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
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 apple sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic optional
Instructions
- Cut pork 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 in apple juice. Add apples, onions, and garlic to pressure cooker. Top with 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.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Use chicken stock in place of apple juice if desired. If using stock, you may want to add 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar to balance the flavors.
- Garlic is optional. It is not traditional, but I love the added flavor.
- Feel free to use a pork shoulder or pork butt roast. You will need to cut the pork roast up into 2-3 inch chunks as well, but increase the cook time to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Sue
I have a 2lb pork loin. I’d like to cook it on one piece. What you recommend for pressure time? Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
I would cook on high oressure for 40 minutes with a natural pressure release.
Kolby
Is it okay to use pork tenderloin? If cooking 5 lbs, how long should I cook? What kind of apples do you use? What if I do t ha e apple juice or chicken stock/broth?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kolby. You can use pork tenderloin, but would need to reduce the cooking time. Is one pork tenderloin 5 pounds, or do you have more than one tenderloin? I haven't seen a tenderloin that large before, but have seen pork loin. Let me know, so I can give you accurate timing. If you don't have broth or apple juice, I would suggest a pale beer to add flavor.
Jeff
I see that all other recipes for pork roasts call for 15 min per pound. Your recipe only calls for 5 min a pound. I made a 5.5 lb roast following your recipe and added another 20 min for a total of 35 min. Hopefully, it will be enough cook time. Thanks for the recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jeff. The timing on this recipe is based on the pork being cut into 2-inch chunks. If you are cooking a whole pork roast, then yes you would need 20 minutes per pound for pork loin amd 30 for pork butt.
Matt
Not a fan of the sweetness. I appreciate the work put into it. I guess I have to much Gemattrman blood....
Kristen Chidsey
This is a sweeter version, meant to tame down the sourness. I can see if you were looking for traditional flavors, it could be too sweet for you.
Linad Freeman
I am not a pork eater but this sounds great. I am new to the InstanPot and not confident at all in its use. Could I sub some other meat, like chicken, beef, or turkey and, if so, what alteration would be needed for the recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi! I would use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes for small breaks and 8 for large. Enjoy!!
Tiffany
Can you make this with a frozen pork loin? How long would you need to adjust the cooking time?
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely! If your pork loin is cut into chunks you would cook for 20 minutes on high pressure, if whole 30 minutes per pound.
Mary Morissette
I made this tonight and it is absolutely delicious! I usually use caraway seeds but I tried it with the apple and chicken broth, 20 minutes for the cut of pork and it is so tender and flavourful! I forgot to add any salt and pepper so I know it will be even better next time. Great Job 👏🏻
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Mary! I love hearing you enjoyed so much!
Judy Izard
I made this just as the recipe stated. Everyone loved it. I would like to make it again, adding potatoes & carrots. Would I have to adjust the recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Judy! I am so happy to hear you all enjoyed. You have 2 options for adding veggies. The first is to cook the vegetables after cooking the pork. After cooking your pork and pressure releasing, remove it from the inner pot and tent with foil. Add 2-inch cubed potatoes and carrots to the cooking liquid and cook on high for 5-7 minutes (depending on how soft you like your vegetables). The other option is to add large chunks of potatoes and carrots to the pork while it cooks. I would use 3-4 inch cubes. Cook as directed.
Jes
This was amazing!! The only thing I did different to what the recipe said was I browned my pork chops in the instant pot first (3 mins on each side after getting the pan hot with olive oil on sauté mode) and then removed them from the pot. Then I added the onion and apple to cook in the drippings from the pork for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. I then added the chicken broth, and deglazed the bottom of the instant pot. Added my pork back on top of the apples and onions and added the sauerkraut on top. This was delicious!!!! Will put this one into our rotation 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
So glad you enjoyed Jes! Thanks for sharing!
Debbie
I made this recipe tonight for dinner. Absolutely delicious and incredibly easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing your family enjoyed Debbie! Thank you for sharing.
Loni
Hi! Would it be okay to substitute an apple for apple sauce?
Kristen Chidsey
Do you mean substitute and apple for the apple juice? I would not use apple sauce in this recipe. But you could use stock and an extra apple.
Nicole
I didn’t have an apple either so what I did was mixed a scoop of apple sauce together with the sauerkraut then put that on top of the pork. Worked well for me. Added some sweetness to the kraut.
Very good recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Mary
I have a 3-1/4 lb pork loin with bone. I don’t know if I can cut it into pieces. Can I cook it whole and for how long?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mary! You can cook without cutting. I would suggest 20 minutes per pound with a natural pressure release for pork loin and 30 minutes per pound if a pork shoulder or pork butt. Enjoy!
Mary
Thanks so much for your advice! I’m making it this afternoon. 👍
LaVerne
Can you substitute cranapple juice and beef broth?
Kristen Chidsey
I would use chicken stock or beef broth or pineapple juice--not cranapple juice.
Dawn
This was delicious and easy to make. Thank you
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Dawn!
Nancy
Hi! How about using pork chops? They’re about 1 inch thick.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Nancy! You can use pork chops, I would suggest cooking for 5 minutes on high pressure with NPR for pork chops just cooked through or 10 minutes on high pressure if you want them falling apart.
Sheryl Davis
All I can say about this recipe is it is awesome 👌😋
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed so much Sheryl! Thank you for taking the time to share your review.
Kim
Hi, I have pork butt cut into 4 large chunks, 4 lbs total. Still 15 minutes?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kim! Two things: The first is that this recipe was for pork loin, so pork butt needs to cook a bit longer. Also, it sounds like your chunks are a lot larger than 2-3 inches if you only have 4 for 4 pounds. I would suggest cutting each chunk in half again and cooking for 20 minutes on high pressure. If you leave the roast in just 4 (1-pound) chunks, I would cook for 40 minutes. Enjoy!!
John
Pork Butt wouldn't be my choice for this recipe due to the excess fat content. The beauty of this recipie in my opinion is that each ingredient melds well with the others but also doesn't get lost in the cooking process. Pork Butt is great and has its place in many uses. In this recipie the grease would overpower the flavors, even if you removed most of it after cooking.
Do yourself a favor and follow the recipie or switch to one geared to your choice of meat. Sorry to butt in but in my opinion if your going to try something new give it a fair chance.
John
Thanks Kristen, similar to a recipie my wife has done in the oven for years. Only difference was your apple juice vs brown sugar. Really liked it a lot.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed John! Thanks for sharing!
Peter Duffy
Absolutely loved the recipe!!! I followed it exactly and everything turned out exactly as promised. Thanks so much for an easy, quick and delicious way to make pork and kraut! I took a few minutes to peruse some of your other recipes and will be trying some of them too. Happy New Year!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Happy New Year to you as well Peter! Glad you enjoyed the pork and sauerkraut and I hope you find many more recipes to enjoy!