Instant Pot Carnitas

5 from 12 votes

This Instant Pot Carnitas recipe is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Made in less than an hour, this juicy pork is flavorful, easy to make and comes with a homemade chipotle adobo sauce. Perfect for potlucks, taco Tuesday or busy weeknights.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Calories: 296kcal

Author: Danielle Lima

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

Instant Pot Carnitas

3.5 lbs. boneless pork shoulder cut into 2 inch chunks
1 medium white onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup fresh orange juice 2-3 oranges
2 limes juiced
1/4 cup chicken broth any broth works or water
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. ground oregano
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Crispy Cheesy Carnitas Tacos

18 white corn tortillas
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Chipotle Sauce

3/4 cup 0% nonfat Greek yogurt Fage
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce start with 1 and adjust for heat preference
1 Tbsp. adobo sauce from the can of peppers
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Toppings

fresh chopped cilantro

Instructions

Instant Pot Carnitas

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.
Place the chopped onion and minced garlic in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Next, add the pork shoulder pieces on top of the onion mixture, and sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the pork. Then, pour the orange juice, lime juice, and chicken broth over the pork.
Secure the lid on your Instant Pot, and set the pressure release valve to the “sealing” position. Set the Instant Pot to “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode, and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.
After the cooking time is up on the carnitas, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to the “venting” position to release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked pork to a baking sheet. Shred the pork using two forks.
Turn the oven on broil and place the shredded pork on the sheet pan in the oven for 5-7 minutes until crispy. Be careful not to burn. Alternatively, you can do this in batches in a hot pan with some cooking spray but I find the sheet pan to be easier. You can stop here and serve in tacos, burritos, salad, burrito bowls etc., or move onto crispy cheese tacos!

Crispy Cheesy Carnitas Tacos

Heat a pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
Using tongs dip the corn tortillas in the sauce in the instant pot. Be sure not to leave them in the sauce for too long as this will soften the tortillas making them hard to handle, they will be too soft and break apart.
Place the soaked tortillas on the hot pan and top with 2 oz. cooked crispy carnitas, 14 grams of cheddar cheese and fold in half. Cook like a quesadilla and brown on both sides until crispy and the cheese has melted. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Serve the tacos with chipotle sauce and fresh cilantro.

Chipotle Sauce

While the meat cooks make your Chipotle sauce by combining all the ingredients and mixing well to combine. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. You can add more salt, pepper, or adobo sauce to suit your taste preferences. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate the sauce for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld together. This will also help thicken the sauce a bit.

Notes

All nutrition facts are an estimate.
When storing your leftover instant pot carnitas I suggest adding some of the liquid from the instant pot. You can add it all or just a couple cups of the broth. This will keep the meat from drying out in the fridge. You can also use the liquid for making the soaked tortillas throughout the week or even adding the meat to a sandwich and using the liquid as a au jus sauce like a French dip sandwich.

Meat makes 18, 2 oz. cooked servings. Nutrition Facts for tacos listed below.

For one taco: 2 oz. meat, 14 g cheddar cheese, 1 white corn tortilla and 12 grams Chipotle sauce: Calories 296 Total Fat 18 g Cholesterol 109 mg Sodium 226 mg Potassium 84 mg Total Carbohydrate 13 g Dietary Fiber 1 g Sugars 3 g Protein 21 g

Meat alone 2 oz. cooked: Calories 177 Total Fat 13 g
Cholesterol 54 mg Sodium 92 mg Potassium 26 mg Total Carbohydrate 1 g Dietary Fiber 0 g Sugars 1 g Protein 16 g

Chipotle Sauce makes 18 servings at 12 grams per serving: Calories 10
Total Fat 0 g Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 40 mg Potassium 18 mg Total Carbohydrate 1 g Dietary Fiber 0 g Sugars 1 g Protein 1 g

To lower the fat a smidge, omit the cheese. To lower the carbs use low-carb tortillas or use lettuce wraps for tacos. Pork shoulder is NOT a low-fat meat so this is a high-fat content meal and should be thoroughly enjoyed.

I have included ALL nutrition facts listed above in both MyFitnessPal and Macros First for easy tracking. Search "ohsnapmacros Instant Pot Carnitas," "ohsnapmacros Instant Pot Carnitas Tacos," and "ohsnapmacros Chipotle Sauce."

Nutrition