This Instant Pot Pork Ragu is creamy and cheesy and hearty and rich! With rigatoni pasta, tender pulled pork, porcini and shiitake mushrooms, white wine, chicken stock, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and lots of fresh herbs. It makes a luxurious and delicious weeknight meal!
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With it getting dark earlier and the cooler temps, I’ve been craving some rich and hearty comfort food. How about you?
Recently I’ve been making all kinds of cozy chilis and soups like my latest crockpot creation, Slow Cooker Southwest Chicken Soup… and my favorite Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup. They are so easy and so delicious!
I decided to come up with a hearty pasta recipe, and since I absolutely love how fast and delicious the Instant Pot cooks a pork shoulder (or pork butt), I made that my protein for this cozy meal… Instant Pot Pork Ragu!
All I can say is I’m in love with this pasta creation!
So here’s how this recipe was born. I made a huge amount of Instant Pot Carnitas and after many days of leftovers, I decided to repurpose the Instant Pot pulled pork into an Italian ragu. Most ragu has a creamy element, with some sort of a tomato base. But I was craving something different.
Instead of a ragu with tomato sauce, I wanted something less tomatoey and more herbaceous, with mushrooms and Parmesan cheese… I like to think of this dish as a Tuscan Ragu.
So I went to work, and I’m delighted to report this pork ragu is more delicious than I had imagined!
Here’s how I created this Instant Pot pasta recipe…
How to make Instant Pot Pork Ragu:
First, I trimmed as much fat off a pork shoulder as I could, and cut it into 4-inch chunks. I used a 3-pound pork shoulder and after trimming the fat and cooking I ended up with about 2 pounds of meat.
Next, I seasoned the pork with salt and pepper. I turned on saute mode on the Instant Pot and let it get good and hot. Then I added my olive oil and seared the meat two minutes on the two sides. I had to do mine in two batches, then I removed the pork and set it aside in a large bowl.
Then I added my onions and a splash of chicken stock to the pressure cooker and sauted for 3 minutes.
I added the garlic and a cup of white wine (chardonnay) and allowed it to saute for 2 minutes.
Next, I added the rest of the chicken stock, fresh herbs, dried porcini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, salt and pepper, and the seared pork shoulder. I put the lid on the IP and pressure cooked it for 17 minutes. I did a natural pressure release for 15 minutes, then released the rest of the pressure manually. (The IP took 13-15 minutes to come to pressure and about 3 minutes to release the rest of the pressure from the pot.)
When it was depressurized I removed the meat and set it aside. Next, I strained any fat that was visible off the top.
I turned the IP to saute mode and let it come to a boil. Then I added my carrots and rigatoni pasta and let it simmer for 10 minutes. (That was 2 minutes less than the package stated for al dente pasta.)
While the rigatoni was cooking, I shredded my pork.
Next, I turned the Instant Pot off and stirred in the Parmesan cheese and cream.
Then I folded in my meat and parsley and served this yumminess with a garnish of more fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
I like to remove the inner pot from the pressure cooker and set it on a pot holder on the counter so the pasta doesn’t continue to cook.
This Instant Pot Pork Ragu is creamy and cheesy and hearty and rich – one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes to date.
A few things about this Instant Pot Pork Shoulder Ragu recipe:
- What are Porcini mushrooms? They are similar in flavor to other mushrooms but have a deeper earthy, nuttier flavor. They have a hearty meatiness in both their flavor and texture. You can find them dried and packaged in the produce department of your grocery store.
- I also used shiitake mushrooms in this pork ragu because I adore them. You can swap them out with other mushrooms like sliced baby bellas (aka "cremini" mushrooms or white button mushrooms.
- The white wine in this recipe is intended to intensify, enhance, and accent the flavor and aroma of this dish. It’s a delicious component in this pasta recipe and does not overwhelm but rather fortifies it.
- I used large rigatoni pasta for this recipe. You can use whatever pasta you would like but be sure to not overcook it. In fact, I found that cooking the pasta 2 minutes less than the package specified for al dente worked perfectly.
- Adding the carrots when you cook the pasta is a pro move. This prevents them from getting mushy but still adds some nice color and sweetness to the dish.
- We are big meat lovers in my house, so I used all the pulled pork in this pasta. If you prefer less meat, just hold some back and use it for pulled pork tacos later in the week.
- You may want to add a little more chicken stock if you like a really saucy ragu dish. And if you have leftovers you’ll need to add a little white wine or chicken stock to reheat it since the pasta will absorb the liquid while it’s chilling in the fridge.
And there you have it my friend… my new favorite Instant Pot pasta recipe and some extra tips to make it over the top delicious!
I would love to hear what you think of this tasty creation! Leave a comment below and tell me all about your experience!
Instant Pot Creamy Pork Ragu
This Instant Pot Pork Ragu is creamy and cheesy and hearty and rich! With rigatoni pasta, tender pulled pork, porcini and shiitake mushrooms, white wine, chicken stock, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese and lots of fresh herbs. It makes a luxurious and delicious weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds pork butt roast or pork shoulder roast, (this will yield about 2 lbs of meat after trimming down the fat and then cooking)
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons pepper, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, rough chopped
- 2½ cups chicken stock
- 4 large cloves, garlic minced
- 1 cup white wine, (I used a chardonnay, or chicken stock if preferred)
- 15 stems of thyme, tied together with twine
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped sage
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 5 ounces sliced shiitake, or whatever mushroom you like
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 8 ounces Rigatoni pasta, uncooked
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1 tablespoon parsley added to pasta, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Trim as much fat off the pork as you can, and cut it into 4 inch chunks. I used a 3-pound pork shoulder and after trimming the fat and cooking I ended up with about 2 pounds of meat. Season with salt and pepper (use 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper for this step).
- Turn the saute mode on on the Instant Pot (I used the Instant Pot DUO 6) and let it get good and hot. Add the olive oil and sear the meat for two minutes on two sides. (You may need to do this in two batches.) Remove the pork and set it aside in a large bowl.
- Add the onions and a splash of chicken stock to the pressure cooker, loosen any brown bits from the seared pork, and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and a cup of white wine (chardonnay) and allow it to saute for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the rest of the chicken stock, fresh herbs, dried porcini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and pepper, and the seared pork. Put the lid on the IP and pressure cook it for 17 minutes. Then do a natural pressure release for 15 minutes, and release the rest of the pressure manually. (The IP took 13-15 minutes to come to pressure and about 3 minutes to release the rest of the pressure from the pot.)
- When the pressure cooker is depressurized, remove the meat and set it aside. Then strain any fat that is visible off the top.
- Turn the IP to saute mode and let it come to a boil. Add the carrots and rigatoni pasta and let simmer for 10 minutes. (That was 2 minutes less than the package stated for al dente pasta.)
- While the rigatoni is cooking, shred the pork.
- Next, turn the Instant Pot off and stir in the Parmesan cheese and cream.
- Remove the inner pot from the pressure cooker and set it on a pot holder on the counter so the pasta doesn’t continue to cook. Fold in the meat and parsley and served this yumminess with a garnish of more fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
10-12 ouncesAmount Per Serving Calories 411Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 78mgSodium 2495mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 30g
KirstenNb
It’s been cold and rainy this week, so decided to make one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes! This Pork Ragu is easy to make and warms the belly and heart. And is great as leftovers!
holly
Hi Kristen, I'm a huge fan of this recipe. And it sounds like you are too! Thanks so much!
Kim Dudrak
Looks delicious and I would love to make it for my family but 8 oz of pasta is not enough. Any suggestions for how to double the amount of pasta? I want to make sure there is enough liquid to cook the pasta. Thanks!
Bryan
That’s a great question! We have not tested that but our best guess is to start with another 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock.