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”
Holy crap! Who knew Carnita’s were so easy to make with the Instapot and Broiler. Thank you Natalie. These are the the best and we get amazing Carnitas in San Diego. Depending on your oven, I did broil mine on high.
Ha! So happy you found the carnitas easy to make Kris. Isn’t it surprising how simple the recipe is? Broiling them at the end it the best. I love the crispy bits!
Easy and deeeeeelicous! Will definitely put this into the weeknight rotation.
I love that you describe them as easy and delicious Carisa! That is exactly what I was striving for! I am glad you will be making them again.
Our family of six which includes four VERY picky kids had this for dinner last night. Wow! The kids went back for seconds and thirds…. the only bummer is I have no leftovers for lunch today!!!! So easy – like insanely easy to make. This will be in our regular dinner rotation!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Colleen. Even better that your picky kids liked it so much they went back for more! That is such a mom win! I just love it when that happens. I am glad to hear that it was easy to make and you will be making it again.
So delicious! Will be making this often for my family! Can the juice left over in the instant pot be used for something else?
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Natalie. That is fantastic that you will be making them again. In regards to the juice left in the pot you could use is as a substitute for any recipe that calls for broth. That would actually be delicious and flavorful.
Wow! Just made this for my own Mother’s Day lunch – super simple and came out looking exactly like the picture. It’s delicious! This is definitely going in my recipe rotation!
I love that you made your own Mother’s Day lunch Carollanne! Even better that it turned out delicious. I am so glad the carnitas will be part of your regular recipe rotation. I sure hope your Mother’s Day was lovely.
This recipe is sooo good! It’s become a family favorite and that’s saying a lot as my kids are picky eaters.
I am so happy you like my carnitas Kira! Even better that your picky little eaters like it. It’s such a mom win when you find a recipe that is a hit!
This was so delicious! It took quite a bit longer than the 35 minutes, but definitely worth it! I decided to give it three rounds in the broiler and I think it was a good choice. After I made this recipe, my boyfriend said, “You should make more recipes from her!” Which is a huge compliment!
So glad your boyfriend liked it Mackenzie! You’re right, that is quite a compliment!
This was fabulous!!! I love making your recipes. Thank you for sharing so many delicious recipes. I also love watching your stories on IG. You are so inspiring.
Thank you so much for your very nice comment Cara! You absolutely made my day! I am so happy you liked my carnitas and other recipes. I love sharing tips and recipes and when they are well received, it sure makes it all worthwhile.
I am thrilled that you like my Instagram stories. Thank you so much for reaching out, it really means the world to me.
So good! Broiling makes a huge difference. Will definitely make this again.
I am so happy that you like my biscuits and gravy Hallie! Even better that your 5 year old loves it. That is always a win, win! I am so glad this recipe is part of your regular recipe rotation.
Great recipe. Made very few changes. Seared pork in olive oil first. Didn’t have limes, so I used 3tbs of white wine vinager. Didn’t have oranges, but used 1/3 c of orange juice. Added a tsp of liquid smoke. Then I used the liquid to deglaze the pot, added in the seared pork and layered the onion on top. Cooked on high for 30 min, slow released for 30 min…cooking this any longer would’ve turned the pork to mush. Took meat out and shredded, then broiled, mixed it up and broiled again. Finished by adding a little more broth in for moisture. Totally easy! Making carnita bowls and keto tortillas from gnom gnom paleo…hands down the best keto tortillas!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Kelly. I love that you were able to adjust and adapt the recipe with the ingredients you had on hand. These days we are all having to improvise with recipes. Thanks for sharing your cooking tips, they are fantastic tips!
So easy and so good! I used pork tenderloin, because it’s what I had on hand. Definitely will make it again!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Jaime! I love that you and your hubby ate it right out of the pan before serving it. How fun!
I am so glad you liked my carnitas Jaime. I am so glad to hear it turned out well with pork tenderloin. These days we are all having to improvise with what we have available. I am so happy you will be making this again.
This was dinner tonight! Hubby and I ate a good amount right off the pan before we plated it up!
I am so happy you liked my pot roast Lizabeth! It’s good to hear it turned out well for you even without thyme. During these quarantine days we are all having to improvise with what we have on hand. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
I’ve made carnitas before but the recipe I followed was way more complicated. This was so easy + the pork was so easily shredded with a fork! Percectly cooked + full of flavour! Love how you broil the carnitas in the oven to get them crispy instead of in a pan. Much easier! This will be our go to recipe from now on. Thanks Natalie!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Chantelle! I love hearing that they were easy to make and full of flavor. I agree, broiling them at the end to crisp them up makes them very yummy! I am so happy this will be a go to recipe for you.
So easy and so delicious! I didn’t have limes or cumin on hand and it was still so good!! I made a big batch and froze what we didn’t eat.
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Sara! So glad it was still tasty without limes and cumin. So many of us are having to just make do with what we have on hand these days, so that is good to know. So glad you now have extra in your freezer! It freezes beautifully!
So good!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Cassie! Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
OH. MY. GOODNESS Natalie!!! This is my new favorite recipe from you. These are just hands down THE BEST carnitas I’ve ever had. And so easy! My whole family came over for family dinner and they all loved it!! Thank you for all your hard work on this site! It’s so much appreciated. ?
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Dana! That is quite a compliment that they the best you have ever had. I love that you were brave enough to make them for your whole family. How fantastic that they loved it!
These are out of this world! I promise they are so good! I’ve made them for crowds for taco night several times and everyone always says they love them!
I am so glad you like my carnitas Katie! They are perfect for a crowd, they are always a hit!
Hi Natalie,
I’ve made carnitas before in the crockpot and didn’t like how mushy they turned out. I don’t have an instant pot, but I just tried putting the meat under the broiler after the crockpot as you suggested and it was fantastic! I couldn’t believe I made it! So good w the oven roasted fajita vegetables and I added some lime and cilantro to my cauliflower rice. So, so good – thanks for the recipe!!
I am so happy you liked my carnitas Laura! Broiling them at the end to crisp them up makes them so tasty it is unbelievable. Thanks for sharing that it worked with the crockpot method too! That is fantastic!
So tasty! This was so simple to make and had great flavor. Ate these with Siete tortillas and lots of chopped onions on top! I love all your recipes!
That is fantastic that you liked my carnitas Dara. I am so happy they were easy to make and delicious!
made these in the slow cooker & they were AMAZING!!!
So glad you liked them Jessica!
I tried this the other night and they were seriously the best carnitas I’ve ever made! Thank you for the amazing recipe!! Highly recommend it!
Wow! I am so glad my carnitas were the best you have ever made Leslie! Yeah! That just makes my day.