This simple and Whole30-friendly weeknight Instant Pot Magic Pork has a high flavor to effort ratio! You can make it ahead and freeze the leftovers for future taco nights, stir-fries, omelets, or hearty soups!
It’s no secret that I love simple, umami-packed, fork-tender pork recipes that are ready in a jiffy when pressure cooked in an Instant Pot. Some of my favorites include my Instant Pot Kalua Pig, Instant Pot Carnitas, and Instant Pot Spicy Pineapple Pork—but one can never have enough, right? So if you’re hankering for another porktastic dish that’s perfect for weeknight suppers, I’ve got just the thing: my easy peasy Whole30-friendly Instant Pot Magic Pork!
This dish will amaze you with its high flavor to effort ratio. Why? Because it utilizes my Magic Mushroom Powder, which you can make yourself or purchase at your neighborhood Whole Foods Market store. Magic Mushroom Powder is my go-to seasoning blend when I need to turn a basic protein or vegetable into a company-worthy dish—with zero heavy lifting required. In addition to Magic Mushroom Powder, this Instant Pot Magic Pork uses stuff I already have in my fridge and pantry. Best of all, it’s dang delicious.
Bonus: This pork is fantastic for leftover makeovers! It’ll keep in the fridge for up to four days and in your freezer for several months. I like to fry it crispy before adding it to tacos, salads, stir-fries, cauliflower fried rice, egg muffins, and frittatas. You can even use the leftover cooking liquid as a soup base—simply take off the fat cap after you chill it, dilute with more broth or water, and add your favorite veggies and leftover Instant Pot Magic Pork!
Time to make Instant Pot Magic Pork!
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1½-inch cubes
- 2½ teaspoons Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt + one of the optional umami boosters listed below
- 1 tablespoon ghee, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or cooking fat of choice
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- ½ cup orange juice (you can also use pineapple juice, apple juice, applesauce, chicken broth, or water)
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms and/or Red Boat fish sauce (optional umami boosters)
Equipment:
Method:
Cut up the pork shoulder…
…and toss the cubed pork shoulder with Magic Mushroom Powder. No MMP? Just use the same amount of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half the amount of Morton’s kosher salt or a fine grain salt).
Grab your Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function. When the metal insert is hot, add ghee or your preferred cooking fat. Toss in the sliced onions.
Stir fry until the onions are no longer crunchy (about 2-3 minutes). Dump in the smashed garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Pour in the orange juice and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add the seasoned pork to the Instant Pot and stir to mix well. (If you aren’t using MMP and want to amp up the umami, you can toss in a couple of dried mushrooms or add a few shakes of Red Boat Fish Sauce. Even if you are using MMP, these additions will make your stew AMAZING!)
Lock the lid and cancel the sauté function.
Program your Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 35 minutes. When the pork is finished cooking, wait for the pressure to release naturally. Check that the pork is fork tender and adjust seasoning if necessary with extra Magic Mushroom Powder or salt. Ladle it up…
…and shred it up with a couple forks.
Dig in and thank yourself for tasty leftovers!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot Magic Pork (Whole30, Keto, Paleo)
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds pork shoulder cut into 1½-inch cubes
- 2 ½ teaspoons Magic Mushroom Powder or Diamond Crystal kosher salt + one of the optional umami boosters listed below
- 1 tablespoon ghee extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or cooking fat of choice
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- ½ cup orange juice you can also use pineapple juice or chicken broth
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms and/or Red Boat fish sauce optional umami boosters
Instructions
- Cut up the pork shoulder and toss the cubed pork shoulder with Magic Mushroom Powder. No MMP? Just use the same amount of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half the amount of Morton’s kosher salt or a fine grain salt).
- Grab your Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function. When the metal insert is hot, add ghee or your preferred cooking fat. Toss in the sliced onions.
- Stir fry until the onions are no longer crunchy (about 2-3 minutes). Dump in the smashed garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the orange juice and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the seasoned pork to the Instant Pot and stir to mix well. (If you aren’t using MMP and want to amp up the umami, you can toss in a couple of dried mushrooms or add a few shakes of Red Boat Fish Sauce. Even if you areusing MMP, these additions will make your stew AMAZING!)
- Lock the lid and cancel the sauté function. Program your Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 35 minutes. When the pork is finished cooking, wait for the pressure to release naturally.
- Check that the pork is fork tender and adjust seasoning if necessary with extra Magic Mushroom Powder or salt. Ladle it up and shred it up with a couple forks. Dig in and thank yourself for tasty leftovers!
Video
Notes
- You can cook this dish in the slow cooker! Cook the onions and garlic in a pan and deglaze with the orange juice before transferring the alliums to a slow cooker. Add the seasoned pork to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
- This pork is fantastic for leftover makeovers! It’ll keep in the fridge for up to four days and in your freezer for several months. I like to fry it crispy before adding it to tacos, salads, stir-fries, cauliflower fried rice, egg muffins, and frittatas. You can even use the leftover cooking liquid as a soup base—simply take off the fat cap after you chill it, dilute with more broth or water, and add your favorite veggies and leftover Instant Pot Magic Pork!
- Not a fan of pork? You can make this recipe with chuck roast and keep everything else the same! If you opt to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, only cook the stew for 15 minutes under high pressure.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this on Sunday as meal prep for the week and it is SO GOOD! We had tacos with it, and a big batch of green chili stew using the meat and broth, which turned out amazing with the help of this yummy pork! After all that there was still enough to freeze for a couple of lunches next week. Thank you!
This is amazing and quickly becoming a staple in our house! One question, how many ounces in a serving that equals 641 kcals? I entered the recipe into Carb Manager and it is showing about 1150 kcals for 8 ounces! (Which I think is awesome since I am trying to gain weight :). Would love to see serving sizes in your recipes.
Hello again! I re-calculated this recipe using the Nutrition Coordinating Center Database and came to 643 kcal per 275g serving! Your calorie count is spot on… I would still love to see serving sizes and I hope this info helps others! Thanks!
Leftovers? What leftovers?
Phenomenally delicious and easy. Even with water! (I had no orange juice.)
Even with chicken! (No pork either.) Even with dried portabellas (ran out of shiitake.) Even with frozen cubes of crushed garlic and frozen sautéed onion. Simply can’t go wrong. Thanks again Michelle. Can’t wait to try it with pork.
This is one of my go – to’s for quick pork during the week! Last week, and again tonight, I did a Mississippi roast twist on this recipe! I used my homemade ranch herb blend, chicken broth instead of the packaged au jus. I did use a stick of butter like the roast recipe said. When the meat is done, I take it out and cook either pasta or baby potatoes (for those in my family who eat carbs) and that turns out amazing!