Mexican Carnitas Bar!

You had to know I was going to do something with yesterday’s carnitas?!

I have been dreaming about this Mexican carnitas bar for months, and I am so excited to tell you about it!

I mean, as you can see, this bar is super fun, and relatively simple to throw together since you can use a mix of homemade and store-bought ingredients. Obviously you need to make a batch of these carnitas, but from there on out, the options for the bar are pretty much endless.

Oh ok, you definitely need things like salsa and guacamole, but again, isn’t that obvious?

Let’s just break this carnitas bar down piece by piece, k??

…first up you need to make your carnitas. The best part about these carnitas is that you can make them well in advance (I’m talking a day or two) and I swear they get better with time. So good. So make your carnitas and make a lot, maybe even a double batch if you’re serving a crowd.

You need to choose all your carnitas bar toppings. For me, this meant “leave nothing out”… like nothing.

….yummy oven baked french fries for making things like carnitas fries…aka carnitas nachos, but on fries. YUM.

…crispy sweet potato rounds for topping tacos or making nachos.

…pineapple pico de gallo – cause pineapple is the bestest.

…charred corn salsa… I mean, duh.

…charred tomatillo salsa or just salsa verde…or BOTH! 🙂

…all the guacamole you can possibly make…with plenty of chips for scooping.

…fresh cilantro, jalapeños, radishes and limes.

…CHEESE – again, duh.

…black beans.

…cilantro lime rice for burrito bowls.

…warm corn or flour tortilla…for tacos, burritos, basically as a way to load up on the carnitas and toppings.

And DONE. Mexican Carnitas Bar complete!

Essentially this is just a fancy taco bar, but really you can get creative and add any taco/Mexican inspired topping and food you love. Like I said, you can make things easy and use store-bought salsa or make your own, but just be sure you have lots and lots of salsa…oh, and guacamole.

Really, can you ever have too much salsa and guacamole?

No never.

The only thing left needed to complete your Mexican feast is a margarita, or maybe a fruity ingredient pineapple chelada? Maybe both?

Are you guys thinking what I want you to be thinking?!?! That come this time next Thursday (Cinco de Mayo!!) you’ll be enjoying this epic carnitas bar and kicking back like it’s a Friday??

Let the planning begin!

YESSS.

Mexican Carnitas Bar!

3.79 from 23 votes

8 Servings

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 345kcal

Print Email

See More HBH on Google

Prep30 minutes mins

Cook1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Total1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

This bar is super fun, and relatively simple to throw together since you can use a mix of homemade and store-bought ingredients.

Save this recipe!

Enter your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get new recipes from us every week!

Permalink Email Post

Email *

Save

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 recipe pork [Carnitas | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/mexican-carnitas-bar/]
• ▢ 1 recipe french fries, see below
• ▢ 1 recipe sweet potato rounds, see below
• ▢ 1 recipe corn salsa, see below
• ▢ black beans
• ▢ jalapeños or pickled jalapeños
• ▢ 1 recipe [pineapple pico de gallo | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/hawaiian-carne-asada-fries-with-pineapple-pico-de-gallo/]
• ▢ 1 batch [guacamole | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pomegranate-guacamole-with-fried-plantain-chips/]
• ▢ [sesame tomatillo salsa | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/bulgogi-bbq-pork-tacos-with-charred-tomatillo-sesame-sauce-spring-onion-slaw/] and or salsa verde
• ▢ warm corn or flour tortillas
• ▢ [cilantro lime rice | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chipotle-mexican-steak-and-rice-burritos/]
• ▢ shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheese
• ▢ fresh cilantro + green onions

French Fries

• ▢ 4 inch russet potatoes, peeled (if desired) and sliced into thin 1/4- to 1/2 inch (thick) strips
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt + 1 teaspoon pepper

Sweet Potato Rounds

• ▢ 2 sweet potatoes, cut into thin rounds
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ salt + pepper

Corn Salsa

• ▢ 3 ears fresh corn, husk removed
• ▢ 2 poblano peppers
• ▢ 1 jalapeno pepper
• ▢ juice of 2 limes
• ▢ 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• ▢ kosher salt, to taste

Instructions 

French Fries

• Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt + pepper. Gently toss with your hands or two spatulas to evenly coat. Bake for 20 minutes, remove and toss, then bake for 15-20 minutes longer. I like to start checking them at 15 minutes and make sure that none are burning or getting too crisp.

Sweet Potato Rounds

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt + pepper. Gently toss with your hands or two spatulas to evenly coat. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then flip and bake for 15-20 minutes more. You want the sweet potatoes to be tender, but crisp.

Corn Salsa

• Preheat the broiler to HIGH.
• Place the corn, poblano peppers and jalapeno on a baking sheet. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the veggies are lightly charred all over. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Cut the corn kernels away from the cob and add to a bowl. Seed the poblano peppers and the jalapeno, then dice. Add to the bowl with the corn. Add the lime juice, cilantro and a pinch of salt, toss well. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 996mg | Potassium: 742mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 5220IU | Vitamin C: 93.6mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 2.4mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.

OK cool… on to the Mexican Carnitas Bar! Done and DONE. 🙂