Instant Pot Pork Loin Roast

At a glance

What stands out: Pressure cooking a roast produces a tender juicy roast in a shorter amount of time. Instant Pot pork loin roast is succulent, juicy, and straightforward to mix. You’ll love it for dinner parties or for family dinners.

How long it takes: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot pressure cooker
Servings: 10

What’s not to like about an Instant Pot pork loin roast? It’s ready to eat in about half the time it would take to roast in the oven. It turns out juicy and flavorful. And you only get one pan dirty.

Pork loin roasts are frequently on sale so they are an economical meat to buy. A two and a half to three pound roast serves a crowd (about 8) and a pork loin roast is straightforward to serve. The roast can rest while you’re tending the final details of dinner, it slices neatly and easily, and has a nice presentation.

If you’ve had bad luck cooking pork loin roasts, give this recipe a try. Our mom always complains that her pork loin roasts are too dry, tough, and flavorless, whether baked in the oven or cooked all day in the slow cooker. What sounded like a promising recipe alway ended up a disappointment in reality.

BUT we're happy to say she loves this pork loin roast. We think she’s a convert to the Instant Pot. We're happy about that, because our sister and we bought it for her.

About This Recipe

The beauty of cooking pork loin roasts in your Instant Pot is that:

1. You only get one pan dirty
2. You don’t have to turn your oven on.

How does a pork roast cooked in an Instant Pot taste?

Rich! Juicy, tender, and flavorful–just how you want it to be.

The pan juices are tangy and rich with balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar combined with the succulent pork drippings. We like to serve the slices au jus but you could also thicken the drippings to make a gravy.

How it comes together

Begin by taking your pork loin roast out of the fridge for twenty minutes to a half hour. Let it set on the counter to warm up a bit. Season it well and then sear it right in your Instant Pot, letting it get nice and brown. Take the pork roast out and place it on a plate.

Pour broth into the pot and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom. This is important because otherwise the Instant Pot will think something’s burning in there and shut off in the middle of the cooking time. You don’t want that to happen!

Add a bit of balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar to the pot and then put your roast in. You’ll roast it on high pressure for 27 minutes, with 15 minutes natural release.

When the pork loin roast is finished cooking, take it out of the pot and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Don’t skip this step! Why not? It’s essential to have this rest time because the internal temperature of the roast will continue to rise as it rests. The optimal internal temperature is 145°F.

The pan juices can be simmered briefly to reduce, making a sauce to serve drizzled over the pork. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or rosemary. You won’t need to serve your roast with additional gravy because the pork is flavorful and juicy. We love sautéed mushrooms with wine and garlic as a side. Caramelized onions are a wonderful embellishment for pork roast.

Try serving pork roast with roasted sweet potatoes, or roasted green beans, or broccoli. It is rich with any kind of squash.

Before you start

Make It Your Own

• Vary the sauce ingredients. Want to make a honey garlic sauce? Substitute honey for the brown sugar and add minced garlic or increase the amount of garlic powder. Experiment with your favorite seasonings. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, and ginger are good.
• Use your favorite rub on the pork before searing it. Try this straightforward spice rub for pork. Or make a BBQ flavored rub and serve the pork with BBQ sauce on the side.
• Rather use your crockpot? We love this slow cooker pork loin with balsamic glaze.

Keeping leftovers

If you’re not serving a crowd, put the cooked slices in a freezer bag or container, and save them for a busy day when you don’t have much time to cook. A reliable meal prep idea! Instant Pot Turkey Breast is another one of our favorite meal prep recipes.

The pork should last 3 to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. For best results, thaw frozen pork overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat gently in the microwave, or lightly fry until warm.

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• Yield: 10 servings
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 27 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pounds boneless pork loin roast (see note)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup unsalted chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon light or dark brown sugar
• fresh parsley or rosemary for serving

Method

1. Take pork loin out of refrigerator and let set at room temp for 20 to 30 minutes. Pat pork loin dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Don't trim the fat.
2. Set Instant Pot to Saute. When hot, add oil and add pork. Brown pork on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Press cancel on the Instant Pot and remove pork to a plate.
3. Add broth to Instant Pot and scrape all bits from the bottom of the pot. Add vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
4. Place trivet in the Instant Pot and set pork, fat side up, on top of trivet.
5. Secure lid, turn valve to seal.
6. Set pressure cooker to “pressure cook” or “manual” (depending on model), high pressure, for 27 minutes. Let pressure release naturally (in other words, leave it alone) for 15 minutes before releasing remaining pressure, if any, by turning valve to “vent.”
7. Transfer pork to a cutting board or plate and let rest for 15 minutes. This step is essential. The internal temperature of the roast will continue to rise as it rests. Check temperature of pork using an instant read thermometer in the center of the roast. It should read 145ºF.
8. Meanwhile, switch Instant Pot back to “Saute” and simmer pan juices to form a sauce.
9. Slice pork and serve with pan juices.

Notes

Often, pork loin roasts are larger than 2 to 3 pounds; they can run 7 to 10 pounds. Most Instant Pots won’t accommodate such a large roast. If you buy a large roast, cut it in half for this recipe and freeze the other half to prepare for a later meal.

Nutrition information is calculated with a 3 pound roast.

Leftover pork can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. Frozen pork will keep for up to 3 months.