Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pork

Name: Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pork
Prep time: 4 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 pound pork (**pork loin, butt or boneless pork chops diced into 1 inch cubes.); 1 cup onion (**yellow onion dice into large 1 inch chunks and petals separated. Refer video and ingredients photo.); 1 cup green bell pepper (**diced into 1 inch squares.); 1 cup red bell pepper (**diced into 1 inch squares.); 1 cup yellow bell pepper (**diced into 1 inch squares.); 1 cup pineapple (**chunks. Fresh or from the can drained.); 1/3 cup ketchup; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar; 1/3 cup water; 1 tbsp hot sauce; 1 tbsp Soy sauce (**use low sodium. You can also use coconut aminos.); 1/2 tsp Paprika (**don't use smoked paprika.); 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper; 2 tbsp Cornstarch (**mixed with 2 tbsp water to form a slurry.)

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Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pork is a 10 mins Dump & Start Instant Pot recipe with an incredible sauce. The chunks of pineapple & the crisp tender bell peppers takes the dish up to another level. Don’t miss the Video.

Check out our library of easy Instant Pot Recipes & Asian Takeout recipes.

instant pot sweet and sour pork served over rice in a blue bowl with a spoon — Instanr Pot Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple

Instant Pot Sweet and Sour with pineapple will reward you with extremely juicy pork doused in a tangy & sweet addictive sauce and loaded with juicy pineapple chunks & crisp tender bell peppers!

You’ll enjoy every bit of this dump & start instant pot recipe! It’s an effortless recipe with magical flavors that even a beginner cook can make just like a pro.

sweet and sour pork with pineapple in a ladle — Sweet and sour pork with pineapple

Tips & Tricks

Dumping trick: Add the ingredients in order and as mentioned in the recipe. It’s very important to avoid the BURN error.
No BURN ever: Add the brown sugar at the end and on top of all other ingredients. DO NOT stir the ingredients before pressure cooking. Brown sugar always tends to settle at the bottom of the pot and trigger BURN error. So, it’s it’s very important at the top of other ingredients.
Crunchy bell peppers: If you prefer crunchy bell peppers add them after the pressure cooking cycle is over and you are done thickening the sauce. The residual heat trapped in the pot will do the magic and cook down the bell peppers just enough so that they retain there crunch. We love this hack!
Tender well cooked bell peppers: If you are team tender bell peppers than do add them along with the onion and pressure cook them. They’ll be well cooked, and very soft.
Thickening sauce: We prefer cornstarch slurry as our gluten free thickener. It’s equal amounts of cornstarch and water mixed together to form a slurry. The sauce in this recipe is not super sticky or thick. The ideal consistency would be a flowy sauce that would drip but thick enough to well coat each and every piece of pork very well. So, we did not add a lot of cornstarch.

Ingredients

Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.

Pork: The best cuts of pork that work well for today’s recipe is boneless pork loin, pork butt, boneless pork chops. I would not recommend using pork belly due it’s high fat content and slightly different texture. However, Pork belly would make an awesome Instant Pot Pork Adobo.
Onion: For best flavor use yellow onion. Dice the onion into large squares and than separate the petals. Refer the above pic.
Bell peppers: We love to use different colors. You can use whatever you have in your fridge or pick your favorite colors. I would insist on using the red bell pepper because it adds such a nice sweetness and aroma to the dish. Totally mellows down the tang and takes the dish to another level.
Pineapple: You can use pineapple chunks from the can (drained) or use fresh diced pineapples. We chose to go with canned pineapple this time.
For the sauce: Ketchup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce (optional) and brown sugar. If you are heat intolerant skip adding the hot sauce. You can also sub the hot sauce with 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.
Thickener: Cornstarch slurry. Equal parts cornstarch & water mixed together to form a slurry. It’s gluten free.
Seasonings: Ground black pepper and paprika. The paprika would add a nice color to the dish. Do not add smoked paprika.
Cooking oil: Any neutral oil. We use extra light olive oil. You can use avocado oil, canola oil, sunflower oil or vegetable oil.

Method

Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.

Step #1 Dump Ingredients & Pressure cook

pressure cooking pork in instant pot — Dump and start

Dump ingredients in order: Follow this order : Pork, onion and pineapple goes in first. Than, add the liquids like water, apple cider vinegar & soy sauce. Finally, add the ketchup, seasonings and at last add the brown sugar. DO NOT mix or stir. This is important to prevent BURN error!
Pressure cook: Secure the lid and Pressure cook on high for 6 mins followed by 5 mins natural release. Give everything a good stir. You’ll end up with a good amount of sauce.

Step #2 Thicken Sauce & Serve

thickening sauce in instant pot — Thicken Sauce

Thicken Sauce: Now add the cornstarch slurry. Mix well. Simmer on SAUTE kept on LOW heat to thicken the sauce stirring from time to time. You can thicken the sauce to your desired consistency.
Add Bell Peppers: Turn off the instant pot. Add the bell peppers, stir to mix. Cover and rest for 5-10 mins. The residual heat will cook down the bell peppers to crisp tender consistency.
Serve: Serve the sweet and sour pork instant pot recipe with rice or noodles’. Enjoy!

instant pot sweet and sour pork with pineapple over white rice in a bowl with a spoon — Best Sweet and Sour Pork with pineapple

Storing Tips

Fridge: The Instant pot sweet and sour pork will last for upto 5 days in the fridge. Store it in air tight containers for best flavor.

Can you freeze sweet and sour pork?

Yes, you can freeze sweet and sour pork for upto 3 months. Heavy duty freezer safe bags or containers works best to keep the flavors intact for that long. Thaw the dish over night in the fridge and than reheat following the directions below.

Can you reheat sweet and sour pork?

Yes, you can reheat sweet and sour pork in the microwave oven until warm or hot. You can also reheat the dish on the stove top using a skillet.

Sprinkle water on top of the sweet and sour pork with pineapple and than begin the re-heating process. This will add some extra moisture and help loosen the sauce a bit.

FAQs

Is sweet and sour pork gluten free?

Yes, sweet and sour pork is gluten free. Make sure to use gluten free sauces in the recipe.

Does sweet and sour pork have dairy?

No, sweet and sour pork doesn’t have dairy.

What does sweet and sour pork taste like?

Sweet and sour pork tastes sweet, tangy & slightly salt. The chunks of pineapple add a bit of tang and sweetness, whereas, the crisp tender bell peppers add a subtle crispness and whole lot of freshness to the dish.

What’s sweet and sour pork?

Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish popular in westernized Cantonese cuisine.