Park Street Deli Pork Carnitas

EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated for 2026. 

When you need dinner in a hurry, Aldi has several options in its refrigerated aisle. There are the take and bake pizzas, which are excellent. My family also likes the Mediterranean herb salmon. There’s also a whole line of seasoned meats with sauces under the Park Street Deli brand.

Park Street Deli is not a company. Instead, it’s the private label Aldi uses for many of its refrigerated or deli-style foods, including dips such as guacamole or street corn dip as well as various snack trays and even a ready-to-heat mac and cheese.

Among the Park Street Deli line is an array of fast-heating entrees such as burnt ends, chicken fajitas, pulled pork, artichoke stuffed chicken, Thai coconut chicken, and more. These cook in the microwave in a matter of minutes, making them good options when you need to get food on the table quickly and without a lot of fuss.

My family has our favorites (including the burnt ends and the Thai coconut chicken) along with lesser-liked options (the artichoke stuffed chicken). We’ve enjoyed working our way through the selection and trying everything, though.

One of our favorites is the pork carnitas. Pork carnitas is a seasoned pulled pork dish that’s popular in Mexico, and the name means “little meats.” Pork carnitas is often served as tacos in soft flour tortillas, as the photo on the Aldi pork carnitas package shows.

Park Street Deli Pork Carnitas cost $6.49 for a 16-ounce package at the time of publication. The package describes this as “seasoned & seared pork with juices slow cooked with citrus.” The package also says this is “ready to shred.”

This is a Regular Buy, so you should be able to find it at Aldi any time of year.

Nutrition Facts and Ingredients:

Ingredients include pork, water, and less than 2% of cane sugar, sea salt, soybean oil, dextrose, orange juice solids, maltodextrin, lime juice, lime oil, and sodium carbonate browned in oil.

One package contains about five 3-ounce servings. One serving has 120 calories, 6 grams of total fat (8% DV), 2 grams of saturated fat (10% DV), 360 mg of sodium (16% DV), 2 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), no dietary fiber, 2 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV), and 15 grams of protein.

Heating Instructions:

The package has directions for heating this in the microwave (recommended) or on the stovetop.

To microwave, remove the outer sleeve from the tray. Leave the inner pouch in the tray but puncture the pouch. Place it in the microwave and heat on high for 3 minutes or until hot. Open the pouch and empty the pork carnitas into the included serving dish.

To heat on a stovetop, heat water to a soft boil and place the bag of pork carnitas in the water for 15 minutes. Using tongs, remove the package from the pot. Let the product rest for 2 minutes before open the bag and pouring into the serving dish.

This can be frozen if you don’t intend to eat it right away. To defrost, place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Then follow the heating instructions above. Use the product within three days of defrosting.

Our Thoughts:

The first time I tried this several years ago, I heated it in the microwave. It was plenty hot after three minutes. It made some popping noises as it cooked, but since it cooked inside a plastic bag, it didn’t splatter in the microwave. I let it sit for a minute or two to make sure it wouldn’t pop or explode when I cut the package open.

When I most recently had this again in 2026, I preferred not to microwave or boil a plastic bag. So, I poured the contents of the bag into a hot skillet. I got distracted for a couple of minutes and didn’t stir this enough, so it ended up looking a little well done. It didn’t taste overcooked or burned, though.

I bought it again about a week later, and I tried pouring the contents into a glass bowl and heating it in the microwave. It was fully heated in about three minutes, with no burned bits, so this is how I’ll heat it in the future.

As of 2026, this is a mix of larger and smaller pieces of pork. The meat is very tender and moist, so it’s not hard to cut the larger pieces with a fork if you want to.

There were some small bits of fat in this, and there was white fat visible when the pork was still packaged in the plastic wrap. Also, after I microwaved this and put the leftovers in the fridge, there was some congealed fat. This was not a deal breaker for my family, but do be aware it has some fat.

This has a nice flavor with slight hints of citrus, and it was a hit in my house. I most recently served it with corn tortillas so people could make tacos. I’ve also served it with rice, pico de gallo, guacamole, beans, and various burrito bowl components.

I’ve bought enough of these meal packages at Aldi to know that they don’t feed a crowd, but for just a couple of people, this is a good meal.

The Verdict:

Park Street Deli Pork Carnitas are one of the best-tasting options in the Park Street Deli line of refrigerated, quick-heating meals at Aldi. The meat is tender and flavorful, and it is good however you serve it: in tortillas, on nachos, or as a bowl.