Sink your teeth into the ultimate comfort food: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. This recipe transforms pork shoulder into melt-in-your-mouth shreds, coated in a tangy, smoky sauce with just the right balance of sweetness and heat. Pile it onto soft buns, top with creamy coleslaw, and you’ve got a meal that draws a crowd—whether you’re serving family, hosting game day, or planning a summer picnic.
No smoker? No problem. This recipe uses the Instant Pot for hands-off, ultra-tender results in a fraction of the time, but you can adapt it for the slow cooker or oven, too. The sauce is sticky, bold, and totally irresistible—be sure to have extra napkins on hand!
Why You’ll Love These BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Fall-apart tender pork in less than 2 hours
- Deep, layered BBQ flavor: Homemade sauce plus a bold spice rub
- Hands-off: Instant Pot (or slow cooker) does the work for you
- Perfect for a crowd: Great for parties, potlucks, and meal prep
- Versatile: Use leftovers in tacos, bowls, salads, or even mac and cheese
Ingredient Lineup & Easy Swaps
For the Pork:
- Pork shoulder (or Boston butt): The key to juicy, flavorful pulled pork
- Olive oil: For browning and flavor
Dry Rub:
- Chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, mustard powder, cayenne, cumin, salt, black pepper
BBQ Sauce:
- BBQ sauce (your favorite store-bought or homemade)
- Ketchup
- Honey
- Apple cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Liquid smoke (for smokiness)
- Worcestershire sauce
- Chicken broth
- Fresh garlic
To Serve:
- Soft hamburger buns or brioche rolls
- Coleslaw (classic, vinegar, or creamy—your call)
- Pickles, sliced onions, or jalapeños (optional)
Easy swaps:
- Pork butt can be swapped for pork shoulder.
- Want it sweeter? Add more honey or brown sugar.
- Like it spicy? Add more cayenne or a dash of hot sauce.
Step-By-Step: How to Make BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1. Prep & Season the Pork
Trim excess fat from pork shoulder. Cut into 2-inch chunks for faster, even cooking.
Mix all dry rub ingredients in a bowl and rub generously all over the pork.
2. Brown the Meat
Set your Instant Pot to sauté. Add olive oil and brown pork in batches until golden on all sides (about 5 minutes per batch). Set browned pork aside.
3. Mix Up the Sauce
Whisk together all BBQ sauce ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust sweetness, acidity, or heat to your liking.
4. Pressure Cook
Return all pork to the Instant Pot. Pour sauce over the meat, tossing to coat. Close lid and set to Meat/Stew (or manual high pressure) for 90 minutes.
5. Natural Release & Shred
Let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then manually release any remaining pressure.
Transfer pork to a bowl and shred with two forks.
6. Reduce the Sauce
Set Instant Pot to sauté and simmer sauce (uncovered) until thickened by half, skimming off any excess fat.
7. Mix & Serve
Add about 2 cups of the reduced sauce to the shredded pork and mix well. Pile pork onto buns, drizzle with more sauce, and top with coleslaw.
Tips, Variations & Meal Prep
- For extra flavor: Add pickle juice or hot sauce to the sauce.
- No Instant Pot? Brown pork in a skillet, then slow cook on low for 8 hours or oven-braise at 300°F for 3–4 hours.
- Make ahead: Pulled pork keeps well in the fridge (3–4 days) or freezer (up to 3 months).
- Other uses: Tacos, nachos, quesadillas, breakfast hash, or on top of baked potatoes.
FAQ
Yes! Pork butt (Boston butt) is perfect—juicy and shreddable.
Don’t rush the natural pressure release, and toss shredded pork with plenty of sauce.
Soft hamburger or brioche buns work best—they soak up the sauce and hold the pork.
Yes! Brown pork, add sauce, and slow cook on low for 8 hours.
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 portions 1x
Description
Tender, saucy BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches made effortlessly in the Instant Pot. Perfectly shredded pork shoulder coated in smoky, tangy sauce—perfect for potlucks, parties, or meal prep.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 8 hamburger or brioche buns
- 2 cups coleslaw
- Pickles (optional)
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from pork and cut into 2-inch chunks.
- Mix all dry rub ingredients and coat pork pieces thoroughly.
- Set Instant Pot to sauté. Add olive oil and brown pork in batches; remove and set aside.
- Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Return pork to Instant Pot, pour sauce over, and toss to coat.
- Seal lid and cook on Meat/Stew or high pressure for 90 minutes.
- Allow natural release for 15 minutes, then release any remaining pressure manually.
- Remove pork, shred with two forks. Simmer sauce in Instant Pot until reduced by half. Skim fat.
- Mix shredded pork with about 2 cups of reduced sauce.
- Serve pork on buns with extra sauce and coleslaw.
Notes
Sauce is great for dipping or freezing for later. Make it ahead—flavors deepen after a day in the fridge. For spicier pork, add more cayenne or your favorite hot sauce.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 510
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 890mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 36g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
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