Gingerbread Spiced Instant Pot Pulled Pork

This recipe for Gingerbread Spiced Instant Pot Pulled Pork is a unique twist on traditional pulled pork. With less than 10 ingredients and ready in just under an hour, it's the perfect dish for your next holiday party or potluck! 

This Gingerbread Spiced Instant Pot Pulled Pork, ya'll. I can't even.

I'll admit it - I was wary. I couldn't tell beforehand if it was going to taste like you were eating a cinnamon broom, or if it was going to be the perfect blend of warm winter spices on your traditional pulled pork recipe. But I still risked a 4lb pork shoulder on it for you, and I'm so glad I did.

The amount of time I have right now is so so limited. I want to be trying, photographing, and writing recipes, I really do. But there are only so many hours in a day, and so much of me to go around. So when it comes to food right now, we're in survival mode. What can I make that serves a ton of people that we can split and freeze, or eat for an entire week?

You're probably wondering how I even came up with this.

The Instant Pot Pulled Pork over at Jay's Baking Me Crazy has become a staple. After the first time I made it, I knew I would never use another Instant Pot pulled pork recipe.

But, I still get bored with food sometimes. I want super tasty flavors, and on occasion, I'm willing to follow some longer instructions to get there. This is usually where Mel Joulwan comes in, with her flavor explosion recipes that often take more time than I have or budget for, but are oh-so-worth-it in the end.

I came across her Gingerbread Pork Stew and had that same initial thought - yum or yuck?

I tried it. The flavor was ok, but the meat came out tough and chewy, and something was missing from the spice blend (answer: salt).

So then my brain started spinning. What if I could take the stew spice blend for the flavoring, and the pulled pork cooking method for the texture, combine the two, and get delicious, tender, gingerbread spiced instant pot pulled pork?

And here we are, friends. With the tastiest cold-weather-perfect pulled pork you'll ever eat.

What goes in gingerbread spice instant pot pulled pork

Not much, honestly. Pork, a splash of oil, some spices, and a little water for the Instant Pot to do it's thing. That's it.

Can I use pre-made gingerbread spice mix

Probably. I always prefer to make my own spice blends, because I know exactly what's in them.

If you use a pre-mixed one, just be forewarned that the ratios may not be the same, which may result in the end result of the flavor being slightly different from what this recipe has.

This sounds weird. Gingerbread spice is usually something in baked goods, not meat.

I'm with you, I really am. I felt the same way before I made it. But I promise you - just try it. It's savory instead of sweet and is the perfect blend of holiday spices.

I have an Instant Pot, but it's still in the box in the closet and I've never opened it. I want to use it, but all the buttons are so scary and intimidating. Can I cook this another way?

If you want. But instead, take the leap. Pull that sucker out of the box, plug it in, and hit only the buttons listed in the recipe below.

Don't even look at the other ones. You don't need them right now, they're irrelevant. I promise, once you use it a few times, you'll get curious about the other things it can do and start poking around. Start small!

If you need more help, check out my post on Instant Pot basics.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork Tips & Tricks

Have the butcher cut out the bone. I couldn't find a boneless pork shoulder, so I asked the butcher to remove the bone for me. He did, free of charge. And I paid for the weight AFTER the bone was removed. Winning.

Remove the pork to shred. If you have trouble shredding the pork in the Instant Pot, take the chunks out, set them on a cutting board, shred them, and scrape back into the pot.

Don't skip the sauté function at the end. Those 10 minutes are important! It helps all the liquid cook down and brings out all the flavor in the spices and the meat.

Leftovers are best. This is delicious right out of the pot, but it's even better if you give it a day or two. Allow it to cool, store in the fridge, and then re-heat just what you want to eat.

What to serve this with

I get it - with such a strong, unique flavor, you might not be sure what to serve this with. My top recommendations are simply over some cauliflower rice or some tender, fluffy sweet potatoes.

It doesn't need much more than that!

If you’ve tried this Gingerbread Spiced Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe or any other of my recipes on the blog, I want to see! Tag me on social media and follow along for more delicious recipes. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to see more delicious food and what I’m getting into.

I may earn a small commission off purchases made through affiliate links in this post from Amazon and other sellers. This helps me continue to run the blog and keep providing you fresh content. Thank you for your support!