Instant Pot Pork Roast
Published 9/14/2023 • Updated 3/18/2024
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This Instant Pot Pork Roast recipe has saved the day multiple times when I’ve been in a pinch. I love it because not only do you get super tender pork, but you also get a boat load of veggies, too!
Season a pork shoulder, and then pressure cook it on high for 70 minutes in broth and red wine. Then, add in the root veggies and give it another quick pressure cook to finish off the meal. Did I mention that the pork is tender and falls apart when you cut into it? It’s THAT good.
Not only do you guys LOVE our Instant Pot recipes, but you love recipes that feed a lot of people and are easy-peasy. This Instant Pot Pork Roast is both of those things.
This Instant Pot Pork Roast pleases our fancy-pants Fit Foodie readers and also our midwestern friends (because hello pork roast!).
What kind of pork for Instant Pot Pork Roast?
When we were testing this recipe, we knew we wanted to make a pretty traditional pork roast recipe. We were going between two cuts of meat: a pork loin roast or pork shoulder roast.
- Pork Loin Roast: A pork loin roast comes from the back of the pig. It is usually a very lean piece of meat, so if you are slow roasting, you have to be careful you don’t overcook it. In this recipe, you can use a pork loin roast if you are looking for more “pork chop” or pieces of pork rather than shredded pork.
- Pork Shoulder Roast: A pork shoulder/butt comes from the shoulder of a pig. It generally has more fat and is great for slow roasting. We use this cut of meat when we want to use carnitas (like our Instant Pot Carnitas) or if we want a juicy piece of meat.
Cuts of Pork
Not sure where all the different cuts of pork come from on the pig? We made it easy. Check out more details on everything pork in our favorite pork recipes round up!
How to Make Instant Pot Pork Roast
Here is a break down of how we prepared the perfect Instant Pot Pork Roast!
FlavoR Pork Roast
After we decided on a pork shoulder, it was time to flavor the heck out of our pork roast. The dry rub for the pork is a tasty combination of savory and sweet. One thing I have learned is that when it comes to salt and pork, it’s ok to use more salt than feels necessary.
The salt is crucial to flavoring the pork as well as breaking it down so it is nice and tender. So, when you cover your roast with your dry rubs, be sure to massage the heck out of your meat.
try our Instant pot pork tenderloin!
Looking for a pork loin Instant Pot recipe? Try our Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin. It’s moist and the gravy is delicious!
Brown Veggies + Pork Roast
Now it’s time to get the flavors flowing. In this step, you are going to build your base of flavor for the whole dish (no pressure, people). You want to saute your veggies first. Add your olive oil to the Instant Pot and when it is fragrant, add your veggies. Saute them up for about 2-3 minutes or until your onion is translucent.
Remove your veggies, add more olive oil, and then sear your pork roast for 2-3 minutes on each side. When you are searing meat in the Instant Pot it is pretty common that you will get the ‘HOT’ or ‘BURN’ notice. Don’t panic. You want your meat to brown and you want the brown crispies (the fond) to form in the bottom of your Instant Pot. It will just add a ton of flavor to your sauce-y sauce.
Deglaze Instant Pot
After you remove your meat from the Instant Pot, it’s time for you to clean up shop. Turn off your Instant Pot and pour your wine and broth into the pot. Use a wooden scraper to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of your pot!
Pressure Cook Pork Roast
The last step before you pressure cook your pork roast is to put everything back into your pot! Pour the onions and garlic into the wine sauce, stir and then place the Instant Pot metal trivet into the bottom of the pot.
Add in your sprigs of rosemary and place the pork roast on to your metal trivet. That’s IT! Cover your Instant Pot, seal it, and cook on high pressure for 70 minutes.
Add Veggies
You will know when your Instant Pot Pork Roast is almost done because your house will smell like HEAVEN.
Quick-release the pressure from the Instant Pot and uncover. Immediately place potatoes, carrots, and onion into the Instant Pot. Just throw them right over the top of your pork roast and immediately recover your pot.
Cook on high for an additional 2 minutes. Quick release and carefully remove veggies and meat from the Instant Pot on to a baking sheet or serving bowl.
Thicken Sauce
Before sauce talk, I just have to say—> THIS SAUCE IS AMAZING. Make your sauce by turning on the saute feature and add balsamic vinegar to the wine sauce and sprinkle corn starch into the sauce.
Whisk sauce until corn starch is completely dissolved. Let the sauce cook for 3-4 minutes and stir periodically. The sauce should begin to bubble and thicken up. And THAT’S IT.
You can place meat and veggies back into your Instant Pot before you serve or you can pour your sauce over the pork roast and veggies and serve immediately. ENJOY.
Healthy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Carnitas
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs and Meal Prep Breakfast
- Instant Pot Korean Beef Bowl Recipe
- How to Make Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Review
- 101 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Pork Roast
Ingredients
Spice Rub
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1.5 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Sauce + Vegetables
- 2 lb. pork shoulder roast
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup dry red wine, cabernet or pinot noir
- 1 cup chicken broth, or any kind
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 large carrots, chopped into 1.5-inch chunks
- 2 large potatoes, chopped into chunks
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar*
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- First, mix together all dry rub spices in a bowl using a fork get rid of any lumps!
- Next, rub the spice mixture all over your pork roast with your hands. Be sure that every inch of the roast is covered. Set aside.
- Turn on the saute feature of your Instant Pot and add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. When olive is fragrant add onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from Instant Pot.
- Add the last two tablespoons of olive oil to the Instant Pot and add the pork roast and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side to brown the pork.*
- Remove pork from Instant Pot and deglaze your Instant Pot by pouring wine and broth into the bottom of the pot. Scrape all of the brown bits from the bottom the Instant Pot with a spatula. We do this to prevent the burn feature and for easier cleaning at the end.
- Then, add cooked onion and garlic, and fresh rosemary to the liquid and place metal Instant Pot trivet on top. Finally, place pork roast on top of the trivet and cover Instant Pot. Seal Instant Pot and set it to manual high pressure for 70 minutes.
- Quick release pressure and add carrots and potatoes to Instant Pot. Cover again and set Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 3 additional minutes.
- Quick release again and remove pork roast and veggies from the Instant Pot and place them in a large bowl. Throw rosemary sprigs away.
- Remove trivet and set aside. Add balsamic vinegar to the wine sauce. Mix well and then sprinkle on corn starch to the wine sauce.**
- Turn saute feature on and whisk mixture until the corn starch has dissolved. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens.
- Place veggies and pork roast back into the Instant Pot.
- Serve veggies and pork together and sauce on the top.
Tips & Notes
- If the ‘hot’ or ‘burn’ notice turns on during the searing of your pork roast, don’t panic. Continue searing! We will be deglazing the pan which will help cool the pot down.
- Balsamic vinegar: we prefer 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar because it gives the sauce a sweet and savory flavor. Feel free to start with 1/4 cup, taste it, and add from there.
- Make sure that when you sprinkle corn starch you evenly disperse over the sauce, rather than in one clump. Corn starch will clump if you do this!
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was frankly a disappointment. Too sweet, not enough flavor, and the pork was pretty dry. Quite a bit of effort, but I won’t be making it again.
Cooking time low for veggies, too much for pork. Cinnamon taste on meat was too foreign for most to even try.
I found you today on a Google search for pork roast in the IP and I was intrigued with your recipe, so we had this tonight for dinner. Fabulous!! So delicious and tender. My potatoes were the baby yukon golds and also some baby carrots; if I were to use them again I would cut the veggie cook time to 2 minutes as the carrots were just a tad more cooked than we like, but that’s NOT a criticism of your recipe. Also, my husband and I follow the WW program and I made some slight modifications to help this fit in our eating regimen. I cut the olive oil by half, using 1 TBSP for sautéing the onions and garlic and 1 TBSP to sear the roast, and I trimmed the outside of the roast of most of the visible fat. It was still completely unctuous! As to the comments about the gravy, I always find those “subjective” ingredients are where you spend your money; nothing beats a QUALITY balsamic over a cheap one. Thanks for sharing your recipe and I will be combing your blog for more delicious adventures.
Thank you for your thorough review!
Really enjoyed the flavours in this recipe. My blade roast was smaller at 1.3lbs so I reduced cooking time to 60 minutes. Also substituted brown sugar for “Swerve” sugar free alternative and added a little paprika and cayenne pepper to the rub and cut the rub ingredients in half to accommodate for the smaller roast. I reduced the balsamic as well to 1 Tbsp and added a variety of green beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, turnip and potato for veg and cooked for 6 minutes. The veg were a bit overdone (really just the beans and brussel sprouts) so next time I will reduce to 5 minutes. Also agree, mix cornstarch in water before adding to the gravy. Overall really enjoyed this meal and will make again!
Loved the flavor of the pork from the rub but the sauce was UGH! I didn’t put potatoes or carrots in and I’m glad I didn’t.
We tried and really liked this recipe tonight for dinner but, had to modify for a smaller, rib pork roast. We also substituted water for the broth. Very taste although meat was a little dry likely due to cooking for too long. Will adjust cooking time down next time.
Do you think this would work well with a beef roast??
Made this exactly as directed. It was delicious. Next time I would use only 2 tablespoons of balsamic. Veggies were perfect.
I hated the sweetness of it. Tossed the veggies in the trash, and mixed so9meb of meat with other food, so as to not toss a $9.00 roast in the trash.
I made this just as is and I have to say it was wonderful. Meat cooked perfectly and flavor was awesome. Love the instant pot!
Glad you loved it!