Carnitas Burritos with Pineapple Slaw

Pork carnitas burritos piled up on a plate with pineapple slaw and all the fixings.

5 from 5 votes

Carnitas Burritos with Pineapple Slaw

Make these tender Mexican pork carnitas burritos topped with a spicy sweet pineapple slaw for the ultimate game day, Cinco de Mayo, or party idea.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Instant Pot Natural Release15

Total Time1 30

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Tex Mex

Servings: burritos

Calories: 206kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

Pressure cooker multi-function Instant Pot

Ingredients

Pork Carnitas

2 pounds pork tenderloin 2 tenderloins - or 2 pounds cut up pork butt.
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Citrus Sauce

¾ cup orange juice fresh from about 2 large oranges or 5 to 6 mandarin oranges.
2 tablespoons lime juice or juice from 1 fresh lime
¾ cup pineapple juice from 20 ounce canned pineapple - no added sugar
½ cup chicken broth we used gluten-free
2 teaspoons Tajin Mexican Seasoning or chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano dried
1 teaspoon cumin dried ground
6 to 8 cloves garlic peeled and minced or 2 teaspoons dried garlic powder

Pineapple Slaw (optional)

16 ounces coleslaw mix thinly sliced cabbage and carrots plain
¾ cup pineapple sliced (we used canned) ½ of 20 ounce can of pineapple
2 tablespoons jalapeno finely chopped or to your desired spice level.
1 tablespoon onion finely chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper
to taste
2 tablespoon cilantro
roughly chopped

Tortillas

8 to 12 flour tortillas
burrito size - (regular, gluten free or low carb)

Burrito Toppings (optional) - Pick and choose the ones you like

guacamole or chopped avocado
black beans
cheese shredded cheddar, Colby jack, Cotija Cheese or other.
Mexican or Cilantro lime rice or plain
tomatoes
salsa or taco sauce
cilantro, jalapeno
fresh lime wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pork Carnitas Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)

Cut up 2 pork tenderloins into 2 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. (You may also want to use ~ 3 pounds of pork butt (pork shoulder) for this recipe - weight (~3 pounds ) after cut into cubes)
Make the Citrus sauce. In a large measuring bowl, add orange juice, lime juice, and pineapple juice. Then, add chicken broth to make a total of 2 cups liquid. Add Tajin Mexican Seasoning or chili powder, oregano, cumin and garlic to the juice and broth mixture and stir well. Set aside.
Place olive oil in Instant Pot (multi- function pressure cooker) and turn on sauté function. Sear the pork cubes in batches on all sides. Turn off the instant pot.
Add all the seared pork back into the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) and pour in the citrus sauce. Close the lid of the pressure cooker. Make sure the nozzle is set to seal and NOT vent.
If using pork tenderloins - set to pressure cook on high for 35 minutes.
If using pork butt (pork shoulder) set to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes.
Allow natural release for 15 minutes and then carefully release with manual pressure from the pressure cooker. Its also okay to allow for full natural release as well. Remove pork from instant pot.
Leave the leftover citrus juice in the instant pot and turn it on to sauté function. With the lid off, allow the juices to reduce to about half. Then, turn off the instant pot and set the juices aside.

Pineapple Slaw

While your pork is cooking, prepare the pineapple slaw and your favorite toppings. Add the coleslaw mix (finely sliced cabbage & carrots), pineapple, jalapeno, cumin, onion, cilantro, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to a large bowl and toss well. Set aside.
Gather and prepare all of your favorite burrito toppings like beans, cheese, guacamole, rice, salsa, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno and fresh lime wedges for serving.

Oven Broil Carnitas (To Make Crispy)

Shred the cooked pork with 2 forks into little pieces.
Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking tray and spray with oil to prevent sticking.
Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the reduced citrus sauce over the pork. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes or until the edges are crispy.

How to Wrap a Burrito (Let your guests make their own with their favorite toppings)

Warm up your tortilla to help it stretch and lay flat on your work surface.
Layer on all your favorite toppings (don't forget your pineapple slaw) in a line down the center of the wrap. I know you will be tempted but don’t overfill the burrito wrap. It will be difficult to close and may tear. Try to keep the filling about2 inches away from the edges.
Fold over the two sides over the filling in the middle.
Then, carefully roll up the burrito going away from you. You will need to push the ingredients inward to tuck them inside the burrito.
Fold over again until all wrap is sealed and lay the burrito seam side down.
Cut the burrito in half, if desired, or eat whole and enjoy!

Video

Notes

The nutritional reading are based on 1 carnitas burrito per person with only the pineapple slaw and fresh lime juice as a topping.

Storage

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in covered containers.

If you have leftover assembled burritos, air fry them at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for about 4 minutes or until toasty and crispy. We have to tell you this is so good and highly suggested.

Recipe Tips

Soften the tortillas in the microwave before serving to make it easier to wrap burritos. You can also soften tortillas in a 300 degrees F (148 degrees C) oven in aluminum foil for about 10 minutes or until softened.
Keep tortillas warm in covered container or in aluminum foil.
Pork shoulder (pork butt) is the best cut of pork to make pork carnitas due to its high fat content, but it takes longer to pressure cook. However, due to contrary belief, pork tenderloin also makes a delicious carnitas in less time.
To save some time, use the natural release for 15 minutes before doing a quick release on the pressure cooker.
First sear or brown your pork on the sauté function BEFORE pressure cooking. You are locking in all that extra flavor. Do not crowd the Instant pot. Make sure there is room so that it can brown on all sides. You might need to sauté the pork in batches to prevent overcrowding.
Don’t throw away those delicious citrus sauce juice that the pork was cooking in. Reduce it to half to intensify the flavor. Then, drizzle some of that sauce on the pork before broiling it.
To keep your burrito from getting soggy, make sure your fillings are all at room temperature before filling
Spray oil on the pork before broiling to get extra crispy edges.

How to freeze pork carnitas?

After you cook pork in the pressure cooker (instant pot), allow to cool and then place the pork with the juice in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw pork. Place pork on a baking sheet with a little of the juices and oven broil for 4 to 5 minutes or until toasty hot with nice crispy ends.

Slow Cooker (crockpot) Directions - Slow cook pork and citrus sauce for 8 hours on low.

Nutrition