I’ve been having fun adapting recipes for the Instant Pot (click here to get all of my Instant Pot recipes)! Things just come out so wonderfully in it- meats are so tender, and sauces are so rich. Today I’m sharing a brand new Instant Pot recipe: an Instant Pot version of Tacos al Pastor. While traditional al pastor meat is cooked on a spit, this flavorful variation is made using your Instant Pot or multi-cooker pressure cooker after marinating. The result is a fall-apart tender, flavor-infused pork taco that your family will request again and again. This Instant Pot recipe serves 12, so it is a great taco bar recipe for a party or when entertaining guests.
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If you’re looking for more recipe ideas for the Instant Pot, check out this post with my favorite, delicious, tried-and-true Instant Pot recipes, and stay tuned for more brand new Fab Everyday Instant Pot recipes!
I developed this recipe as part of the Allrecipes Allstars Tastemakers program. Rate, review, and photograph my recipe for Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor on Allrecipes here, and see the full recipe along with some of my cooking tips below. Jump to Recipe.
How to make Instant Pot al pastor
You do need to think ahead when planning to make this, since the meat needs to marinade between eight and 24 hours before cooking. To make the marinade you combine pineapple juice, vinegar, fresh orange and lime juices, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and sazon seasoning in a blender and puree until smooth.
Place the pork butt (three pounds’-worth cut into two-inch cubes) in a large lidded container, then cover the chunks of meat completely with the marinade sauce. Seal the container and marinate overnight.
When you pull it out to cook you’ll notice that the marinade thickens slightly while doing its magic, and the pork chunks soak in this lovely red color.
To cook, you start by using the Sauté function on your Instant Pot or multi-functional pressure cooker. Heat some vegetable oil, add the chunks of marinated pork and brown them on all sides, reserving the extra sauce. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your Instant Pot. After browning, you turn off the Sauté mode and pour the reserved sauce over the pork. Close and lock the lid, then cook on high pressure for 35 minutes (allowing 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build before the cook time starts).
After pressure cooking, remove the pork chunks from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon, and place them on the baking sheet lined with foil, reserving the sauce in the Instant Pot for now. Use forks to coarsely shred the pork, removing and discarding any excess fatty chunks. Spread the meat out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Add canned pineapple chunks to the baking sheet with the meat, then place the baking sheet under a pre-heated broiler. Broil until the tips of the meat and pineapple are beginning to get a little brown and crispy, then remove the baking sheet from the oven. This will give the taco meat more of that texture you’d get from roasting the meat on a spit instead of this Instant Pot tacos al pastor method.
Use a spoon to drizzle some of the reserved sauce from the Instant Pot over the meat to moisten it and add some more of the marinade flavor.
Here’s a closer look to keep your salivary glands working…
You can either assemble the tacos yourself and serve them, or have the meat and pineapples out in a serving dish alongside the rest of the taco fixings if you are doing this as a build-your-own taco bar. I serve the pork and pineapple chunks on flour tortillas with chopped red onion, pico de gallo salsa, avocado (optional), and cilantro (optional). You can also garnish them with lime wedges.
Pin this one for your next party or dinner party, or heck, just make it for your family and save the leftovers for breakfast tacos and more tacos for lunch the next day. Here’s the recipe!
Servings |
servings
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- 3 pounds pork butt cut into 2-inch cubes
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 orange juiced
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 packet (from a 1.4 oz. box) Sazon with achiote seasoning
- vegetable oil
- 20 oz. can pineapple chunks drained
- 12 10" flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- pico de gallo salsa
- 1 avocado diced, optional
- chopped cilantro optional
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Ingredients
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- Place pork in a large lidded container. Combine pineapple juice, vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and sazon in a blender; blend until smooth. Pour sauce over the pork and make sure all chunks of meat are covered. Seal the container and marinate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot) and select Sauté function. Add vegetable oil and heat until hot. Add chunks of marinated pork and brown on all sides, reserving extra sauce, about 5 minutes. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your Instant Pot. Turn off Sauté mode and pour reserved sauce over the pork. Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 35 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
- Release pressure first using the natural-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure using the manufacturer's quick release method, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid.
- Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Remove the pork chunks from the pot using tongs or a slotted spoon, and place them on the baking sheet. Reserve the sauce in the Instant Pot for now.
- Use forks to coarsely shred the pork, removing and discarding any excess fatty chunks. Spread meat out evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Add pineapple chunks to the baking sheet with the meat, then place the baking sheet under the broiler. Broil until the tips of the meat and pineapple are beginning to get a little brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the reserved sauce from the Instant Pot over the meat to moisten it and add some more of the marinade flavor.
- Create tacos by portioning the pork and pineapple chunks on flour tortillas. Add chopped red onion, pico de gallo salsa, avocado, and cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges.
Monica says
These came out SO good I almost contemplated leaving my day job and selling tacos out of my trunk for a living. Seriously delicious. Thank you!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you so much, that is great to hear! I’ve got a new one coming to the blog soon that you’ll love: Instant Pot pork chile verde (also great for tacos!).
Ashley says
I have a question about the sazon seasoning. The box I bought is 1.4 oz with 4 packets inside. For this recipe am I using all 4 packets? In your video it doesn’t look like you used that much.
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Just one packet (not the whole box of 8 packets). I will adjust the recipe so it’s clearer that its one packet from a 1.4 ounce box.
Sue says
I always forget to review on your blog. In May 2020, on AR, I wrote:
Perfect recipe for the home cook to make al pastor! The flavor profile was spot on to us and took us back to Mexico, where our obsession with al pastor began. I made the recipe as written with minor substitutes and cook time adjustment due to the amount of meat I had. The only substitutes I made were using canned Chipotle sauce as the Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce were out of stock (used 3 tbsp sauce and probably should have added another 1-2 tbsp), and corn tortillas as that’s our preference. I had about 4.5lb pork butt and cooked for 45 min with 15-20 min natural pressure release. Since I made this the night before, I saved the juices in the pot in another container to reheat the meat in the oven so it wouldn’t dry out. This recipe is the only one I will make going forward for al pastor. Thank you for the recipe!
Ramona Cruz-Peters says
Thank you for taking the time to share your review and recommendation! I’m glad you found the flavor profile spot on!