This easy Whole30, keto and Paleo instant pot carnitas recipe only needs a few simple ingredients and less than an hour to cook perfectly! This is a great Whole30 pork recipe for meal prep, or as a family friendly recipe for tacos or burritos without the clean up. You’ll have plenty of carnitas meat for the week for easy lunches, which is my favorite thing to use it for!
I know I’m not alone here, but I just can’t stop using my instant pot. At first I thought I would hate it and never get used to how “complicated” it was. I’m horrible with change, okay?! Soon I found myself loving all of the functions of it more and more and today I don’t think it leaves my counter.
This Paleo instant pot carnitas recipe is the perfect example of why it’s so superior (in my opinion) to other methods of cooking. To both cook the pork, and then crisp up the Whole30 carnitas meat once it’s done cooking, I don’t have to dirty any other pans! Switch the instant pot to sauté mode and you’re good to go. When I’m doing a Whole30, or just eating home most of the time in general, if I can get away with doing as few dishes as possible I’m going to.
Some people say you have to put an orange into Paleo instant pot carnitas, however, I disagree. Feel free to do that if you’d like. For me, that makes the meat much too sweet and I’m not into that. I do love juicing half of a small lime into the instant pot before you close’er up though.
This Whole30 instant pot carnitas recipe makes a lot of meat. So plan to have leftovers, or use it for meal prepping taco bowls. Or, if you’d rather, you can use a smaller pork shoulder, or freeze the leftover meat. You could make this in the slow cooker using the same ingredients, however you’d want to cook for 4-6 hours on low. Then transfer the meat after you’ve shredded it to a large skillet. In the skillet you’ll let the Paleo carnitas meat crisp up over medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes, stirring or using tongs to move around.
You can use these Whole30 instant pot carnitas in salads, burrito bowls, lettuce tacos, collard wraps, breakfast skillets, you name it! Enjoy!
Other Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love:
Whole30 Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli
40 of the Best Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes
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Paleo Instant Pot Carnitas (Whole30, Gluten-Free)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 3–4 pound pork shoulder
- 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoons oregano
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons pepper
Instructions
- Cut the pork shoulder up into chunks (about 2″x2″) and add to instant pot
- In a small bowl, combine the dried seasonings
- Add seasonings, oil, minced garlic, onion, broth, and lime juice to the instant pot over the pork
- Using your hands, mix ingredients together to evenly coat pork
- Close the lid, set to seal, and set to manual high pressure for 45 minutes
- After time is done, set to quick release, and open lid
- Pork should easily shred, if not, close and set to 15 more minutes
- Shred pork, set instant pot to sauté mode
- Excess liquid will first steam off, then pork will begin crisping
- Cook on sauté for 10-15 minutes, until pork as as crisp as you prefer
Notes
Slow cooker Instructions:
Cut the pork shoulder up into chunks (about 2″x2″) and place them in the slow cooker
2. In a small bowl, combine the dried seasonings. Add seasonings, minced garlic, onion, broth, and lime juice to the slow cooker over the pork
3. Using your hands, mix ingredients together to evenly coat pork
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until pork is tender and shreds easily
5. Shred pork and remove from slow cooker. Serve with burrito bowls, salads, tacos
6. Optional: for crispy pork carnitas, sauté for 10-15 minutes over medium heat until pork is crisp
Nutrition Facts:
- Calories: 154
- Sugar: 1
- Fat: 12
- Carbohydrates: 2
- Protein: 9
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Sarah Ballard says
Absolutely delicious!! Added mine to a bed of spring mix and topped with pickled red onion and avocado!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
That sounds delicious!! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 – B
Ashlea says
This is the best carnitas recipe I’ve made and I’ve tried…. a lot of them! So good!!!
★★★★★
Judy Kenney says
Every week, I have 🌮 Tuesday at my house. This is always a favorite. I get home from work, throw it together and wah-lah. By the time my kids and grandbabes arrive dinner is ready❣️It’s also great in the crockpot 🤷🏽♀️
paleobailey says
I love that you have taco Tuesday with your family! Such a fun tradition 🙂 And I’m so glad you love this recipe!! Thank you, Judy!
Amber Santos says
I’m always on the lookout for easy Instant Pot meals and this was a winner 🙌🏻 I used the carnitas for meal prep and had salads and tacos for lunch all week 😊 Thanks, Bailey!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
You’re so welcome! Thank you for giving them a try! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them!! <3 - B
Kristin says
These carnitas are sooooo good! Also, definitely take the time to do the crisping after it cooks, it adds so much. We ate this for a week and even had some left to freeze!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much, Kristin!
Kaitlyn Moore says
This is the best pulled pork I’ve ever had or made! I’m not a big fan of pulled pork in general but I, literally, ate this off the sheet pan haha. I will 100% be adding this to our meal rotation!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Oh wow thank you so, so much Kaitlyn!! I’m so glad you loved it!
Theresa S. says
Delicious recipe! Will be making this again, for sure! Thanks for sharing 😊
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Thank you, Theresa! I’m so glad you enjoyed!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know – it’s so appreciated!!
Kylee Jenkins says
My new favorite carnitas recipe. I couldn’t get the meat to crisp up in the IP after cooking but it didn’t matter because the flavor was so bangin’. I’ll probably crisp up the leftovers on a baking sheet in the oven (which I could’ve easily done tonight but was running short on time). Thank you for the recipe – my boyfriend said it was better than Chipotle (which is an understatement)!
★★★★★
Kristen W. says
So good! I love carnitas in the oven, but I was a bit afraid of my instant pot. With Bailey’s encouragement, I made these and they did not disappoint. Another recipe I have uses orange, but the lime in this yummy! SO much flavor and easy in one pot!
paleobailey says
Thank you, Kristen!! I was so terrified of my IP at first too 🙂 I’m glad these turned out well for you!! Thanks so much!
Casey Lynn says
This recipe is LEGIT! Best carnitas I’ve ever made… my husband is eating leftovers as we speak!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Wooo! This is awesome! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know! <3 - B
Mary says
On sauté mode, do you put the lid back on? Thanks for the help.
paleobailey says
No you can leave it off! (sorry for the late reply here!) Hope you had a good holiday!!
Andi says
Made this for a party and EVERYONE asked for the recipe!! Total hit!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
SO happy to hear this! Thank you!
Annette says
This is a favorite. Every time I make it I get compliments…and it is so easy. I have even prepped the whole thing the night before and thrown it into the crockpot in the morning if I know that I will be in a rush.
paleobailey says
I’m so glad to hear it!! Thank you for your feedback and prepping ahead – that’s so helpful!
Justin says
Made this once and it turned out perfect! Planning to make it again but with 6 lbs of pork. Should I change the time to cook?
★★★★★
paleobailey says
I’m so glad you liked it! I would start off with the same time, and possibly add 15 minutes if necessary!
Sarah says
Made this for supper tonight and it’s so good! The meat is so flavorful and tender. My husband is so excited that we’ll be able to have this when we start our second round in a couple of weeks. Thanks for sharing it with us!!
paleobailey says
Oh I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for letting me know!!
Karin says
This was sooooo good, thanks Bailey!!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
I’m so glad to hear it! Thank you!
Cat says
Omg. Made this last night. It was amazing. Thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Thank you, Cat!! I’m so happy you enjoyed :))
Angie says
Yum!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Thanks, Angie!! <3
Celeste Hernandez says
Made this for the second time and it came out better than before! Husband was very happy and excited 🙂
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Thank you, Celeste!! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it! <3 - B
Stefani says
I catch cook these carnitas once a month and make like four to five servings of it to freeze. As a Latina, the flavors in this recipe are spot on.
paleobailey says
Oh I LOVE hearing this – thank you so much for sharing your feedback!! I’m so glad you enjoy! <3 - B
Monica Johnson says
So amazing and so easy! Just made it and my husband can’t stop raving about how great the flavor is! The meat just fell apart with no effort in the instant pot. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
paleobailey says
So happy to hear that you both loved it! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know!! <3 - B
Steph says
The flavor and tenderness of this is amazing!! I used my instant pot and it was super easy. It did end up burning the sauce on the bottom of my instant pot when I was on the sauté mode, has that happened to you? This is only the second time I’m using it (got it for Christmas) so maybe I had the sauté setting too high? Hopefully it’s easy to clean!
★★★★★
Jennifer says
I cooked this recipe tonight for the first time. I was afraid my son would not eat it but I am happy to say that he cleaned the plate. Thank you, he is such a picky eater. I am so glad he ate it cause I tired of cooking the same thing all the time.
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Hey, Jennifer!! I am so happy to hear this – comments like this make my day! Thank you for coming back and letting me know your son enjoyed it 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Jennifer says
I am looking through your site now to decide what recipe I will try next. You have gotten me excited about cooking again. Thank you
paleobailey says
I’m so, so happy to hear that, Jennifer! Thank you so much for your kind compliment! <3 - B
Megan P. says
Great recipe
★★★★★
paleobailey says
So happy you liked it! 🙂
Darrah says
I made this with both pork and chicken in my Instant Pot, and it came out “soooo goooooddd!” as my family says. Thank you for sharing! This will probably be a once a week thing.
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Oh this made my day! So glad your family loved it, and thank you so much for coming back and letting me know! <3 - B
Crissy says
I also made it in the crock pot. I think I’ve made all of your crock pot recipes and they are all my favorite but this one will be made weekly! I crisped the meat up for breakfast skillets, my boys had them on tacos and sanehichs for school lunches, and I had plenty left for salads too!
paleobailey says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for the high praise! I’m glad your family enjoys this recipe!
Jennifer says
Made this in the slow cooker exactly as written but added a few bay leaves. SO delicious! My new go to for carnitas!
paleobailey says
Ahh! So happy you loved it, Jennifer! Thank you!
Megan H says
I’ve tried a lot of carnitas recipes before but this is my families favorite. I love that you didn’t use an orange!
paleobailey says
Thank you so much, Megan!
Kimberly Baxter says
Just made this on the recommendation of a friend who saw the recipe on your site. It was absolutely delicious – didn’t change a thing!