This post is sponsored by Mom it Forward and their Partners PulsePledge.com, all opinions are my own.
Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl is a lunch bowl stuffed with savory pulled pork cooked in an instant pot, and a 3 bean salad that is protein packed, flavor packed, and super easy to make! Plus other fun toppers like roasted chick peas, a delicious salsa verde avocado dressing, and fresh tomatoes and cilantro. This is the perfect meal prep lunch, or quick, nutritious, protein filled meal option.
Looking at this Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl you might start feeling a little overwhelmed. You might think it is a few too many ingredients, or a little too complicated. Let me assure you right now that this recipe could not be easier. Let’s break it down.
Pulled Pork
The first thing you want to get started for this recipe is the pulled pork. It is awesome because it can be cooked in bulk without adding a lot of time, so you could make ahead and freeze some extra for later use. And it is super easy. So it should take you no more than 5 minutes of hands on time to get the pork cooked.
- I rub it with a simple rub of common pantry spices.
- I put it in the slow cooker (4-5 hours) or Instant pot (1-2 hours) to cook. When done, I shred, and drain.
Slow Cookers and Instant Pots
You probably have a slow cooker that you use and I do too. In fact I have three slow cookers but this is the one that I use. It’s big enough to fit all of my recipes and even will automatically switch to warm when it is done cooking.
An Instant Pot, on the other hand, is something that you may not have already but you should. This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It combines 7 different kitchen appliances in one and has a lot of other great features that you can check out. One of the best things about an instant pot is that when I forget to take something out of the freezer to cook for dinner I can just take a frozen ingredient and throw it in and it will cook fast enough that nobody will ever know about my mistake.
3 Bean Pulse Salad
You guys, I am so excited to have partnered up with PulsePledge.com to bring you this post! Not only do I love pulses, which are essentially protein packed, sustainable foods you know as dry peas, chickpeas, lentils, and beans, but I also love how good they are for you! For this Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl recipe I wanted to use a lot of them, but I also wanted it to be totally approachable and easy, because that is how we roll over here.
So I chose 3 common beans that you can find dry or canned in nearly every grocery store. Then added some fun additional ingredients for color and variety of flavor. They pair so well with the pulses.
The amazing thing about pulses is they are super versatile. Adding them to your diet is easy peasy. They are an excellent way to add extra protein without increasing your meat intake. They are in fact, one of the most cost effective plant-protein source available.
Whenever I want a high protein lunch, I always make sure I include some pulses, whether that is adding pureed beans into a soup as a thickener, or roasted chickpeas on top of a salad, or in this case, a protein bowl, or some other way!
So you can use canned beans, and just drain and rinse them, or if you want to start with dry beans you can do that too. It is more cost effective. Just give yourself time to soak them or cook them properly so they soften. It is very easy, and can be started the same time you start the pork, so that things all finish around the same time. To learn more about how to prepare dry beans and other pulses check out the Pulse Pledge Website.
The Protein Bowl Toppers
For the rest of the Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl I wanted to use things that would enhance and compliment the flavors, so I added tomatoes and cilantro, which bring some acidity and flavor. But I also added some roasted chickpeas (another pulse) because the added crunch is super fun. Then I topped it all with a dressing I found in my local produce section. It is just a premade creamy avocado salsa verde dressing, which was similar to an avocado ranch. So make your own, or look for something similar. It was such a nice flavor compliment.
I have been really into meal prep lately, and I loved these Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl for meal prep.
Meal Prep
Because I knew I would want to use this Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl recipe for meal prep to make lunches easier, as well as to have something to send to work with my husband, I packaged it to keep things as tasty and awesome as possible.
- Main ingredients: I put the pork and pulse salad together, because the 3 bean salad is great warm or cold, so I could reheat it with the pork without a problem.
- Fresh Stuff: I put the fresh stuff like the tomatoes, a lime wedge, and some cilantro in a little container I tucked down in. That way it can easily be removed before reheating.
- Dressing: I added another small container with dressing.
- Chickpeas: I put the roasted chickpeas in the main container mainly because I was out of little ones. You could just package them in a plastic baggie, and top after heating. They add such a nice crunch and texture to the dish.
As you can see Pulled Pork and Pulse Protein Bowl is a versatile, and deliciously awesome recipe, and while it takes time for the pork to cook and the pulses (if not using canned), good things come to those who wait! Enjoy!
More recipes you might enjoy:
- Ginger Orange Chicken Meal Prep
- Easy Pork Carnitas Meal Prep Bowls
- Salsa Verde Taco Meal Prep Bowls
- Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
- Greek Chicken Bowls
Pulled Pork Protein Bowl
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 Tbs onion powder
- 1 Tbs cumin
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 Tbs agave
- 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- 2 lbs Pork Tenderloin
3 Bean Salad
- 15 ounces black beans cooked and drained
- 15 ounces great northern beans cooked and drained
- 15 ounces dark red kidney beans cooked and drained
- 15.25 ounce can of whole kernel corn
- 1/2 cup red onions diced fine
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper diced fine
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 1 lime
- Salt and Pepper
Other Bowl Items
- 1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped fine
- 1/2 cup creamy avocado salsa verde dressing*
- 1 cup roasted chick peas
- 5 lime wedges
Instructions
Pulled Pork
- Mix chili powder, onion powder, cumin, ground mustard, and garlic salt together in a small bowl. Rub all over pork roast.
- Place pork in either a slow cooker or an instant pot. Add agave and apple cider vinegar to the pot, just put it on top of the pork.
- Cook in slow cooker for 4-6 hours, or in an instant pot on the meat setting, for 80 minutes, with the setting at sealed.
- When finished cooking, remove from pot and shred.
- Return to pot to stir in liquid, so it gets all flavored, then strain in a strainer so the liquid is removed.
- Set aside.
3 Bean Salad
- Combine the three types of beans. If you use beans from a can, drain and rinse them before combining. If cooking from dry, make sure they are cooled and drained before combining.
- Drain whole kernel corn and add to the beans.
- Finely dice red onion and green bell pepper and add to the bean salad. Along with chopped cilantro.
- Squeeze lime over beans salad.
- Mix everything from the bean salad together together, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve by plating 1 cup bean salad, 1/2 cup pulled pork, a handful of halved grape tomatoes, cilantro, and dressing in a bowl, and top with roasted chick peas for texture and crunch.
- If using for meal prep, put 1 cup of bean salad mix in each bowl, along with 1/2 a cup of pulled pork, and 1/4 cup roasted chick peas.
- In a separate container put in grape tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a lime wedge. And in a second little container put 1 Tbs of prepared creamy avocado salsa verde dressing.
- When ready to eat, heat pulled pork and 3 bean salad (don't worry it is good warm). Then top with tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and the prepared creamy avocado salsa verde dressing.
- Enjoy
Notes
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!
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