• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Flavor Mosaic logo

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Creative Recipes
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Main Dishes
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
      • Vegetarian
      • Dinner in Under 30 Minutes
      • Slow Cooker
    • Desserts
    • Appetizers
    • Side Dishes
      • Grains
      • Legumes
      • Pasta
      • Potatoes
      • Vegetables
    • Soups / Salads
      • Green Salads
      • Pasta Salads
      • Potato Salads
      • Soup
    • Cuisine
      • American
      • Asian
      • Cajun
      • French
      • German
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican Recipes
    • Seasonal Recipes
      • Christmas
      • Cinco De Mayo
      • Easter Recipes
      • Fall Recipes
      • Game Day
      • Halloween
      • Holiday Baking
      • Holiday Leftover Recipes
      • July 4th
      • Mardi Gras
      • New Years
      • St Patrick’s Day
      • Summer
      • Thanksgiving
      • Thanksgiving Desserts
      • Thanksgiving Sides
      • Winter Recipes
    • Seasoning Mixes
  • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Instant Pot Beef Recipes
    • Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
    • Instant Pot Soups
  • Southern Recipes
  • Tex-Mex Recipes

Home » Creative Recipes » Main Dishes » Pork » Instant Pot Pulled Pork (Dr Pepper BBQ)

Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper

Instant Pot Pulled Pork (Dr Pepper BBQ)

BY: Michele
PUBLISHED: Feb 3, 2019
UPDATED: Jun 8, 2021
5 Reviews / 4.2 Average
Jump to Recipe
Pin SaveSaved!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is sweet and tangy and makes awesome pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for game day or a barbecue.

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is sweet and tangy and makes awesome pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for game day or a barbecue.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is the latest of my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out my other Instant Pot Recipes, such as the Beef Stew, Chili, or Chicken and Dumplings.

I love my Instant Pot pressure cooker because it cooks everything so quickly, and it turns out delicious. I love that you can saute onions in the Instant Pot and then add all the ingredients and let the pressure cooker do its magic! It is truly a one-pot meal.

This pulled pork is so versatile that it can be used in many recipes. It is one of my favorite foods in which to use for leftovers, except they will be so good that no one will realize that they are leftovers.

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is sweet and tangy and makes awesome pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for game day or a barbecue.

How To Make Instant Pot Pulled Pork?

Start with a good quality pork shoulder roast and cut it into 4 large, roughly equal pieces. This will allow it to cook more evenly in the Instant Pot.

4 pieces of raw pork roast on cutting for Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

How To Make The Pulled Pork Rub

This adds so much flavor to the pulled pork and bbq sauce. You must not skip this step. It will be so worth it and you will be very glad you did.

Be sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this pot for the specific instructions and exact ingredient amounts.

To Make the Pulled Pork Rub, you will need the following ingredients:  brown sugar, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin, dried mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano.

Plate with Seasoning for Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper

In a small bowl, stir all the ingredients together. At this point, you can either use now or store in an airtight container to use in the future.

Bowl of seasoning mix or pork rub for Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper

Rub the Pulled Pork Seasoning all over the pieces of pork. Make the Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce next.

How To Make Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

This is a short-cut version of the Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce that starts with your favorite store-bought barbecue sauce. 

In a bowl, pour a bottle of barbecue sauce, 16-ounces of Dr Pepper, and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. That’s it! Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the ingredient amounts in the recipe card.

How To Pressure Cook Pulled Pork

The next 4 major steps of how to cook the Pulled Pork are shown in the image below. 

Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce Step by Step Instructions

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot (plug it in) and press the “SAUTE” setting. Add oil. Once hot, add the seasoned pork pieces and brown on all sides. You may have to do this in batches.
  2. Place the extra pieces of browned pork in a baking dish while you brown other pieces.
  3. Once all the pieces are browned, add them back into the Instant Pot and cover with all but 1 cup of the Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce. 
  4. Close and lock the lid. Move the seal to the “Sealing” position. Press “Pressure Cook” and set the Pressure level to High Pressure, and change the time to 45 minutes. It will take a few minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to the pressure level before it starts to cook. After it has finished cooking for 45 minutes, let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally for about 15 minutes and then do a quick release.
  5. Remove the pork into a bowl. With two forks, shred the pork. Stir in remaining Dr Pepper BBQ sauce.

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is sweet and tangy and makes awesome pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for game day or a barbecue.

What Can I Serve With Pulled Pork?

  • Coleslaw – Serve regular coleslaw or make it colorful with broccoli slaw.
  • Chips – Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or potato chips or sweet potato chips!
  • Salsa – I love to serve it with pico de gallo salsa or mango pico de gallo salsa.
  • Guacamole – serve it with this Game Day Guacamole.
  • Mexican Rice – Pulled Pork is always delicious served with Mexican or Spanish rice on the side.
  • Southern Squash Casserole – A side dish casserole made with yellow summer squash, sour cream, cheddar, and crushed buttery crackers.
  • Chess Pie – For a sweet Southern dessert, serve it with Old Fashioned Chess Pie.

What Recipes Can I Make with Pulled Pork?

Pulled pork is so versatile. It can be used in many different recipes! 

  • Pulled Pork Sandwiches or Sliders – make sandwiches or sliders and top with coleslaw.
  • Pulled Pork Tacos – from Isabel Eats, served inside tortillas with cilantro-lime coleslaw. 
  • Pulled Pork Nachos – Pulled pork served on top of tortilla chips, and topped with melted cheese and pico de gallo.

You can refrigerate pulled pork for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or freeze it up to 2 or 3 months in the freezer.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper BBQ Pin with Title and green background

If you like this recipe, be sure to follow us on:

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Recipe

Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Dr Pepper
Print Pin Save Saved!
4.20 from 5 votes

Instant Pot Pulled Pork (Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce)

This Instant Pot Pulled Pork with a Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce is sweet and tangy and makes awesome pulled pork sandwiches or tacos for game day or a barbecue.
Course Main Dishes
Cuisine American
Keyword Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Pulled Pork
Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes minutes
Pressure Release 15 minutes minutes
Total Time 1 hour hour
Servings 8
Calories 276kcal
Author Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

Equipment

  • 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo60 from Amazon.com (affiliate link)

Ingredients

Instant Pot Pulled Pork Recipe

  • 2 Tablespoons oil
  • 4 pounds pork shoulder
  • 1 recipe pork rub seasoning (See Recipe Below)
  • 1 recipe Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce (See recipe below)

Homemade Pork Rub Recipe

  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce (Shortcut Version)

  • 1 (18-ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
  • 1 (16-ounce) bottle Dr Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar (optional. May need if bottled sauce is too sweet.)
Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

Homemade Pork Rub Recipe

  • In a small bowl stir together all ingredients for the pork rub recipe.

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

  • In a small bowl combine bbq sauce, Dr Pepper, and vinegar.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

  • Turn on the Instant Pot (plug it in) and press the "SAUTE" setting. Add oil. Once hot, add the seasoned pork pieces and brown on all sides. You may have to do this in batches. 
  • Place the extra pieces of browned pork in a baking dish while you brown other pieces.
  • Once all the pieces are browned, add them back into the Instant Pot and cover with all but 1 cup of Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce.
  • Close and lock the lid. Move the seal to the “Sealing” position. Press “Pressure Cook” and set the Pressure level to High Pressure, and change the time to 45 minutes. It will take a few minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to the pressure level before it starts to cook. 
  • After it has finished cooking for 45 minutes, let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally for about 15 minutes and then do a quick release.
  • Remove pork from Instant Pot to a large bowl. With 2 forks shred pork. Stir in remaining bbq sauce. Serve on buns or tortillas.

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 554mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1180IU | Vitamin C: 1.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.6mg

Filed Under: Instant Pot Recipes, One Pot Meals, Pork, Southern Recipes Tagged With: Dr Pepper Barbecue Sauce, Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce, Instant Pot, Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Instant Pot Recipe, Instant Pot Recipes, pork, Pork Rub, pulled pork

DISCLOSURE: Flavor Mosaic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Please note: This blog may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, to help with blog expenses when you make a purchase through an affiliate link. Thank you for your support!

Reader Interactions

Michele F - Owner / Founder / Creator / Blogger at Flavor Mosaic
Michele

Hi, I’m Michele Feuerborn, wife, and dog Mom, with 20+ years experience as a home cook. I’m the Founder of Flavor Mosaic, as well as the author and content creator. I share fast, easy, flavorful recipes with bold flavors, featuring Instant Pot and Air Fryer recipes and Italian, Southern and Mexican cuisines.  Contact: [email protected].

Comments

No Comments

4.20 from 5 votes (5 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Michele F - Owner / Founder / Creator / Blogger at Flavor Mosaic

Hi, I’m Michele, a home cook with 20+ years experience. I created Flavor Mosaic as a place to share our favorite fast, easy, and flavorful creative recipes with bold flavors, including Southern, Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Instant Pot recipes.
Read More…

Follow Me

Follow FlavorMosaic on Facebook Follow @FlavorMosaic on Instagram Follow FlavorMosaic on Pinterest Follow @FlavorMosaic on Twitter Subscribe to FlavorMosaic's RSS Feed

Search Flavor Mosaic

Logos of websites that have featured recipes from FlavorMosaic.com

Newest Recipes

  • Instant Pot Braised Beef Short Ribs
  • Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowl
  • Homemade Pie Crust (From Scratch!)
  • Mexican Street Corn Potato Salad
Copyright © 2013-2025 Flavor Mosaic · All Rights Reserved. FLAVOR MOSAIC™ IS A TRADEMARK OF MICHELE FEUERBORN · Privacy Policy

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.