Instant Pot keto pulled pork with that same fall-apart tenderness it takes hours to build on the grill — 1.3g net carbs and 56.4g protein. A sugar-free dry rub and 80 minutes of pressure cooking do the work, and I cook it at least twice a month.
I started making this in the Instant Pot about three years ago, and I haven't gone back to the slow cooker since. The texture is identical, the flavor is the same, and the whole thing is done in under two hours instead of an entire afternoon. When I want that smoky, sweet, shreddable pork for dinner, this is how I do it.
The key is the dry rub. I use a brown sugar-free sweetener (I like golden monk fruit) mixed with paprika, salt, pepper, and onion powder. That sweetener caramelizes when you sear the pork, building a bark that tastes like it came off a smoker. I've tested this rub with erythritol, allulose, and golden monk fruit, and the monk fruit gives the closest thing to real brown sugar flavor without any aftertaste.
After the rub, I sear the pork on all sides right in the pot using the saute function. Some people skip this step, but I don't. The browning creates a deeper, more complex flavor in the finished meat, and it only adds about 8 minutes. Then I deglaze with chicken broth, add my favorite BBQ sauce, lock the lid, and let the pressure cooker do its thing for 80 minutes.
When the cook time is up, I let it natural release for 15 minutes before opening the lid. The pork practically falls apart. I pull it out, remove the bone, and shred it with two forks. No resistance at all. Then I toss the shredded meat back into the pot with all those juices and sauce. Every strand soaks up that smoky, tangy liquid, and that's when it goes from good to something you'll make again next week.
I serve this a few different ways depending on the night. Straight from the pot over cauliflower rice is my go-to weeknight move. For weekends, I pile it on low carb buns with coleslaw and pickles. My husband likes his with pickled jalapenos on top. My kids just eat it plain off a plate, which says a lot about how good this is on its own.
This is also one of my best recipes for meal prep. I make a full 5-pound shoulder on Sunday and we eat off it all week. It reheats well in the microwave (add a splash of broth to keep it moist) and freezes for up to 3 months without losing texture. I portion mine into freezer bags and thaw overnight in the fridge when I need a fast keto dinner.
If you love pork as much as I do, try my pork loin roast for a leaner cut, my air fryer pork chops for a 20-minute meal, or my creamy pork chops for something a little more indulgent. And if you like pressure cooking as much as I do, try my Swiss steak next.
Keto pulled pork in the Instant Pot
The secret here is the brown sugar-free sweetener in the dry rub. It caramelizes during the sear, giving you that sweet, smoky bark without the carbs. Bone-in pork shoulder, a simple spice rub, chicken broth, and your favorite barbecue sauce. That’s it. I love piling this on butter lettuce wraps or just eating it straight from the pot with a fork.
Benefits of cooking pulled pork in an instant pot
Whether you grill it, use the Instant Pot, or go the slow cooker route, the taste and tenderness are similar. The difference is time. In the pressure cooker, the pork cooks in 80 minutes instead of 3-5 hours, so you don’t have to plan half a day ahead when a craving hits. I’ve done both methods side by side, and my family can’t tell the difference.
The dry rub
The dry rub seals in flavor and builds a bark on the outside of the pork. I use salt, pepper, paprika, sugar-free brown sweetener, and onion powder. Adjust the ratios based on what you want to taste most. I like extra paprika for smokiness. If you prefer more heat, add a pinch of cayenne to the mix.
Sear the pork shoulder
Don’t skip the sear. Browning the pork on all sides caramelizes the fat and the sweetener in the rub, which builds a deeper, richer flavor in the finished meat. It takes a few extra minutes but makes a real difference. I sear for about 2 minutes per side until I get a golden crust on every edge.
Best cut of pork for pulled pork
Pork shoulder is the best cut here. It has the right fat-to-meat ratio for juicy, shreddable meat. Bone-in keeps things a bit moister, but boneless is easier to find and works just as well. I’ve used both plenty of times with the same cook time.
Pork butt is another solid option. It performs great under pressure, though I usually go with shoulder since it’s easier to find at most stores. A leaner cut like pork loin won’t shred the same way because it doesn’t have the fat and connective tissue.
BBQ sauce
For the best BBQ sauce, I make my own. It’s cheaper and I control the sugar. Apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, low carb ketchup, golden monk fruit, smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, and salt. I have it ready in under 10 minutes.
When I don’t want to make sauce from scratch, Lillie’s Q is my go-to. It tastes like real Southern BBQ, and it’s sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Primal Kitchen is another solid option I keep stocked. Bold, smoky flavor that works for keto, paleo, or anyone who wants a better barbecue sauce.
More recipes to try
If you liked this, here are a few more of my favorites:
In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, paprika, sugar free brown sugar, and onion powder together.
2
Pat dry
Take the pork shoulder out of its packaging and pat it dry with paper towels. This helps the seasoning stick.
3
Rub down
Apply dry rub to the pork shoulder.
4
Sear using sauté mode
Set your Instant Pot to Sauté. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into the Instant Pot. Brown the pork shoulder on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Take the pork shoulder out and set aside. Gently pour chicken broth into the Instant Pot to deglaze the pan. With a wooden spoon, scrape up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Add the barbecue sauce and mix well with the broth.
5
Pressure cook
Put the seared pork shoulder back into the Instant Pot. Close the lid and make sure the vent is closed. Pressure cook on high for 80 minutes with 15 minutes of natural release. Once it is cooked, remove from the Instant Pot and place in a casserole dish. Remove the bone. Shred using claws or two forks.
6
Sauce it
Return the shredded pork back to the Instant Pot and toss in the sauce to coat.
Nutrition
Calories
570
Fat
35.9g
Protein
56.4g
Total carbs
1.4g
Fiber
0.1g
Net carbs
1.3g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use boneless pork shoulder instead of bone-in?
I've made this with both, and honestly, the results are almost the same. Bone-in holds a tiny bit more moisture during the pressure cook, but boneless shreds just as easily and saves you the step of fishing out the bone at the end. I keep the cooking time at 80 minutes for either one. If you go with a leaner cut like pork loin, reduce the time to about 60 minutes, but know that loin won't shred the same way since it doesn't have the fat and connective tissue.
Can I make this in a slow cooker instead?
I've done it both ways. For the slow cooker, I still do the dry rub and the sear on the stovetop first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. The texture comes out the same. I just prefer the pressure cooker because I don't have to think about it all day.
Do I have to sear the pork first?
You don't have to, but I always do. Searing caramelizes the sweetener in the rub and builds a deeper flavor that you can't get from pressure alone. One of my readers pointed out that the Maillard reaction happens during pressure cooking too, which is true, but the direct contact with the hot pot creates a specific kind of crust I prefer. It takes about 8 extra minutes and I think it's worth it every time.
How do I reheat leftovers?
I reheat mine in the microwave with a splash of chicken broth over the top to keep it moist. Two minutes, stir, then another minute. The broth is key because the pork dries out fast without it. You can also reheat in a skillet over medium heat. I toss in a spoonful of BBQ sauce and stir until everything is warm and coated.
Can I freeze this and how long does it last?
I freeze this all the time. It keeps for up to 3 months in the freezer without losing much texture. I portion it into quart-size freezer bags, press out the air, and lay them flat so they stack. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat with a splash of broth. In the refrigerator, leftovers keep for about 4 days in an airtight container.
What can I use instead of sugar-free golden sweetener?
I've tested this with erythritol, allulose, and golden monk fruit. My favorite is the golden monk fruit because it caramelizes the closest to real brown sugar. Erythritol works but has a slight cooling effect some people notice. Allulose browns nicely too. Just match the amount 1:1 since most of these are similar in sweetness to sugar.
What sides pair well with this?
My go-to is coleslaw right on top of the pork. I also love it over cauliflower rice or wrapped in butter lettuce. For something heartier, I've served this alongside roasted broccoli with parmesan. Lettuce wraps are my favorite low carb swap for buns when I want to keep things light.
How do I make this spicier?
I add about half a teaspoon of cayenne to the dry rub when I want heat. You can also stir in a few diced jalapenos before the pressure cook, or just hit the finished pork with your favorite hot sauce at the table. My go-to is a chipotle hot sauce because the smokiness matches the rub.
I made this with half the sweetener the first time because I couldn’t picture it in a savory rub. Full dose from now on! It crusts up way BETTER than the jarred rub I’d used for years!
Amanda, that sweetener is what builds the bark, so I’m glad you went full dose the second time. It caramelizes during the sear, that’s where the crust comes from.
Not sure how many people hit the burn notice first time, but I did. It was the sear. After you brown the pork shoulder in sauté mode, there are stuck bits on the bottom that trigger it. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape before you seal the lid. Thirty seconds of work, and I’ve never seen it since.nnThe other thing I figured out around batch three: natural release 15 minutes before you quick-release the rest. The meat comes apart differently. 80 minutes does the pressure work, but that release window is where the texture actually finishes.
The natural release window is the part I can never write clearly in the recipe card. 80 minutes is the cook, but that 15-minute hold is where the texture actually finishes. I skipped it once just to test and the shred came out different.
A Tuesday-night pork shoulder competing with what my mother-in-law slow-cooks all day felt like wishful thinking. Eighty minutes in the Instant Pot. She visited last week, tasted it, asked if I’d used her dry rub recipe. I hadn’t.
Yuki, your mother-in-law asking if you used her rub is the best review this recipe has ever gotten! I’m still grinning at that. The bark you get from the sear is what fools people into thinking it sat on the grill all day.
Katie, weekly here too. I always pour some of that braising liquid over the top when I portion it out, then a splash of chicken broth when I reheat. Still good on day four.
Confession: two years of Instant Pot ownership and I’d only ever made soup. First time with a bone-in shoulder, first time using the sauté sear. I kept thinking I was burning the paprika rub instead of getting any crust. The 80 minutes felt like a guess, but the pork came off the bone so cleanly it was almost concerning. For anyone who’s made this more than once: does the sear hold through the pressure, or does it mostly soften back? Mine looked intact, for what that’s worth.
Softens back. The color holds but the texture is gone by the time the pork comes off the bone. I still do the sear because the sweetener caramelizes against the pan. Those flavors carry through the pressure cook even if the crust doesn’t.
I wasn’t sure bringing Instant Pot pulled pork to a cookout where my neighbor shows up with his whole smoker setup every time was a great idea, but I had a five-pound bone-in shoulder and a free Saturday so I just did it. The sear in the sauté mode gives it this crust that had two people convinced I’d started it before sunrise. Had to walk them through the 80-minute pressure cook thing twice before they believed me. I’ll take that. Four stars because I’m not ready to say it fully replaces a real low-and-slow on smoke depth, that’s just honesty, but the texture was exactly right and for what I needed that afternoon I wouldn’t change anything. Double batch next time.
Convincing people at a cookout with a smoker right there is a better test than any rating. I drop a splash of liquid smoke into the broth when I want more of that depth, maybe half a teaspoon. Hope the double batch behaves, Josh.
Cut the shoulder in half before rubbing. More surface area for the dry rub to work, and both halves sit flat in the pot so the sear covers the whole outside. Adds ten minutes but shows up in the bark.
Shredding it was almost meditative, the fibers just fell apart at 80 minutes. My husband, who barely comments on anything I make, asked if we could do this every Sunday. Rub could use a little more salt for us, but easy fix.
A husband who barely comments asking to put it on the weekly rotation is the best review a recipe can get. The 80-minute pull is what does that every time. On the salt, I go a little heavier when I know we’re eating it sauce-light. Add an extra half teaspoon to the rub before it goes on the pork. 5 pounds absorbs a lot, and if you’re skipping the bbq sauce or using less of it, you’ll feel that gap.
We’ve been keto about a year and I’ve had this pinned for months, but we’re cutting out nightshades for my husband so the dry rub has me stuck. Paprika is kind of running the show here. Is it mostly doing color/flavor work, or does it actually affect the bark when you sear on saute mode? I’ve made IP pulled pork before but always with a commercial rub, so I genuinely don’t know what each component is doing. Smoked cumin feels like the closest swap, and I’d probably lean heavier on the onion powder to compensate, but I don’t want to guess wrong on an 80-minute cook and end up with something flat. He can have the low-carb BBQ sauce fine, it’s just the rub stage where I have to work around the nightshade thing. Did you use smoked or sweet paprika? That changes what I’m actually trying to replace.
Sweet paprika in mine. The bark question is the real one: paprika’s doing color and a bit of background sweetness in this rub, not the crust. Bark forms when the sweetener caramelizes on saute mode, so you can skip it entirely and still get that exterior.
Your smoked cumin idea is right. Same 1/2 tablespoon, lean heavier on the onion powder like you planned. I’d throw in garlic powder too. Fills in where the paprika was doing flavor work. The 80-minute pressure time won’t change.
Seven batches in and skipping the reduce step is not an option. Pull the pork, hit sauté for five minutes, fold it back in. The flavor concentrates in a way bbq sauce alone never does.
The broth and rub drippings cook down into something that’s not just bbq sauce anymore. Five minutes max though, the sweetener in the rub starts to catch after that.
Tried four other Instant Pot pulled pork recipes before this one. The difference is the sear first, the dry rub actually forms a crust instead of just steaming off under pressure. 80 minutes and mine was falling apart before I even touched it with a fork. Replacing my old recipe.
My mom slow-cooked a shoulder every Sunday. Stopped expecting that feeling after going keto. The dry rub here and 80 minutes of pressure got me closer than I thought.
Sunday slow-cooked shoulder is hard to recreate. Bone-in matters. Collagen from that bone does something under pressure that boneless misses. I tested this probably thirty times before I stopped touching the rub. If you have time, let the dry rub sit on the meat overnight, not just an hour before. Not your mom’s Sunday, but I get it.
Made this Sunday for meal prep and I’m on day five with zero complaints. The shoulder shreds clean after 80 minutes and reheats better than anything else I’ve tried this week. Next batch I’m doing the full 5 pounds.
I’ve tried more Instant Pot pulled pork recipes than I’d like to admit, and I stuck with the same one for about a year. Didn’t expect the sugar-free golden sweetener (most recipes stop at paprika and salt), but that’s what made the bark. At 80 minutes the shoulder hit a fall-apart spot my usual recipe never quite reached. Four stars, and honestly I should’ve found this sooner.
Four batches in. Can’t get fall-apart pork shoulder that fast any other way. The sear before pressure cooking gives the dry rub this caramelized crust I didn’t expect the first time. Only note: I always end up doubling the bbq sauce at the end.
