Instant Pot Crispy Carnitas Tostadas are crispy, crunchy fried tortillas topped with savory pork, red onion, avocado, cheese, hot sauce, and more. They make for a tasty main dish, but also as a hearty snack or appetizer!
There are few things in the world that I love more than avocado, but one of them is carnitas. Whenever I see carnitas as an option on a menu, you better bet that I am ordering it immediately.
The juicy, savory pork is so tasty, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Now, I’ve published plenty of pork recipes on the blog before, but none that are quite as satisfying as these Instant Pot crispy carnitas tostadas.
Let’s start with the carnitas, shall we? The pork gets cooked up in a citrusy sauce right in the Instant Pot until it’s nice and tender.
Then you make it extra delicious by sticking it under a broiler and letting it cook up with the juices from the Instant Pot.
This infuses the pork with even more flavor, while also letting it get crispy for amazing contrast.
Once it’s all cooked up, you simply pile the pork on crispy golden fried corn tortillas with all the toppings (including creamy avocado, because DUH)!
I could eat these tostadas every day from now until forever. The flavor just never gets old for me!
You can easily cook them up for a main dish alongside bacon cilantro lime grilled corn salad.
Another alternative is to serve it up for a party spread! It’s ideal for game day and you can let everyone make their own tostadas with the toppings they love.
If you happen to have any pork leftovers (it’s rare but sometimes it happens!), use it however you want!
Throw it in tacos, in a quesadilla, in a skillet with scrambled eggs, and whatever else you can possibly think of.
Planning a dinner party and need some inspiration?
How about looking for a new slow cooker dinner idea?
We’ve got you covered in our ever-growing Facebook group! If you’re not a member yet, why not?!
We’re chatting cooking techniques, dessert ideas, and everything in between. If you’re already a member, invite your friends to join us too!
Instant Pot Crispy Carnitas Tostadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
- 1 large White Onion chopped
- 8 cloves Garlic chopped
- 2 Lime juiced
- 2 large Orange juiced (or 3/4 cup natural orange juice)
- 1 cup Your Favorite Beer
- 4 pounds Pork Shoulder (or butt), cut into large chunks (2kg)
- 3 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 12 Corn Tortilla fried to golden brown
- Sliced Red Onion
- Avocado
- Jalapeño sliced
- Fresh Cilantro
- Lime Wedges
- Cotija Cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, orange juice, and beer until combined.
- Season pork chunks with salt and pepper.
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté. Add olive oil. Once hot, add half the pork and sear, turning every 45 to 60 seconds. Pork should be browned on all sides. Transfer pork to a separate clean plate and repeat with remaining pork until browned. Press Cancel to turn off the heat.
- Pour sauce on top of the pork. Close lid and set to Manual pressure on High. Cook for 30 minutes. Let naturally release for about 15 minutes before removing lid.
- Set oven broiler to high heat.
- Remove pork to a large cutting board and shred with two forks. Spread pork onto a large baking sheet. Spoon one third of the juices on top of the pork, tossing to combine. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes, until the pork edges begin to crisp.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and top with half of the remaining juices in the Instant Pot. Toss again to combine. Broil for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and top with remaining juices. Toss to combine.
- To assemble the tostadas, top tortillas with even amounts of crispy pork. Top with sliced red onion, diced avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Serve with lime wedges.