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Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut is one of the easiest recipes to make! With just a few simple ingredients, this recipe will deliver a pork roast that is cooked to tender perfection in a perfectly balanced sweet and tangy sauerkraut and apple mixture.
Serve this pressure cooker pork and sauerkraut with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Instant Pot Steamed Green Beans for an easy family meal.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Instead of the traditional Slow Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut, which takes hours to braise, the instant pot gets the same dish with the same flavors on the table in a fraction of the time.
- This is not just any recipe for pork and sauerkraut--this is the BEST recipe for Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut. This pork roast is cooked with sauerkraut, which tenderizes the meat and gives it a tangy flavor. But I also add apple juice and fresh apples to balance out the sourness of the sauerkraut. The pork is tender, flavorful, and absolutely incredible.
- The process for making Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut is EASIER than the traditional method. For my slow cooker pork and sauerkraut recipe, I season the pork and sear the pork and then cook in the slow cooker. For this instant pot version, skip the step of searing the meat. The pork loin absorbs all the flavors as it cooks and gets perfectly tender and flavorful better if NOT seared.
- Even if you THINK you don't like sauerkraut, this may be the recipe to change your mind. It adds dimension and a tangy bite to the pork, but thanks to the apple juice it is not overpowering at all. Even my picky kids enjoy this recipe!
Notes on Ingredients
- Pork Roast: I love using a pork loin for this recipe. It is lean, flavorful and because of the sauerkraut and the Instant Pot, it gets perfectly tender. Feel free to use a pork shoulder or pork roast, you will just need to add 5 minutes of cook time.
- Sauerkraut: Fresh or canned sauerkraut can be used.
- Apple Juice: Just like my recipe for Instant Pot Pulled Pork, apple juice is the secret to this recipe. It balances out the sauerkraut and apples and pork are a perfect culinary pair.
- Apples: Use apples that hold up well to baking, like Granny Smith or Honey Crisp or Braeburn.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step One: Prepare the Pork
It is best to cut the pork into 2-4 inch large chunks, whether using pork loin or pork butt. This will help the pork cook evenly and tenderize.
Step Two: Layer Ingredients
Once the meat is cut into chunks, this recipe is as easy as putting everything into the Instant pot and pressure cooking.
Step Three: Pressure Cook
Be sure to set to cook on HIGH pressure. The cook time will remain the same regardless of how much pork you cook--it may just take LONGER to come to pressure.
Step Four: Pressure Release
It is very important to remember to let the pressure release naturally after cook time has elapsed. If you do a quick pressure release, your meat may seize up and become tough.
Step Five: Serve
Once the cooking time has elapsed and pressure is released, remove the pork from the Instant Pot. I prefer to shred the pork and then serve it with the cooking juices, but you can serve the pork in larger chunks if desired.
Instant Pot Pork and sauerkraut is a great served with the cooking juices over mashed potatoes or if you are lucky enough to have two pressure cookers, make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
FAQs and Expert Tips
- Do you have to drain the sauerkraut first? I do recommend you drain the sauerkraut before adding to your Instant Pot, as it is quite salty and sour but it is a personal preference.
- No Apple Juice? A tip my mom taught me was to add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and use chicken stock if you don't have apple juice on hand. The flavor won't AS good, but the brown sugar helps to balance out the acidity of the sauerkraut.
- Storage Instructions: Leftover pork can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
More Instant Pot Pork Recipes
- Instant Pot Pork Tacos--tangy, savory, and spiced to perfection. This meat is great on tacos, in burritos, or fajitas.
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork--delicious, tangy, and fabulous for BBQ Pork Sandwiches.
- Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin--Pork Tenderloin is cooked with sweet potatoes for a complete, easy, and healthy meal.
- Instant Pot Pork Chops--made with a creamy mushroom sauce without canned soup.
- Instant Pot Brats--If you enjoy pork with sauerkraut, you will love pork brats (or beef or turkey brats) made with sauerkraut!
If you enjoyed this recipe Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut recipe, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut
Video
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds pork loin roast, cut into 2-3 inch large chunks
- salt and pepper
- 16 ounces sauerkraut, drained of extra liquid
- 1 cup apple juice, or chicken stock
- 1 medium firm sweet apple, sliced
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic, optional
Instructions
- Cut 2-3 pounds pork loin roast into large 2-3 inch chunks. Liberally season pork loin with salt and pepper on all sides.
- Place pork pieces in the instant pot and pour 1 cup apple juice. Add 1 medium firm sweet apple (sliced), 1 large yellow onion (sliced) and 1 tablespoon minced garlic to pressure cooker. Top with 16 ounces sauerkraut
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Hit Cook Time/Pressure Cook and use the +/- buttons to adjust to 15.
- Once cook time has elapsed allow pressure to release naturally, or for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve pork with juices over noodles or mashed potatoes if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I grew up with sauerkraut and pork hocks. So yummy, I think I like the idea of pork roast, a bit more meat and less fat. I’ve never had apple juice or chunks in it. It might be worth the try.
I hope you give it a try with the apples Michele--we love it!
Does it matter when you add the apple juice? The recipe says to add it before the sauerkraut but in your video, you added it after the sauerkraut.
Oh goodness, sorry for that confusion! It really does not make any difference at all for this recipe 🙂 Enjoy and Happy New Year Dennis!
Looks like a great recipe. I would love to try making this with addition of black eyed peas. Do you think if I increase the liquid it would work?
Hi Kris! I have not tried making this with black eyed peas. Would you be using dried beans? If so, they would need a longer cook time than the pork so that may not be suggested.
Hi, I'm excited to try the Pork and Sauerkraut recipe for our family New Year's Day dinner. Was wondering if a 5/6 pound tenderloin or 2 3 pounders, would work? Maybe 25 minutes on high pressure? What would you recommend?
Thanks,
Karen
Hi Karen! I use pork loin roast, not pork tenderloin. Pork tenderloin would only need to cook for a few minutes. For pork loin...either option works great. Just cut the pork roast (s)into 2 to 3 inch chunks and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. This will allow the meat to get super tender and absorb the sauerkraut. Enjoy!!
I wanted to try making mashed potatoes at the same time, so I put my trivet on top of the pork and sauerkraut and filled the pot the rest of the way up with medallions of potatoes. Turned out perfect!
Oh what a great idea. Thanks for sharing
Do not be fooled by "fresh" sauerkraut in a plastic bag. It has way more preservatives to keep it fresh in a plastic bag. Canned is just fine. So is jarred. Squeeze sauerkraut into a bowl. Save the juice. Rinse the sauerkraut. Taste. If you want it stronger, add some of the liquid. Otherwise, I suggest a bit of brown sugar. For the instant pot, one cup of liquid is all you need. Use chicken stock, not apple juice. Do not skip on the onion. Add caraway seed. Just a pinch of red pepper flakes.
And PS... Dumped in the whole 2 lbs of Kraut.... The kind you recommended!
Hello cooking Mom. Love that I found your site me. My belated mom used to cook kraut and pork roast on New year's always. So It isn't New Years , but I have tenderloin and kraut. Goin to put it in frozen, & improvise... 2 lbs loin, salt , pepper, in place of juice I have about 10 oz Angry Orchard hard cider, 1/2 table spoon brown sugar, 1 medium onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic.... 1 hour.... And hope for the best.... But your recipe sounds delicious. Clicked to send notifications...and saved to drive, so I can check out your other recipes...TY for sharing... the fact that you pushed the Apple Juice, and added "non-traditional" garlic...makes me believe you must be an awesome cook!....(all sounds wonderful)
Thanks so much James! I hope that you enjoy this recipe and that you also cherish the memories you had of eating this dish with your mom! I will say if using a tenderloin cut, not loin cut, 1 hour for a frozen tenderloin will be a bit much. Tenderloin cooks super fast (as it is so much leaner than pork loin), I typically recommend 12 minutes for a 1 pound tenderloin, so no more than 20 minutes for a 2 pound tenderloin. I hope you still enjoyed the flavor.
Really good recipe, as others have stated. I used a 2 lb pork tenderloin, which others may want to try if they think the sauerkraut cooked too long with the original recipe. Pretty much cooked it the same - dry rubbed with salt, pepper, and ground sage, seared on all sides, then pressure cooked on high for ~5 min, natural release for about 15-20 min. Turned out great! Also added ~2 tsp dijon mustard and some caraway seeds to the pot during pressure cooking.
I think the only thing I would modify is maybe keeping ~1/4 cup of the pickling juice for the sauerkraut and doing 3/4 c. of the apple juice - I missed that briney flavor of the sauerkraut.
I am so glad you enjoyed Sam! And great tip to add in some sauerkraut juice if you like that flavor 🙂