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These are hands-down the BEST carnitas I’ve ever had. They’re impossibly tender and moist, and they’re crazy easy and quick to make in the Instant Pot. Perfect for entertaining, picnics, and meal prep, these Instant Pot carnitas are kind of life changing!
These pressure cooker carnitas are the perfect dinner in the summer. They require so little effort and are made easy in the Instant Pot. Translation: no heating up the house and more time spent outside. Carnitas are versatile and keep well, perfect with salsas over lettuce, over cauliflower rice, in tacos, or on nachos. Even better, these carnitas are keto, paleo, Whole30-compliant, and low carb.
These carnitas are tender, juicy, and full of flavor; they’re made with economical pork tenderloin and produce a bunch. The recipe is ridiculously easy, too. The cinnamon and orange juice is heady and just right. I rubbed the whole tenderloin with a rich, smoky spice mix, covered it with aromatics and fresh citrus juices. 15 minutes later? Carnitas perfection.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
Pork tenderloin – A lean cut of meat that is tender, juicy, and affordable.
Onion – Aromatic and lightly sweet when cooked, onions pair perfectly with the saltiness of the pork.
Garlic cloves – One of my favorite seasonings that helps give the carnitas the perfect flavor.
Cinnamon stick – The strong, sweet, and warm flavor with a bit woodiness helps give the juices the pork is cooked in a little kick.
Orange and lime juice – Fresh citrus juice as the base of the cooking juices makes the pork tenderloin extra zesty.
How To Make Instant Pot Carnitas
Mix all the rub ingredients together except the pork.
Rub onto the pork tenderloin.
Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté mode and add a drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil to coat the bottom of the pot.
Add rubbed pork tenderloin and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
Add all the carnitas cooking juice ingredients to the Instant Pot over the browned pork.
Secure lid and cook on Manual at high pressure for 15 minutes. Quick release, remove the pork and shred with a fork, potato masher, or a hand-held mixer on low..
Preheat your broiler.
Place the carnitas you plan on serving on a parchment-lined baking sheet and ladle a bit of the cooking juice over them.
Broil for 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn, and stir if needed. Serve and enjoy!
Top Tips For Making
- After rubbing the rub onto the pork tenderloin, if you have time, let it sit and dry marinade for up to two hours. I highly recommend it to let the seasonings soak in.
- Don’t ladle too much sauce in the broiling pan or the carnitas won’t crisp up! The secret to crispy carnitas is making sure to broil them long enough.
- If you aren’t cooking all of the carnitas at once, keep the pork with the juices in an airtight container in the fridge one week. Before serving each time, follow the broiling instructions.
- Don’t have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker? This is one I have, and I highly recommend it!
More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken & Rice
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Dal
Instant Pot Carnitas
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless pork tenderloin , excess fat trimmed, cubed
Rub
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil plus more for browning
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Cooking Juice
- 1 onion , peeled, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Mix all rub ingredients together, minus pork tenderloin, and rub onto pork tenderloin. You can let this sit and dry marinade for up to two hours; if you have the time, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, continue on with the directions.
- Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté mode and add a drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add rubbed pork tenderloin and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides.
- Add all cooking juice ingredients to the Instant Pot over the browned pork. Secure lid and cook on Manual at high pressure for 15 minutes. Quick release, remove the pork and shred (or use a potato masher to shred).
- Preheat your broiler. Place amount of carnitas to be served on a parchment-lined baking sheet and ladle with a bit of cooking juice. Broil 5 minutes, watching so as not to burn. Serve.
- Dry marinade: After rubbing the rub onto the pork tenderloin, if you have time, let it sit and dry marinade for up to two hours. I highly recommend it to let the seasonings soak in.
- Broiling tips: Don’t ladle too much sauce in the broiling pan or the carnitas won’t crisp up! The secret to crispy carnitas is making sure to broil them long enough.
- Leftover carnitas: If you aren’t cooking all of the carnitas at once, keep the pork with the juices in an airtight container in the fridge one week. Before serving each time, follow the broiling instructions.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Love this recipe!! This time I want to double the meat. I will double all other ingredients as well. What do you recommend for cook time?
Hi, Jess! As long as your Instant Pot is large enough to double the recipe without overfilling, you don’t need to do anything differently. It’ll take a little longer to pressurize, but the cook time will stay the same. Hope this helps! 😊
I used 2 pork tenderloins weighing about 1.25lb each. Using Corrine’s comment as an extra guide I went with 20 minutes after browning on all sides.
We had the time to let it sit on keep warm mode so after shredding, where it wasn’t quite fall apart but not too tough, I let it sit in the juices. I did add an extra 1/4 cup of oj.
It then broiled to perfection and was great in a plain tortilla with a little raw onion.
I finally have another use for pork tenderloin, which is often on a ‘can’t pass it up’ deal at the store.
Fantastic recipe. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing, Steve! So glad you enjoyed it!
I have a 1 1/4 pound tenderloin. Should I reduce the amount of liquid and a a minute of cooking time? Thanks.
Hi, Beth! Yes, reducing the cook time by a minute or two should be perfect. I’d only reduce the liquid slightly- better to err on the side of caution keeping the meat moist while cooking to keep the meat from burning or getting too dry! Hope this helps. 😊
I am beyond disappointed at the outcome after following instructions exactly. After 16minutes of cooking, the pork is tough and won’t shred. I used 2.25lbs of pork tenderloin. Any suggestions?
I’m so sorry that was your result, Corinne! I’m happy to help try and troubleshoot, though!
Did you set your Instant Pot to a 16-minute cook time? After browning the pork, it should only need 15 minutes on Manual High Pressure, so that extra minute could have overcooked the lean tenderloin just enough.
If you used 2.25 pounds of pork instead of 2, there may not have been enough liquid to keep it tender. Did you increase the amounts for the ingredients in the “cooking juice” to keep them consistent with the amount of pork you were cooking?
You also want to double check that the vent on your Instant Pot was in the sealing position, and that the inner seal of the lid isn’t worn out or in the wrong position. If the lid’s not getting a perfect seal, it’ll let some of that moisture escape which can dry out the food.
I hope that helps! Let us know if you give the recipe another try!
I served it for a buffet in a crock pot – didn’t broil it – it was still amazing with verde salsa! Thank you!
Thrilled to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
could i simply add in 1 cup of water to sub for the onion?
We haven’t tested this swap, but let us know how it turns out if you do! You could also just simply omit the onions.