Keto Instant Pot Carnitas
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!
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!
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!
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, + 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.
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
Ingredients
- 4 pound boneless pork butt, cut into 2" chunks
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- juice from 1 large orange
- juice from 3 limes
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Equipment
Instructions
- In your instant pot, add cubed pork butt + raw onion. Pour over the chicken stock, orange juice, lime juice, 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 35 minutes. Will take about 10-15 minutes to reach pressure, then it will start counting down from 35. After the 35 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. 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, then remove from the oven and toss. Keep broiling in 5 minute increments until you reach your desired level of crispiness. I love to do it for 15 minutes total of broiling time.
- 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.
165 Comments on “Keto Instant Pot Carnitas”
Yum, another great recipe!  Very tasty and already looking forward to eating leftovers…nachos tomorrow!  Natalie, do you add more of the juice as you’re broiling they meat?  Mine was a little dry. Â
I am so glad you liked my carnitas Heather! Sorry they turned out a little dry. I do add a 1/2 cup of cooking liquid to the meat prior to broiling. This will keep them nice and moist. Hope this helps!
I finally got around to making this tonight and like…. what… wow…. what just happened……. sooooo goooood…..mind blowing!!! It was super easy and completely impressed all of us that ate it…including me!!! It was even an exact butcher box roast! I’m excited about all the broth it made too! Now I have a delicious soup base for something this week!Â
Thank you so much for your very nice comment on my carnitas Sarah! I am so glad you liked them. Isn’t Butcher Box the best? It does make a delicious broth. That is a fantastic idea to make a soup with the broth.
I got the bone in pork butt in my butcher box and wanted to try and make this with it. Is there any way I could just cook it longer in the instapot since I won’t be able to cube it up beforehand? Thanks in advance! This looks amazing!!!
Thanks so much for the question Natalie. I think the bone in pork but would work. I would determine the cooking time by the weight of the roast and adjust accordingly. Sure hope this helps. Happy cooking!
Oh my word! Â These carnitas are the best!!! Â I thought I had over-charred them, but nope! Â My husband loved them so much he raved about them at work & all the ladies wanted the recipe. Â ? Â Of course I shared it! Â Definitely making them again!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Debbie! That is fantastic that your husband liked them so much he raved about them at work. I just LOVE that! I don’t think it is possible to over char them. The crispier the better!
My husband and I loved these carnitas! So easy and delicious! Plus plenty of leftovers to freeze for future meals.
I am so glad you liked my carnitas Marie! I am happy they were easy and delicious. Even better that they were hubby approved! I think leftovers are simply the best and I hope you enjoy them.
I made this recipe on Wednesday with my first Butcher Box order with your recommendation. This recipe was ssssoooo good!! It was juicy, tender and oh so flavorful! Definitely will make again and again!!Â
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Penny! That is so great that you have started getting Butcher Box meat. I think it is simply the best there is. So glad you enjoyed it!
This is a family favorite! Tastes deliciousÂ
Thank you so much for letting me know that my carnitas are a family favorite Angie! I am so happy you found this recipe delicious! It sure means the world to me!
Made this last night for the first time. Â Also the very first time using my Instant Pot (I had been super intimidated). Â THESE CARNITAS WERE AMAZING!!!! Â We had friends over and they all raved about it too. Â SUPER easy, the videos provided were extremely helpful to me as I became more familiar with my Instant Pot (which is easy… geesh!) Â The broil at the end made these SO CRISY and adding the broth to the pan also kept the meat so tender. Â This is on repeat!!!
Wow! Your comment just made my day Jen! I know exactly how you feel, I was so intimidated to use my Instant Pot the first time. Turns out it was so easy! I am so glad you made my carnitas and they turned out well for you and your guests! You’re right, broiling the carnitas at the end adds the best texture to the carnitas!
Could you do this if your pork butt is frozen?Â
Hi Amber – Since the meat needs to be cut into 2″ chunks, I think it would be difficult to cut up frozen meat. I would recommend using thawed meat.
Can you omit the bay leaves?
Hi Laura – Yes you can omit the bay leaves. Bay leaves add a unique flavor to soups and meats that I really enjoy. If you don’t like them or don’t have them on hand just leave them out. It will still be super tasty!
So easy and the time suggestions were right on!  Had to adjust the acid for what I had on hand  but still worked great!  (ACV and some wine)
Hi Kelly – So glad you enjoyed these! I am happy they were easy to make and my time suggestions were right. Your tweaks of apple cider vinegar and wine sound yummy. So happy you enjoyed them and thanks so much for sharing.
Made this last night and it was AMAZING! The instructions are easy to follow and I had all of the ingredients on hand. The meat was so tender and crisping it up in the oven made it even better. I served it with sautéed veggies, cauli rice, and avocado! We will definitely be making this again!
So please you liked this Janay! I agree that crisping the meat in the oven is key, brings out such flavor. I am so happy you will be making this again.
Loved hose easy this recipe was and how delicious the meat was at the end. Never thought I would be able to make my own Carnitas and this recipe has become a regular in my house.
I am so pleased that this is a regular in your house!
This recipe quickly became a staple for me!! SO easy and delicious!! I love making this when I host, and love that it heats up so well for leftovers. One of my favorite recipes :) A total crowd pleaser!!!!!
I am so happy you like this Anna! I also love making this for company, it just works every time! You are right, it does make the BEST leftovers.
This recipe is SO good. I made it recently for the first time when we were having friends over for dinner. I thought maybe it was risky to try something brand new to me when I was going to serve it to others, but I’m so glad I took the chance! It’s delicious, tender, and I think the magic is sticking the meat under the broiler. I always wondered how to get the meat just a tad crispy on the edges, and that’s the trick! YAY! I’ll probably make this recipe again this week!Â
I am so glad this turned out great for you, especially when you were serving to company! I agree that broiling the carnitas is the most important step. LOVE those crispy edges!
Holy delicious. I was nervous making this recipe but it was SO easy and SO flavorful. Broiling at the end adds so much flavor from caramelizing the fat. Make this now. SO good!
Heather – you’re so right, broiling the carnitas at the end is a MUST! Yum!
I made this recipe tonight. Turned out well. I am wondering about the protein grams. Your list says 56.7 grams for a half cup serving. I weighed a half cup of the pork and it was 3 ounces. A chart I have says pork roast has 7 grams per ounce, which adds up to 21 grams of protein. I am wondering how you came up with 56.7.Â
So glad you liked it! Thanks Chris! I use a recipe plugin that automatically calculates the nutrition information for me. Just like it says, it’s a rough estimate. You can always go off your own calculations to be sure it’s more accurate!
This carnitas recipe is out of this world. Do yourself a favor and broil it for a few rounds and add a little extra fluid each time. Turns out amazeballs ? I cant wait to eat this all week. This is a home run Natalie, you’re simply the best!
Yea! I’m so happy you like it Erin! Isn’t it the best?! And yes, I broil it sometimes 2, 3 or 4 times, turning it in between. It takes more time, but adds SO MUCH more flavor! Love your idea of adding more cooking liquid each time. I’m going to try that next time! You are SO NICE! Thank you!
This is Heavenly ??????????
Yea yea yea! I’m so happy to hear you love it as much as we do Malena!
So simple and delicious! All of the ingredients, with the exception of the pork, are things I always have on hand. So nice to have an easy recipe on those busy weeknights the whole fam will love! Seriously, give this one a try!
I’m so happy to hear you liked it Cori! Thank you SO MUCH!
This recipe is AMAZING!! it was so good!! My 5 year old and my husband fought over the last bite ? Putting it under the broiler really makes it that much better!!
I love that your hubby and kiddo fought over the last bite of carnitas Melanie! That is definitely a mom win! Broiling it at the end is the key to it’s delicious texture!Â