Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa

This quick and easy Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor has all the flavor of a slow cooked meal in WAY less than half the time!

Name: Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: 3.5 lbs of pork shoulder, (trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch pieces); 1 cup fresh pineapple, (cut into chunks); 1/2 red onion, (roughly chopped); 1 tbsp white vinegar; Juice from 1 orange; Juice from 1 lime; 1-2 canned chipotles; 2 tbsp adobo sauce (from canned chipotles); 3 tbsp Chili powder; 1/2 tsp cumin; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 3 cloves chopped garlic; 12 oz Mexican beer ((I used Modelo Negro)); Corn, or flour tortillas, (for serving); Cotija cheese, (for serving); Pineapple Salsa, (for serving); 1 cup fresh pineapple, (cut into small chunks); 1/4 red onion, (minced); 1/2 mined jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed; 1/4 red pepper, (minced); Juice from 1 lime

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This crazy tender, super flavorful Tacos al Pastor recipe is cooked in just under an hour in the Instant Pot!

Friday is Cinco de Mayo and that means tacos! Lots and lots of tacos….and margaritas!

Cinco de Mayo ALWAYS means margaritas. Especially this Cinco de Mayo because Friday…and tequila!

This year, for Cinco de Mayo, we are having Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor and Jalapeno Grapefruit Margaritas.

Yum, yum yum. Seriously…YUM!

This Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor recipe is so quick, easy and flavorful!

Who else is excited about getting to enjoy their favorite Mexican food, complete with as many margaritas as your heart desires?

Ok, maybe not as many as your heart desires because tequila creeps up on you sometimes and, well….

But, you CAN enjoy as many of these Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor as your heart desires because, unlike tequila, they will not get you into any sort of trouble – that I know of 🙂

This crazy tender, super flavorful Tacos al Pastor recipe is cooked in just under an hour in the Instant Pot!

This crazy simple and insanely delicious recipe for super tender Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor is the perfect combination of spicy, sweet, and salty. Does it get any better than that?

The first time I tried Tacos al Pastor was at one of our favorite spots in town (they also make a killer Paloma!) and I ran home immediately and started searching Pinterest for a recipe I could make at home. I came across this Slow Cooker Tacos al Pastor from Ali at Gimme Some Oven (love all her stuff!) and made it a few days later and fell in love.

While the slow cooker recipe is AMAZING, it does require some planning ahead and if you are anything like me, you don’t know what you’re having for dinner until right before you go to the grocery store.

Now, seeing as I am always trying to find ways to simplify my life, and because I am the WORST at planning recipes ahead of time, I decided to try the recipe in the Instant Pot and it worked out perfectly! Literally, I am still shocked at the tenderness of the pork!

Instead of having to plan ahead (ugh) and wait hours (hello, I’m hungry now!), this Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor is ready under 1 hour! Yes, I said under 1 hour. #SimpleLife

If you do not own an Instant Pot, these Tacos al Pastor can also be made in the crock pot. Just cook them on high for about 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.

Side note: If you do not own an Instant Pot, I highly recommend purchasing one! Nothing bad has ever come out of my Instant Pot and it is easiest and quickest way to get a crazy tender, slow-cooker-style meal in WAY less than half the time! Just check out my simple recipe for the most amazing and tender Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken, if you don’t believe me.

The easiest and best recipe for Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor!

Back to these Tacos al Pastor. I topped mine with a super yummy pineapple salsa and crumbled cotija cheese for the PERFECT spicy, sweet and salty bite! Heaven on a plate, guys!

Feel free to use whatever fixings you want, but I highly suggest pineapple as it adds the most amazing amount of sweetness and really rounds this whole taco out! Avocado, sour cream, Mexican crema, or cabbage would also be amazing on these tacos.

Try this Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor for your Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, or the next time you are in need of a quick, easy and delicious weeknight meal!

Feel free to leave a comment below- I’d love to hear if you tried this recipe and what you thought!

This Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor recipe is so quick, easy and flavorful!

5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor

This easy and quick Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor has all the flavor of a slow cooked meal, in WAY less than half the time!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Author My Zen Kitchen

Ingredients

Tacos al Pastor

3.5 lbs of pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp white vinegar
Juice from 1 orange
Juice from 1 lime
1-2 canned chipotles
2 tbsp adobo sauce (from canned chipotles)
3 tbsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 cloves chopped garlic
12 oz Mexican beer (I used Modelo Negro)
Corn, or flour tortillas, for serving
Cotija cheese, for serving
Pineapple Salsa, for serving

Pineapple Salsa

1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 mined jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed
1/4 red pepper, minced
Juice from 1 lime

Instructions

Make the marinade:
In a blender, or food processor, blend together red onion, pineapple chunks, chipotles and adobo sauce, vinegar, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in the minced garlic and set aside until ready to cook the pork. (Note: This can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator an air tight container until ready to use)
Stir the beer into the marinade right before cooking the pork.
Cut the pork into 2” pieces and season with salt and pepper, to taste
Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté setting and add 2 T of olive oil. Sear the pork on all sides, working in batches, until all the pork is browned.
Select "Cancel" to turn the Instant Pot off and add browned pork back into the Instant Pot. Pour the marinade over the pork, seal the lid and turn the top vent to “Sealing”.
Select the “Meat” function and cook the pork on high pressure for 35 minutes. Do a natural release for 15 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure manually.
*Note: Cooking time will vary depending on how big your pieces of pork are. I cut mine into about 2" pieces and this resulted in extremely tender meat.
Remove the cooked pork and shred using 2 forks. Spoon some sauce from the Instant Pot over the pork.
Serve in corn or flour tortillas topped with Pineapple Salsa and other desired toppings. (I like Cotija cheese, avocado and Mexican Crema).
Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This recipe is adapted from Gimme Some Oven

2 COMMENTS

Dana | 15th Feb 20

Made this for taco night and was a big hit! We will definitely make it again! Because pineapples were not in season, I opted for canned and it made the process very easy. If anyone else needs to make the swap: I used a 20 oz pineapple chunks can (drained) for the marinade and used an 8 oz crushed pineapple can for the salsa. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
- Lauren | 18th Feb 20
  
  I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It is one of our favorites.
  Thank you for sharing the pineapple swap, that is a great idea! I am going to try the crushed pineapple in the salsa 🙂

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Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor with Pineapple Salsa

This quick and easy Instant Pot Tacos al Pastor has all the flavor of a slow cooked meal in WAY less than half the time!