Al Pastor Pork
with Cilantro Lime Quinoa & Smoky Red Pepper Crema
- Milk
We can never get enough of sweet and savory combos for dinner, which is why we’re head-over-heels for al pastor. Traditionally, the dish features pineapple-marinated pork shoulder that’s spit-roasted until caramelized and meltingly tender. For this riff on the classic, we swap in pork chops, which we rub with Southwest spices, then sear until juicy. The pineapple actually makes not one, but two appearances: The juice is simmered with rich spices and lime to form a tantalizing pan sauce, while the fruit is chopped and stirred into salsa. It’s all served with zesty quinoa and a dollop of smoky red pepper crema.
Ingredients
½ cup
Quinoa
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
2 tablespoon
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
(Contains: Milk)
12 ounce
Pork Chops
1 unit
Lime
2 unit
Scallions
1 unit
Tex-Mex Paste
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
¼ ounce
Cilantro
4 ounce
Pineapple
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry all produce. • In a small pot, combine 1 cup water (2 cups for 4 servings), stock concentrate, and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then add quinoa; cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until quinoa is tender and liquid has absorbed, 15-20 minutes. TIP: Drain any excess liquid if necessary. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While quinoa cooks, drain pineapple over a small bowl, reserving juice; roughly chop fruit. Zest and quarter lime. Trim and thinly slice scallions. Finely chop cilantro. • To bowl with pineapple juice, stir in Tex-Mex paste, 2 TBSP water (3 TBSP for 4 servings), and juice from half the lime.
• In a medium bowl, combine chopped pineapple, scallions, half the cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pat pork* dry with paper towels and season all over with half the Southwest Spice (all for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes per side. TIP: If pork begins to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium. • Turn off heat; transfer to a cutting board. Wipe out pan.
• Return same pan to medium-high heat. Add pineapple juice mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly reduced, 2-3 minutes. • Remove from heat and stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) until melted.
• Fluff quinoa with a fork; stir in lime zest and remaining cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: For extra-rich quinoa, stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). • Thinly slice pork crosswise. • Divide quinoa between bowls and top with pork. Drizzle pork with pan sauce, then top with pineapple salsa and smoky red pepper crema. Serve with any remaining lime wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the combination of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors; some found it too spicy or salty 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, though some felt prep time was longer than stated.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more vegetables or serving with a side salad for a more complete meal.
- Portions: Some wanted more pineapple salsa or sauce; others felt the quinoa portion was too large.
- Texture: Several found the pork tender and juicy, but a few received tough or fatty cuts.
Reviews from our home cooks
Good mix of flavors and ingredients. Haven't eaten a lot of quinoa, it paired well with the pork and salsa. This was the second meal in the same week that had sub-par produce. One of the two packages of cilantro was black and slimy and the other was almost all thick stems with very few leaves. It left us with almost no fresh cilantro to use. Wish I had had some on hand to supplement.
This was very tasty, but could have done without the texmex paste pan sauce. It overwhelmed the delicate flavors of the pork with the pineapple salsa, and the lime/cilantro quinoa. We would give it a 4 without the pan sauce.
This meal was delicious. The pork was juicy, smoky, and tender and the red pepper crema is just delicious on top
Did not expect to like this, but I loved this! That smoky tex mex sauce was great. The pork chops were tender and I even enjoyed that pineapple salsa. Wish it had a more veg to the meal but it was a very tasty meal
This dish was delicious, simple and pretty quick to prepare. Loved the spice blend, salsa and how easily I was able to modify for my husband who hates cilantro.
First time with this recipe and it was delicious. Just the right amount of spice and the quinoa was great with the pineapple to cool down the heat
Usually I don't get pork entrees because I'm not a huge fan of pork but I forgot to select my meals and this was one I received that I honestly was not excited about but IT WAS AMAZING!! So savory and delicious. The pork was crispy, the quinoa was flavorful, I loved the tex-mex pan sauce and the pineapple salsa. Just everything about it was delicious! I would definitely get this again if I saw it on the selection menu!!
Generous servings on the quinoa and the seasoning was just enough to balance the spicy pork. Enjoyed this very much!
We loved the flavor of the Al Pastor pork & it paired very well with the sides & the red pepper crema!
This recipe was good but overall it was too salty between the al pastor sauce and red pepper crema. It probably didn't need the crema at the end.
