Instant Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches

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If you’re looking for a mouthwatering main dish, you can’t go wrong with this Instant Pot Pulled Pork. It’s moist, tender, and so very flavorful. I need to cook it again this week.

And if you’re ready for some solid fall meals, check out this Instant Pot Pulled Pork–it’s one of those fun Instant Pot recipes that is seriously tasty. You can make pulled pork sandwiches or put this on a salad. It’s so good, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.

I mean, I’ve made other amazing pork recipes in the pressure cooker like these Instant Pot Smothered Pork Chops, but this pulled pork really takes the cake.

It’s one of the easiest pulled pork recipes. Just a bit of pork shoulder or pork butt or pork loin (any one will work), a few minutes in the pressure cooker, then I’m in business!

Let me walk you through what it takes to make this easy Instant Pot main dish.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Ingredients Needed to Make Instant Pot Pulled Pork

• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed and divided
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 pounds boneless pork
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 ¾ cups water, divided
• 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

How to Make Homemade Pulled Pork in the Instant Pot

Make a rub for the pork by combining 2 tbsp brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl, then rubbing this mixture on your pork.

Set your Instant Pot to sauté and add olive oil to the inner pot.

Add pork and brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes.

Turn off the sauté setting and remove pork. Set aside.

Pour half of your water into the inner pot and deglaze.

Place pork back into the Instant Pot.

Mix together remaining water, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and tomato paste in a small bowl.

Pour this vinegar mixture over the pork evenly. You want a little on everything so it all gets that yummy juice pushed into every bite of pork.

Close and lock the lid then set to high pressure for 40 minutes.

Quick release. You CAN natural release, but this may take a while…like 15 minutes or more.

Remove pork from Instant Pot to a glass bowl.

Using two forks, shred the pork, then add barbecue sauce. I’ve used a hand mixer to shred chicken before, but I’ve never tried it on pork. You may or may not be able to just use the mixer to shred it, I honestly don’t know, but, if you don’t like the idea of using forks, you could try this method out.

Enjoy!

If you wanted to skip the pressure cooking, you can make homemade pulled pork in the crock pot by setting it to slow cook on high heat for 8 hours. 

Would you rather you can use this pulled pork as taco filling, salad topper or serve it over nachos! It really is a very versatile dinner option if you don’t want to make it as a sandwich! 

How Long Will Pulled Pork Keep in the Refrigerator?

You can trust that pulled pork kept in the refrigerator will last for 3-4 days. I would recommend putting it in a zipper bag or other airtight container so that the meat doesn’t dry out. If a bit of it does get a little dry, you can add a little more BBQ sauce to make it moist again.

Will Pulled Pork Freeze Well?

Absolutely. Just put it in an airtight container and pop it in the freezer. To defrost it, just pull your Instant Pot pork out and put it on the counter for 2 hours or in the refrigerator for 6. 

How Do You Reheat Pulled Pork?

The best way to reheat pulled pork is to pop it in the microwave for 1 minute, then stir. If it’s not warm enough at that point, keep heating it in 30-second bursts, stirring between. This will keep the meat from drying out. But if it gets a little dry, you can add some additional BBQ sauce to make it moist again.

I also recommend covering your homemade pulled pork with a damp paper towel or cloth, to keep it from splattering and getting the inside of your microwave all sorts of messy.

Best Pork Recipes:

My husband is a huge fan of pork so I try to have it on the menu on a regular basis in some form or another. 

This is the best Hawaiian pork tenderloin you will ever feast your eyes on! 

This apple pork sausage casserole is a crowd pleaser for kids! 

This pressure cooker pork loin roast is one of the first Instant Pot recipes I ever made. The potatoes and carrots made it the perfect comfort food for Fall! 

Love Cooking in Your Instant Pot? 

We have an instant download with twenty two Whole30 Instant Pot dinner recipes your family will love! I use my 8 quart pressure cooker and double many of these recipes! 

And if you love cooking in your pressure cooker but feel a little intimidated, here is a collection of some of the best Instant Pot Recipes for beginners.