These pressure cooker salsa verde pork tostadas start with a FROZEN pork sirloin roast from Costco. Your Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker) transforms that frozen roast into tender, flavorful pork for an easy weeknight dinner in roughly an hour and a half.
Pressure Cooker Salsa Verde Pork Tostadas
We buy these large pork sirloin roasts in bulk frequently. With a big family, shopping at wholesale stores makes meal planning and prep much easier. This recipe is one of my go-to ways to turn a large frozen roast into a crowd-pleasing dinner with minimal hands-on time.
The same cooked pork is versatile: skip the Mexican seasonings and salsa verde, season simply with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, shred the meat, and you have excellent pulled pork for sandwiches served with your favorite barbecue sauce and slaw.
One of the biggest advantages of pressure cooking is that you can start from frozen. If you forget to defrost meat, your Instant Pot still gets the job done and delivers moist, shreddable pork without lengthy thawing. Life is busy; this method turns a frozen roast into dinner in less than two hours, which feels a little like magic.
Lately I’ve been using hard cider as the cooking liquid in the pressure cooker because it adds a subtle fruity note that pairs nicely with pork. If you don’t have cider on hand, beer, chicken broth, or even water will work fine—the important thing is to have enough liquid for the pot to come to pressure safely.
These tostadas are ideal for busy evenings and can be dressed up or down with whatever toppings you have: shredded lettuce, diced onion, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, crumbled cheese, lime wedges, or pickled jalapeños. They also reheat very well for lunches or a second dinner.
Pressure Cooker Salsa Verde Pork Tostadas
Easy dinner made from a frozen pork sirloin roast. This recipe uses a pressure cooker to transform frozen meat into tender, shred-ready pork and finishes with salsa verde for bright, zesty flavor.
2 minutes
1 hour
1 hour 2 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 whole pork sirloin roast, frozen
- 1 12-ounce can dry hard apple cider (or substitute beer, chicken broth, or water)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup salsa verde
- 2 tablespoons Chile Margarita seasoning (or substitute your favorite taco seasoning)
- 8 tostada shells
- Your favorite taco toppings (lettuce, onion, cilantro, avocado, cheese, lime, sour cream, etc.)
Instructions
- Place the frozen pork roast in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Pour the hard cider (or chosen liquid) over the roast. Close the lid and set the valve to the sealed position.
- Program the Instant Pot on “Meat” mode or manual high pressure for 60 minutes. Allow the cooker to come to pressure and complete the timed cooking cycle.
- When cooking is finished, let the pressure release naturally. Natural release helps the meat remain moist and makes it easier to shred. If you’re short on time, allow 20 minutes of natural release before using the quick release.
- Carefully open the lid when pressure has fully released. Use two forks to shred the pork directly in the pot. Add the salsa verde, salt, pepper, and Chile Margarita seasoning, and stir to combine. If the meat is not yet tender enough to shred easily, reseal and cook for an additional 20 minutes under high pressure.
- Turn the pot to the “Sauté” setting and lower it to low. Simmer the shredded pork for about 10–15 minutes to reduce excess liquid and concentrate the flavors. Adjust the simmer time as needed based on how much liquid the roast released.
- Serve the shredded pork on tostada shells and top with your favorite garnishes: chopped onion, cilantro, shredded lettuce, avocado slices, crumbled queso fresco or cotija, a squeeze of lime, and a dollop of sour cream if desired.
Tip: This pork keeps well in the refrigerator for several days and freezes nicely. Reheat gently on the stove, in the microwave, or in a warm oven so it stays moist.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 125 · Saturated Fat: 1g · Cholesterol: 1mg · Sodium: 418mg · Carbohydrates: 16g · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 2g · Protein: 1g