Instant Pot Carnita Bowls - Girl Carnivore

This is one of those crazy easy Instant Pot diners loaded with pulled pork piled over greens and topped with black beans, mango salsa, and quick-pickled red cabbage all served in a fun crunchy tostada bowl. Best part, it’s all ready in under 45 minutes!

This post was sponsored by AdapTable Meals. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Instant Pot is one of my must underutilized kitchen tools – which is sad because everyone loves them! So, I am challenging myself this season to embrace all the kitchen appliances I have access to and learn to love them. Turns out the air fryer and pressure cooker are pretty dang amazing.

I loved that I popped this roast in the Instant Pot and it was ready 40 minutes later to be shredded. I didn’t have to season it, sear it, prep it or anything other than taking it out of the package to popping it in to cook. While it cooked, I prepped all the toppings and set the table.

More time spent having fun in the kitchen than working. That’s my kind of meal.

Let’s #AdapT2Thrive

View of Adaptable Meals Carnitas in packaging

What you need:

Pork Roast: The ease of this roast is that the meat is already seasoned with the perfect zesty blend of classic carnitas flavors without being too spicy or too mild. All you have to do is pop it in the Instapot and you can cook it right from frozen if you don’t remember to thaw it ahead of time.

But remember…

Pork roast in instapot ready to be pressure cooked

It’s all about the toppings

Nothing makes the crunch of a good tostada bowl better than creating a crisp, colourful totally overflowing toppings bowl. Try mixing and matching the combinations of flavors, or letting everyone build their own bowl with a tostada toppings bar!

Crisp Greens make sure they have a good crunch, a blend with romaine is nice
Quick pickled red cabbage
Red Onion sliced super thin
Diced Mangos
Tomatoes or Salsa
Avocado sliced or smashed
Scallions, sliced thin
Black Beans, rinsed and drained
Slices of Limes for squeezing
Crema for drizzling. I love mixing this with lime juice and splash of hot sauce for a bonus unexpected flavor combo!

You could also add rice, cheese, and sour cream.

How to make Tostada Bowls

Tostada bowls are so easy to make. All you need is tortillas and a muffin tin.

Coat the tortillas with a thin layer of oil flip the muffin tin upside down. Nestle one tortilla in between 4 of the cupcake divots to make a cup shape. Pop them in the oven and bake 5 to 7 minutes until crispy.

Alternatively, you could use individual tortilla bowls in the oven if you have them OR simply fold the tortillas over oven-safe mug to shape before baking.

A quick pinch of salt over the tostada bowls right out of the oven goes a long way.

Flat lay view of 3 colorful fully loaded carnitas bowls topped with bright pickled cabbage, mangoes, avocado and crema

Other ways to serve this shredded pork:

If you can’t make tostada bowls, this same recipe works great as a taco bar, Whole30 Power Bowl, or over nachos! Add rice and these make great burritos as well. If you don’t want to use pork, but still want a quick and easy meal, try air fryer shredded chicken instead!

Serve with:

Serve this with restaurant style Mexican rice, plantains, homemade guacamole, or refried beans to make a full platter out of it.

Not going to lie, a margarita on the rocks goes particularly well with this recipe too.

Close up of a loaded pulled pork carnitas bowl with fresh avocados, mangos, pickled cabbage toppings

These quick pork carnitas shred perfectly after being cooked in the Insta-pot and are delicious piled high in homemade tostada bowls.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Cook the Pork:

Place the pork roast in the insta pot and fill with water according to package directions, 1” of chicken broth or water.
Cook for 40 minutes.
Allow the steam to release and remove the pork from the broth.
Wrap in foil and let rest 5 minutes before shredding with 2 forks.

Make the Bowls:

Meanwhile, make the tostada bowls by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly oil 4 tortillas and place them in between the divots on an upside down cupcake baking tin. This will create a bowl with curved edges.
Bake the tortillas for 5 to 7 minutes, until crisp and hold their shape.
Quickly sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Repeat for the remaining tortillas.

If cooking the pork roast from frozen cook for 35 minutes in the Instant Pot.
See the notes in the associated post about alternative methods for preparing tostada bowls.
If you don’t have Adaptable Meals in your market, grab a 3-pound pork roast and season it with 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp of black pepper, oregano, thyme, cumin, garlic, and onion powder before cooking it in the pressure cooker.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion, Latin

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