Instant Pot Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

I took our favorite slow cooker Cafe Rio sweet pork and turned it into an equally scrumptious Instant Pot Cafe Rio sweet pork recipe. Remeber to top off those tacos with creamy cilantro dressing!

I've had my Instant Pot pressure cooker for about seven months and I've used it only three times. Crazy, right?

It has a bit of a learning curve, which can be slightly intimidating. But when you see all the crazy delicious pressure cooker desserts you can make in an Instant Pot, it's hard to believe I'm not cracking it open a few times a week!

So far I've made these root beer pulled pork sandwiches and this honey sesame chicken—perfect recipes for pressure cooker beginners.

Most people would try a few more newbie recipes before taking on the challenge of converting a favorite slow cooker Cafe Rio sweet pork into Instant Pot Cafe Rio sweet pork.

I'm not most people.

Thanks to a little help (and hand holding) from my friend Barbara, the wonder woman behind Pressure Cooking Today, I had a successful Instant Pot Cafe Rio sweet pork experience.

A recipe that usually takes over six hours was ready in less than two. It's nothing short of a Mexican miracle.

The best part about making this Instant Pot sweet pork in your pressure cooker is being able to saute the onion and garlic in the same pot in which you cook the roast. If you make it in the slow cooker, you do all that in a skillet, making for one more pan to clean.

I hate one more pan to clean.

When you make this pressure cooker sweet pork recipe, whipe up a batch if Instant Pot Mexican rice and remember the creamy cilantro dressing. For reals.

It's like crack and tastes good atop more than shredded pork tacos. I'm talking quesadillas, salad, nachos, rice bowls, burritos and probably quite a few non-Mexican dishes as well.

Speaking of crack, one of my most favorite pressure cooker recipes is this easy Instant Pot mac and cheese. My kids absolutely LOVE it and I can't get enough of those toasted bread crumbs!

Printable recipe for Instant Pot Cafe Rio sweet pork below. Enjoy!

Continue to Content

Instant Pot Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

I took our favorite slow cooker Cafe Rio pork and converted it into an equally scrumptious Instant Pot Cafe Rio pork. Don't forget the creamy cilantro dressing!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 (3-lb) pork roast cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat Instant Pot using the saute setting. Add onion, garlic and butter to the pot and saute until onion is softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Add pork roast and ¾ cup water to pressure cooking pot. Stir to evenly distribute onion mixture. Pressure cook on high 25 minutes. Turn off pressure cooker when timer beeps and let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid once valve drops.
3. Pour the roast into a colander to drain juices; reserve ½ cup of liquid.
4. Shred pork and return to pressure cooker. Add soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, pepper and ½ cup reserved liquid.
5. Pressure cook on high 10 minutes. Turn off pressure cooker when timer beeps and let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid once valve drops.
6. Serve on warm tortillas with your favorite taco toppings. Don't forget the creamy cilantro dressing!

Notes

FOLLOW HALF-SCRATCHED ON INSTAGRAM (@half_scratched) and share the recipes you're whipping up in the kitchen. Don't forget the #HALFSCRATCHED hashtag so we can see what you've made!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 244Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 539mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 0gSugar: 42gProtein: 4g

If you don't own an Instant Pot, these pressure cooker dessert recipes will probably convince you to buy one ASAP (if not sooner).