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Instant Pot Pork Ragu

This is one of my favorite things to keep stocked in my fridge during the Fall and Winter seasons. So versatile--delicious over pasta, spaghetti squash, polenta, gnocchi or any roasted veggies. Full of lean protein, nutrient-packed veggies... and COMFORT.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Course: one pot, sauce, Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: comfort, instant pot, italian, pork tenderloin, ragu, sauce, shredded, Tomato
Servings: 8
Calories: 219kcal
Author: Lillie

Ingredients

  • 870 g pork 2 Costco tenderloins trimmed, chopped into 4 inch chunks (I just cut each tenderloin into about 5 pieces.)
  • 4 cups onion diced (I used frozen!-- 400 g)
  • 1 cup celery chopped (110 g)
  • 2 cups carrots chopped (250 g)
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 8 cloves of garlic minced (or frozen Dorot cubes)
  • 28- oz can San Marzano tomatoes crushed well in hands or quickly pulsed in blender
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 10 oz cauliflower steamed (I just buy the fresh bag to steam in the microwave)
  • 2.5 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup cooking wine

Instructions

  • Set Instant Pot to the sauté setting and let it get nice and hot.  Spray with a mist of olive oil spray.
  • Sprinkle chunks of meat liberally with kosher salt and pepper and sear on all sides, doing it in batches if necessary. Once all chunks of meat have been browned on all sides, add them back into the IP.
  • Add veggies, garlic, seasonings, canned tomatoes (smashed or pulsed to break up) and tomato paste into the IP and close the pot, sealing the lid, and making sure to close the vent.  Cook at high pressure for 40 min.*
  • When it's done, you can allow to naturally release if you're busy, or open the vent to move it along. Once the pressure has reduced, it will allow you to open the lid. Now switch to sauté setting while you shred the pork well, to help reduce the sauce just a bit.  Set your timer for 15 minutes of sautéing. You can just use two forks right in the pot, or move the hunks of pork into your kitchen-aid and mix with the paddle attachment to shred.  Add shredded pork back into the hot instant pot.
  • Still on the "sauté" setting, add 1 cup cooking wine (or good wine if you're into that!) and let it simmer/boil for a few minutes.
  • While your ragu simmers/boils, blend the steamed cauliflower with about ½ cup beef broth, just to help it blend smoothly. Mix blended cauliflower and remaining two cups of beef broth into the ragu.  Let it simmer on the sauté setting for a few more minutes so that you’ve been sautéing for a total of 10-15 minutes (IN TOTAL) by the end. Turn off IP and let it sit on warm ‘til ready to eat.
  • Serve over pasta, polenta, mashed cauliflower, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash.  You get it.

Notes

  1. *In my Instant Pot, I just push manual, and then the + button, up to 40 minutes... then let it go!  It will take a while to get pressurized so you're timer won't begin for at least ten minutes.
  2. I like to keep half the ragu pure for myself, and toss half with hot pappardelle (and maybe a little butter and parmesan) for my family! An easy way to give them something extra delicious while still keeping my macros tight if I want!
  3. For logging purposes, search MFP (while you're in your daily diary, ready to log your food) for "Lillie Eats and Tells Instant Pot Pork Ragu". You'll be able to log as many grams as you like. And I won't judge.
  4. I love mine with some low-fat cottage cheese stirred in. Sounds kind of gross and diety but it acts like ricotta and it's delish.

Nutrition

Serving: 350g | Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.1g | Protein: 27.8g | Fat: 2.7g | Fiber: 4.7g