Super easy, super tasty! This simple 3-ingredient Instant Pot Kalua Pork recipe is a quick, no-prep recipe that is packed with flavor.
The Instant Pot is made for certain recipes like Kalua Pork. Among other things, it is great for cooking up tender meat and infusing a ton of flavor.
And if you’ve never had kalua pork before, you’ll be amazed at how much flavor gets packed into this meat with just three simple ingredients.
You’ll also love how easy it is to make! There’s virtually no prep time, and it’s such an easy, hands-off main dish.
How to make kalua pork in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot recipe don’t get much easier than this! Just rub the roast with liquid smoke and sprinkle with salt.
Pour the water around the roast and then cook. That’s it!
Tips
- Pork: Boneless pork roast or pork butt works well in this recipe. You don’t want a lean, quick-cooking cut like tenderloin for this recipe.
- Liquid smoke: You can use any type of liquid smoke that you like. Liquid smoke is a flavoring that’s usually found near the barbecue sauce in the grocery store.
- Salt: Hawaiian red salt, or Alaea salt, is the best choice for this recipe. If you can’t find that, coarse kosher salt or sea salt will also work. Please don’t use table salt in the recipe. It will be too salty.
What to serve with kalua pork
This dish obviously isn’t traditional, but if you want to go more traditional with the sides, you can serve it with poi, sweet potato, or cabbage.
Many restaurants serve kalua pork with rice and macaroni salad.
Storage
Store any leftover kalua pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The pork will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
More Instant pot pork recipes!
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Instant Pot Kalua Pork
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt cut into two pieces
- 1/2 cup water
- 1-2 tablespoons liquid smoke to taste
- 2 teaspoons coarse Kosher salt or coarse Hawaiian salt
Instructions
- Rub the pork roast with liquid smoke and then sprinkle with salt.
- Place in Instant Pot inner pot.
- Pour the water around the roast.
- Close and lock the lid.
- Move the pressure release valve to SEALING.
- Select MANUAL and adjust pressure to HIGH and time to 90 minutes.
- When the cooking is finished, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes.
- Turn the pressure release valve to VENTING to release any remaining pressure.
- Shred the pork with two forks and toss in the juices.
- Season with additional salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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Did You Make This?
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This looks great. I purchased the smallest size pork butt and it is 7.86 pounds. Do I double the instant pot cooking time from 90 to 180?
Thank you! For a larger pork butt, I would recommend cutting it into large pieces, if possible, before cooking. It’s difficult to give an exact time with a piece of meat that large because the thicker the piece of meat, the longer it takes to cook through.