How to Cook 1 Pork Roast to Make 5 Meals

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You can make a ton of meals with a pork roast. Cook it once, and it’s so versatile and yummy, you can make unlimited easy dinner ideas with one pork roast.

I got this 6-pound roast for about $11 here in Oklahoma. I buy pork shoulder, butt roast, or picnic roast. Whichever kind is on sale, and they all turn out great. Knowing what to eat to save money is not as complicated as you might think.

Pork Roast Recipes:

I love cooking my pork roast in the crockpot. It’s a set it and forget it thing, but you can roast it in the oven, use an instant pot, or whatever way you like roasting meat. This one was too big to fit in my instant pot. You can also flavor it in a lot of different ways to set the stage of flavors for your leftover dishes.

Click here to see more ways to cut down on food waste and save money!

What to do with leftover pork roast

To cook the roast in the crockpot, choose how you want to flavor it and cook it overnight. You can make it with just salt, pepper, onion, and garlic. I love adding herbs to it. Many times, we make a BBQ pork roast. Click the highlighted text to see how we make it. This time, I chose to make pork Verde and it was AMAZING. I would definitely do this again.

The original recipe was inspired by one my Mom used to cook at the center where she worked. Here’s the original:

I adapted it to make this amazing pork. Same flavors, just meat instead of soup basically. Mom had given me a pound of tomatillos she had roasted from her garden this year. I just had to try this.

All you do is dump the pork roast in your crockpot and add salt, pepper, chopped onion, tomatillos, hot peppers, garlic, frozen corn (I don’t like hominy, yuck), cilantro, oregano, and cumin.

You could eat the roast like this with some side dishes. Or you could also choose to season it another way. It’s amazing however you make it.

Leftover pork recipes

The first night we chose to have pork tacos. I’m pretty sure they were the best pork tacos I’ve ever eaten. I just put a small amount of meat into warmed corn tortillas and topped it with what I had on hand that I liked.

These pork chop tacos are great too!

If you chose to make your pork roast BBQ flavor, you could do pulled pork sandwiches on buns, BBQ pork casserole topped with tater tots, or some other topping of your choice, a smoky pork soup, or any number of things.

This leftover pulled pork mac and cheese is so creamy and good, it’s going to blow your mind!

And these leftover meat quesadillas can be whipped up in minutes and everyone loves them. Crispy tortilla on the outside, tender and flavorful meat on the inside. Super easy too.

Freeze leftover pork roast

Once I had served the pork tacos, I froze the remaining meat in quart-sized containers so I could cook them when I was ready and none of the meat would spoil. I hate wasting food, so I use my freezer vigilantly. It makes a great easy dinner for family.

Pulled pork sandwiches

The second night I made these amazing pulled pork sandwiches. I used French bread and toasted them in the pan in garlic basil butter. Oh man, were these good. I reheated the meat for the sandwiches in a hot skillet to get a tiny bit of char on it. It made a big difference in flavor. I served it with a tomato and cucumber salad.

Pork roast soup

The next day I used the rest of that container of pork to make my daycare kids a pork and vegetable soup. I just dumped a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a container of chicken stock into the pot with the pork. You could make the soup with whatever kind of veggies your family likes.

This is always a big hit with my kids no matter what meat I put in it. I just cooked it until the vegetables were cooked and added some salt and pepper to taste, plus a little bit of thyme. I boiled the soup for a minute or two and there it was. The kids gobbled it right up.

This broccoli sweet potato soup with leftover pork is amazing! Or if you love a bit of kick, check out this smokey pork soup with leftover pork roast!

Pork roast enchilada casserole

For the next meal, I roasted up a cut-up onion with some fresh tomatoes, hot peppers, and salt and pepper. I blended that into a sauce. I used that like enchilada sauce to make an enchilada casserole. Enchilada sauce is fine, but I didn’t have any on hand.

I dipped corn tortillas into the sauce and put a layer of them in my pan. Then I added a layer of the pork Verde. Next a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese and repeat all three of those layers. I topped the casserole with a little extra shredded cheese and baked it until it was a little browned and bubbly. That took about 30 minutes. We all loved this one too.

Or if you want to roll the leftover pork enchiladas, check this yummy recipe out. It’s easy too!

Pork roast pot pie

For the final meal, I thawed out one more container of the pork Verde recipe. I made a simple pie crust. You can also use a store-bought one. I try to make things homemade so they will be healthier. You don’t even have to have a bottom crust if you chose not to. It’s good without crust too.

The next step in making a pork roast pot pie recipe is to make a roux. (Click the link for the recipe) Then add your pork and whatever veggies you have on hand that you like. I love making pot pies with potatoes, peas, and carrots. Broccoli is great, or anything else you love.

For this one, I used a quick bag of mixed veggies for this pork pot pie. It did the trick. Then I topped it with a sheet of puff pastry. You can use more pie crust. You could also top it with some raw biscuits and let those bake on top. Any way you do it, it will be great.

Leftover pork roast ideas

My family loved this round of meals. We have one container of leftover pork roast left for a later time. I love how economical all of these meals were because the meat was so inexpensive. It’s amazing how much meat you get from one pork roast. Every time I’m shocked at how much it makes. I love creating new flavors and making something new out of something left over. Cooking is like art, and then you get to eat it.

Next time you’re wondering what to do with your leftover pork roast, get creative. It can be made into other things such as pork nachos, pork and rice casserole, pork fried rice, pork stir-fry, soups, stews, or any number of other things. This leftover pork stroganoff is one of our favorites. There are so many quick dinners you can make with pork.

Check out even more ideas for leftover pulled pork here.

For even more make-ahead freezer meals that you can prepare ahead, check out this post.

For basic cooking information, check this out. And for more meals you can make with inexpensive pantry staples, check these out. And for another roast idea, check out how to cook a big beef roast in the slow cooker so you can use it for several meals.

I hope you enjoy these ideas with your family and making them feeds your soul and your bodies.

For more pork ideas try these:

• Air fryer pork tenderloin
• Air fryer pork chops
• Teriyaki pork tenderloin
• Pork tenderloin casserole
• Slow cooker pork chops and apples
• Leftover pulled pork tacos
• 32 Easy Leftover Pork Recipes

Pulled pork is a GREAT way to get a lot of meat cooked to make Easy Bulk Freezer Meals to stock your freezer!