Instant Pot Pulled Pork

If you’re looking for a hero in the kitchen, this Instant Pot Pork Roast recipe is here to save the day. It’s a lifesaver for busy weeknights and impressive enough for weekend gatherings, consistently delivering spectacular results. What makes this recipe truly stand out is its ability to produce not just incredibly tender, fall-apart pork, but also a generous serving of wholesome, perfectly cooked root vegetables, all in a single pot. It’s a complete, healthy meal that comes together with minimal fuss, making it a go-to for anyone seeking deliciousness without the lengthy prep.

The magic begins with a well-seasoned pork shoulder, which is then pressure cooked on high for 70 minutes in a rich blend of broth and red wine. This initial pressure cooking phase is crucial for breaking down the pork’s connective tissues, ensuring it becomes exceptionally tender. After the pork has had its head start, we introduce hearty root vegetables like carrots and potatoes, giving them a quick final pressure cook to finish off the meal. The result? Pork that is so tender it literally falls apart at the touch of a fork, bathed in a rich, savory sauce. It’s truly THAT good, offering a depth of flavor and texture that belies its simple preparation.

Our community consistently raves about our Instant Pot recipes, especially those that are both simple to make and feed a crowd. This Instant Pot Pork Roast perfectly embodies both of these qualities. It’s designed to be straightforward, using the efficiency of your pressure cooker to significantly cut down on active cooking time, allowing you to enjoy a homemade meal even on your busiest days. Furthermore, it’s a dish that scales beautifully, making it ideal for large family dinners, holiday feasts, or simply meal prepping for the week ahead. The generous servings ensure everyone leaves the table satisfied and happy.

This recipe truly appeals to everyone, from those with sophisticated palates to our friends who appreciate good, honest comfort food. The combination of succulent pork and tender vegetables simmered in a rich, flavorful sauce creates a dish that’s both elegant and deeply comforting. Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or just starting your culinary journey, this Instant Pot Pork Roast promises a delightful experience, proving that gourmet flavors can indeed be achieved with simplicity and ease.

Choosing the Best Pork for Your Instant Pot Roast

Selecting the right cut of pork is foundational to achieving the perfect Instant Pot pork roast. During the development of this recipe, we aimed for a classic, hearty pork roast, and we meticulously tested a few popular options to find the ideal one. The two primary contenders were pork loin roast and pork shoulder roast, each offering distinct characteristics that influence the final texture and flavor of your dish.

• Pork Loin Roast: Originating from the back of the pig, a pork loin roast is notably lean. While excellent for quick cooking methods like grilling or pan-searing, it can easily become dry if overcooked, especially in slower or prolonged cooking environments. If your preference is for more defined “pork chop”-like pieces rather than shredded pork, a pork loin can be used, but you’ll need to adjust cooking times carefully to prevent dryness. Its lower fat content means it won’t yield the same incredibly juicy, shreddable results as a fattier cut.
• Pork Shoulder Roast (Pork Butt): Often referred to as pork butt (despite coming from the shoulder, not the rear), this cut is ideal for dishes requiring tender, fall-apart meat. Its rich marbling and higher fat content are perfect for pressure cooking, as the fat renders down, infusing the meat with moisture and flavor while keeping it incredibly juicy. This is the cut we enthusiastically recommend for this Instant Pot Pork Roast, as it guarantees the succulent, shreddable texture that makes this recipe so beloved. It’s the same cut we use for recipes like our Instant Pot Carnitas, where tender, flavorful results are paramount.

For this specific Instant Pot Pork Roast, the pork shoulder roast is our unequivocal choice. Its inherent fat content ensures the meat remains moist and tender even under high pressure, allowing it to become wonderfully shreddable and absorb all the delicious flavors of the broth and spices. This results in a truly luxurious and satisfying meal that epitomizes comfort food.

Understanding Cuts of Pork

Unsure about the different cuts of pork and their origins? We’ve made it easy to understand where each delicious cut comes from on the pig. For more comprehensive details on selecting and cooking various pork cuts, be sure to explore our extensive guide in our favorite pork recipes roundup! It’s a fantastic resource for any pork enthusiast.

Learn More

Mastering Your Instant Pot Pork Roast: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating the perfect Instant Pot Pork Roast is a rewarding experience. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each step, designed to help you achieve a tender, flavorful, and unforgettable meal with ease.

1. Flavoring Your Pork Roast to Perfection

Once you’ve selected your ideal pork shoulder, the next critical step is to infuse it with incredible flavor. Our signature dry rub for pork is a carefully balanced blend of savory and sweet notes, designed to complement the rich taste of pork. This rub isn’t just about surface flavor; it also contributes to the meat’s tenderness. A key lesson learned through extensive testing is the importance of salt. When working with a substantial cut like pork shoulder, it’s perfectly fine—and even beneficial—to use a bit more salt than you might initially think necessary. Salt is not only essential for seasoning the pork deeply but also plays a vital role in breaking down muscle fibers, ensuring the meat achieves that desirable melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

When applying the dry rub, don’t just sprinkle it on. Take your time to thoroughly massage the spice mixture into every crevice of the pork roast. This ensures maximum contact and allows the flavors to penetrate deeply, resulting in a more uniformly seasoned and tender piece of meat. Think of it as giving your pork a delicious spa treatment!

2. Building Flavor: Browning Veggies and Searing the Pork

This step is where the foundational flavors of your entire dish truly begin to develop, so approach it with care. Start by activating the sauté feature on your Instant Pot. Add your olive oil and allow it to become fragrant. Once shimmering, add your aromatic vegetables, typically onions and garlic. Sauté them for about 2-3 minutes, or until the onions become translucent and soft. This process sweetens the onions and mellows the garlic, creating a delicious base. Remove these sautéed vegetables from the pot and set them aside; they will be reintroduced later.

Next, add a bit more olive oil to the Instant Pot and carefully place your seasoned pork roast into the hot pot. Sear the pork for 2-3 minutes on each side until a beautiful golden-brown crust forms. It’s common for the Instant Pot to display a “HOT” or “BURN” notice during this searing process – don’t panic! This is often a sign that the pot is effectively building up the “fond,” those delicious browned bits that stick to the bottom. These crispies are crucial for adding a depth of rich, complex flavor to your sauce later on. Embracing this browning ensures your final dish is packed with savory goodness.

3. Deglazing the Instant Pot

After searing the pork, it’s time to “clean up shop” and capture all those incredible flavors. Turn off your Instant Pot to prevent further cooking and allow the pot to cool slightly. Carefully pour in your red wine and chicken broth. Immediately use a wooden spoon or spatula to vigorously scrape all the browned bits (the fond) from the bottom of the pot. This deglazing process is essential for several reasons: it incorporates all that concentrated flavor into your sauce, prevents the “BURN” warning from triggering during pressure cooking, and makes cleanup significantly easier.

4. Pressure Cooking the Pork Roast

With the flavors established and the pot deglazed, it’s time to prepare for the main pressure cooking phase. Return the sautéed onions and garlic to the pot, stirring them into the wine and broth mixture. Next, place the metal Instant Pot trivet (the rack) at the bottom of the pot. This keeps the pork slightly elevated, preventing it from scorching and allowing it to steam effectively in the flavorful liquid. Add your fresh sprigs of rosemary onto the trivet, then carefully place the pork roast on top. That’s all the assembly required! Secure the Instant Pot lid, ensure the venting knob is sealed, and set it to manual high pressure for 70 minutes. This extended cooking time is key to achieving truly tender, shreddable pork.

5. Adding the Root Vegetables

You’ll know your Instant Pot Pork Roast is approaching perfection when the aroma starts filling your kitchen – it truly smells like heaven! Once the initial 70-minute cooking cycle is complete, carefully perform a quick release of the pressure from the Instant Pot. Once the floating valve drops, indicating it’s safe, uncover the pot. Immediately, add your chopped potatoes and carrots directly into the Instant Pot, simply scattering them over the pork roast. Re-cover the pot, ensure it’s sealed, and cook on high pressure for an additional 2 minutes. This short cooking time is ideal for tenderizing the vegetables without turning them mushy. After this second cycle, perform another quick release, then carefully remove the succulent pork and perfectly cooked vegetables onto a large baking sheet or serving bowl.

6. Crafting the Perfect Balsamic Wine Glaze

Before we dive into the sauce-making, let me just emphasize: THIS SAUCE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. It’s the crowning glory of this dish, bringing all the flavors together with a glossy, rich finish. With the pork and veggies removed, turn on the sauté feature of your Instant Pot again. Add the balsamic vinegar to the remaining wine and broth liquid in the pot. Whisk it gently. Then, gradually sprinkle in the cornstarch, ensuring it’s evenly dispersed rather than dumped in one spot to prevent clumping. Whisk continuously until the cornstarch is fully dissolved and incorporated into the liquid. Allow the sauce to cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring periodically. As it simmers, you’ll notice it beginning to bubble and beautifully thicken into a luscious glaze. And THAT’S IT – your exquisite sauce is ready!

You have a couple of options for serving: you can either return the tender pork and vegetables to the Instant Pot and gently toss them in the warm sauce, or you can ladle the rich balsamic wine glaze generously over the pork roast and vegetables arranged on a platter or individual plates. Serve immediately and prepare for rave reviews. Enjoy every savory, succulent bite!

Explore More Healthy Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Carnitas
• Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs and Meal Prep Breakfast
• Instant Pot Korean Beef Bowl Recipe
• How to Make Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot
• Instant Pot Review
• 101 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes

Rating: 4.6/5 from 158 votes

Instant Pot Pork Roast

When in doubt, make a pork roast! This Instant Pot Pork Roast recipe has saved the day multiple times when I’ve been in a pinch. Throw a pork shoulder, carrots, and potatoes in the Instant Pot and you have a healthy homemade meal in only 90 minutes. Did I mention that the pork is tender and falls apart when you cut into it? It’s THAT good.

By:
Linley Hanson

Prep:
20 mins

Cook:
1 hr 15 mins

Total:
1 hr 35 mins

Servings:
6

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Ingredients

Spice Rub

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1.5 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Sauce + Vegetables

• 2 lb. pork shoulder roast
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry red wine, cabernet or pinot noir
• 1 cup chicken broth, or any kind
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 large carrots, chopped into 1.5-inch chunks
• 2 large potatoes, chopped into chunks
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar*
• 2 tablespoons corn starch

Instructions

• First, mix together all dry rub spices in a bowl using a fork to get rid of any lumps!
  
• Next, rub the spice mixture all over your pork roast with your hands. Be sure that every inch of the roast is covered. Set aside.
  
• Turn on the sauté feature of your Instant Pot and add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. When the oil is fragrant, add onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent and then remove from Instant Pot.
• Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil to the Instant Pot and add the pork roast. Sear for 2-3 minutes on each side to brown the pork, creating a flavorful crust.*
• Remove pork from Instant Pot. Deglaze your Instant Pot by pouring wine and broth into the bottom of the pot. Scrape all of the brown bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot with a spatula. This step prevents the burn feature from activating and aids in easier cleaning later.
• Then, add the cooked onion and garlic, and fresh rosemary to the liquid. Place the metal Instant Pot trivet on top. Finally, place the pork roast on top of the trivet and cover the Instant Pot. Seal the Instant Pot and set it to manual high pressure for 70 minutes.
  
• Quick release the pressure and add carrots and potatoes to the Instant Pot. Cover again and set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 3 additional minutes.
• Perform another quick release. Carefully remove the pork roast and veggies from the Instant Pot and place them in a large bowl. Discard the rosemary sprigs.
• Remove the trivet and set aside. Add balsamic vinegar to the wine sauce in the pot. Mix well, then gradually sprinkle corn starch into the wine sauce.**
• Turn the sauté feature on and whisk the mixture until the corn starch has dissolved. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the sauce begins to bubble and thickens to your desired consistency.
• Place the veggies and pork roast back into the Instant Pot, or serve them separately with the sauce poured over the top.
• Serve the veggies and pork together, drizzled generously with the thickened balsamic wine sauce. Enjoy immediately!

Tips & Notes

• If the ‘hot’ or ‘burn’ notice turns on during the searing of your pork roast, don’t panic. Continue searing! We will be deglazing the pan, which will help cool the pot down and incorporate all those flavorful bits.
• Balsamic vinegar: We prefer 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar as it yields a beautifully balanced sweet and savory flavor in the sauce. Feel free to start with 1/4 cup, taste, and then add more if desired to suit your preference.
• When sprinkling corn starch, ensure you disperse it evenly over the sauce, rather than adding it in one large clump. Corn starch will clump if it’s not added gradually and whisked continuously!

Watch It

Watch the step-by-step video for this Instant Pot Pork Roast recipe here to see how easy it is to make!

Nutrition

Calories: 546 kcal,
Carbohydrates: 33 g,
Protein: 48 g,
Fat: 24 g,
Fiber: 2 g,
Sugar: 18 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Pressure Cooker
Balsamic Vinegar
Coarse Salt

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