Instant Pot Pork Butt (Pulled Pork)
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Make absolutely perfect, fall-apart tender, Instant Pot pork butt loaded with your favorite bbq sauce! BBQ pulled pork has never been faster or more delicious when you use this easy cooking method.
Pork butt (also known as Boston butt) is the ideal choice to make perfect BBQ pulled pork. It’s a portion of an entire pork shoulder, so it’s full of fat and fibrous tendons. Typically, this type of meat is slow cooked for several hours, allowing the fat to render down and the meat to become tender and juicy.
But when you cook it in your Instant Pot, dinner is ready in half of the time! This easy pork shoulder recipe is so simple to make. It’s totally fool-proof and is always a crowd pleaser!
Make it for an easy weeknight dinner, for game day, or for an easy meal when you’re hosting a party. It’s the best recipe to use for pulled pork sandwiches, pork lettuce wraps, or a carnitas salad!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Followed this to the letter. It was the best and easiest that I have ever made.
–Laurie
Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Fastest cooking method. Cooking a 4 pound pork butt in the Instant Pot takes just 90 minutes! It’s the best method for making shredded pork.
- Easy freezer meal to serve a crowd. If you need an easy way to serve a lot of people, this is a great recipe to turn to. One batch of this recipe makes 6 hearty servings. It is easy to double or triple the recipe, too. This gives you freezable leftovers, or servings for more people.
- Adaptable for many different diets. Depending on what barbecue sauce you use, you can make this pulled pork recipe fit into many different diets. Make yummy Whole30 pulled pork, Keto pulled pork, or any other way you want!
Serve this dish with creamy dairy free mashed potatoes, turmeric carrots or your favorite slaw, and you’ve got a quick meal ready to go in no time!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
These simple ingredients are all that you need to make the most flavorful Instant Pot pork butt recipe:
- Pork Butt – The name for this boneless cut is a bit misleading. Despite its name, the butt does not come from the back end of the animal. Rather, it’s a cut taken from the shoulder of the pig, just behind the neck. The weight of this cut is typically 3 to 4 pounds.
- BBQ sauce – You can make some delicious sugar free BBQ sauce or use your favorite store-bought sauce.
- Onion – Slice up a yellow onion or white onion to add loads of flavor to the dish.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic adds so much more flavor than dried garlic powder! If you do not have fresh garlic cloves, a half teaspoon of garlic powder will work.
- Water – The Instant Pot needs to create steam to build pressure, so you’ll need to add some liquid to the inner pot. This will also help keep from having a burn notice during the cooking process.
- Oil – I recommend using a high smoke point oil to sear the roast, like avocado oil, canola, or olive oil.
How to Make Instant Pot Pork Butt
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full step by step instructions! ⬇️
- Prep the ingredients. Slice the onion, mince the garlic, and cut the pork shoulder into four pieces, each about 2-3 inches wide. Cutting the pork helps it fit into the inner pot for searing, and helps it to cook evenly and a little faster than if you were to cook one large piece.
- Sear the meat, onion, and garlic. Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function and heat half of the oil in the inner pot. Working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot, add the pork pieces and sear them on all sides. This takes about 4-5 minutes per side. Once there is a nice crust, set the pork aside.
Add the rest of the oil and sauté the onions and garlic until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Then return the pork to the inner pot. Add the water and half of the bbq sauce. Carefully close and secure the lid.
- Pressure cook the pork butt in the Instant Pot. Manually set the Instant Pot to cook on high pressure for 70 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally. Once the time is up, perform a natural pressure release. When the steam release valve falls, carefully open the lid.
Shredding or Pulling the Pork
- Transfer the cooked roast to a large bowl or cutting board. Using two forks, shred/pull it into bite sized pieces. Just set aside any large pieces of fat, then toss them in the trash.
- Simmer the pulled pork in bbq sauce. Remove and discard about 1/2 of the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot. Add the shredded pork to the remaining cooking liquid, and stir in the rest of the bbq sauce. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and bring the pork to a simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Avoid dry meat: It is possible to overcook pork shoulder, so don't let it simmer for much longer than 5-10 minutes in the barbecue sauce.
Tips for Success
It is important to note that the Instant Pot cooks based on the density of the pieces of food in the inner pot. So as long as you cut it into pieces weighing approximately 1 pound each, you will not need to adjust the cook time at all. However, if you cook the roast whole or in larger pieces, you will need to increase the cooking time accordingly.
Storing Instructions
Transfer leftovers to an airtight container or food storage bag. Keep them in the refrigerator, serving or freezing within 4 days.
To freeze pulled pork: First, allow the meat to cool completely. Then, transfer the meat and any liquid to an airtight, freezer-safe bag or silicone freezer mold.
Squeeze all the air out, then seal the bag and freeze. For best taste, use the pork within 3-4 months. To defrost, set the bag or container on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.
Instant Pot Pork Butt Recipe FAQ
A 4 pound cut of pork butt that's been cut into pieces takes about 60 minutes to pressure cook on High pressure, plus 15-20 minutes for a natural pressure release.
To get the most tender meat, use a natural pressure release (NPR) on your Instant Pot. This means that once the cooking time is done, do not turn or press the steam release valve. Simply do nothing and wait for the pressure to naturally dissipate. A natural release usually takes about 15-20 minutes. If you still find your pulled pork is cooked but not yet fork-tender, it will need to cook for longer. Return the pork to the Instant Pot, close the lid, and cook on High Pressure for another 20 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally dissipate again, and then try to shred the pork again.
I'd love to hear about your experience making this recipe! Please leave a comment and rating below!
Instant Pot Pork Butt (Pulled Pork)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 - 4.25 lb. Boston butt (also known as pork butt)
- 2 cups barbecue sauce divided
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/4 cup water
Video
Instructions
- Slice the onion, mince the garlic, and cut the pork butt into four 2-3 inch wide pieces, weighing approximately 1 lb. each.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Heat half of the oil in the inner pot. In batches, brown the pork pieces on all sides. This takes about 4-5 minutes per side. Set the pork aside.
- Add the rest of the oil and saute the onions and garlic until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Return the pork to the inner pot. Add the water and half of the bbq sauce. Carefully close and secure the lid.
- Set the Instant Pot to High Pressure for 70 minutes. Allow for a Natural Pressure Release and allow the pressure to naturally dissipate. Once the steam release valve falls, carefully open the lid.
- Transfer the cooked pork to a large bowl or cutting board. Use two forks to shred it into bite sized pieces. Set aside any large pieces of fat.
- Remove and discard about 1/2 of the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot. Add the shredded pork to the remaining cooking liquid, and stir in the rest of the bbq sauce. Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode and bring the pork to a simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
2025 Update: This recipe is still a family favorite! It's been updated to simplify the cooking instructions, and to include more cooking tips for our readers. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Serving Suggestions
Instant Pot pork butt goes really well with traditional picnic-style side dishes. Some of my favorites are broccoli & bacon salad and purple cabbage slaw. You can also serve this juicy and tender pork with simple sides like sweet potatoes or french fries
If you are serving the Instant Pot pulled pork as sandwiches, you can add pickles, extra barbecue sauce, and/or mustard. They're also fantastic with a topping of quick-pickled red onions or broccoli ranch slaw.
Shredded pork is also great with potato salad, cornbread, rolls, and corn on the cob!
Trying this tonight. Was easy to prepare and now waiting on InstaPot to do its thing. Smells great!
Hi Mia! Thanks so much for the feedback! I love how easy this recipe is too. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂 -Laura
Followed this to the letter. It was the best and easiest that I have ever made.
Hi Laurie, I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe so much! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your experience! -Laura
Made this today following your step by step directions and it came out perfect! Great Super Bowl sandwiches ahead.
Hi Sue, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for sharing. 🙂 -Laura