This Instant Pot Roast Pork will become a family favorite. The salt and pepper mixture creates a tasty crust and seasons the drippings for an out-of-this-world gravy.
This recipe and method are for a pork butt or pork shoulder. If you have a pork loin, get instructions for how to cook it in the Instant Pot over here. If you have a pork tenderloin, get instructions for cooking it in the Instant Pot here.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
- Video: Making Instant Pot Roast Pork
- First, What Is A Pork Butt?
- Why I Love My Instant Pot For Pork Roast
- How Long To Cook Pork Roast In The Instant Pot
- What Temperature Should The Pork Be?
- Pork Is Underdone?
- How To Crisp The Outside Of A Pork Roast
- What Should I Serve With Pork Roast?
- Podcast Episode: Making Instant Pot Roast Pork
- Instant Pot Roast Pork Recipe
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Video: Making Instant Pot Roast Pork
Note: In the recipe below I suggest searing the roast first, but now I usually skip that step. The reason is that the roast is a bit cumbersome, as you can see in the video. Instead of searing first, I recommend just broiling the roast at the end.
First, What Is A Pork Butt?
The cut referred to as a butt roast or Boston Butt is actually from the front of a pig. The shoulder area to be exact. The shoulder is divided into two cuts: the top rectangular part (called the butt), and the lower triangular part (usually just called a shoulder roast).
Historically, the top rectangular portion was a less popular cut. Butchers in colonial New England took these less popular cuts and packed them in wooden barrels for storage and transportation. The barrels that they used were called butts. So now you know. Interesting, right?
Now on to an easy and relatively quick recipe for pork roast. I know, this sounds a bit like an oxymoron. Pork shoulder roasts and pork butt roasts generally benefit from long cooking times. With the introduction of the Instant Pot, an updated electric pressure cooker, that has all changed. In about an hour you can have a fork-tender pork roast on the table.
Why I Love My Instant Pot For Pork Roast
There are three things that I really love about cooking a pork roast in my Instant Pot (this is the one that I have).
The first is the sauté function. Using it creates a lovely, caramel-colored layer on the pork. Which means I don’t have to pull out another pan and get it dirty. Love it!
After searing the roast, I remove it from the Instant Pot and put the trivet that was included to get the roast up out of the cooking liquid and off the bottom of the pot. I think it helps to maintain the color from the searing as well as ensuring that the bottom doesn’t burn.
The second thing that I love is the fact that once the lid is locked on and cooking time is set, I’m free to focus on something else.
Finally, the result is like a slow-braised, tender pork roast, but in the Instant Pot, it cooks in much less time.
How Long To Cook Pork Roast In The Instant Pot
When you roast a pork butt in the oven, it takes about 40 minutes per pound. The Instant Pot is MUCH quicker.
In the Instant Pot, you should cook a pork butt for 15 minutes per pound. What does that mean? That means that you set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 15 minutes per pound. If the roast is 3 pounds, you set it to pressure cook for 45 minutes.
The roast ends up being in the Instant Pot for longer than just those 45 minutes though. Before the pressure cooking starts, the Instant Pot spends time coming up to temperature. That can take as long as 10-15 minutes.
Then, after the pressure cooking time is up, the pressure needs to be released. I do what is called a natural release for 10 minutes. A natural release happens if, when your pressure cooking time has reached zero, you do nothing. Basically, the heater of your Instant Pot stops heating at that point, and then the pressure inside slowly dissipates.
I do the natural release for 10 minutes whenever cooking meat in the Instant Pot because a quicker release results in a drastic change of temperature that can make meat seize up and get tough.
So do the natural release for 10 minutes and then switch the valve to Venting and let the remaining pressure escape. You then open up the Instant Pot and take out the roast.
In the end, a 3 pound pork roast is in the Instant Pot for about 70 minutes, which is still a lot less than if you were cooking it in the oven (that would be 3 pounds x 40 minutes = 120 minutes). And the roast has this extra tender texture from being pressure cooked to boot!
What Temperature Should The Pork Be?
The 15 minutes per pound will produce a tender, juicy roast that is slightly pink in the middle, and a temperature at or just above 145°F, which is the recommended temperature for pork.
If you prefer no pink, change the time from 15 minutes per pound to 25 minutes per pound, which will increase the temperature of the roast to around 160°F.
A boneless pork butt is recommended for this recipe for easy carving, however if all that is available is bone-in, the times mentioned above will still work perfectly for tender, juicy results.
Pork Is Underdone?
After all of the above cooking is finished, if your pork roast is below the temperature that you would like, don’t fret. There’s an easy solution, and it happens to be one of my favorite things about cooking roasts in the Instant Pot. If you set the Instant Pot to Keep Warm and put the lid back on, the internal temperature of the roast will continue to go up. Take the lid off and check the temperature every 3-10 minutes, depending on how much of a temperature increase you need. It will keep heating like that for quite awhile so you can get just the right temperature.
How To Crisp The Outside Of A Pork Roast
One drawback of the Instant Pot is that it’s a wet cooking method, which means that you don’t get a crisp crust on the outside of your roast, even if you seared it at the beginning. The steam in the pressure cooker has made that not crusty. For sure. However, as long as you seared the meat really well in the beginning, that dark, caramelized crust will remain on any section of the roast that is not touching liquid.
Now, if you like a crispy crust on your roast you’ll need to use the oven after the Instant Pot has done its work – I have instructions for that in the recipe below. Or you can read about it in my post How to Roast Pork Perfectly.
Basically, you let the pork rest for a bit. Then put it into the oven at a very high temperature for just 10 minutes. This will crisp up the crust.
FYI, if you’re planning to shred the pork (like pulled pork) you really don’t need to crisp it up in the oven first.
What Should I Serve With Pork Roast?
Instant Pot Gravy is a great idea! You use the liquid that is left in the Instant Pot after you take out the roast. And you cook the gravy using the sauté function of the Instant Pot after the roast is finished cooking. That way, you don’t dirty an extra pot!
What else to serve with the roast pork? If your oven is free, go ahead and make a batch of these amazing roasted potatoes too. Such a perfect dinner!
Podcast Episode: Making Instant Pot Roast Pork
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this Instant Pot Pork Roast, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Instant Pot Roast Pork Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This Instant Pot recipe for pork roast will become a family favorite. The salt and pepper mixture creates a tasty crust and seasons the drippings for an out-of-this-world gravy. If your roast is larger than 2 pounds, see the note about larger roasts below.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- A 2 lb. boneless pork shoulder or pork butt roast
- 1 cup unsalted chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 onion cut into quarters
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Rub pork roast with the salt mixture on all sides.
- Select the Sauté button to heat the Instant Pot. When “Hot” is displayed, add the olive oil.
- Add the seasoned pork roast and sear on all sides, approximately 4 minutes per side.
- When roast has been seared on all sides, press Cancel and remove roast from the Instant Pot. Place on a plate and set aside.
- Add the broth or water and the garlic powder to the Instant Pot, scraping any bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- Place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Lay the roast on top of the trivet and arrange the onions around.
- Cover pot, put on the lid, and set the steam release valve to Sealing.
- Select the Meat/Stew or Pressure Cook button and set the cook time to 30 minutes.*
- When the cooking cycle has finished, allow the pot to sit for 10 minutes, and then do a quick release by moving the valve to Venting.
- Once the steam has released and the button has dropped down, remove the lid and then carefully remove the roast from the Instant Pot. Transfer it to a rimmed plate and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Optional Step: To crisp the crust, preheat oven to 425˚F while the roast is resting.
- Remove the pork to a sheet pan or roasting pan if using crisping method. Place in preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- If not using the crisping method: Remove the pork to a cutting board.
- Carve the roast into 1/2” slices.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
For a quick out-of-this-world gravy, follow my Instant Pot Gravy recipe.
*Info for larger roasts. If your roast is 3 pounds or less, cook it for 15 minutes per pound. If your roast is larger than 3 pounds, go with 17 minutes per pound. So if your roast is 4 pounds or more, do 17 minutes per pound. Everything else in the recipe remains the same.
This post originally appeared in July 2018. It was revised and republished in November 2021.
The Instant Pot way to cook a pork roast is my new favorite way. My butcher messed up and cut my Boston butt into 2 1.2 lb chunks so I had to play with the time. At roughly 15 mins a pound I went with 17 mins in the pressure cooker and, even though my final temperature after resting was 175 it was still very moist. If I had that temp from the oven I do not think it would have been so pleasing to eat.
And whatever you do….don’t skip the searing part.
Thanks for sharing, Leah. Glad you enjoyed it!
Super straightforward recipe. Very easy. DELICIOUS result. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Deeds! Glad you enjoyed.
I LOVE your Instapot pork butt roast recipe. The roast comes out so tender and juicy. I make gravy from broth. So good. I hope I never lose this recipe!
I’m so happy that you love the recipe, Deb! Thanks for taking time to comment.
Can I put potatoes in with the onions and roast
I have had readers tell me they do this and love the results, Michelle. Enjoy!
Great recipe. How come the olive oil says divided? Not a critical issue for sure but I do a whole lot of IP recipes so eyeball the browning part as far as how much olive oil I use.
Rich
Rich, in a previous version of this recipe, I added half of the olive oil at the end when crisping the meat. Since then, I have tested it without the oil at the end and it works great. I think I must have edited it out of the instructions, and reduced the amount of oil in the recipe, but not removed the word divided. So sorry about that. Thanks for letting me know!
Pork loin roast is in my IP as I type! It is easy to throw together and prepare and smells amazing already! I’m using this recipe to make cuban sandwiches and trying out your gravy recipe for the broth and serve mashed potatoes with the sandwiches. :)
That sounds so good, Bethany! I’m sure it’ll be amazing.
Delish
Thank you, Jayson!
Turned out great! Recipe was easy to follow. Thank you 😊
You’re welcome, Daniel! So glad you enjoyed.
I dont have a trivet for my pressure cooker will my roast still turn out ok?
Sarah, if you have a metal steamer basket, you can use that. If not, you can use a few raw whole peeled carrots or ribs of celery to keep the roast off of the bottom.
There are two issues here, and one matters more than the other. If the roast is sitting on the bottom in the liquid, it will be a tad soggy on the bottom. I actually don’t think this is a huge deal though. The other issue is that the weight of the pork roast in the Instant Pot will give it a lot of contact with the bottom, which can cause a Burn notice, which will shut your Instant Pot down. For some reason, some models and units seem to get Burn notices more frequently than others. If you don’t usually run into this problem, you might be totally fine putting the roast straight in there. If you do run into this issue, having some smaller things between the roast and the bottom will help.
Do come back and let me know how it goes!
This is one of my favorite recipes! When we preheat the oven while the pork is resting, do you mean during the 10 minutes wait before quick release, or after they pork comes out of the instant pot?
Kalt, so happy you like the recipe! And I apologize because there is a step missing from the recipe, which is why you’re confused. In Step #10 after the valve has been moved to venting, it should say, “Once the steam has released and the button has dropped down, remove the lid and then carefully remove the roast from the Instant Pot. Transfer it to a rimmed plate and allow to rest for 10 minutes.” Then the next step would be the optional step that happens while the roast is resting. Again, my apologies, and I will fix the recipe right now.
Wow…just tried this for the first time! Absolutely delicious and tender too. I think this will be my new go to recipe. Impressive results!
Love to hear that, Brian! Thank you for letting me know.
I am going to try your recipe 😋. It sounds like I will like mine cooked that way. To me it sounds like a 5 star recipe. Thank you ❤️
Ethel, You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it :)
This recipe is delicious! I’ve always had a hard time cooking a good roast pork. I did exactly as the recipe suggested but added a bit of powdered fennel to the salt and pepper. Thank you!
Oh yum! Thanks for sharing your addition, Joyce. So happy you loved it.
Hi! Does cooking change if I use a bone in roast? Eager to try this tonight!
The timing for this recipe will work for bone-in as well, Charlotte. Enjoy!
Wow!! I had a pork roast that I had forgotten about in the freezer for years and should have been a freezer burnt mess. I love the simple ingredients and the simple prep for this recipe. I skipped the sear step and made the gravy – yum! It turned out delicious. Thanks!
Shannon, I’m so happy you liked it and that it turned that old forgotten roast into a great meal! Thanks for coming back to let me know :)
Pork Roast turned out perfect and so delicious. Made the gravy with it. It was easy and very few ingredients were needed,
Thank you so much, Carleen! I love those recipes.
This is cooking as I’m typing.
Smells fantastic. Eager to eat. I’m making pulled pork with BBQ sauce sandwiches.
Thank you for easy to follow instructions.
Lori, You’re welcome! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment :-)