This Instant Pot pulled pork is tender, juicy, and falls apart. It's seasoned to perfection and makes the most amazing sandwiches! With this recipe, you can get that slow-cooked taste in a fraction of the time.
Don't have an Instant Pot but love pork? Try this Easy Baked Pork Tenderloin that's made in the oven instead!
I love this electric pressure cooker pulled pork recipe! Making pulled pork at home is one of my favorite things to cook, but it rarely happens around here. I'm always whipping something up for the blog, so I can't typically justify all the leftovers. I was very happy to try a new method of cooking pulled pork, and these are leftovers I am very excited about.
I have a slow cooker pulled pork recipe that's equally delicious, but it does take a little bit of planning and 10 hours of patience. It's not so bad since you're either away from home or asleep while it cooks, but sometimes you just want something a bit quicker. In comes the Instant Pot! This is probably my favorite IP recipe that I've made so far. I can really see the benefits of pressure cooking with recipes like this one.
One of my favorite features of my Instant Pot is that you can sear right in there vs. having to use the stove and dirty up another pan.
This recipe is very hands-off once you get it going. You won't even realize it's cooking until you hear you Instant Pot beep to say it's done cooking!
How to make pulled pork in the Instant Pot
Cut your pork shoulder into 6 roughly equal pieces. Cover them in the spice rub. Sauté them in your Instant Pot on all sides, working in batches (this will take about 5 minutes per batch). Once you've finished searing the pork, take it out of your Instant Pot and set it aside.
Add the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke to the electric pressure cooker. Scrape up any brown pieces that stuck to the bottom. Add the pork back in and close the lid. Set the valve on "sealing" and cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Do a quick release once the countdown has finished.
Add pork to a large bowl and shred it with 2 forks. Add some of the leftover juices back in and toss until coated.
How long do you cook pulled pork for in an Instant Pot?
60 minutes for a 4-pound pork shoulder cut into 6 pieces.
What cut of meat for pulled pork?
Boneless pork shoulder works well. It's fatty enough that the meat doesn't dry out.
What goes well with pulled pork?
I love serving pulled pork in a bun with BBQ sauce and homemade coleslaw (or try my apple slaw if you prefer!). It's also great with mac and cheese, cornbread, potato salad, and other traditional BBQ side dishes. You may also like my homemade apricot BBQ sauce recipe.
More delicious Instant Pot recipes to try:
- Honey Garlic Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (Creamy & Garlicky)
- Instant Pot Chicken and Gravy
Hope you love this Instant Pot pulled pork recipe as much as I do!
Questions? Ask me in the comments below.
Perfect Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds boneless pork shoulder
- 2 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Coleslaw for serving (click the link for my recipe)
- Buns for serving
- BBQ sauce for serving
Instructions
- Cut your pork shoulder into 6 roughly equal pieces. Add them to a baking sheet or large plate so you don't make a mess when applying the rub.
- Combine the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and chili powder in a small bowl. This is your spice rub.
- Using your hands, coat the pork pieces in the spice rub as evenly as possible.
- Add the olive oil to your Instant Pot and press the sauté button. Once the oil is hot, sear your pork on all sides for 5 minutes per batch (do 2 batches). Once seared, transfer the pork to a plate.
- Add the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke to your Instant Pot. Use a wooden spoon to ensure that any brown bits that stuck on are released from the bottom of the pot (important to avoid a burn warning). Add the pork back in.
- Close the Instant Pot's lid, set the valve on "sealing", and cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. It will take 10-15 minutes for it to get up to pressure.
- Once the countdown has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release. Take the pork out of the Instant Pot once it has depressurized. Add it to a large bowl and shred it with 2 forks.
- There will be a fair amount of juices left in the Instant Pot. I like to ladle some onto the shredded pork to moisten it and add some extra flavor (for leftovers especially). You could always boil it down or reserve it for another use if you wish.
- Season the pork with salt & pepper as needed. Serve as desired (my favorite way is on a bun with BBQ sauce and coleslaw). Enjoy!
Notes
- Cooking technique adapted from the Food Network.
- This recipe is also based on my Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches. If you wish to do this in a slow cooker, I suggest following that recipe.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Rachel says
I really appreciated the suggestion of cutting up the shoulder and then rubbing the individual pieces instead of the whole shoulder. I am sure it upped the flavour and made the searing easier. Another winner!
Natasha says
So happy you liked it!! Thanks, Rachel!! 😀
Sean Levkoff says
If you wanted to do an 8lb pork shoulder, about how long would you estimate it to cook? Or would you just do the above recipe twice? I only have a 6qt Instant Pot.
Natasha says
Hi Sean! I'd keep the cooking time the same. As a general rule, you don't need to double cooking time or even increase it when you double a recipe in an electric pressure cooker. It will add on time automatically because it'll take longer to get up to pressure. I'm not entirely sure 8 lbs. will fit in there... that's my main concern. You can see from the photo how full the IP is from the cut-up pieces of the 4 lb. shoulder. You could definitely do more than 4 lbs., though, just don't go over the fill line.
Johanna says
Hi! I assume you could do this in a slow cooker as well? If so, how long and what setting would you recommend doing? Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi Johanna! I linked the recipe to my slow cooker pulled pork in the post... I think that's probably your best bet for timing since I haven't tested this exact version in the slow cooker. I'd probably give it 8-10 hours on low, though. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Lindsay Cotter says
This looks delicious! It’s making me so hungry for a bite! Love that I can get the same great flavors from making this in my IP but in less time!
Natasha says
Right?! I was pretty impressed how well it turned out. The IP definitely did its job haha. Thanks, Lindsay!
Matt Robinson says
Exactly how pulled pork should be, looks so good!
Natasha says
Thanks so much, Matt!!
Jennifer Farley says
That pulled pork looks FANTASTIC!
Natasha says
Thank you!!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Pulled pork sandwiches are my husband's favorite Natasha! These look awesome!
Natasha says
Thank you!! I think he would love this recipe!