sides for Pork Carnitas
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Side Dish
Ingredients: Cornbread; Refried Beans; Egg Fried Rice; Mexican Street Corn; Chopped Mexican Salad; Mexican Rice; Pico de Gallo

Updated Feb 7, 2023Recipe Marker

Are you wondering what goes well with pork carnitas? Stick around as we share a list of the most popular pork carnitas side dishes in this article.

What is Pork Carnitas?

A traditional Mexican dish called pork carnitas is created with braised lardons or roasted hog chunks in their own fat. The Southwest United States and the whole of Mexico are known for their love of pork carnitas.

Carnitas is a Spanish term that means “small meats” or “fattened.” Large chunks of fatty swine meat are simmered in lard until they are soft, then crisped up in hot lard to give the dish its excellent flavor.

Carnitas are prepared by first simmering the beef in lard or oil to make it soft and then frying it in a lot of hot lard or oil to make the outside crisp and golden brown.

Pork carnitas can be eaten in a variety of ways. They are a terrific addition to any taco recipe and are quite flavorful, especially when crunchy.

Although they taste great on their own, they make a proper meal when served with other dishes. Let’s explore some of the best side dishes to serve with Pork Carnitas.

Best Side Dishes for Pork Carnitas

1. Cornbread

Cornbread is a straightforward dish with no particularly complex flavors, yet it tastes fantastic when served with pork carnitas.

The first thing to note is how simple it is to cook cornbread. Simple ingredients like cornmeal, baking powder, eggs, and flour are all that is required.

Additionally, if baking powder is used in place of yeast, preparation will go more quickly. Cornbread has a delicate sweetness to it that pork lacks.

For more crunch, lightly toast it. The soft meat’s crispy texture is to die for.

The “double C” combo is something you could eat for a light meal or even your lunch break. To go with it, you may also make a variety of dipping sauces.

2. Refried Beans

Any Mexican cuisine would benefit from the addition of refried beans, and carnitas’ pork is the perfect partner for them.

Some people add veggies or ground meat to their refried beans before cooking, but plain refried beans are just as tasty.

To make this delectable dish, you need to soak the beans overnight before cooking them and then put them in a pot with some garlic, onion, water, and salt after draining and rinsing them.

The mixture should be brought to a boil and simmered for about an hour. Mash the mixture before roasting it for an additional half an hour if you prefer your beans softer or as a richer sauce rather than just whole beans.

Once prepared, it’s good to go and can be served along with the pork carnitas.

3. Egg Fried Rice

Your dining experience will be enhanced if you use certain Chinese cooking techniques. And egg fried rice is the ideal food to use.

One of the simplest types of fried rice is egg fried rice. They go perfectly with pork Carnitas, so that’s why the best combination is juicy pork with “eggy” and earthy flavors.

Additionally, you can change the flavor by adding spring onions and sesame seeds.

The good news is that it will elevate the meal. Scoop out a generous portion of the scrumptious fried rice onto each of your plates.

The Carnitas should then be diced or shredded and added on top.

4. Mexican Street Corn

The ingredients for Mexican street corn are mayo, cheese, and corn. To make this side dish, you need to cut the kernels from the cob before adding them to a pot with enough salt and oil to prepare Mexican street corn.

Before adding the cheese and mayo, make sure to let this cook for at least 15 minutes.

You can add cayenne pepper, salt, or chili powder to add flavor to Mexican street corn. It pairs well with Carnitas and tastes great when served warm on its own.

5. Chopped Mexican Salad

This salad, which is packed with vegetables, is the ideal way to finish your dinner. If you’re searching for a light lunch alternative other than pork carnitas, you may also eat it by itself because it serves two people.

Cucumber, red cabbage, and lettuce will be the first ingredients, followed by avocado and carrots and then some red and jalapeño peppers and, at the very least, some corn.

Drizzle some lime vinaigrette on top of everything to give it a “Mexican” flavor. This can be put inside the tacos for extra crunch or even eaten with pork carnitas.

6. Mexican Rice

This rice dish, a mainstay in many traditional Mexican cuisines, will bring out the taste of your pork carnitas.

It is also quick and simple to prepare. Prior to adding the rice to the cooking process, sauté some garlic and onion in olive oil, and then add a few cups of boiling water and tomato sauce after the rice has been cooked until it becomes opaque.

Cooking time for this should be around 30 minutes or until the liquid is completely absorbed.

Since restaurants typically prepare food on a pan, you can always utilize your rice cooker in place of doing so.

Just be sure to combine everything at once to avoid the rice not cooking as well.

7. Pico de Gallo

It has a little kick, so it goes nicely with pork carnitas because their flavors are different, yet they still taste great together.

The ingredients for this straightforward but delectable salsa are jalapenos, white onions, and tomatoes. Before adding salt and cilantro for flavor, cut up your items for the Pico de Gallo.

It will beautifully complete your dinner, serving it as is or with some tortilla chips.

Pico de Gallo is also excellent as a garnish for pork carnitas; whether placed on top or inside the tacos, it will help improve the flavor.

Final Words

In conclusion, pork carnitas, which is uncommon in the culinary world, has a fantastic flavor. It still has to be combined with other dishes to make a full meal.

Fortunately, many sides are available to make pork carnitas even better. If you’re lacking in ideas, think about experimenting with some of these best side dishes, I’m sure you won’t regret it.

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