Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
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Super juicy and tender, fall-apart tender Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork with slow cooker option. Easy to make and totally delicious, this is the perfect year-round recipe for bbq pork lovers!
In the mood for sandwiches? You’ll go crazy for these Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches. Loving your instant pot but can’t decide what to make? Here are some of my absolute favorites: Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos, Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken, and Instant Pot Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.
For some reason pulled pork just screams Summer to me, but honestly I make this easy Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork all year round, it’s SO GOOD.
Today I’m going to teach you how to make super juicy and tender bbq pulled pork in your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. And I’ve even got instructions for you if you’re still loving on that slow cooker and haven’t made the leap to a pressure cooker just yet!
This recipe is so family-friendly, even the pickiest of eaters will down this ultra tender bbq pork. My toddlers even had some and that is saying something because I have the toughest time getting them to eat anything but mac and cheese some days!
First things first, the bbq sauce. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of bbq sauce. Feel free to make your own bbq sauce from scratch (been there, done that, LOVE IT) if you’re feeling up to it.
But if you just want as quick and easy as possible, go ahead and use your favorite store bought bbq sauce. I do this all the time!
My favorite secret when using store bought bbq sauce in this pulled pork, is to choose two different, but complimenting bbq sauce flavors. Usually a sweet paired with smoky, spicy, or something tangy like a Carolina-style sauce. Using two kinds of bbq sauce really kicks up the flavor.
This recipe also calls for one can of Coca Cola. You can swap this out for Dr. Pepper, or Root Beer! Use your personal preference or whatever you’ve got on hand. The main purpose is to tenderize the pork and any of these will work great.
How do you Make Pulled Pork in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker?
- Cut pork roast into 4 equal pieces. Combine in pressure cooker with Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, or Root Beer.
- Stir together bbq sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, and onion powder and pour over pork.
- Cover and set to pressure cook setting for 45 minutes. Use natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- Uncover pressure cooker and shred pork. Transfer pork to a bowl, discard juices, and stir bbq sauce into pork.
- Serve on hamburger buns.
Can I use Frozen Pork Roast?
Yes! For results, use thawed pork that has been cut into four sections. If you want to use a frozen pork roast, you will need to increase cooking time by about forty minutes to yield really tender pork.
Can I use a Slow Cooker?
Absolutely! Instead of pressure cooking, you can slow cook the pork in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low for really juicy, tender pork.
Expert Tips
- I love to use this Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork in salads, tacos, wraps, and sandwiches!
- For sandwiches, I like to use hamburger buns spread with mayo. You can take it to the next level by adding extra bbq sauce and topping the pork with a heap of prepared coleslaw – I love that crunch!
- This is an easy recipe for bbq pulled pork, made super tender and juicy in your Instant Pot/pressure cooker, or even in your slow cooker. So full of flavor and easy to customize, this dish will satisfy your bbq cravings all year long without heating up your oven or dirtying a bunch of dishes.
More Popular Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Pork Chops and Gravy
- Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
- Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Did you make this Instant pot BBQ Pulled Pork recipe? FANTASTIC! Please rate the recipe below!
Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 3 pound pork shoulder cut into 4 large chunks
- 1 can coca cola, may sub dr pepper or root beer
- 2 ½ cups bbq sauce, see note
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 6 hamburger buns, for serving
Instructions
Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
- Add pork to a lightly greased pressure cooker/instant pot. Pour coca cola over the pork.
- Stir together 2 cups bbq sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour over pork.
- Place lid on the pressure cooker, sliding into the locked position. Set to pressure cook for 45 minutes. Do a natural release for 10 minutes, then turn valve to the vent position. Once float valve has dropped, remove lid.
- Use two forks to shred pork into small chunks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pork to a bowl (discard liquid from pressure cooker) and stir remaining 1/2 cup bbq sauce with shredded pork.
- Serve pulled pork on hamburger buns. Optional sandwich toppings to take your pulled pork to the next level: mayo, extra bbq sauce, and cole slaw.
Slow Cooker
- Follow the instructions for preparation for Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, but to use a slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 6 hours before shredding pork.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this for a party and everyone loved it!
This looks incredibly yummy. I accidentally picked up pork loin instead of pork shoulder 🥲 Would this recipe work for a pork loin?
You should be just fine! Other readers have use pork loin with success! 🙂
This pulled pork recipe is a family favorite and so incredibly easy! I can get at least 2 meals out of the amount of pork (feeding a husband that eats for two, myself, and two young kids). I typically use it in tacos or enchiladas day of followed by nachos or tacos a couple days later.
Can you use bone in pork shoulder?
I haven’t tested this myself, but I think it would work!
I love this recipe! It’s the best pulled pork recipe I’ve ever tried!
Thank you so much, that’s so sweet of you to say! 🙂
I don’t have any cola or other soft drinks. What can I substitute?
You can use water or chicken broth and then if you want to add some cola-like flavor try vanilla, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, etc. 🙂
I am hoping to make this for a group. Can I double the recipe and cook it for the same amount of time?
Yes, as long as your instant pot is big enough. Your instant pot will recognize the amount of food and just take a bit longer to reach pressure.
Hello! I really enjoy this recipe and have made it several times for my family. It’s a winner! Question–is there a way to save the liquid leftover in the Instant Pot rather than throwing it out? The fat from the meat and the barbecue sauce–could this be reduced and used as a sauce for another cut of meat or for something else? Have you successfully reused the liquid? Thank you!
I’ve never made anything from the leftover liquid. But if you want to try using it for something else, I suggest not putting any mixture that touched raw meat on cooked meat. If you are wanting to do that you should boil the mixture to cook out any bacteria. Some things you can make with the extra liquid is, sauces, soups, stews, chili, and bean cooking liquid. You can even add it to mashed potatoes or leftover rice to keep them moist.
I made this as is for my daughters 8th birthday party and it was a HUGE hit 🙌🏼 question about subscriptions: I have an upcoming potluck party to attend but they don’t do pork. Can I substitute beef brisket instead? If so, any other changes that need to be made?
I’m sure you could, but I haven’t done it personally. However, I do have a Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Beef Brisket recipe you can follow!
This was very good. I wasn’t sure just how it would turn out as I didn’t have a pork shoulder roast. I had a bone in sirloin end roast. Everything that I read said that this would not be as tender. And I wasn’t sure how it would work with the bone in. Because it was almost 5 pounds I cooked it for about 55 minutes. I used some of my home made( canned ) barbecue sauce and mixed it with a commercial sauce that was spicy. I also used another commercial sauce for part of it. So I acturally used 3 different kinds of barbecue sauce. After it was finished with the pressure cooking I shredded it (with no problem) and put it back on warm with the additional sauce. I think that it got more tender after that time. It was delicious!
I do have a question though….Why is it that you are supposed to discard the barbecue sauce mixture that it is cooked in. I had about 6 cups of juice/sauce/broth. Would it be okay to mix some of that in the meat when it is finished? Is there a food safety issue, or a flavor issue? I’m just curious. Thanks for this recipe.
Best pulled pork I’ve ever had. I mixed some of the cooking juices into the meat, kept it juicy. I used a pork loin and it was so tender.
That’s great! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂