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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!

Table of Contents

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

Seared browned pork in Instant Pot.

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.

Tongs holding up eared browned pork.

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.

Instant Pot full of carrots, onions, and celery tossed in tomato paste.

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.

Instant Pot with vegetables in wine sauce.

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.

Instant Pot with sauce, before being cooked, with tied up fresh herbs and mushrooms.

Step 5. Stir in the dried porcini mushrooms, bay leaves, herbs, crushed tomatoes, broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Instant Pot with seared beef chunks nestled into sauce.

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.

Shredded cooked pork on a white serving plate.

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.

Finished creamy sauce with shredded pork in it.

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.

Serving bowl os pappardelle topped with pork ragu.

Storage & Reheating

  1. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight food storage container for up to 5 days.
  2. 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

What is ragu meat?

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.

What wine goes with pork ragu?

Medium to full-bodied dry reds pair well with a rich pork ragu, like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, or Syrah.

What is the difference between ragu and bolognese?

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.

White bowl of pappardelle pasta tossed in pork ragu, garnished with parsley.
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5 from 25 votes

Instant Pot Pork Ragu

By: Dana Sandonato
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!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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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.

Notes

Substitutions
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, add a tsp of Better Than Bouillon’s beef base!
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 IP into the cream, whisking it constantly. When done, transfer it back to the IP. The idea is to slowly warm the cream before adding it to the sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 23g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g
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5 from 25 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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38 Comments

  5. 5 stars
    This was phenomenal! I love the umami taste from the porcini mushrooms. Soo good! I also love how once I set it up I was able to do chores around the house and let the IP do all the hard work!

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it was a savoy success! Easy, hearty and delicious; definitely, a new favorite recipe!

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    This looks and sounds absolutely incredible! We are having my fiance’s parents over for dinner on Sunday. I now think I know what we are going to make. ;)

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    I can’t believe how quick and easy this marvelous pork ragu is to make. It looks delicious and I know my family will go crazy for it.

    Reply