Instant pot Mexican inspired pulled pork made in the instant pot, then broiled to get crispy and caramelized. The most delicious carnitas you’ll ever have!

Crispy intant pot carnitas on a sheet pan sprinkled with cilantro this recipe

I must insist you stop everything you’re doing and add this keto instant pot carnitas to your dinner menu ASAP. It is SO GOOD!

Even better? It makes a ton so you’ll have leftovers you can use for meal prep lunches!

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Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.

wooden spoon scooping crispy instant pot carnitas on a rimmed baking sheet sprinkled with cilantro

Crispy Keto Instant Pot Carnitas

I’ve updated my slow cooker carnitas to work in the instant pot, and I love them even more!

The secret to these amazing carnitas is to broil them after they’re done cooking in the instant pot. This will get them crispy, and help caramelize the fat. The flavor is out of this world!

steps to making carnitas in an instant pot

Ingredients

The amazing flavor is thanks to high quality pork butt. I get my humanely raised hormone + antibiotic free pork butt from ButcherBox (which I highly recommend!). An animal stores any toxins in it’s fat. Pork butt has a high amount of fat, so it’s important to get the highest quality pork.

To add even more flavor, I cook the pork butt with a mojo sauce of onions, orange juice, lime juice, chicken stock, cumin + oregano. After it’s done cooking in the instant pot, I spoon some of the cooking juices over the shredded carnitas before broiling. This keeps the meat juicy and flavorful.

carnitas burrito bowl in a white plate on a white background

Serving

To serve, I love a delicious carnitas bowl with fajita veggies, cauliflower rice, salsa, guacamole and fresh cilantro.

This makes enough for 8 servings, so you can meal prep your leftover carnitas for lunches for the week!

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Keto Instant Pot Carnitas

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
This Keto Instant Pot Carnitas Recipe is instant pot Mexican pulled pork made in the instant pot, then broiled to get crispy and caramelized.
5 from 66 ratings
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Ingredients 
 

  • 4 pound boneless pork butt, cut into 2" chunks
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • juice from 1 orange
  • juice from 2 or 3 limes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 bay leaves (optional)

Equipment

Instructions 

  • In your instant pot, add cubed pork butt + raw onion. Pour over the chicken stock, orange juice, lime juice, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper + bay leaves. Stir to combine. Close with the lid, and make sure the vent is at SEALING.
  • Close with the lid, and make sure the vent is at SEALING. Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes. Will take about 10-15 minutes to reach pressure, then it will start counting down from 30. After the 30 minutes is up, do a QUICK RELEASE, where you move the valve to VENTING to release all the steam. Once all the steam is gone and the float valve has dropped, you can safely open the instant pot.
  • Set your oven to BROIL.
  • Gently remove all the carnitas and cooked onions, transferring them to a rimmed baking sheet. Discard the bay leaves. Shred the carnitas using 2 forks. Pour 1 a cup of the cooking liquid from the instant pot over the carnitas.
  • BROIL the carnitas for 5 minutes, until crispy. If I have time, I like to turn the carnitas 3 or 4 times and keep broiling in 5 minute increments. This really caramelizes the fat and gives it the most amazing texture and flavor.
  • Serve warm topped with chopped cilantro. Delicious in burrito/taco bowls with fajita veggies, cauliflower rice, guacamole + salsa. Can also serve as tacos or as a salad.
  • Will keep in an airtight container for 5 days, or frozen for 6 months.
  • See the Recipe Notes below for more tips, FAQ's and ingredient substitutions.

Notes

Slow Cooker: You can also make these in the slow cooker. Here is my slow cooker carnitas recipe.
Pork: I prefer pork butt, but you could also use pork shoulder. If you have bone in pork butt, just cut around the bone, then throw it in to the instant pot. The bone will add even more flavor!
Onion: I use yellow onion, but you could use white or red.
Crisping: You don’t have to crisp them in the oven, but highly recommend you do!
Freezing: You can freeze after shredding the carnitas, BEFORE broiling them. Will keep in the freezer for at least 6 months.
Reheating: I love to reheat the carnitas by broiling again on rimmed baking sheet, or crisping up in a cast iron skillet with a little avocado oil. You could microwave, but they lose their crispiness.
Beef: If you want to make something similar with beef, try my barbacoa recipe.
Cuisine: Mexican
Course: Main Course
Author: Natalie
Calories: 414, Total Carbs: 5.9g, Protein: 56.7g, Fat: 18.5g, Fiber: 0.6g, Net Carbs: 5g
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