The most incredibly tender Instant Pot Pulled Pork, made with just 4 simple ingredients! Plus meal hacks to show you how to make it once, eat it 3+ times throughout the week!
Perfect for those summer BBQ’s or a casual weekday dinner, this pulled pork recipe is made with just 4 ingredients, and is ready in about an hour, instead of taking all day in the slow cooker!
This post is sponsored by the Ohio Pork Council. All opinions are my own.
Here in Ohio the weather is starting to warm up, and I’m trying not to get my hopes up (it is Ohio after all – we regularly get snow in March)… but it’s so hard! As soon as the temperatures rise and the sun comes out, all I can think about is my favorite food-time of year… cookout season!
Do you call them cookouts? BBQ’s? Whatever you call them, you know they are so fun. All that great outdoor party food like macaroni/pasta salad, baked beans, strawberry pie, and of course, pulled pork!
Up until this year, I always made slow cooker pulled pork, which takes about 8 hours, depending on the size and cut of your pork. But I recently picked up an Instant Pot and am blown away by how easy, and quick, it is to make pulled pork now!
Despite the name… it’s not “instant”, and you do have to wait for it to come up to pressure, and release the pressure after cooking, but it’s still a good 6.5 hours quicker than a slow cooker.
WHAT KIND OF MEAT DO YOU USE FOR PULLED PORK
You can use a pork shoulder, pork butt, or pork loin. Loin is readily available in my grocery store, and usually at a pretty good price! I buy them when they’re on sale, then freeze them.
CAN YOU FREEZE PULLED PORK
Yep! When you have some left over (and aren’t using my meal hacks detailed later in the post), portion it out into plastic freezer bags. To reheat, I like to set the frozen bags in the refrigerator overnight, then take the meat out of the bag, wrap in foil and reheat in a 225 F degree oven until hot.
HOW MUCH PULLED PORK DO I NEED PER PERSON
That’s the quintessential question… especially for a party! A good rule of thumb is 6 oz of cooked pulled pork per person (which can go up or down depending on the person’s appetite, but 6 oz is average). Notice I said “cooked pulled pork per person”, not pork. As you cook pork (or any meat), it loses weight as the water is released and cooked away. Basically you want to double the amount of cooked pork, and that’s how much raw pork you need. Also, know your guests… 10 hungry adults or athletes are going to eat more than 10 kids 🙂
So for a party of 10 people, 10 people x 6 oz = 60 oz of cooked pulled pork. 60 oz x 2 = 120 oz of raw pork meat. So you’d need to pick up 7 1/2 lbs of pork loin/shoulder/butt for your party. Make sense?
HOW TO MEAL PREP WITH PULLED PORK
I LOVE to make a big batch of pulled pork, then either meal prep or use the leftovers to make different dinners all week long. I call them “meal hacks”, and they’re super fun to whip up!
Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Top a baked potato with a pat of butter and bbq pulled pork to have pulled pork potatoes!
- Char some tortillas, add pulled pork and some slaw to have pulled pork tacos!
- Jazz up breakfast by scrambling some eggs, adding pulled pork and cheese!
- Add some pulled pork to macaroni and cheese (or get crazy and make these fried Mac and cheese bites with pulled pork!)
- Top a burger with pulled pork… the sky is the limit!
WHY USE Dr Pepper FOR PULLED PORK
I know it may seem weird… but trust me on this one. The meat doesn’t taste like pop or soda at all, I promise. The reason I like to use it is it contains great caramelized sugar flavors, and it has acidity which is great for flavor balance and keeps the meat nice and tender. The chipotles I think add a nice kick, and the smokiness is fabulous with anything “pulled”, like pulled pork, pulled beef, or pulled chicken.
I REALLY hope you give this awesome Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe a try soon!
HELPFUL TOOLS:
- Instant Pot – I have this one and I LOVE it! I can’t wait to share more Instant Pot recipes with you all, so grab one today.
- Chipotles in adobo sauce – This is the brand I usually buy.
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Ingredients
- 4 lb boneless pork loin or boneless pork shoulder/butt
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 12 oz Dr Pepper soda
- your favorite bbq sauce
Instructions
- Slice pork into 4 pieces and season with salt and pepper. Place pork in instant pot insert and top with minced chipotle peppers. Pour Dr Pepper around the pork.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and seal. Press manual and set for 45 minutes. Instant Pot will start counting down once it comes up to pressure, which is usually 15 minutes or so.
- Once cooked, let naturally release for 15 minutes, then quick release to get rid of any remaining pressure.
- Carefully remove pork to a large mixing bowl (it will be so tender it may start to fall apart during the transfer). Shred using two forks and add bbq sauce to your tastes.
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Chef Tips
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Roxann says
I used your recipe as a guide. Of course, I had a bone in roast so that was different from your recipe. I also added fresh minced garlic & half a big yellow onion sliced. I only had a 7 ounce can of Dr Pepper so added water. I’m at 4750′ elevation so I set the time for 50 minutes. Turns out I had too much liquid so I reduced it. End result was just fine. Thank you.
The Chunky Chef says
Awesome, I’m glad you were able to adapt the recipe to work for you 🙂
Renee Sexton says
When you let it let naturally release for 15 minutes do you turn it off before or let it stay on keep warm.
The Chunky Chef says
Leave it on keep warm, you just let it sit for the 15 minutes 🙂
Becky says
I don’t have an instant pot. How can it be slow cooked in a crockpot?
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain, but I think 6-8 hours on LOW should work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Alexa G says
This recipe is SO GOOD! I added a bit of smoked paprika and garlic powder to the pork loins before putting them in the pot, but they hardly made a difference given the delicious flavor of the unchanged recipe. My fiancé and I have been chowing down on the leftovers for 2 days now and we’re not even close to tired of it! Thank you so much for sharing!
Leanne says
Great recipe! Thanks!
John says
I had 8 ibs of pork butt then slow cooked8hrs in pressure cooker meat came out soggy ??
The Chunky Chef says
This recipe is meant to be pressure cooked for 45 minutes, not 8 hours.
Liesl says
I believe he’s saying he slow cooked it in a pressure cooker, like using the slow cooker option on an IP.
The Chunky Chef says
I see… I wouldn’t recommend that, as I’ve found the slow cook function on an Instant Pot doesn’t work all that well.
Ron says
I’d like to add kidney beans. How much water would I need to add for a pound of dry beans? If you haven’t tried it, what would you guess?
The Chunky Chef says
I honestly couldn’t give you a semi-accurate guess. You would have to research how to cook 1 pound of dry beans in an Instant Pot and adjust from there.
LeeAnn says
I have a 2.25 pound pork shoulder roast boneless how long would I cook it for in instant pot?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written, so I can’t say for certain.
Cary says
15 minutes per pound of pork – so 2.25 multiplied by 15 is your time.