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”
I come back to this recipe again and again! It is SO easy and SO delicious. I definitely try to make the time to crisp it 3-4 times at 5 minutes each – it’s worth it!
I love that you go back to the recipe again and again Jaime. It is SO worth it to crisp it up!
Absolutely delicious!  The crisping in the oven is key – and don’t forget to season with salt & pepper to taste.  These are fabulous in a salad bowl with all the toppings!
I couldn’t agree more, crisping it key Tracy! I love them served in a salad too.
This was absolutely delicious!! This recipe will definitely be on our dinner rotation. I love pork but don’t like that it’s dry most of the time. The meat was so juicy and was falling apart tender! Definitely make the fajita veggies with it. The sweetness of the peppers and red onion took this pork to the next level. Thank you so much for such a delicious recipe!
I am thrilled that your pork didn’t turn out dry Jennifer. The Instant Pot is fantastic! So glad you will be making it again.
My husband is a picky eater. He likes very little and is always wanting to eat out. I made these and he was obsessed. They are now on a biweekly rotation in our home and I love them because they are so easy and delicious and I always have leftovers for lunch!Â
Yeah! I am so glad you enjoyed my carnitas Hope. Even better that your picky husband enjoyed them! That is fantastic! I love that you have added them to your regular recipe rotation.
So good and so easy!!! Â Definitely want to make this when we have company again this year!!!
They are the perfect meal to serve to company Shire!
Made this tonight and it was amazing!! I’m Hispanic and this flavor and texture reminded me of my grandmas pernil. This is going in the rotation! Love your recipes.Â
I love that it reminded you of your Grandma Vanessa! What a wonderful memory food can be. So glad you will be making it again.
Holy yum. This is SO good. I made tacos with the jicama wraps from Trader Joes and it was so perfectly crunchy/fresh/delicious. It makes a ton so it is perfect for meal prepping!
I just love the jicama wraps from Trader Joes Holland! What a fantastic way to serve it.
So so so good!
I already put it on my list for next weeks dinners!
I love that you have already put it on next week’s menu Nicole. Must have been a hit! :)
I just love this recipe!! I’ve made it a dozen times, so much flavor!Â
I love that you have made the recipe a dozen times Hailey. So glad it has turned out flavorful for you.
Four thumbs up from my family of four! I did the IP part on Saturday and the broiler part on Sunday when we actually ate them, but this recipe is quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal. Definitely making again!
Yeah! Four thumbs up is fantastic Barbara! I’ll take it! LOL! I have also done the instant pot part one day and broiled it the next. It works so well! Such a stress free way to cook. I am so glad you will be making it again!
SO SO GOOD! Thank you Natalie for another easy and delicious dinner that doubles as meal prep! Even my super picky husband and 3 year old ate on this all week!!
Yeah! I am so happy you liked my carnitas Meaghan! Isn’t it the best feeling when you make a new recipe and your family enjoys it? I am so glad your husband and little one liked it and ate it throughout the week. That is such a win! Love to hear that it was easy to make and delicious.
Insanely delicious. I love how it crisps up under the broiler. I’m already excited to eat the leftovers tomorrow!
I agree, the crisp you get from broiling it is so delicious Lynn. Glad you have plenty for leftovers. Yum!
This recipe is delicious and it couldn’t be easier! I’ve tried several Whole30 compliant carnitas recipes and have always been disappointed but not with this one!! My newly picky 4 year old loved it and asked for seconds at dinner last night and then wanted it for breakfast this morning. My husband asked for it to be on a regular rotation!Â
I just love that you 4 year old asked for seconds and your husband wants you to make them regularly Heather. Yeah! It sure must have been a hit!
I love this recipe! I froze half to make after I had my baby. Once I thawed it put it under the broiler to heat it up and it was still perfection! So yummy! One of my absolute favorites. Thank you, Natalie!
Isn’t it fantastic how well the recipe freezes Katie? So glad you enjoyed them.Â
This lives up to allll the hype! This recipe was a huge hit, and I’m eating leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!Â
Lucky you for having so many leftovers Angele. My favorite! :)
Can this be made in a slow cooker?Â
Yes you can cook the carnitas in the slow cooker Sarah. Here is a link to the instructions:
https://www.tasteslovely.com/street-style-crispy-carnitas-tacos/
Do the sugars form the orange and lime burn off?
I am not quite sure what you mean about the sugar in the orange and lime burning off Rebecca. They really add a tremendous amount of flavor to the dish. The total sugar in the recipe is 1.7g.
I’m going to make this this week, as I just got an Instant Pot for Christmas. Recipe looks great! Compared to my former fave slow cooker carnitas recipe from Tasty, the big difference is no garlic. Have you ever added garlic?
I haven’t tried it with garlic but I am pretty sure that would be a delicious addition
Amy! :)
We made this and loved it,!!!! now we have company coming into town and I wanted to double the meat, what should I increase the cook time to and would I double the broth and other ingredients?
I haven’t recipe tested this doubling the recipe so I am not sure how long the cook time would be. The general rule for Instant pot is 15 minutes per pound of pork. I sure hope this helps!
I have made this recipe so many times! Each time it just tastes better and better! My partner is of Mexican heritage and when he says “wow! this is really good!” you know its a winner! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious and super easy recipe.Â
It is fantastic that your partner loves it too Valentina! I am so glad you find the recipe easy and delicious. I love it!