I make this crowd pleasing Instant Pot Pulled Pork for nearly every big get together we host at our home. It feeds a lot of people on the cheap. Use your shredded pork for carnitas, burritos, rice bowls, nachos, salads, gluten free pulled pork sandwiches, or for whatever your heart desires. Because of the dry rub seasoning, BBQ sauce is not needed (unless you really want it). This meat is very flavorful and incredibly juicy.
I love hosting parties at our home, but cooking for large amount of people can sometimes be financially challenging. Pork butt though, the cut of pork that comes from the pig’s upper shoulder area, is very affordable. I can normally purchase a 9 pound pork butt for $11-15, and it will serve 12-15 people.
This gluten free pork is super tender and juicy. The dry rub creates incredibly flavorful meat; you do not need to add BBQ sauce to it (unless you want to). We use this meat in a variety of ways… from pulled pork sandwiches, to sliders, to rice bowls… tacos, carnitas, nachos, salads… etc. You can never go wrong with this recipe.
I don’t always just make this Instant Pot Pulled Pork for parties. Sometimes I’ll make it just for my family. It’s wonderful because we can eat off of it all week long, and freeze whatever we need to for later. The whole family loves it!
This recipe will work just fine in either an Instant Pot, another brand of pressure cooker, or a slow cooker (I have this one), although I prefer to use my 6-quart 7-in-1 Instant Pot.
I purchased my Instant Pot in November 2015, and it’s been true love ever since. š I only use my slow cooker now when we have large gatherings, and I need to keep something warm for serving. Really, I’d like to just get rid of it, but it does come in handy for parties!
I find that the Instant Pot keeps meat more tender and juicy vs. a slow cooker. It helps lock in the juices during the pressure cooking, unlike the slow cooker, where some of the juices escape and evaporate while cooking. So if you’ve been on the fence about getting an Instant Pot, just do it. I promise you won’t be sorry!
Other favorite Instant Pot Recipes:
Instant Pot Refried Beans (CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE)
Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili (CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE)
TO MAKE THIS RECIPE IN A SLOW COOKER: Place the pork pieces in the bowl of a slow cooker. Poor in the dry rub and then toss the meat to thoroughly coat in the rub. Cook on high for 3-5 hours, or cook on low for 4-7 hours. If you have the time to let the pork marinate in the dry rub, I highly recommend letting it sit 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before pressure cooking the meat. If you don't have the time though (I often don't), go ahead and skip this step. You can either discard the cooking juices, or use it to spoon onto the cooked pulled pork. I normally spoon some of the juice back onto the meat, but discard the remaining.Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
Instructions
For bone-in, remove the meat from the bone, and discard the bone (unless you can freeze and use it for something else, like bone broth).
Notes
Thank you for your Instant Pot recipes. I love the pulled pork and White chicken chili recipes especially. I just got my instant pot and am so excited to use it, especially with recipes that I don’t have to make a lot of adaptions to for food allergies. I always look forward to your recipes!
The salsa verde chicken recipe is our families favorite and has a few adaptations for either just the chicken for tacos or chili or the casserole that is sooooo awesome. Look it up and try it. I looked forward to trying this one today!
So many uses for this! Thank you!
I don’t have an Instant Pot, but would totally make this in the slow cooker this weekend. I also love the look of your white bean chicken chili…total comfort food!!
Don’t have a IP ? Shame on you. LOL
Pulled pork is one of my favorite recipes to make because you can use it in so many different things. I have yet to try it in my Instant Pot. That needs to change!
This pulled pork looks crazy delicious! Love that it’s made in the Instant Pot.
I just made a pork roast in the Crock-Pot today, but I really, really want an Instant Pot. This looks amazing, and I love that it’s so quick!
Ill have to try this recipe out. I recently moved to Anchorage and I’m having trouble finding grocery stores that have a wide selection of gluten free/paleo foods. I have a high sensitivity to dairy and corn products so I prefer all my meats to be organic/grass fed. Do you have any recommendations where to shop?
Hi Cami,
I order a lot of my dry goods online via Amazon or Vitacost.com (they are a flat shipping rate of $10, so I just make sure my order is big enough to justify the shipping cost). Natural Pantry has many GF items, but I rarely shop there because they are so expensive. My family doesn’t eat all organic/grass fed – not that I don’t want to, simply because of the cost. I know there are places you can cow-share, or pig share – I’m just not sure of the names of the farms that offer that. You might try Mike’s Quality Meats in Eagle River. I’ve heard they are good. If they don’t have what you need, I’m sure they should be able to point you in the right direction.
I think that I need to invest in a instant pot! I keep hearing amazing things about it!
Iām always looking for quick and healthy dinner ideas. And I love recipes that can be used in so many ways.
I have not done a dive into the world of Instant Pot yet. However, when I see recipes like this, it seriously kills me that I don’t own one. Love this!
Is it ok to leave it in the pot without opening it after NPR? I won’t be home in time to take it out and shred it. Thanks!
Hi Kari,
I guess it depends on how long you plan to leave it in there for? I wouldn’t leave it more than 1.5-2 hours, max.
Have you tried this recipe with beef or chicken? Any changes needed (time, water, seasonings, etc.) if doing beef or chicken? Finally used my Instant Pot for the first time and I love it! ?
Do you cook on high pressure or low pressure?
High pressure. When you push manual, then adjust the time up or down, the IP defaults to high pressure. š
How long for 2 pounds of meat?
I suggest the same amount of time.
Came out amazing, thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jenn! š
Hi – if I am only cooking about 2 pounds – would I adjust the cooking time? Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
I would try about 50 minutes!
I’m using a 3 quart pot and I don’t have any extra bowls that came with it do I just add the water to the meet?
Yes, you add the water to the meat.
Hi! I’m an IP newbie and was wondering if I should use a trivet for the meat? I’m still not sure exactly when or not to use it and wanted to double check.
No, no trivet! š
Oh my goodness, this was delicious, it was moist and fall apart tender, and as a bonus, made my house smell fabulous. I used chicken broth instead of water, but made no other changes. Perfect. Hubby loved it as well.
So happy to hear it, Milady!! š Thanks for coming back and leaving me a comment!
If I am doubling recipe, should I add more water in my IP?
DO NOT DOUBLE THE RECIPE!!! Well, at least if you have the 6 quart IP. I have the 6 quart IP and doubling the recipe would be WAY too much for the IP bowl.
I have an 8Qt. It worked fine š
OH GOOD! Phew! You really had me panicking there for a minute, Jackie! Ha! š
How late my did you cook for double batch?
If you can safely fit a double batch into your IP, I’d cook it for 125 mins.
This looks amazing!! Making it this weekend! If doing it in the slow cooker, should you still add the water?? Or just the meat and dry rub? Wasn’t sure if it was a instant pot requirement! Thank you!!
Hi Chelsea!
Yes, still add the water. š
Why the mixing bowl inside the IP instead of just putting it in the stainless liner?
Hi Joe, I like to use a bigger bowl because I can’t seem to toss the raw pork in the rub without getting the IP bowl completely messy (the IP bowl is too narrow for my liking). š But you do whatever works best for you!
Could I drop a whole shoulder in, with the bone in? I mean, assuming it all fits in the bowl?
It’s doubtful it will fit, but you really want to cut it up into pieces so it cooks evenly.
This looks delicious! I was wondering if it’s sweet at all, or do the other spices balance the sugar out? My husband doesn’t like sweet flavors with meat. Thanks!
Hi Carol,
No, it’s a very small amount of sugar to a large amount of meat. You can’t detect the sugar when you taste it.
Can I use a boneless center cut pork loin instead of pork butt?
Yes, but it’s a different cut of meat, so it might not shred and be quite as tender as the pork butt.
Hi Megan,
I make a bar-b-que pork (with sauce) in the crock pot and use the loin and it shreds beautifully.
We tried this recipe on our pork butt trimmed from bone weighing 7.5 lbs afterwards. We added just a little more of all the ingredients to balance the extra meat and used 1.1/2cups of water..we cooked on high pressure for the same time..110 minutes and then low pressure for 40 minutes..released the pressure and removed lid. It turned out absolutely delicious!! I would certainly try this one again..it beats the crazy amount of time it takes to smoke or slow cook or bake.. instant pot is awesome!!
š So happy you enjoyed it, Donna! I just actually made this recipe again today too! We love this pork!
Your recipe for pork was my first one out of the gate with my new Instapot. It was amazing & very moist.
Followed your directions to the letter. Perfection.
Thank You
Awesome! Thanks for coming back and leaving a review, FrankieLee! I appreciate it! š
Im making 3lbs but it’s pork shoulder steak… Do you think that would be ok at manual high for 70 minutes with a NPR?
Hi Samm, I think I would be more apt to do 90 minutes with NPR.
I was worried because they are much thinner pieces than the fist-sized chunks and I’m only cooking half the amount. Thanks, Megan! I will try 90 with NPR.
I’m doing this tonight with a 4.5 lb bone in roast. How would I adjust the time for it?
I would still cook it for the same time.
I have an 8quart Instant Pot. If I double this recipe, do I also double the water? Also, is the cook time the same or should that be increased? If time increases, about how many minutes should I try? Thank you.
Hi Kris,
For starters, I wouldn’t fill the IP up with pork more than 3/4 of the way full. Just FYI. I would keep the water the same, and increase the cooking time to 120 mins.
Quick question: I have a 6qt duo IP. I bought a 4-5 pound boneless pork butt and put my own dry rub on it. Do I need to do the pot in pot method and use the trivit? Or can I put it straight into the pot.
Also, how much water and how long does it need to cook?
I am new to the IP world.
Hi Ally,
I would just follow the same directions as above. Same time, water, etc. š Happy IP-ing!
Great! Thanks. I can put everything straight into the IP pot, not a pot in the IP pot?
Put everything directly into the stainless steel Instant Pot bowl. No need to use another bowl inside of that bowl.
Made this tonight with less heat (my guests aren’t fans of anything the least bit spicy). It was incredible! This is definitely going into the frequent meal rotation. (I also gave it a 5 star rating on Yummly.)
Thank you, Theresa! Glad you enjoyed it!
Is your cooking time ! hour and 10 minutes or is it 110 minutes total which would be an 1 hour and 50 minutes. Thanks!
110 minutes total, so I hour and 50 mins. š
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks amazing. I’m still new at this, but I can’t wait to start making all sorts of wonderful meals with this pot. The Instant Pot I bought last year doesn’t have a “Manual” button. It just has Pressure high or pressure low and lots of pre-programmed cooking settings. I can adjust the time. What setting should I cook this on?
Hi Trish,
Yes, it sounds like they’ve made some adjustments to the newer IP models. You want to use Pressure High. š
How long do I slow
Release 2lbs cooked on high pressure for 50 minutes?
I would suggest cooking it for the full amount of time, not 50 minutes. Natural pressure release is best.
I emailed it to myself, it comes back to the same site but I cannot find the link to print it off, can you help me?
Try THIS, Diana.
I put the timer to 110 for 6lbs and there was a lot of water. Should I put it back on for 40 more minutes?
A lot of water? Or do you mean a lot of liquid? The pork will produce quite a bit of broth as it cooks. You can either keep this broth or discard it (I save a little for the pork, to keep it moist, but then discard the rest).
How much water do you add?
1 1/4 cup is what’s listed above in the recipes.
I just found your website, and this pork recipe.is just what I am looking for. I am new at the Instant Pot and am loving it. I have a 7-lb pork shoulder that I plan to cook today. Is there any rule-of-thumb on how many minutes/per to pressure cook different cuts of meat? Thanks for your help, and I look forward to following your blog!
Hi Susan, I always cook meat longer than suggested in the IP manual. It’s hard to give you specific times without knowing what kind of meat, how many pounds, etc.
I am not able to have sugar. Is this an ingredient I can leave out and it still taste okay?
Hi Casey, I haven’t made this recipe without the sugar before, so I really can’t say for certain, but I think it would be fine.
Made this tonight w a 1kg pork loin cut into 6 chunks.
Skipped the sugar as weāre on keto and it was absolutely the best roast Iāve done in the instant pot. Excellent blend of spices!!!! 45 mins to perfection.
Hi April, So glad you were able to modify it to suit Keto! I’m happy you enjoyed it! š Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment!
Ok, so the roast is obvi not frozen. Have you done one that’s partially frozen, not quite thawed? Thoughts??
Hi Meghan,
I haven’t done one that’s partially frozen. If you want to give it a go , I definitely recommend still cutting it into chunks, and then upping the cooking time to 125 minutes. Just to make sure everything is completely tender. I would not recommend cooking a roast that is completely frozen.
Thanks for sharing this EASY and DELICIOUS meal. I made it for a crowd tonight and it was a hit. šš¼
You are absolutely welcome! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit and everyone loved it!
Made this tonight with a 7 pound pork shoulder roast (bone removed). It was absolutely delicious. I think I upped the cook time to 125 minutes. Great recipe, thank you.
Very happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know you did!