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Home » Recipe Index » Pressure Cooker

Published: Oct 3, 2018 · Modified: May 6, 2020 by Tanya · This post may contain affiliate links · 135 Comments

Ninja Foodi Recipe: Crispy Pork Carnitas

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These crispy delicious pork carnitas are made in the Ninja Foodi in less than 1 hour. Pressure cook them to tender and crisp them up all in one device.

pork carnitas in ninja foodi insert


 

This post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclaimer here.

The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.

I recently became the owner of a Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker with Air Crisper. What’s that you ask? It’s a magical device that Ninja has bestowed upon us. It’s a pressure cooker. It’s an air fryer. It’s a pressure cooker and an air fryer all combined in one device.

I’ll be doing a full and thorough review on the Ninja Foodie soon. Until then, I’ve been testing it out on different recipes to see if it really works as expected.

I’ve made the following so far….

  1. Chicken Wings from frozen
  2. Chicken pot pie
  3. A whole roasted chicken (twice)
  4. And this pork carnita recipe

All of these have turned out wonderful. I wanted to go ahead and post this pork carnita recipe as it was one of my main determining factors of making the purchase.

I was in the market for a second pressure cooker and this one caught my eye. I love cooking meats in my pressure cooker but sometimes I want that extra crisp. I could always use my pressure cooker and then place my meat in the air fryer or oven...but if I can get it all done in one place, then why not.

Will the Ninja Foodi replace my Instant Pot and Air Fryer?

For me personally, it won't...but it's staying for sure. I'm not in love with the Air Fryer basket on the Ninja Foodi as there is no long handle. 

I wanted two pressure cookers anyway and my Instant Pot does a mighty good job on pressure cooking, so I'll keep it too. 

Ninja Foodi Pork Carnita Recipe

Of all the recipes I’ve made thus far, this is already one of my favorites. I love making shredded pork for multiple uses...tacos, burritos, rice bowl, sandwiches, etc.

I usually make it in a slow cooker or my pressure cooker but I always have to transfer the pork to the oven to really get it crisp. That’s an entire day of cooking...which I don’t have much time for.

ninja foodi carnitas in ninja foodi ceramic insert

This Ninja Foodi method allowed me to get it all done in less than an hour.

Here’s the video of me making this recipe in full. I’ll be making some more Ninja Foodi recipes to share as well. As always, Enjoy 🙂

Looking for more Ninja Foodi Recipes? Try these out:

Ninja Foodi Shrimp Boil

Ninja Foodi Fish and Grits

Air Fryer S'mores

Ninja Foodi Zucchini Fritters

Looking for more Air Fryer Pork Recipes? Try these out:

Air Fryer Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Air Fried Jamaican Jerk Pork

Air Fried Japanese Tonkatsu (Air Fried Boneless Pork Chops)

These Carnitas are great with this Homemade Salsa Recipe.

Pin Ninja Foodi Recipe: Pork Carnitas for Later

 

ninja foodi pork carnitas in the ninja foodi
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4.90 from 59 votes

Ninja Foodi Recipe: Crispy Pork Carnitas

These Crispy Pork Carnitas are made in the Ninja Foodi in less than 1 hour. Pressure cook them to tender and crisp them up all in one device.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword ninja foodi recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes minutes
Total Time 55 minutes minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 335kcal
Author Tanya
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs pork butt chopped into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 orange cut in half
  • 1 yellow onion peeled and cut in half
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
  • ½ cup chicken broth

Instructions

  • Place pork, salt, oregano, and cumin in Ninja Foodi pressure cook insert. Combine making sure the seasonings are covering the pork.
  • Take the orange and squeeze the juices over the pork. Put the squeezed orange in the insert, along with the onion, garlic cloves, and ½ cup chicken broth.
  • Cover the Ninja Foodi with the pressure cooker cover, ensuring the valve is set to seal. Set the Ninja Foodi to High Pressure and cook for 20 minutes.
  • Once the 20 minute timer is complete, do a quick release by switching the valve to vent. Once all the pressure is released, open the lid and remove the orange, onion, and garlic cloves.
  • Set the Ninja Foodi to satué and select md:hi. The liquid will begin to simmer. Allow the liquid to cook until it reduces, about 10-15 minutes.
  • Once the majority of the liquid has reduced, press stop on the Ninja Foodi and then close the Ninja Foodi Air Crisp lid.
  • Select Broil and adjust the time to 8 minutes.
  • Once complete, use the crispy delicious meat in tacos, bowls, sandwiches, wraps, etc. Top with cilantro or any of your favorite toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 838mg | Potassium: 909mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 22.9mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3.1mg
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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

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Comments

    4.90 from 59 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Alisha says

    December 02, 2019 at 9:42 pm

    I just purchased a foodi and this was my first recipe with it. I cannot thank you enough for sharing! It was perfectly done in an hour start to finish and tasted great. Honestly it was the first meal I had made in a while and it felt so good! I look forward to seeing what other recipes you share! Thank you again.

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      December 03, 2019 at 6:25 am

      Hi Alisha, Thank you so much for your kind comment. I love how making this recipe made you feel good. It's my goal with every recipe I post. Thanks again for making the recipe 🙂

      Reply
  2. John says

    November 16, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    Made this recipe with just a few modifications. I went a bit heavier in the cumin because we enjoy the taste. I also sliced the onion into medium sized rings and left them in. After the broiling I put the crisper on for a few for some extra crispy pieces. Outside of that- I followed the cooking times and instructions to a T and they were amazing. Thank you for posting and thanks for the video!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      November 16, 2019 at 7:15 pm

      Thank you for the feedback 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe.

      Reply
  3. Nicole says

    November 11, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    This recipe was very easy. I did not have the cumin and made it without. Still tasted wonderful. My husband is not a pork fan and still enjoyed this.

    Reply
  4. Kenzie says

    November 06, 2019 at 11:54 am

    Hi! This looks so yummy. I can’t wait to make it. Do you know what an approximate cooking time would be from frozen? Thank!!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      November 07, 2019 at 12:19 pm

      I’m not 100% sure as I haven’t cooked it from frozen. Are you using meat that has already been cut into chunks? The size of the meat would make a huge difference in the cook time.

      Reply
  5. LizzTheLegend says

    October 28, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    Alright now, listen, I have made this a total of 3 times now. And you know what? I could squeeze you so hard you popped, because THIS MEAL MADE ME A LEGIT F*****G HERO!
    Y'all, I have used country style boneless ribs and also a butt roast-you can NOT screw this recipe up! It is so damn perfect!!
    Thank you for taking the time to teach us. Hot damn, you're on my top 10 favorite people list! ??

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 28, 2019 at 11:25 pm

      Best comment ever!!! lol, thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed the recipe and great tip on the other meat options.

      Reply
  6. Carrie Ann says

    October 14, 2019 at 12:12 am

    So easy and delicious... I cannot thank you enough!!

    Reply
  7. Alex says

    October 12, 2019 at 7:34 pm

    Great recipe! One question: it's hard for me to find pork butt at times, is there another cut you could reccomend if someone can't find pork butt? Thanks for the recipe, been dreaming of em since I made it the first time!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 13, 2019 at 9:22 pm

      Hi Alex, so glad you like the recipe. I would only use pork butt/shoulder. I can't be sure other cuts will shred as easily and have the same flavor.

      Reply
    • Kosta says

      November 10, 2019 at 10:47 pm

      I used pork loin and it was fantastic

      Reply
  8. Kayla says

    October 10, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    ✩✩✩✩✩ Awesome recipe. ** I DOUBLED this, using 4 lbs of pork. Seriously debated with myself on whether to cook more than 20 mins. The definite answer is DON'T INCREASE THE PRESSURE COOKING TIME. And don't go searching for other suggestions like I did. Waste of time. I ultimately ended up doing 27 mins and the pork was wonderful; but the extra time wasn't necessary. I doubled the broth too but could've gotten away with using less.

    Otherwise, the other things I did differently were just using (chicken) bone broth, because I had it on hand, and I squeezed some fresh lime juice in the pot before pressure cooking.

    This really is the only carnitas recipe you need!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 10, 2019 at 8:40 pm

      Thank you 🙂 So happy doubling it worked out Kayla.

      Reply
  9. Kim says

    October 03, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    To double (or slightly more than double), what changes should be made? more liquid? Longer cooking time?

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 03, 2019 at 10:43 pm

      Hi Kim. To double you can double the liquid but keep the cook time the same.

      Reply
  10. Sara says

    September 09, 2019 at 5:38 am

    Thank you for this delicious recipe. It gets rave reviews from the family and is relatively easy to make.

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      September 09, 2019 at 7:06 am

      Oh my it's the easiest. We love it too and I've got plans to make it again this week. Thank you for trying it and leaving a review.

      Reply
  11. Mike says

    August 17, 2019 at 3:36 pm

    At what point do you shred the pork? Or is it already falling apart when you're finished cooking?

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      August 19, 2019 at 10:53 am

      I shred it before I crisp it. It's easy to shred right in the pot.

      Reply
  12. Jean S. says

    July 24, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    I am making this for the fourth time! Always rave reviews. May never use another recipe! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      July 25, 2019 at 7:17 am

      Awesome! So glad you liked them. It's the only recipe I use too 🙂

      Reply
  13. Marla says

    July 18, 2019 at 1:05 pm

    I learned to double this recipe.... outstanding

    Reply
  14. Annie KC MO says

    July 07, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    This was my second dish I made in my Foodi amd I don't know how I'll try anything else because We. Just. Keep. Making. It. It's so delicious thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  15. Leslie FL says

    June 03, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    This was amazing. Wishing I had made more. I minced the garlic instead of crushing and removing... Will use a smaller orange next time, and mojo instead of broth. Thank you for the great recipe!

    Reply
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Welcome to My Forking Life! Hi, I'm Tanya, attorney, busy wife and mom, and lover of quick, easy, and delicious meals.

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