Instant Pot Pulled Pork Recipe (Easy BBQ Pulled Pork)

One of my favorite things about making pulled pork in the Instant Pot is that you don’t have to wait all day for incredible flavor. Pressure cooking transforms an inexpensive cut of pork into a crowd-pleasing meal that’s equally at home on a busy weeknight or at your next backyard barbecue, game day party, or family gathering.

For an extra layer of authentic barbecue flavor, don’t skip my favorite optional step: after shredding the pork and mixing it with BBQ sauce, place it under the broiler for a few minutes until the edges become caramelized and slightly crispy. It’s a simple chef’s trick that gives the pork delicious little crispy bits that resemble the bark you’d get from traditional smoked barbecue.

✔️ Ingredients, Substitutions and Swaps

For the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities, check the printable recipe card below.

• Boneless Pork Shoulder: Also called Boston butt, pork shoulder is the best cut for pulled pork because the generous marbling keeps the meat juicy and tender during pressure cooking. Bone-in pork shoulder works well too; simply increase the cooking time by about 10 to 15 minutes depending on its size.
• Homemade Spice Rub: This easy homemade seasoning blend creates layers of sweet, savory, smoky flavor. You’ll need: Brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, ground cumin, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, sea salt and black pepper.
• Olive Oil: Used for browning the pork before pressure cooking. Don’t skip this step-it creates flavorful browned bits that add richness to the finished dish.
• Dark Soda: Cola is my favorite because it adds subtle caramel notes without making the finished pork taste sweet. Dr Pepper and root beer also work beautifully. If you prefer not to cook with soda, substitute apple juice, chicken broth, or your favorite beer.
• Liquid Smoke (Optional): A small amount gives the pork a subtle smoky flavor that mimics traditional barbecue. It’s completely optional but worth adding if you have it on hand.
• BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce. Original, smoky, or spicy sauces all work well. I generally avoid extra-sweet barbecue sauces.

🐷 The Best Cut of Pork for Pulled Pork

Pork shoulder is hands-down the best cut for making pulled pork. You may also see it labeled as Boston butt, pork butt, or shoulder roast depending on your grocery store.

Although it contains a good amount of fat and connective tissue, that’s exactly what makes it ideal. As the pork cooks under pressure, the collagen breaks down into gelatin, creating juicy, tender meat that shreds effortlessly with two forks.

Avoid using pork loin or pork tenderloin for this recipe. Both are much leaner and doesn’t have enough fat to produce the moist, succulent texture that makes pulled pork so delicious.

🔎 How to Make instant Pot Pulled Pork

Scroll to the printable recipe card below for specific instructions and cooking times.

1. Make the spice rub: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, cumin, chili powder, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
2. Season the pork: Pat the pork dry with paper towels and coat all sides generously with the spice mixture.

3. Brown the Pork:Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting. Heat the olive oil until shimmering. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Avoid overcrowding the pot so the meat browns instead of steams. Transfer the browned pork to a plate.
   
   💡 Chef’s Tip: If your Instant Pot becomes too hot or displays a Burn warning while browning, simply turn off the Sauté function for a minute or two before continuing.
   
4. Deglaze the Pot: Turn off the Sauté function. Pour the dark soda into the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom. If using, stir in the liquid smoke. Return the meat to the pot.

5. Pressure Cook: Return the pork and any accumulated juices to the Instant Pot. Lock the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure (Manual) for 60 minutes. When the cooking cycle finishes, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure.

6. Make the Sauce: Transfer the cooked pork to a large platter. Discard most of the cooking liquid, leaving about ¼ cup in the pot. Stir the barbecue sauce into the remaining cooking liquid until smooth.

7. Shred the Pork: Using two forks, shred the pork into bite-size pieces. Return the shredded pork to the Instant Pot and toss until evenly coated with the barbecue sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

8. Optional – Broil for Extra BBQ Flavor: Spread the sauced pulled pork onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes, watching carefully, until parts of the pork become caramelized and slightly crispy. This simple extra step creates delicious crispy edges that resemble the flavorful bark found on traditional smoked barbecue and adds incredible texture to every bite.

✔️ Serving Suggestions

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork is incredibly versatile. Serve it with:

• On toasted brioche buns with creamy coleslaw and dill pickles.
• Stuffed into tacos with pickled onions and pickled jalapeños.
• Over baked potatoes.
• On top of nachos.
• Mixed into mac and cheese.
• Over rice bowls.
• Inside quesadillas.
• On pizza.
• With baked beans, potato salad, cornbread, or fries.

✔️ Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: Season the pork with the dry rub up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate it covered. This gives the spices extra time to flavor the meat. You can also prepare the entire recipe a day ahead. Reheat gently with a little extra barbecue sauce or reserved cooking liquid before serving.
• Storage: Store leftover pulled pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
• Freezing: Allow the pork to cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe containers or zip-top freezer bags. Add a little extra barbecue sauce or cooking liquid to help keep the meat moist.Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
• Reheating: Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave until warmed through. Add a splash of reserved cooking liquid, broth, or barbecue sauce if needed to keep the pork moist.

💛 Conscious Bites

Your priorities, your recipe. Learn about Intentional Cooking.

Finances: Pork shoulder is an economical cut of meat that can feed a crowd while stretching your grocery budget. Leftovers transform easily into tacos, sandwiches, quesadillas, and rice bowls, helping reduce food waste.

Time and Convenience: Pressure cooking makes barbecue-style pulled pork possible on a weeknight without sacrificing tenderness or flavor.

Animal Welfare: Every purchase is a vote for the kind of food system you want to support. When possible, look for pork from farms that prioritize humane animal care. Even choosing higher welfare meat occasionally sends a message that animal well-being matters.

🤔 Frequently Asked Question

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

4.70 from 20 reviews

Kathy McDaniel

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork is juicy, smoky and fall-apart tender. Made with pork shoulder, a homemade spice rub and your favorite BBQ sauce, it’s an easy recipe that’s perfect for sandwiches, tacos and meal prep.

Print Pin

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Nautural Release 15 minutes mins

Total 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Makes 8 servings

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 Qt.
• Cutting Board Lg
• Chef’s Knife Santoku 7-inches
• Slotted Spoon
• The Best Mixing Bowl Set

Ingredients 

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For the Dry Rub

• ▢ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon paprika, (not smoked)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ 2 teaspoons chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Pork

• ▢ 3-4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of skin and excess fat, cut into 4 large chunks
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 12 ounces dark soda such as Cola, Dr. Pepper or root beer
• ▢ 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
• ▢ 1-2 cup BBQ sauce, homemade or store-bought

Instructions 

1. In a small bowl, mix the dry rub ingredients. Set aside. Season the pork with the spice mix, making sure the pork is well coated.
2. Turn the instant pot/pressure cooker to “saute”. Add the oil and allow it to get hot. In batches not to overcrowd the pot, brown the pork on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. If your pot gets too hot or gives you a “burn” notice, turn the saute function off for a bit, then continue.
3. Transfer all the browned pork to a plate and turn off the saute function. Pour the soda into the pot to deglaze it. With a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to lift any browned bits. Stir in liquid smoke if using.
4. Return the pork to the pot. Close the lid and seal the pot. Cook on manual high pressure for 1 hour. Once the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes or until the pin drops.
5. Open the pot, using kitchen tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a serving platter.
6. Remove all but about ¼ of the cooking liquid from the pot. It doesn’t need to be exact, as it will be used to add a touch of “spice-rub pork” flavor to the BBQ sauce.
7. Stir in the BBQ and mix with any cooking liquid remaining in the pot.
8. Shred the pork coarsely with 2 forks and pour some of the BBQ sauce on top or alternatively, you can reserve some BBQ sauce to serve on the side, and then, return the shredded pork to the pot to be mixed with the sauce to coat. Season to taste and serve with soft rolls and the additional BBQ sauce on the side.

Additional Step (optional)

1. For Extra Flavor, place the shredded meat tossed with BBQ sauce on a lined sheet pan. Place under a broiler and broil for 2-5 minutes to get some caramelization on the meat to resemble real BBQ. Keep an eye on the meat, broilers can burn food pretty quickly.

Notes

• Pork: Use boneless pork shoulder, pork butt or Boston butt. Bone-in pork shoulder can be used but you may need to add 10 minutes to the cooking time. Do not use pork loin or pork tenderloin to make this recipe.
• Cola substitution:Substitute the dark soda or cola for Dr. Pepper, root beer, apple juice, apple cider, beer or broth.
• Cutting up the pork: Cutting the pork into large chunks allows it to cook more evenly and reduces the overall cooking time.
• Sear the meat: Browning the meat first develops rich, savory flavor through caramelization.
• Make-Ahead: Season the pork with the dry rub up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate it covered. This gives the spices extra time to flavor the meat. You can also prepare the entire recipe a day ahead. Reheat gently with a little extra barbecue sauce or reserved cooking liquid before serving.
• Storage: Store leftover pulled pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
• Freezing: Allow the pork to cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe containers or zip-top freezer bags. Add a little extra barbecue sauce or cooking liquid to help keep the meat moist.Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 340 kcal, Carbohydrates: 22 g, Protein: 39 g, Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g, Trans Fat: 0.03 g, Cholesterol: 102 mg, Sodium: 1055 mg, Potassium: 781 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 17 g, Vitamin A: 691 IU, Vitamin C: 0.4 mg, Calcium: 36 mg, Iron: 2 mg

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This recipe was originally published in 2021 and has been updated with new photography, additional cooking tips, expanded ingredient information, serving suggestions, and helpful FAQs.