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
Check out our video for this recipe below, and be sure to follow along on Facebook where we’re always sharing the best recipes!
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
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne, Optional
- 3 Pound Boneless Pork Roast, Cut into 3-4 inch cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Cups Barbecue Sauce, Divided
- 1 1/4 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 1/4 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really want to try this because it looks great and has very good reviews. But my instant pot has a button for PRESSURE COOK and another for MEAT STEW. Which one should I use for this pulled pork recipe? Thanks.
I would use the “pressure cook” button 🙂
The pressure cook setting is your manual cook setting that is used in many recipes, I was asked to rate this before I posted this comment. I have yet to try it but will rate it after I’ve tried it
FIVE STARS (site won’t let me rate it)
I just made this and it’s delicious. Great recipe. I like to add chopped serrano chile for a bit more heat. After you remove the meat from the pot, you can turn the instant pot back to the saute setting for a few minutes and boil down the leftover liquid by half, then refrigerate it and skim off the fat the next day leaving just the thick lovely delicious jus. I like to brown the meat, caramelizing it a bit and adding some of this jus back into it for more flavor. We eat this on salads for a lower carb meal.
This is a wonderful recipe! I made a double batch of it for my birthday a couple months ago and everyone enjoyed it! I’ve made it twice since then! Thank you so much!
How long did u cook for or did you do it twice?
What would the cook time be if the pork is frozen and can’t be cut into cubes?
This came out SO great! I will definitely be making this again.. and again.. lol!
Thanks, Tiffany!! 🙂
Could you just cook the pork loin whole instead of in cubes? Thinking that it would just take about 10 minutes more and result in more succulent meat texture. Have you tried?
I haven’t tried, but you certainly could!
I made this last weekend. It was delicious!
A big part of the flavor came from the browning of the cubes of meat and getting the seasoning all over.
So while you COULD, there is the question of if you SHOULD.
I think it’s worth the extra few minutes to cube the meat.
What a wonderful recipe. I only had 2 lbs of pork, country style ribs boneless and this recipe worked out fine. I really think the marinating in the spices first and browning the cubes made all the difference.
I always follow a recipe in its original form the best that I can, depending on what I have on hand.
I did remove the meat separate from the juices it cooked in, discarded those juices, shredded the meat and added the cup of bBQsauce to the shredded meat. It was plenty moist and held together on the bun.
Thanks again!
It doesn’t show cayenne in the list of ingredients or the amount, but it mentions adding it in the directions. Also, I’m assuming the 2nd cup of barbeque sauce is just to add when you shred it up and are going to serve it. I need specific directions for things, so when there are gaps, it makes me unsure if I am doing it right! 🙂
It is 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne which is optional. The remaining bbq sauce is stirred in after the meat is shredded. The recipe has been updated to reflect both of these things 🙂
Thank for the article/recipe.
I second Gwen’s question — do you mix the other cup of bbq sauce in after it’s shredded, use it as an add-on condiment or something else ?
Hi, Greg! Thanks, yes, the additional bbq sauce gets stirred into the shredded meat. The recipe has been updated to reflect that for you 🙂
How much Cayenne does the recipe call for? It’s in step 1 but not listed in the ingredients.
1/4 Teaspoon, and it is optional 🙂