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This melt-in-your-mouth Instant Pot Pork Ragu is brimming with cozy vibes. It cooks in 40 minutes under pressure, which is half the time it takes to slowly braise pork for ragu. Yet we still get the tenderness and flavor—a win/win situation!
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When it comes to cold-weather comfort food, a good pork ragu is definitely at the top of my list. Think—a hearty rich tomato sauce, warming herbs, and tender pork that just falls apart at the nudge of a fork. Best of all, you don’t have to tend to it for hours with this recipe. Just a quick 40-minute pressure cook and you’ve got yourself a restaurant quality pork ragu! You’ll impress, and everyone’s bellies will be extremely happy. Believe me.
Looking for more quick takes on comfort foods? My Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon is always a hit at Sunday dinner, as is my Instant Pot Pot Roast. You’ll also love this lip-smacking Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a time saver—A classically cooked pork ragu could take 2 or more hours to cook in a braiser and even more time in a slow cooker. This recipe gives you all of the same deep flavors and tenderness with a 40-minute cook!
- It’s easy—Despite how elegant and complex in flavors this dish is, it’s incredibly easy to make.
- It’s delicious—The taste of this pork ragu is incredible and so rich, thanks to the deep flavors from the beef broth, tomato, and herbs.
Pork Ragu Ingredients
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pork—Pork shoulder is the best cut for this dish. It’s super tender and shreds easily.
- Dried mushrooms—Dried porcini mushrooms have a much more concentrated flavor than fresh mushrooms, so they offer this dish a nice punch of umami.
- Parmesan rind—I love throwing a parmesan rind into my soups and sauces as it adds a ton of flavor and richness.
- Red wine—I’m a huge fan of cooking with red wine—especially when making a beef dish. We’re working with pork here, but the red wine pairs great with our beef broth.
- Herbs—Herbs like thyme, oregano, sage, bay leaf, and rosemary are best for this dish. I use a bundle of all of them, but you could use any!
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Mushrooms—If not using dried mushrooms, you could use 1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms or omit the mushrooms completely. Not that when using dried mushrooms in the Instant Pot, you don’t have to pre-soak them.
- Beef base—For a little extra beefy oumph in your pork ragu, add a tsp of Better Than Bouillon beef base!
- Red wine—If you prefer to not cook with alcohol, you could use 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar instead.
Dana’s Cooking Tip
When adding the cream, you’ll want to temper it in to avoid curdling. To do this, place the cream into a small mixing bowl. Slowly add about 1 cup of the sauce from the Instant Pot into the cream, whisking it constantly. When done, transfer it back to the Instant Pot. The idea is to slowly warm the cream before adding it to the sauce.
How to Make It
Step 1. Cut pork into 4-6 equal parts. Season with salt and pepper; set it aside and prep your veggies. Activate Sauté mode on the Instant Pot. Add about 1 TBSP of oil. Once the oil is warmed, transfer two or three chunks of pork shoulder into the Instant Pot.
Step 2. Sear each side for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned, then transfer the pork to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chunks of pork.
Step 3. Add more oil to the IP if necessary, then add in the chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Hit it with a pinch of salt and sauté until the veggies are tender and the onions are translucent. Stir in garlic and simmer for about 30 seconds.
Step 4. Pop in the tomato paste and give it a good stir; add the wine. As it simmers, use a mixing spoon or spatula to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it all simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced.
Step 5. Stir in the dried porcini mushrooms, bay leaves, herbs, crushed tomatoes, broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 6. Add the chunks of pork followed by the hunk of parmesan rind. Secure the lid onto the IP and set the valve to SEAL. Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes; let it naturally release naturally for 15 minutes afterward, then hit the valve to manually release.
Step 7. Remove the pork and transfer it to a cutting board to shred; discard any fat. In the meantime, activate Sauté mode and let the sauce simmer (you don’t want it boiling) for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced a bit to thicken it up. Remove the herbs and the parmesan rind from the sauce. Stir in the tempered cream.
Step 8. Transfer the shredded pork back to the pot and stir it into the sauce; this will thicken it up even more giving you the optimal cozy pork ragu! Serve over pasta with shredded parmesan and freshly chopped parsley.
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight food storage container for up to 5 days.
- To reheat, transfer the pork ragu to a microwave-safe bowl or plate and heat in 35-second increments until warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ragu meat is typically beef or pork braised over low heat in skillet, like tomato sauce or wine, then served with a thick pasta, like pappardelle as opposed to spaghetti.
Medium to full-bodied dry reds pair well with a rich pork ragu, like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, or Syrah.
Ragu is a meat-based sauce with the inclusion of tomato, and Bolognese is a variety of a ragu. In general, ragu is made up of larger chunks of meat and is a bit lighter in texture. Bolognese on the other hand is heftier, made up of ground meat, carrots, celery, and onions.
More Delicious Pork Recipes to Make…
If you try this Instant Pot Pork Ragu, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Instant Pot Pork Ragu
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless pork shoulder or butt
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced; approx 1 cup
- 1 large carrot, diced; approx 1 cup
- 1 rib of celery, diced; approx 1 cup
- 6 cloves of garlic, smashed then minced
- 2 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine, I use cabernet sauvignon
- 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms (Optional), *See notes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 packet of fresh "Poultry Blend" herbs, If you can't find this, a blend of fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme.
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- Hunk of parmesan rind (Optional), *See notes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Remove the pork from the fridge. Cut it into 4-6 equal parts. Optional: If prefered, you can trim off excess fat. I suggest keeping it on, however, since fat = flavor. It will melt off of the meat throughout the cooking process and will be easy to remove when shredding.
- Season the pork with a generous amount of sea salt and cracked pepper. Set it aside to come to room temp (this results in a more even cook) and prep your vegetables.
- Activate Sauté mode (Normal) on the Instant Pot and add a TBSP of oil. When hot, place 2 or 3 chunks of pork into the Instant Pot. Do it in batches so you don’t crowd them in the pot.
- Sear each side for about 2-3 minutes or until the exterior of the pork is nicely browned, then transfer the pieces to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chunks of pork.
- Add more oil to the pot if needed, then add the onions, carrots, and celery. Season with a pinch of salt, and sauté until the veggies are tender and the onions are translucent. Stir in garlic and let it simmer for about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add the wine. As it simmers, use a mixing spoon or spatula to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Let it all simmer for about 3-4 minutes or until the liquid has reduced.
- Toss in the dried porcini mushrooms, bay leaves, herbs, crushed tomatoes, broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the chunks of pork, followed by the hunk of parmesan rind.
- Secure the lid onto the IP and set the valve to SEAL. Cook on manual high pressure for 40 minutes; let it naturally release naturally for 15 minutes afterward, then hit the valve to manually release.Carefully remove the pork and transfer it to a cutting board to shred; discard any fat.
- In the meantime, activate Sauté mode (Normal) and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced a bit to thicken it up.Remove the herbs and the parmesan rind from the sauce.Stir in the tempered cream (*See recipe notes).
- Transfer the shredded pork back to the pot and stir it into the sauce; this will thicken it up even more giving you the optimal cozy ragu!Serve over pasta with shredded parmesan and freshly chopped parsley.
The sauce is amazing and the pork is so tender
Love this Instant Pot Pork Ragu recipe, looks so delicious and easy to make. Definitely will make it soon, my family loves pasta and pork, so we need to try it. Thanks for sharing :)