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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.
This is the best pork and sauerkraut recipe ever! The pork is tender and juicy, the kraut is tasty and not super sour. I can't believe this! Thank you for sharing and I will definitely be using this recipe from now on.
Yes, I followed the recipe exactly.
YAY! So glad you enjoyed so much Lynn!
Hi Kirsten. I want to try this recipe and I read about using frozen meat but my question is, how to I fix it? Do I still try and cut the frozen meat and layer with the sauerkraut then cook them together the whole time based on the weight of the meat???? I cant wait to try this. Thanks
Hi Lori! Because the meat is cut into small pieces, the cook time is 15 minutes regardless of how many pounds (timing is based on the weight of size of the pieces, not the total weight) Enjoy!
Would you do 15 minutes for pork tenderloin as well?
Pork tenderloin cooks much faster. I would cut into thick slices and then cook for 2-4 minutes on high pressure.
4 minutes for 165 degrees
3 minutes for 155 degrees
2 minutes for 145 degrees.
Enjoy and happy new year!
I have the 3 qt instant pot. How would I adjust the recipe?
Hi Jo! I would suggest cutting the ingredients in half (except use 3/4 cup apple juice instead of 1/2 cup) but leaving the cook time the same. If you want the full recipe, you may be able to fit in all in if you use just 2 pounds of meat too. Enjoy!
It ultimately tasted good, but I could tell my pork shoulder wasn't done after 20 minutes of pressure cooking and 20+ minutes of natural pressure release, so I let it go for another 10 minutes of pressure cooking and 15 minutes of release. It was done then, but actually could have gone even longer. Also, the sauerkraut completely disappeared into the broth, which was disappointing. Maybe (a lot) more sauerkraut would keep this from happening?
Hi Lesa! I am glad you enjoyed the flavor. For the pork, could it have been that the pieces were a bit larger than 2 inches? I always layer the sauerkraut on top of the pork which helps it from disinegrating. Maybe that would help too 🙂
Thanks! I'll try that next time.
Can i use 3/4 inch pork chops in this recipe?
Yes! I would decrease the cook time to 5 minutes on high pressure. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
I used 4 pork chops approximately 3/4 -1 inch thick.and changed cook time to 10 minutes and did natural release. It was delicious and now a part of my instant pot recipes. Thank you for sharing
I am so glad you enjoyed Ter! Thanks for sharing!
Great recipe! I cooked a 1.5 lb. pork roast without cutting into chunks but otherwise followed the recipe and it was perfect!
So glad you enjoyed Deb! Thanks for sharing your review 🙂
I am a little skeptical of using the IP for anything other than soups, stews, and braising. Was in a big time crunch, so I Googled and found this recipe. I was so happy with this. I am reluctant in use because often the meat texture is so soft after using the IP, and I don't like mushy texture meat. The trick of cutting u in chunks to reduce cooking time left me with fabulously tasting and great textured pork. With 15 min cook and 15 wait time the flavors of all blended . I added some caraway seeds and a little more garlic. My family loved it. This is now my go-to recipe for Pork and sauerkraut.
So glad you put aside your doubts and gave this a try. I love hearing you enjoyed!
Delicious! I used apple cider and it was great.
So glad you enjoyed Eileen! Thank you for sharing a review!