This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Okay, you guys were right about the Instant Pot! It. is. AMAZING. I finally bought one and after playing around with it a bit, I couldn’t want to share this recipe for Instant Pot Whole30 Pulled Pork. It makes sweet, shreddable pulled pork in a fraction of the time compared to a slow cooker.
The Instant Pot is a pressure cooker and then some—depending on your specific model, it can work as a pressure cooker, rice cooker, a yogurt maker, air fryer, and pretty much anything else that you could imagine. I couldn’t believe that in just 90 minutes, I was able to make perfectly juicy, fall-apart pulled pork. It’s 100% worth the hype, so go to Amazon now and buy one—you won’t regret it!
Whether you’re hosting a game day viewing party or a summer gathering, pulled pork is always going to be a hit. Here, I smother it in my favorite Whole30 BBQ sauce, which you can make ahead for even easier prepping.
Once the pulled pork is cooked and shredded, there are so many ways you can serve it. Keep it simple like I did and serve it with greens and roasted sweet potato, scoop it into lettuce cups for a low-carb taco, make little sliders with sweet potato buns, or add it to your eggs for breakfast.
ingredients:
- Bone-In Pork Shoulder
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Ground Cumin
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Whole30 BBQ Sauce
step-by-step:
step one: prep the pork
Cut the pork shoulder into four large pieces, working around the bone. Season the pork evenly with the salt, pepper, and cumin.
step two: sear the pork
Turn the Instant Pot on the “saute” setting. When hot, add the olive oil and pork. Cook for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes or until the pork is evenly browned.
step three: add the aromatics and cook
Add the onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Hit “cancel” on the Instant Pot, then hit “manual” and increase the time to 90 minutes. Cover, seal, and cook.
step four: release the pressure
When the cook time is done, press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the cooker and turn the valve from sealing to venting to release the pressure quickly.
step five: shred the pork
When the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid. Use tongs to transfer the pork onto a cutting board. The pork should shred very easily by just squeezing it with the tongs or with two forks. Discard any unwanted fat and liquid.
step six: toss with bbq sauce and serve
Place the shredded pork in a cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat and add the BBQ sauce over. Toss to coat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid is cooked off and the BBQ sauce has soaked into the pork. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and BBQ sauce, if needed. Serve however you please and enjoy!
recipe faqs:
Bone-in or boneless pork butt will work great. If you can’t find pork shoulder at your butcher counter, ask for picnic pork roast (hint: it’s the same thing!).
Yes! I’m obviously partial to my Whole30 BBQ Sauce but any brand will work! You may just need to adjust the seasonings to taste.
Get ready for game day parties with my Instant Pot Whole30 Pulled Pork! Comment below and let me know what you think!
looking for more football foods? try these!
Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Beef Sliders
Instant Pot Beer-Braised Chicken Tacos
Instant Pot Whole30 Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in pork shoulder
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup Whole30 BBQ Sauce, plus more as needed
Instructions
- Cut the pork shoulder into four large pieces, working around the bone. Season the pork evenly with the salt, pepper, and cumin.
- Turn the Instant Pot on the "saute" setting. When hot, add the olive oil and pork. Cook for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes or until the pork is evenly browned.
- Add the onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Hit "cancel" on the Instant Pot, then hit "manual" and increase the time to 90 minutes. Cover, seal, and cook.
- When the cook time is done, press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to turn off the cooker and turn the valve from sealing to venting to release the pressure quickly.
- When the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid. Use tongs to transfer the pork onto a cutting board. The pork should shred very easily by just squeezing it with the tongs or with two forks. Discard any unwanted fat and liquid.
- Place the shredded pork in a cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat and add the BBQ sauce over. Toss to coat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid is cooked off and the BBQ sauce has soaked into the pork. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and BBQ sauce, if needed. Serve however you please and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My pot has a jug or low setting.
Is it high for 90 minutes or low?
do high for 90 mins.
This is delicious! I did mine in the slow cooker, just browned it in a pan first. So easy and tasty, thank you!
Can you fully cook this and then freeze?
definitely.
what if my brisket is frozen? do I just increase the cook time or do I have to wait to unthaw it?
Definitely unthaw it first. Enjoy!
What setting should I use if my instant pot doesn’t have the manual button?
do you have a ‘high pressuree’ button?
Can you use a crock pot?
Yes, I linked the crockpot version in the bottom of the recipe in the notes section.
I don’t eat pork, could I do this with chicken?
Yes, you just wouldn’t cook it near as long.
My husband has pork sensitivities. Do you think I could follow the same steps and use brisket?
Yes!
Do you disregard the bone? Could I use a bonesless shoulder?
I prefer to leave the bone in there as it makes it more tender, but yes… you can do it boneless for sure!! And discard the bone after you shred.
This sounds so good! Maybe I’m just going crazy but I read through the recipe 3 times and didn’t see where you added in the apple cider vinegar, garlic, chicken broth or onion. Do you just add all those things in after you switch from sauté to Manual? Excited to try this as I just got an instant pot last week!!
Sorry about that I missed an entire step, but I just edited it.