• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Instant Pot Recipe Guide! download now!

FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


Thank you for subscribing!


Your Homebased Mom

  • About
  • Latest
  • Contact
NEW! Watch on youtube!

Your Homebased Mom

Leigh Anne Wilkes

  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Appetizers
      • Beverages
      • Bread
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Dessert
        • Bars and Brownies
        • Cake
        • Candy and Treats
        • Cookies
        • Ice Cream
        • Pie
      • Main Dishes
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Burgers
      • Sauces and Dressings
      • Side Dishes
      • Soup
    • Cooking Method
      • Crock Pot
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pan
      • Oven
      • Quick and Easy
      • Recipes for Two
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Eggs
      • Pasta
      • Pork
      • Poultry
        • Chicken
        • Turkey
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
      • Gluten Free
    • Cuisine
      • American
      • Asian
      • European
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
    • Holiday
      • New Year’s Eve
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Easter
      • 4th of July
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
  • Travel
    • Europe
    • United States
      • New York City
      • Portland
    • What To Wear
  • Life
    • Home
    • Party Ideas
    • Empty Nesters
    • Church
      • Activity Day
      • Relief Society
    • Organizational Tips
    • Recommended Reads
  • New? Start Here
  • Subscribe for weekly recipes

    FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


    Thank you for subscribing!


Recipe Finder

  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast and Brunch
    • Dessert
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Burgers
    • Sauces and Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
  • Cooking Method
    • Oven
    • Crock Pot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • One Pan
    • Quick and Easy
  • Ingredients
    • Beef
    • Eggs
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
    • Gluten Free
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • European
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican
  • Holiday
    • New Year’s Eve
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
Home / Latest Posts / Recipes / Ingredients / Pork / Kalua Pork

Kalua Pork

Jump to Recipe Share
Share on:
By: Leigh Anne WilkesPosted: 9/07/21Updated: 9/18/23

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.

Kalua Pork

Get all of the delicious flavor of your favorite Hawaiian pork with this Kalua Pork Recipe. It only needs 5 ingredients and can be made in the oven, slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Kalua Pork Rice Bowl

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

Everyone needs a repertoire of quick and easy meals to fix on busy nights.  And slow cooker recipes are my favorite way to get a delicious meal on the table with minimal effort.  This kalua pork recipe is the whole package – quick, easy and delicious and you can use it so many different ways.

Kalua Pork bowl

What is Kalua Pork?

Kalua Pork is a traditional dish from Hawaii and is a whole pig, wrapped in banana leaves that is cooked in an underground oven and often served at a luau.  This recipe gives you that delicious Hawaiian pork flavor, but prepared in your oven, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.

Ingredients

  • Pork Roast. You can use a pork shoulders, pork butt, Boston butt or picnic roast. Just use a boneless roast. Trim off any large pieces of fat.
  • Kosher salt or Hawaiian Sea Salt
  • Liquid Smoke. You can find this on the aisle with the BBQ sauce.
  • Brown sugar
  • Soy sauce
shredded Kalua Pork in a bowl

How to Make Kalua Pork

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork

  • Place meat in crockpot and sprinkle with salt, patting it into the meat.
  • Combine liquid smoke, brown sugar, soy sauce and water and  pour around pork, don’t wash off the salt.
  • Cook on high for 6-7 hours or on low for 10-12 hours.
  • Shred with a fork when tender and falling apart.

Kalua Pork in the oven

  • Place pork in a large dutch oven and sprinkle with salt, patting it into the meat.
  • Combine liquid smoke, brown sugar, soy sauce and water and pour over pork. Don’t wash off the salt.
  • Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil or lid.
  • Bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 5-6 hours or until fall apart tender.
pouring BBQ sauce over Kalua Pork

Instant Pot Kalua Pork

  • Place pork roast into the Instant Pot. Sprinkle with salt.
  • Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce and water.
  • Pour mixture to the side of the pork, don’t rinse off the salt.
  • Cover and seal, and set valve to sealing position.
  • Set to manual mode and set to 90 minutes.
  • Once time is up let pressure release naturally.
  • Remove pork and shred.
Kalua Pork Rice Bowl

After your pork is cooked you just shred it up with a fork and serve it over rice.  I also use either some teriyaki sauce or BBQ sauce on top for a little extra flavor but the pork is totally flavorful enough all on its own.

Serve As a Rice Bowl:

  • Rice
  • Kalua Pork
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli Slaw
  • Red Cabbage
  • Zucchini
  • Green Onion
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Teriyaki or BBQ sauce
Kalua Pork

Check out more of my favorite pork recipes:

  • BBQ Pork Sandwiches
  • Crockpot Cranberry Pork
  • Maple Glazed Instant Pot Pork Roast
  • Crock Pot Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin

Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.

4.63 from 8 votes
Kalua Pork

Kalua Pork Recipe

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes
All of the flavor of your favorite Kalua pork, cooked three different ways!
serves: 10 people
Prep:5 minutes minutes
Cook:7 hours hours
Total:7 hours hours 5 minutes minutes
Rate Recipe

Ingredients

  • 6 lbs. pork carnitas shoulder or butt roast (you want a cut of meat that has fat on it)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt or Hawaiian Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 C water

Instructions

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • Place meat in crockpot or pan and sprinkle with salt, patting it into the meat.
    Combine liquid smoke, brown sugar, soy sauce and water and  pour around pork, don't wash off the salt.
  • Cook on high cook for about 6-7 hours or on low for 10-12 hours.
    Shred with a fork when tender and falling apart.

Oven Instructions

  • Place pork in a large dutch oven and sprinkle with salt, patting it into the meat.
    Combine liquid smoke, brown sugar, soy sauce and water and pour over pork, being careful not to remove the salt.
  • Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil or lid and bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 5-6 hours or until fall apart tender.

Instant Pot Intructions

  • Place pork roast into the Instant Pot and sprinkle with salt. Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, liquid smoke and water and pour mixture to the side of the pork, be careful not to rinse off the salt.
  • Cover and seal, and set valve to sealing position. Set to manual mode and set timer to 90 minutes.
  • Once time is up, let pressure release naturally. Then remove pork and shred.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 359kcal (18%) Protein: 50g (100%) Fat: 15g (23%) Saturated Fat: 5g (31%) Cholesterol: 163mg (54%) Sodium: 646mg (28%) Potassium: 922mg (26%) Calcium: 38mg (4%) Iron: 3.3mg (18%)
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.
Course:Main Course, slow cooker main dish
Cuisine:American, Slow Cooker
Kalua Pork
Did you make this?I love seeing what you made. Be sure to share a picture and tag @yourhomebasedmom on social media!
Tag on Insta! Leave a Rating
Previous Post
Tomato Relish
Next Post
Rosemary Lemon Flank Steak

Reader Interactions

4.63 from 8 votes (7 ratings without comment)

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:




  1. Natalie says

    Posted on 1/6 at 8:01 pm

    Made this recipe today for the family. It was so delicious, easy, and clean! If you are short on time and need to get a great meal on the dinner table this is a must try.

    Reply
    • Leigh Anne Wilkes says

      Posted on 1/6 at 8:21 pm

      Love hearing that you loved it too!

      Reply
  2. Claudia Major says

    Posted on 9/9 at 4:22 am

    Where does the brown sugar and soy sauce in the recipe go? I can’t find any instructions for those ingred. in the recipe directions.

    Reply
    • Leigh Anne says

      Posted on 10/1 at 10:34 am

      I updated the recipe so it should be good now – thanks!

      Reply
  3. Carie Blount says

    Posted on 9/8 at 11:49 am

    In the description it says, “The meat goes in the crock pot with some salt, water, a little soy sauce, brown sugar and liquid smoke. ” In the recipe, the soy sauce and brown sugar aren’t mentioned. I want to make this, but want to check to see if I’m missing something? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Leigh Anne says

      Posted on 9/8 at 7:21 pm

      Sorry about that, recipe is fixed!
      Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Trisa Swenson says

    Posted on 3/20 at 7:31 pm

    We make this all the time. It is yummy! The leftovers also work well as barbecue pulled pork sandwiches. We made these for our son’s volleyball team when they were in the playoffs last season. They loved them and we didn’t have any leftovers from 2 big crockpots.

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Seasonal Posts

dish of lemon meringue ice cream

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

dish of blueberry ice cream

Fresh Blueberry Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Recipe

Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream

hand holding a chocolate ice cream cone

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Most Popular Posts

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

rolls in a white pan

30 Minute Rolls

texas sheet cake for two in a baking pan

Chocolate Sheet Cake for Two {Texas Sheet Cake}

overhead shot of ooey gooey cake

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

Trending Now

overhead shot of cinnamon rolls

One Hour Cinnamon Rolls

plate of smashed potatoes and a fork

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

overhead shot of bowl of almond chicken

Almond Chicken

baked riblets

Easy Oven Baked Riblets

No knead bread in a pan

Instant Pot Bread

Tomato tart pieces

Easy Tomato Tart

spoon full of mac and cheese

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Almond Torte

  • Crock Pot
  • Instant Pot
  • Chicken
  • Breakfast
  • Appetizers
  • Bread
  • Salad
  • Dessert

Order my Cookbook, Holiday Slow Cooker!

Buy Now!
Back to Top
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Contact
© 2013–2025 Leigh Anne Wilkes Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.