Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad Copycat

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

Thank you to all you die hard Cafe Rio and Costa Vida fans for making us the number one site for Cafe Rio copycat recipes! If you haven’t tried this easy recipe for the famous Sweet Pork Salad yet, you are in for a treat! We LOVE Cafe Rio and Costa Vida – and we’re very picky about our Cafe Rio sweet pork. This recipe tastes exactly like the restaurant version, but so easy because you can make it right at home! We also played around with the rice, the beans, and the house ranch dressing. Finally, we nailed it! This recipe tastes exactly like having Cafe Rio take-out. You can even use a lot of these ingredients to try and imitate Cafe Rio’s tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or nachos. Try it for yourself and you will see what we mean! Be sure to check out all our other tasty Mexican Recipes! We have all kinds of yummy Mexican dishes to round out your meals and celebrations!

Ingredients in a Sweet Pork Salad

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of separate recipes within the recipe. Don’t be intimidated! If you are wanting to simplify, you can just make the sweet pork and the dressing and get everything else store-bought. You can also make the beans, rice, pork, and dressing all a day or two before hand to make assembly quicker.

flour tortilla < click the link for our homemade recipe shredded cheese (Mexican blend) cilantro lime rice < click the link for our homemade recipe black beans < click the link for our homemade recipe Cafe Rio sweet pork < click the link for our homemade recipe leafy green or Romaine lettuce (not iceberg) pico de gallo < click the link for our homemade recipe guacamole < click the link for our homemade recipe tortilla strips < click the link for our homemade recipe Cotija cheese (crumbled) fresh cilantro (they usually do sprigs but I like fresh chopped cilantro)

Cafe Rio’s Dressings

creamy tomatillo ranch dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe (aka cilantro ranch dressing) OR cilantro lime dressing < click the link for our homemade recipe

Ingredient Variations

If you have some picky eaters who don’t like guac or pico de gallo but don’t want the salad too plain or want to try some different ingredients to make your salad your own; here are some great options that will compliment your salad.

green chilies onions lime juice refried beans sliced avocado

What is the Difference Between the Creamy Tomatillo Dressing and the Cilantro Lime Dressing?

We love both of these dressings so much – it is always hard to choose! They are both made with tomatillos, cilantro, and lime so the basic flavor is the same. The difference is that the Ranch Dressing is thick and creamy like a traditional ranch dressing. The Cilantro Lime Dressing is more of a vinaigrette. It really just comes down to preference!

How to Make the Sweet Pork

More Cafe Rio Recipes

We have some of the best recipe copycats of our favorite menu items at Cafe Rio. You will want to try them all!

Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo) Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Sweet Pork Burrito Homemade Flour Tortillas Homemade Tortilla Strips The BEST Guacamole EVER