Instant Pot Pulled Pork is seasoned to perfection, and mouthwateringly tender! Make this easy and super flavorful pulled pork using a pork loin roast and have your family's new favorite instant pot pork recipe on the table in an hour!
How Do You Make Pulled Pork?
Pulled pork is a very simple dish to make at home, and there are a few ways to make it even more quick and easy.
Pulled pork recipes start with basic seasonings that you probably already have at home. I like to use a mixture of brown sugar, salt, garlic and onion powder, paprika, pepper, and cumin.
Once you have seasoned your meat, you will mix up your wet ingredients. I prefer to use broth over water for added flavor. Use your favorite type of barbecue sauce, and then a bit of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar not only adds great flavor, but, the acid helps to tenderize the meat as it cooks!
After you have seasoned your meat, and mixed up your wet ingredients it's time to get cooking!
This recipe, in particular, is for the Instant Pot. If you don't have an instant pot, I highly recommend that you try out my Crockpot Bourbon Bacon Pulled Pork and you can find the recipe for that right HERE.
Instant Pot Pulled Pork Recipe:
As far as meat, I typically use a pork loin roast. You can also use a pork shoulder if that is your preference. A lot of people worry about a pork roast becoming tender enough. As long as you use the right method and ingredients, it turns out absolutely perfect every time!
My general method has always been to slow cook pulled pork, like in the recipe I linked to above. But, since I've become a huge fan of my instant pot, I wanted to try cooking it that way. Happy to say it turned out great!
If you have time you will add your rub to your cubed pork roast, seal it in a bag, and let it marinate for a good 30-60 minutes before cooking for maximum flavor. When I make pulled pork in my crockpot, I find that marinating isn't necessary because all of those flavors slow cook together for hours. However, for instant pot pulled pork, marinating really is the way to go.
Next, you will heat up your oil right in your pot, sear the meat in batches until browned on all sides. It won't need to be cooked through at that point.
Then, you will want to use a small amount of beef broth to deglaze the bottom of your pot. If you don't you may end up with that dreaded "burn" warning during cooking.
To deglaze, you'll simply pour the broth right into the bottom of the instant pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape all of those brown bits off. This also adds great flavor to continue seasoning your meat as it cooks.
After you deglaze simply add everything into your instant pot, close the lid and valve to sealing. Then, you will cook as directed below for 40 minutes. After your cooking time is up, allow the instant pot to natural release for 10 minutes, then you can quick release.
After your quick release, you are ready to shred your meat, and serve on soft hamburger buns, with your favorite toppings!
Remember if you are looking for the slow cooker method of making pulled pork you can find it HERE. I also happen to adore this Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Chili!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
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Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Packed Brown Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Paprika
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin
- ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne, Optional
- 3 Pound Boneless Pork Roast, Cut into 3-4 inch cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Cups Barbecue Sauce, Divided
- 1 ¼ Cup Chicken or Beef Broth
- 1 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce, Optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne.
- Season the cubed pork with the spice mixture and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the apple cider vinegar, one cup of the barbecue sauce, the hot pepper sauce if using, and one cup of the broth.
- Turn your instant pot to the saute setting. Add the olive oil and allow it to get hot.
- Add half of the cubed pork to the hot oil and saute for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the browned pork to a plate and repeat with the remaining half of the cubed pork.
- Turn the instant pot off. Use the remaining ¼ cup of beef broth and a wooden spoon to deglaze (scrape the brown bits) from the bottom of the pot.
- Add all of the meat along with the barbecue sauce mixture to the instant pot.
- Close the lid and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes. Once the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
- Remove the meat from the instant pot and shred. Stir in the remaining cup of bbq sauce and serve on buns as desired.
I've made this instant pot pulled pork a bunch! My hubby absolutely loves it! So much so I was making it about every 2 weeks. Topped with some homemade Cole slaw then put on a bolili bun, it's delicious. Thank you!
Made this last night. It was pretty good, but the meat was still lacking something and not as 'barbecue-y' as I thought it would be. It's not bad by any means, just different than what I'm used to. I will definitely make this again though with some modifications. I think the method is spot on though. The meat came out tender and perfectly cooked. Definitely recommend!
Cut the pork into 3-4 inch cubes, or 3/4" cubes?
Sorry, but 3-4 seemed a bit large...
What do you use to marinate your pork when using the instant pot recipe for your pulled pork?
Awesome flavour!! I did thus recipe with venison, used smoked paprika, and my venison broth! No hot pepper sauce. This will be in my favourites file🤗!!
In the crock pot recipe, bourbon was used. Can you use bourbon in this recipe?
I'm impressed! I try lots of online recipes, and a lot of them are terrible. This was amazing! Thank you!
DEFINITELY A KEEPER💕
I really liked the ease and results of this recipe. I’ve made it twice now. Any suggestions on cutting the sweetness down or suggestions on a bbq sauce that’s more Smokey with a little kick of heat?
Thanks
Easy enough to just put in your favorite bbq sauce and a few dashes of hot sauce instead of all the seasonings and cook as per her time table. You might need to thin your sauce down a little with some water or broth and maybe a hit of bourbon. I don’t see how you can go wrong.
Don’t adjust the cook time, but expect it to take about twice as long to come up to pressure.
If doubling the recipe do you increase the cook time?
I made this for a Christmas party. I had to triple the recipe but it all fit in the Instapot. I didn't change a thing. I served it with Hawaiin rolls, sliced dill pickles, sliced jalapenos and thinly chopped onions. It was a hit. Nothing left over. If you're looking for a easy recipe to feed a crowd this is a go to.
For 9 lb of pork you still only did the pressure cook time for 40 minutes?!? Did it fall apart?
Oh my word!!!! Amazing. Doubled this. This will be my go to!!!!
Did you increase the cook time?
I have tripled this and not increased cook time.
No
Is a boneless pork sirloin roast OK for this recipe? I am thawing one that was in the freezer for lunches this week. My roast is 7 lbs; do I pressure cook for the same amount of time or longer? Thanks for what looks like a delicious recipe!!
I would cut it into chunks and trim some of the fat off. Pork sirloin tends to have lots of fat, in my experience. Double the seasoning. I think I might add ten minutes to the pressure cook time.
Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for sharing. Will be how I make pulled pork from now on.
This Thanksgiving, we had a medical emergency (picture big burly firemen, Mom carted off in an ambulance; all good now and she's resting comfortably at home). This prevented the expected cooking of our family turkey. Having just purchased a 7 lb pork loin from Costco, I used your recipe to whip up some SUPER tasty pulled pork SUPER fast in the trusty never-having-failed-me-but-oh-my-god-your-stenchy-o-ringed Instant Pot. The family gathered, Mom was released late in the afternoon, a festive time was had and Thanksgiving was saved.
Truth be told, Thanksgiving was never in jeopardy due to a loving and patient family, but this flavorful pulled pork made the sting of a missing turkey less painful and worked out beautifully for the limited amount of Plan-B time we had.
For me, it was a family-pleasing, Thanksgiving saver.
Thank you!
I just made this tonight. The hot sauce I used was Cholula Chipotle. I did not even use the extra cup of bbq sauce because the juices were so tasty! I let everyone decide for themselves which bbq sauce to put on their sandwich and everyone agreed the juices were delicious and any sauce would detract. We topped our pulled pork with coleslaw and banana pepper slices. *chef's kiss*
What do you do with the broth/cooking juice after removing the meat? Dispose of it or put meat back after shredding? Sorry if a silly question.
I'm not the recipe creator, but I put my shredded pork back in the uses and left it on warm during the football game. Everyone came and served themselves as they were hungry. Great for game day! That kept it juicy and everyone loved the juices.
My family loves it! Especially my hubby. After the first night that I made it, he asked for it every week. If we could afford it he would probably ask for it all of the time.