• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Whole Smiths
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Recipes
    • Cooking Method
      • 5 Ingredients or Less
      • 30 Minutes or Less
      • Easy-to-Make
      • Instant Pot
      • Make Ahead, Keep on Hand
      • One Dish, Pan, Pot or Sheet Pan
      • Weekend Living
    • Dietary Guidelines
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • Grain-Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Meal Type
      • Breakfast + Brunch
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Soups, Stews, + Chilis Too
      • Vegetables, Sides + Salads
      • Smoothies + Beverages
      • Dessert
      • Snacks + Appetizers
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Good Food Cookbook
    • Real Food Every Day
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Meet Michelle
    • Food Philosophy
    • Michelle This Month
  • Resources
    • Discounts
    • Shop
    • Cooking Staples
    • Better Beauty
  • Contact
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
The Whole Smiths

The Whole Smiths

Whole Eating + Happy Living

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Recipes
    • Cooking Method
      • 5 Ingredients or Less
      • 30 Minutes or Less
      • Easy-to-Make
      • Instant Pot
      • Make Ahead, Keep on Hand
      • One Dish, Pan, Pot or Sheet Pan
      • Weekend Living
    • Dietary Guidelines
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • Grain-Free
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Whole30
    • Meal Type
      • Breakfast + Brunch
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Soups, Stews, + Chilis Too
      • Vegetables, Sides + Salads
      • Smoothies + Beverages
      • Dessert
      • Snacks + Appetizers
  • COOKBOOKS
    • Good Food Cookbook
    • Real Food Every Day
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Meet Michelle
    • Food Philosophy
    • Michelle This Month
  • Resources
    • Discounts
    • Shop
    • Cooking Staples
    • Better Beauty
  • Contact
    • Work with Me
    • Contact

Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week. If you’ve been looking for the perfect way to make tasty carnitas, this recipe is for you. 

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

Carnitas, carnitas, carnitas! You scream, I scream, we all scream for carnitas. No? That’s not how they saying goes? Well, it should because carnitas are bomb. What are carnitas? In short, carnitas are slowly cooked pork butt shoulder that is then crisped up. There are a ton of ways to make carnitas from the very traditional Mexcian method in a copper pot to this easy less-than-authentic (but amazing) tasty 3-ingredient Instant Pot version. There’s lots of options, lots of different ingredients to add for different flavors but here’s the thing, I want quick and I want it to be clean.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

This particular recipe is for the Instant Pot but you can make it using your slow cooker too. I don’t have a slow cooker and I didn’t test this recipe for that, however the recipe is so easy there’s pretty much no way that you can mess it up by using a slow cooker. Just know, you will need to slow cook it for a loooong time as you want to get that meat super tender, my suggestion would be for about 10 hours. If at the end of those 10 hours your pork isn’t falling apart then keep slow cooking my friend. Once you’ve gotten the pork to it’s desired doneness, you can go on with the rest of the recipe just as you would with the Instant Pot version.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

The cut of pork that you will want for this is a boneless pork butt shoulder aka Boston Butt. Typically it’s a large cut of meat but I break it down to a 6 – 7 pound, more manageable size. As well, it fits into my Instant Pot quite nicely. From there I typically take my 6 – 7 pound piece and cut into into 3 large pieces to help it fit even better into my IP. Theres no right or wrong way to do this, just into three chunks that can nestle into your IP easily.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

As far as time goes, the longer the better. This is a tough, large cut of meat and the longer it spends napping in your IP, the better it is for everyone. You want it falling apart as you try to pull it out of the Instant Pot. As far as letting your IP de-pressure on it’s own or to release the pressure that’s up to you. I like to let it naturally depressurize when I have the time but if I’m short on time I release that valve. I don’t know if it makes a difference but in my mind the longer that thing is in there, the better it’s gonna be. Check out the Instagram story that I uploaded detailing out exactly how to make these.

Once you’ve cooked your pork and it’s oh-so-tender, you can either store it and use it as pulled pork  in a variety of recipes or you can move onto step two and crisp up those bits of fat for some even tastier carnitas. I’m guessing since this is a carnitas recipe you’re going to want to go with that and lucky for you it’s super easy. You need a pan (preferable a cast iron) and a touch of your favorite cooking oil, I recommend extra-light tasting olive oil, avocado oil or even coconut oil. Heat the pan to medium high, add the oil to the pan, add the pork and let it sit. Don’t touch it yet! Let it sit there and get it’s ‘do on. I.e. crisp up.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

That’s it! Once you have your carnitas you can eat it in a variety of ways. So let’s go this, eh? 1. In a taco salad. 2. Over top a sweet potato with some guac and salsa, veggies on the side. 3. My Baja Shrimp Tacos (just swap the shrimp for carnitas) 4. My Pulled Pork + Bacon Hash 5. Added to some gluten-free ramen noodles with some cabbage, carrots, coconut aminos, sesame oil… oh wait. That recipe is still on the way, you’re going to have to wait for that.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.

Ok friends, go pull out that Instant Pot and get going on this one.

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week.
print recipe
5 from 2 votes

Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas

These Easy Instant Pot Whole30 Carnitas from the Whole Smiths are a breeze to make and perfect to make ahead to use in recipes throughout the week. Paleo and gluten-free. 
Prep Time2 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Total Time2 hrs 2 mins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Paleo Whole30
Servings: 6
Author: The Whole Smiths

Ingredients

  • 6-7   pound boneless pork butt shoulder
  • 2 tablespoons salt more for seasoning to taste later
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil such as extra-light tasting olive oil avocado oil or coconut oil

Instructions

  • Add the pork butt shoulder to your Instant Pot along with the 2 tablespoons of salt and fill the Instant Pot about 2/3 of the way up the pork with water.
  • Set your Instant Pot to the Meat / Stew setting on high pressure for 120 minutes and start.
  • Once the meat has finished in the Instant Pot, heat a medium sized cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the oil to the skillet. When the oil is hot add the carnitas and do not stir them for 3-4 minutes so that they can crisp up. Once they have crisped up, flip them to crisp the other side for 3-4 minutes. When the carnitas have reached their desired crispiness, salt to taste and serve.
did you make this recipe?Tag @thewholesmiths on Instagram
Whole30 Carnitas Pinterest Graphic
291 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Previous Post: « Finding Healthy in the Middle
Next Post: Date Night in with Green Chef »
Note: I only work with companies and products that I feel passionately about and that align with the Whole Smiths’ views and that this post contains sponsored content. While I am compensated for the work I do, my opinions and bad jokes are always 100% my own.

you might also like

  • a bowl of fluffy Instant Pot coconut rice topped with shredded coconut
    How to make Coconut Rice in an Instant Pot
  • overhead shot of a bowl of healthy Paleo Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Harissa
    Instant Pot Carrot Soup with Harissa
  • overhead shot of a bowl of short rib chili topped with crumbled cheese
    Instant Pot Short Rib Black Bean Chili
  • side view of a whole30 almond milk latte with milk froth on top
    Whole30 Latte
Real Food Every Day Book

available now

my new cookbook

  • 100 simple recipes designed to keep things easy in the kitchen
  • Health and wholesome, family-friendly recipes labeled for your dietary needs
  • Chapters such as 30-Minute Meals, 5-Ingrediends or Less and Meal Prepping

take a peek

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Jennifer D'Amico says

    May 2, 2018 at 10:57 pm

    I assume you fill the IP up with water?

    Reply
  2. Chantal says

    May 30, 2018 at 4:55 am

    These were literally a breeze! SO EASY AND YUMMY!

    Reply
  3. Jackie says

    October 8, 2018 at 2:23 am

    This is seriously delicious! I used my slow cooker and it still came out amazing! I brought some to my friend’s house and they couldn’t stop talking about how good this was!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

available now

my new cookbook

Real Food Every Day Booktake a peek

welcome!

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet, I’m Michelle and welcome to the Whole Smiths. These days I’m a mother to two smiley girls, a happy wife to one fantastic dude and we live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

don’t miss a recipe!

Keep your kitchen tasty with a new recipe delivered to your inbox each week as well as our latest cooking tips, event information and favorite food finds.

REAL FOOD FOR REAL PEOPLE.

don’t miss a recipe!

Keep your kitchen tasty with a new recipe delivered to your inbox each week as well as our latest cooking tips, event information and favorite food finds.

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
These Lemon Pepper + Parmesan Brussels with Caper These Lemon Pepper + Parmesan Brussels with Caper Aioli are one of the December recipes ready for you! Fancy enough for Christmas dinner, easy enough for a Wednesday evening. Bada bing, bada boom.Grab the recipe at the link in my profile. ✨
GF Egg Nog Sheet Pan PANCAKES! Sneak peek at jus GF Egg Nog Sheet Pan PANCAKES! Sneak peek at just one of the recipes coming to you next month.Can I suggest these may be *the* perfect Christmas morning breakfast? No flipping, no batches, no time at all! Not to mention, NO COLD PANCAKES WHILE YOU WAIT FOR THE OTHERS TO COOK! 😳Join us at the link in my profile to get the recipe.
#thankful 📸: @angelaspillerphotography 🤍 #thankful📸: @angelaspillerphotography 🤍
Regular sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving? BO-RING! Regular sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving? BO-RING!CHAI SPICED Sweet Potatoes?? Way cooler.Seriously, chai anything just sounds way cooler than plain anything. Not to mention obviously tastier too. Recipe on www.TheWholeSmiths.com, use the search bar to search “chai sweet potatoes”.
I love these guys so much. That’s it. That’s t I love these guys so much. That’s it. That’s the post. #sundaysnuggles
Obsessed. Let’s talk...🛌🥱 In early 2020 I Obsessed. Let’s talk...🛌🥱In early 2020 I polled my audience because we were on the hunt for a new mattress. You overwhelmingly recommended @avocadogreenbrands. And then we all got locked down and I put our mattress hunt on hold. I bought a cheapie mattress online instead since we couldn’t try things out and none of us had any clue what was happening. Big mistake. HUGE. It was the worst mattress ever. So earlier this year we decided it was time to get a PROPER GROWN UP MATTRESS and went with @avocadogreenbrands.I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about ordering online and not being able to “test” it in person. I’m here to tell you it’s one of the best things in my life. It is THE MOST comfortable mattress I have ever laid my pretty little face on. And Brad agrees.Not to mention is green and environmentally friendly.Legit, slipping into bed at night feels like a hug from heaven and I can’t even handle it. I told Brad that, God forbid, we ever divorce I’m taking the mattress with me. So, if you are on the hunt go with @avocadogreenbrands. We went with the Avocado Green mattress with pillow top. And I just looked and they’re having an early cyber/Black Friday Sale. Anyways. Obsessed and eagerly awaiting my next nap. ✌🏼
Gluten-Free Cranberry Bars Personally, one of my Gluten-Free Cranberry BarsPersonally, one of my fave desserts ever is pumpkin pie. I wish it was a year ‘round thing. BUT! If you aren’t pumpkin crazy, not into pies and need something DIFFERENT to bring to Thanksgiving this year, let it be this. Think a lemon bars more festive friend. In fact, it’s great for a Christmas too. It’s available now to my community a the link in my bio. ❤️

© 2023 · The Whole Smith · Privacy Policy · Website Design by Anchored Design