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
PrintPaleo 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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Molly says
Made this for dinner last night! So easy and delicious. I thought that 1/2 cup of broth wouldn’t be enough liquid so I added more. I should’ve followed the recipe as written because there was so much liquid in the end! I ended up crisping half in the broiler and freezing the second half for another time. I also only had bone in pork butt so I cut it into cubes and threw the bone in the pot too. Everything was super tender and the remaining scraps fell right off the bone. Perfect recipe for a chilly winter night.
★★★★★
Sarah says
Soooo yummy! I’m very happy I stumbled across your blog at the start of my Paleo journey! My husband thinks my meals are amazing Bc of you! I’ve made 2 of your dishes 2 nights in a row. Going in the rotation. Thank you 😉
★★★★★
paleobailey says
Oh I’m so glad to hear this! Thank you so, so much!! <3 - B
Steph says
One of our family’s favorites! Was wondering, what is the most amount of pork I could use for this? I wanted to double or increase by 1.5 so I can give some away. I have an 8 quart instant pot. Thanks!
★★★★★
Lindsey says
Were you able to double this? I am wondering the same thing!
★★★★★
Cassie says
Quick, easy and tasty! Butcher was out of pork shoulder so I used pork tenderloin and it turned out great! Added some arrowroot powder to the sauce to thicken it up and it made for a great taco tuesday!
★★★★
Denise Sample says
So good I am adding to regular recipes even when not doing whole 30. This is a crowd pleaser for sure
★★★★★
paleobailey says
I’m so glad to hear this! Thank you so much for giving it a try, and taking the time to leave a review! I really appreciate it! <3 - B
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!