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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!
Ingredients
- 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
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. 🙂
Okay, this looks like the most delicious Cinco de Mayo party ever! What time’s the fiesta?
Thank you Kate!! LOL!
These carnitas bar is beyond fun, love this for Cinco de Mayo!
Thank you! (:
Everything looks so delicious! I want to dive right in!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
WOO!! Hope you love it Thank so much Kari!
omg omg omg carnitas fries???? YOU HAVE BLOWN MY MIND. I want them so badly!
Haha! YES!! Thanks Nikki!
Oh words do not do justice
?? Thanks!!
I love that you keep giving me more and more Mexican recipes! I seriously need to have a fiesta!
I love Mexican recipes!! Thank you!!
YUM – Though living in Canada doesn’t give me much of a reason to celebrate CInco de Mayo, I think just this carnitas bar is a reason to turn next Thursday into a Mexican celebration.
haha!! Any excuse to turn A day into A Mexican celebration is good enough for me!
Thank you!!
This carnitas bar looks like so much fun. I can just imagine everyone having a fantastic time creating their tacos. A total fiesta. Thanks, Tieghan!
Right!? I love it! So happy you like it Andrea!! Thank you!!
I would go to ANY party that had this carnitas bar! Of course, my husband and I would be the most likely of all our family and friends to hog wild like this…pun intended!
LOL!! Thanks so much Leslie!
I love these kinds of posts!! You have me craving Mexican food at 8 AM…which I’m okay with. Tacos for breakfast it is! 😉
Haha!! So awesome!! Thanks Lucia!
Oh my god this sounds absolutely amazing!!
Thanks Danielle!!(:
YUM! I could survive on Mexican food, it’s my absolute favorite. Love this idea for Cinco de Mayo! It’s also my boyfriend’s birthday that day – bookmarking this for a potential party idea 🙂
AGREED!! Hope you love it!! Thanks!!
What a feast! Can’t wait to try this when the kids come home – they will love it!
Woohoo!! I hope you guys do love it!! Thanks Rose!
OMG, I’m so in for this carnitas fiesta! This whole bar would be such a hit with my gang of peoples, it’s not even funny. Thanks for the inspiration Tieghan!
YAY!! SO happy you like it Tori!!
I love seeing your dad’s hand pop into the pictures here and there.
I hope he enjoyed the food.
HA!! Love that you noticed (: