This Instant Pot Pulled Pork is so easy, delicious, and takes less than half the time to make– start to finish- than making it in the oven! Using your pressure cooker to make this low-carb, paleo, and whole30 compliant pulled pork recipe is SO easy and comes out SO flavorful and juicy.
You can pile it high on pulled pork sandwiches with your favorite barbecue sauce on a burger or slider bun, or add to tacos or burritos topped with cilantro and onion for a Tex-Mex meal.
It’s cheap, it feeds a crowd, and it’s freezable. What more could you want?
Don’t have a pressure cooker? See recipe notes below for how to make this in your slow cooker or oven.
I made this pulled pork recipe when I was stocking my freezer for after I had my second baby. I stashed a whole bunch in my freezer (along with two batches of my favorite enchiladas), and thawed it out in portions for easy meals.
Thank you, past Elizabeth. You are wise.
Here’s how to make this instant pot pulled pork. This delicious, fall-apart, tender, juicy, flavor-packed pulled pork. Yummmmm.
How long does it take to cook pulled pork?
Pressure cooker recipes can often be deceiving when it comes to cooking times, since many recipes don’t account for the time it takes for it to come up to pressure. While this Instant Pot Pulled Pork technically cooks for 60 minutes, you should allow for 20-30 minutes more for it to come to pressure.
But if you were to make this recipe in your oven, it would take about 4 hours to cook (not to mention heat up your house).
In a slow cooker, it would take 4-8 hours.
This recipe takes less than 2 hours, including prep, for the most meltingly tender pulled pork ever!
What makes the Instant Pot perfect for this recipe is not only the shortened cooking time, but the fact that you can sear the meat directly in the pressure cooker before cooking it fully.
How to make pulled pork in an pressure cooker
- First, you’ll make an easy pork rub (or use your favorite pre-mixed one) and cover every surface of a boneless, skinless pork shoulder, cut into pieces. You can use bone-in, but I find it much easier to use boneless, skinless pork, and it’s not much more expensive than bone-in.
- Then, sear each side of the pork in order to brown the outside. This helps create a crispy, caramelized surface, and when you pull the pork apart when it’s finished cooking, these bits will be mixed with the succulent, tender meat of the pork, enhancing the texture. I’ve made pulled pork without searing the meat before hand, and it’s also good, so if you’re in a hurry you could skip this. But If you have the time, it really makes it better!
- Searing the pork first also creates a layer of browned bits in the bottom of the pan, which is then deglazed and cooked up with some onions. The browned bits will incorporate into the juices and add to the flavor.
- Once the pork is browned and the onions are cooked, the pork is added back into the pressure cooker with a mixture of apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and water. Then, it’s cooked for 60 minutes on high pressure. That’s it!
How to shred pulled pork and reduce the juices
The easiest way to shred the pulled pork is to use two forks. If you’ve cooked it correctly, it will be so tender this step will be almost effortless.
And it’s a good indicator of whether you cooked it for long enough- if it doesn’t fall apart to the touch, it likely needs a longer cooking time to make it more tender.
I remove the pork from the instant pot and place it on a rimmed baking sheet or large plate, to collect any juices (it gets messy if you use a cutting board for this).
While I’m shredding the pork, I set my pressure cooker to “sauté” and reduce the cooking juices by about half. This will concentrate the flavor a ton, making a delicious base for the shredded pork to swim in.
Then I shred the pork with two forks, add it BACK to the instant pot with the reduced juices, and serve it from there!
How to store pulled pork
You can keep pulled pork in the fridge for 3-5 days, and in the freezer in an airtight container or bag for about 6 months.
One important note about storing: store the pulled pork in the juices. Otherwise, it will dry out!
How to serve pulled pork
Pulled pork is so versatile and you can do endless things with it. Here are some of my favorite ways to make pulled pork into a complete meal.
- Pile the pulled pork on slider buns and top it with coleslaw and your favorite barbecue sauce.
- Serve it as a “main” meat dish along with a starch and a veggie, such as rice and green beans, and drizzle everything on your plate with the juices.
- Have it alongside Black Beans and Rice.
- Make carnitas by frying the pulled pork in a skillet with oil until crispy and serve on tacos with chopped red onion and cilantro.
- Use it as a pizza topping along with some pickled jalapeños and pineapple, like a Hawaiian pizza.
Other easy pressure cooker recipes
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Herbs
- Split pea soup
- Fish stew
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Browse all my instant pot recipes here.
Don’t have a pressure cooker? Take a look at the recipe notes for how to use your slow cooker or oven for this recipe.
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Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- 4 lb. boneless skinless pork shoulder cut into 4-5" pieces
- pork rub spice mixture recipe below, or 4-5 tablespoons of your favorite pre-mixed pork rub
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or other oil
- 1 onion halved and sliced
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- slider buns and coleslaw for serving optional
For the rub:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar omit for paleo/whole30
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Spread the pork rub spice mixture all over each surface of the pieces of pork shoulder, pressing it into the meat so it sticks.
- Turn on the sauté function on your instant pot. Once it's hot, add the vegetable oil and brown the pork shoulder pieces in batches, about 3-4 minutes on each side, until a golden brown crust forms on the outside. If the bottom of the pot starts to burn, add a bit more oil, or add a little water to deglaze, scraping up the bits with a wooden spoon.
- Add the onions to the instant pot and sauté until softened and starting to brown (about 3 minutes). Add the water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, orange juice, and the pork to the instant pot. Turn off sauté function, cover, and set pressure to manual on high for 60 minutes.
- Quick release the pressure when the 60 minutes is up. Open carefully once the float valve has depressed. Remove the pork to a rimmed baking sheet (or something else with a rim, to catch the liquids).
- Turn the instant pot to sauté once again. Allow the mixture to simmer until it has reduced in volume by about half.
- Meanwhile, use two forks to pull apart the pork shoulder to desired texture.
- Add the pork back into the reduced liquid and turn instant pot off.
- Serve on slider or hamburger buns with your favorite coleslaw, if desired.
Notes
- Oven Instructions: In a dutch oven or equivalent, sauté the seasoned pork and then onions as directed over medium-high heat. Add the water to deglaze, and the pork back in, along with the apple cider vinegar and orange juice. Place cover on top and cook in a 325 degree F oven for 4 hours, or until pork is pull-apart tender. Reduce liquid as directed on stovetop.
- Slow Cooker Instructions: brown the pork shoulder and sauté the onions in a separate large pot on the stove over medium-heat as directed. Place water, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, onions, and browned pork into your slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, or until pork is pull-apart tender. Reduce cooking liquid on the stovetop in a separate pot once it's done.
- Storing Leftovers: This recipe makes a TON, making it great to serve a crowd. The leftovers can also be frozen in the cooking liquid in an airtight container or plastic bag for 6 months.
- For more or less than 4 lbs. of pork shoulder: You should cook pork shoulder for 15 minutes per 1 lb. of meat. So for 5 lbs. of pork, you should do 75 minutes. For 3, do 45 minutes. Find more at this handy instant pot cooking times reference.
- I made this recipe in my 6 qt. Instant pot. It should work the same in an 8 qt., but you may need to cut the ingredients in half for a 3 qt. mini.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
This post originally appeared on Bowl of Delicious in April, 2018. It has been republished with new photos, improved recipe instructions, and more pertinent information.
Kay
Absolutely loved it!! I juiced fresh organic TJ oranges and added a tablespoon of garlic and onion powder. I didn’t have cayenne so I added a table spoon of chili powder. OMG, Super Juicy and Delicious!! Would have to say one of my top favorite recipes I have tried over the last couple months!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
SO happy to hear you liked it!
Nicole McDaniels
SO flavorful I didn’t need to add any sauce. This might be the most flavorful one I have made ever!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks, glad you liked it! We just had some leftovers of this from the freezer last night in tacos for dinner- yum!
Chinazor
I just got a new instant pot and I am frantically looking for recipes. This is me going off to check my pantry…
Elizabeth Lindemann
I hope you have everything to make this! Honestly, use any spice combo you want- it’s more the searing and cooking in a pressure cooker technique here- and the vinegar/water combo is essential as well. Here are all my IP recipes for quick reference! The split pea soup is a super popular one. https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/category/instant-pot-pressure-cooker/
Rob Robertson
I’ve made apple cider vinegar pulled pork before. My family loves it. We sauce to taste at end. The only things I do differently, rather than orange juice, I run a whole orange (not the peel) thru my blender, add a chopped up apple and use beer instead of water. Yumm
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh wow, I LOVE the idea of using a whole orange! And I bet the apple and beer added tons of yummy flavor. Can’t wait to try this version, thanks for the suggestions!
Priscila
Hi I love the recipe!
Any idea how long would take 2 kgs of pork shoulder to cook in an electric pressure cooker? Thank you
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hi! 2 kg. is just under 4.5 lbs., which is just over the amount in the recipe instructions. Since you should cook pork shoulder for 15 minutes per lb. in a pressure cooker, I’d recommend upping the total cooking time from 60 minutes to 66 or 67 minutes. That should take care of it! Hope you like it :-)
Alexandra
If I don’t have OJ is there something I could use in place?
Elizabeth
Hm, the idea is mostly to get a little sweetness in there. Even though it won’t have that orange flavor, I recommend using another kind of juice (apple is always good with pork!), or some lemon or lime juice with a little added honey or sugar for a little more sweet. But if you don’t have any of those things, you could just omit it and it would still be great! Hope you like it :-)
Alexandra
Thanks for the speedy reply! I actually ended up just using better than bouillon chicken broth and it came out phenomenally well!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Ooo great idea! Thanks so much for the tip I’ll have to try sometime!
Jem
Thanks for this recipe! I’m making this today to reheat and serve tomorrow. I’d love to put the whole insert in my fridge, then pull it out tomorrow, pop it back in my instant pot to reheat and then serve. Do you know if/how I can do this? High pressure? Keep Warm? How long? Is there enough liquid to reheat after it has been reduced? Thanks so much for any help!
Elizabeth
This is a GREAT question! I had to do some digging on the internet to figure it out but it looks like you can definitely do it. There will be a lot of liquid in the pot after you cook it- I’d keep all of it in the pot when you store it in the fridge (you want to do this anyway with the leftovers so it doesn’t dry out). When you are ready to cook, just place the insert in your IP and set the manual pressure (I don’t think high or low matters here) to ZERO. That will allow the IP to come to pressure, meaning the food will be hot, but it won’t cook the food for too much longer. Then, you can just leave it on the keep warm function until you are ready to serve! Keep in mind- it will take some time for it to come to pressure cold from the fridge- I’d allow for about 20 minutes. Hope that helps! Here’s where I found some good info: https://www.melaniecooks.com/how-to-reheat-soup-in-instant-pot/15585/
Nicole
Followed exactly, but my pork was tough. I cooked one large 3 pound piece in it. I even cooked 75 minutes. More time maybe? So disappointing.
Elizabeth
Really? That’s so weird- usually pulled pork is pretty foolproof! You’re right- the longer you cook it the more tender it will be (to an extent), so it was definitely a good idea to add more time. The only thing I can think of is that your cut of meat wasn’t right- maybe it was mislabeled at the store or it was just a dud? Leaner cuts of pork become very tough the longer you cook them. The three cuts you want to look for for pulled pork are: Boston butt (which is not actually the butt but a part above the shoulder haha!), pork shoulder, or picnic roast. One other suggestion I have would be to get a bone-in cut next time, since bone-in meat tends to be more tender and juicy. I hope you try making pulled pork again soon, whether it’s this recipe or another- it’s such an easy way to cook pork and I bet you’ll have better luck next time! :-)
Nicole
Thanks for your response. I ended up cooking it an additional 20 min with a natural release and it was fall off the bone tender. So, it cooked for over 95 minutes with the additional 15 min natural release! Just seems crazy. It was a pork shoulder. Good flavor though. I think I will try to cut it into 3 pieces next time instead. I also submitted a question to instant pot. I had a similar outcome with my corned beef brisket last night as well. Cooked a 3 lb brisket for 90 min and it was tough. Edible but disappointing as I was hoping for fall off the bone! tx again!
Louise Douville
Made this last night in our Instant Pot- followed the recipe exactly and WOW! It was perfect, browning the pork is a great addition- the family loved it- this is a keeper!
Elizabeth
SO glad you liked it! Thanks for the comment!
Christina
Thank you!
Christina
Hi, I’d love to make this for a party to serve about 20 people. Would you suggest doubling the recipe? And if so, would the the Instapot timing instructions remain the same?
Elizabeth
Hi! According to the Instant Pot cooking time instructions, you should cook pork butt/shoulder roast for 15 minutes per pound. So, if you are going to double the recipe, I would double the time as well. That said, this cut of pork is very forgiving in terms of the time you cook it. You can’t really overcook it, and if you undercook and it’s not shredding apart easily, you can just put it back in for a little more time. I would be more worried about it fitting in your instant pot! You should be fine to double it with an 8qt IP… a 6qt may be tight. Hope that helps, and have fun at your party!
Dan D
I just made it today, in the dutch oven as friends asked to come over early and I didn’t want the instant pot out while they were here. But 4, 4 1/4 hours in the dutch oven, exactly as described above, and it was splendid. I shredded the pork and people made carnitas tacos, with white onion and cilantro and pineapple. Some asked me to put the pork on a hot griddle after shredding to crisp it again, and either way, Super duper.
Good stuff.
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Thanks for the comment :-)
Matt hart
Love how this came out! Quick question on nutrition / serving size. Is the 576cal per serving? I.e. the full pot divided by 10?
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Yes, the nutrition information is for the whole pot divided in 10.
TERESA ZHAN
hi,
Im not sure what i did wrong but I made this recipe last night and while it was cooking in high pressure it burned, and i had no sauce left over.
Elizabeth
Oh man, so sorry that happened to you! What a bummer. Hm, this has never happened to me before, but I do have a few suggestions. First: make sure you are using the correct cut of pork. If you used a loin or something by accident, since it’s much leaner, it won’t be as juicy and therefore the whole thing will have less liquid. If that isn’t the issue, I’d just add a bit more liquid next time- maybe 1/2 cup or so more of OJ or water. Hope that helps, and better luck next time!
Rosie H.
I appreciated all of the details this recipe contained (specifically the temp/time/hardware buttons)
I made this recipe as written for the exception of adding an unwanted apple and a lost/found chunk of ginger. It all worked out great and I got to use random produce I didn’t want to eat or donate.
Awesome pulled pork! Thank you for sharing!
Elizabeth
So happy you liked it! Love the idea of using up old produce from the fridge. I bet the apple and ginger added lots of yummy flavor!~
Rachel Hill
Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe! Even our picky kiddos love it… At the recommendation of the butcher, I used Pork Country Ribs, which he told me was the same cut. It turned out wonderfully! For our Instant Pot, I found it worked to saute the meat for 2 minutes per side.
Elizabeth
So happy you and your family liked it! Thank you for the comment!
Kristen
I have a picnic cut ham. Think it would still be good to use for this?
Elizabeth
It depends. A picnic cut piece of pork is fine- that’s the shoulder, but it usually has the bone in. You can cook it with the bone and discard it after cooking, or you can cut the meat off the bone before cooking. But if it’s a ham, that means it’s already been cooked (smoked), and it won’t work for this (and I would direct you to my Instant Pot Split Pea Soup, which you can make with the bone from the ham!). Hope that helps!
Jack @ BBQ Recipez
This was AMAZING and a hit. My friend said it tastes like Hawaiian Kahlua Pork. Thank you so much for sharing.
Elizabeth
Yay! So happy you and your friend liked it!
Keto Recipes
I made this often, it’s delightful as always.
This is a 5 stars recipe for me.
Thank you!
Elizabeth
Glad you liked it!
Karly
I love pulled pork! This is so easy!
2pots2cook
Always vote for multi functional food ! Thank you !
Elizabeth
Right? I love recipes that you can make once and use multiple ways!