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Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Updated Apr 13, 2020Published May 1, 2018 By Julia 68 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
One of the easiest low carb Instant Pot dishes, this pulled pork recipe has minimal prep and requires no browning or active cooking effort. After pressure cooking, the pork is so juicy and tender that it practically shreds on its own. It's flavorful enough to enjoy as-is, or you can toss with your favorite barbecue sauce.
pulled pork tossed with bbq sauce

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

5 from 42 votes
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Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr
Natural Release: 10 minutes mins
Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 3-4 pounds pork butt or pork shoulder (Note 1)
  • 1 cup water

Dry Seasonings:

  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons table salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

For Serving:

  • 1 cup bbq sauce (store-bought or make keto bbq sauce recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Prepare Pork: Stir all dry seasonings with spoon until well-mixed; set aside. Pat pork dry with paper towels, trim off excess fat, remove bone if present, and cut meat into roughly 8 even pieces. Toss pork pieces and seasonings in gallon-size resealable bag until well-coated.
  • Pressure Cook: Add water to pressure cooker pot (Note 2), then distribute pork pieces over the water. No trivet or rack needed. Secure and seal lid (Note 3). Cook at high pressure for 60 minutes (Note 4), followed by 10 minutes of natural release. Manually release remaining pressure by turning knob to venting position.
  • Shred & Serve: Uncover and transfer only pork to large bowl, leaving liquid in pot (Note 5). Use 2 forks to shred pork, then toss with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve (Note 6) or save for later (Note 7).

NUTRITION

Makes 6 Servings
Amount Per Serving (1 cup):
Calories 290 (49% from fat)  
Total Fat 16g 24%
   Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 102mg 34%
Sodium 1220mg 51%
Net Carb 4g  
Total Carb 6g 2%
   Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
   Sugars 1.5g  
Protein 30g  
Vitamin A 37% · Vitamin C 9% · Calcium 3% · Iron 14%

PHOTOS

pulled pork tossed with bbq sauce
pulled pork and coleslaw on plate

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Pork. In the U.S., “pork shoulder” usually refers to the pig’s lower shoulder, and “pork butt” (also called “boston butt”) refers to the pig’s upper shoulder. Either cut is fine for this recipe. If yours contains bone, select pork that’s at least 4 pounds so that you have enough meat to work with, and ask the butcher to remove the bone for convenience (or remove it yourself at home). If your pork is significantly smaller or larger than specified in this recipe, check your pressure cooker’s max capacity (Note 2) and scale ingredients appropriately (Note 4). I haven’t tested this recipe with pork loin or tenderloin, but they should also work well.
(2) Pressure Cooker Equipment. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot. Other sizes of electric pressure cookers should also work as long as all ingredients fit within the maximum capacity.
(3) Sealing Pressure Cooker. Before cooking, remember to seal the pressure cooker by turning the pressure knob from “venting” to “sealing,” otherwise the pot will not pressurize.
(4) Pressure Cooking Time. If you scale the ingredients up or down to accommodate a different number of servings, the pressure cooking time remains the same as long as the pork pieces are roughly 2 inches each.
(5) Cooking Liquid. This excess liquid will not be used for this recipe. If desired, freeze the liquid in a container to save for later. Use it in place of broth in highly-seasoned chowders or soups, like Instant Pot split pea soup.
(6) Serving. I recommend serving with your favorite barbecue sauce. I use my homemade keto bbq sauce, which is sugar-free and low in carbs. If you’re not up to making your own, you can buy sugar-free bbq sauces by brands like Walden Farms, G Hughes, and Guy’s. To make this a low carb meal, serve with a side of coleslaw or savory jalapeño cornbread. Or save the pulled pork to make burritos using low carb wraps by Mission, alongside a simple salsa.
(7) Leftovers. Pulled pork leftovers keep well, and taste even better the next day. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator, and reheat using the microwave with a cover so that the meat remains moist and doesn’t dry out.
(8) Nutrition. The calculation assumes each serving has 4 ounces weight of cooked pork. Much of the original raw weight is lost due to trimmed fat, bone, and liquid released during cooking.

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Filed Under: Instant Pot, Low Carb, Mains: Pork, Per Serving: Under 5g Net Carbs Tagged With: 6-10ingredients, cumin, featured, garlic powder, gluten free, instant pot, more60min, paleo, paprika, pork, whole30

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2015, she has been sharing simple recipes for tasty dishes in a user-friendly format. She typically prefers savory foods over sweet, hence the name of the site. Contact her at julia@savorytooth.null.com.

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newest oldest most voted
Rebecca

I made this last night and oh. My. Goodness! If I could give it 10 stars, I would. The dry rub is DELICIOUS and with the addition of the BBQ sauce (which I added some liquid smoke to and it took it OVER THE TOP), it’s ridiculous amounts of amazing. I stood at the counter and ate it out of the bowl with a fork! SO GOOD! Thank you!!!

Vote Up6Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Leisa Borem

I made half with bbq sauce and left the other half plain and mixed with sauerkraut for next night. It was outstanding both ways!

Vote Up5Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Sonia Sharp

This is the best Keto Instant Pot recipe for Pulled Pork I have tried. It was easy, simple and very delicious. This is my new favorite recipe for Pulled Pork. I actually prefer this Pulled Pork plain without the BBQ sauce. It doesn’t need it. It’s tasty without any added sauce. Also, I must say this recipe was very well written with clear instructions and notes. I am looking forward to trying other recipes of Julia.

Vote Up3Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Nicole

This is honestly the best pulled pork I have ever had and I consider myself a pulled pork connoisseur. The seasoning was spot on. I didn’t change a thing. The keto bbq sauce was really good too but the pork was too good for sauce. Amazing!!!

Vote Up3Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Chris Curtis

Fantastic recipe, especially the keto bbq sauce, it came out so well! I ended using a pork tenderloin and set it for 35mim instead and it came out great!

Vote Up2Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Dek

My pork wasn’t done. What did I do wrong?

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia

It could be a number of things. Did you remember to cut the pork into smaller pieces, seal the pot by turning the knob to “sealing,” and use the correct cooking and release times?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Terri

Mine was tough and not pull apart ready. I cut it into smaller pieces and followed the recipe to the letter.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Gabby

Just made for Labor Day dinner…delish! And sooo easy thank you 🙂

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julie

This was delicious! And so easy! I made it just as the recipe said and it was perfect.

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Amanda

How would you adjust cooking time and adding liquid if making this in the slow cooker?

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Deborah Mundorff

Delicious!!! And so easy

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Ella

Made for today’s dinner amd went out tonight for another butt – its in the instant pot at the moment, we will have it again already tomorrow and put a few meals up in the freezer for later. So good. The best pulled pork I’ve had yet.
Thank-you

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
9 months ago
Bobbie

This is one of those – I just meant to test it…and now I’m full from eating it straight out of the Instant Pot – kinda recipes!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Bnls

Made this for the family and it turned out great! Even my pickiest eater liked it. I’ll be making it again.
Followed the recipe using my 8qt Instant pot.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Cody

This is one of the easiest pulled pork recipes I’ve tried and it tastes amazing.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
LisA

how much water would you use if your using a 8 qt instapot?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Rachel

Can you throw this in a slow cooker on low for 6 hours instead of pressure cook?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Sean Kelley

It was easy and good

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Tara A.

Made this last year (in bulk!) for my twin daughters’ grad party. Everyone raved about it and said it was the best pulled pork they’d ever had. Even my friend’s husband who is known locally as a master at smoking and grilling meats was shocked at how delicious it was. He couldn’t believe it was made in an instant pot. I make it at least once a month now.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Debbie

Perfect and delicious every time! Have made several times in 6 qt IP. I cut the pork pieces smaller than suggested, and keep on a bit of the fat, which I can see, remove, and discard after cooking. Meat is always moist and delicious. BBQ sauce is a personal choice… sometimes I want it, sometimes not. Delicious either way. I strain the remaining liquid, refrigerate, scrape off the fat and use broth to make pea soup. Great recipe… a keeper. And so simple. Thanks!!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Rafael DeOliveira

I added a 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Linda Faircloth

The (3.3 lb) boneless pork shoulder (cooked on high for 60 minutes) was incredibly tender, but slightly dry (using 1 cup of water). The flavor was good, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor nor as much as I thought it would have with the amount of smoked paprika used (and I used extra). It was good with barbeque sauce, but wished that I would have added about 5-6 fresh cloves of garlic to give it a bolder flavor and cooked it for about 5 minutes less. Next time!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Mariafe Cardenas

Will double recipe fit in the 6qt Instapot?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

I’m not sure. I’m thinking it would be a pretty tight fit to make sure everything is within the max line. You could try it, and if it doesn’t fit, just do 2 separate pressure cooking sessions.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Anne

Can I double the recipe? If so how many pounds of meat can I use?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia

Yes, you can double the recipe — please see Note 4 above regarding this. That would come out to 6-8 pounds of pork.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Jordan

Made this yesterday with your coleslaw. Another delicious recipe. Even my family enjoys these keto versions of their favorites.
I dont have an instant pot but I used a crockpot with the exact ingredients. I had doubled the liquid in case but still only used a cup of the water and spices.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Michael Loader

We did this with 7 pounds of boneless butt. I added liquid smoke, garlic bullion base, and onions to the water for steam and flavor. Hi pressure for 75 minutes and 15 minute natural release. Simply divine. No BBQ sauce needed.

Vote Up-1Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago

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