Instant Pot Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Our easy Instant Pot Hawaiian pulled pork recipe is perfect to make sliders. Kalua pork is like our Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken but with a pork loin cooked in a sweet and savory sauce. You can make in a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker too.

If you have kids at home and looking for a new meal idea, this Hawaiian shredded pork recipe is perfect! I mean we have made hundreds of family friendly Instant Pot recipes over the years but one where everyone wants seconds is the key to success and this is just that. 😉

This Instant Pot dinner is something I can whip together fast. High in protein with a whop of great flavors, everyone will love this one for sure. You can serve these wrapped up inside lettuce leaves as a wrap or inside little buns. Hawaiian rolls specifically work the best.

Ninja Foodi Hawaiian Pulled Pork

No worries if you don’t have the IP brand. You can use a Crockpot Express or make this as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe like we did with our Ninja Foodi pulled pork. We made this one with just a jar of bbq sauce to make it extra easy. Any and all electric pressure cooker will work with the high pressure function.

Best Pork to Make Hawaiian Pork

There are a few cuts you can use but by far my favorite would be this boneless Smithfield Pork Loin; it’s great for making pulled pork! You want something with a bit of fat and the bone removed so you can cut it into 4 equal pieces in order to break down quickly. Ours was about 3.5 lbs. in size and feed all 5 of us.

Sauce Ingredients

To add the island flavors you want to include Pineapple tidbits & some pineapple juice out of the can as well. Soy sauce will make the sauce savory as well as Apple cider vinegar gives it a pop. Ketchup is part of the homemade sauce too and Tomato paste will make it a bit thicker.

Do you need to brown the meat?

Yes, you want to cut your larger piece of Kalua pig / pork roast into 4 equal smaller pieces and rub seasoning all over each one. (1 piece is missing from photo because it didn’t fit at the same time). Brown pieces with olive oil, lightly sear all sides and then deglaze.

What does deglaze Instant Pot mean?

Deglazing when cooking means to scrape all little pieces of meat off the bottom of your pot. It is best to use a wooden spatula to do this so you don’t scratch the insides. You should use a bit of broth or water to loosen the food and remove entirely before continuing to cook.

How Long to Cook Hawaiian Pork in Instant Pot

Once your meat is browned and sauce is poured in you will lock the lid and steam valve. Set to pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Mix ingredients for your Hawaiian Kalua sauce in a small bowl so it’s ready once your meat is fork tender.

When your pot beeps do a quick pressure release and smell the wonder already…and it’s not even done yet! Shred your OH SO TENDER pork with two forks (I usually do this in a separate bowl).

Drain your pot into a strainer keeping the tender onions, return those to your pot. Put your meat back in with pineapple tidbits and the sauce. Gently mix and put lid back on for about 15 minutes to soak up. Serve on top of rice or use our easy roll recipe topped with Hawaiian cole slaw and enjoy!!

Is Hawaiian pulled pork and kalua pork the same?

Kalua is in fact a traditional Hawaiian dish served at luaus or special occasions but it actually refers to the cooking method, meaning “to cook in an underground oven” (an imu) with a whole pig is seasoned with Hawaiian sea salt. Traditionally it is wrapped in banana leaves slow-cooked which gives it a unique, smoky flavor.

The pork keeps well for hours in your Instant Pot and is awesome if you’re having a party and want to keep it for grazing throughout the afternoon.

If you want to warm it back up just set your machine to sauté again and use tongs to gently move around until it’s all warmed again and then turn off again. Leaving the top on will keep it nice and warm too. Then make pressure cooker Hawaiian pulled pork sliders for everyone to enjoy.

This is what you’re going to need to get started on this. If you wanted to add a bit of heat you could easily use a bit of Sriracha and/or red pepper flakes.

What can I make with pulled pork besides sandwiches?

Well that is our go to as you can see below with these sliders. They can be a hearty appetizer or main dish. We have served it over rice too though. Other options would be to put it on top of a salad, inside a lettuce wrap, inside an Instant Pot casserole, or inside 5 ingredient chili instead of ground beef.

Other easy pressure cooker pork recipes you’ll love

We hope you love our dinner creation, if you’re looking for other easy pressure cooker recipes here are a few: Instant Pot tacos with beef or Instant Pot pork tacos are the bomb.

This easy Instant Pot pork tenderloin is great too. Our tender Instant Pot pork shoulder has a more savory sea salt sauce rather than sweet like this one. Next you’ve gotta try this Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken! It is so amazing. Jump to recipe and get started.

If you want to make pulled pork in your Crockpot Express, the directions will remain the same other than some buttons say brown instead of saute. We’ve made a slow cooker pork shoulder version too. Print recipe below.