Are you looking for a quick homemade meatballs recipe for dinner? This instant pot meatballs recipe is the answer you have been waiting for. This pressure cooker meatball is quick, easy and packed full of delicious flavours, tender and juicy.
No chilling, searing or baking is needed for this recipe. Right, lets get to it and I will show you how to make it in easy steps.
Easy instant pot meatballs recipe
One of the recipes you will never regret making in your instant pot electric pressure cooker is ground beef. It doesn’t matter what recipe it is, it comes out appetising and juicy every single time.
I have quite a few instant pot ground beef recipe here on the blog from this instant pot taco meat to instant pot sloppy joes to this super easy Instant pot Korean beef. The king of them all is my instant pot meatloaf and mashed potatoes. 2 in 1 recipe that is guaranteed to wow the whole family.
This instant pot meatballs is an addition to my ground beef repertoire and trust me it is not going to be the last as I have loads more from where this came from. After I made this homemade meatball with tomato sauce recipe, I told myself I am never again going to make it any other way.
This recipe literally takes about 10 minutes to prep and you don’t have to brown or bake the meatballs before cooking it. So yes, it is more like a dump and go instant pot recipe and the best instant pot meatballs recipe out there. Right, let’s get to it.
Ingredients
Ground beef: You can also go half and half but using half ground beef, half ground pork. You may even use ground turkey or chicken
Passata: substitute with spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce.
Breadcrumbs: you can substitute with 2 crustless white sliced bread, this act as a binding ingredients for the meatballs
Parmesan cheese
Egg
Milk
Beef stock cube: I used OXO, you can use any brand of choice
Dried parsley
Grated onion: when making meatballs, I prefer to grate my onions rather than chopping it, that way the meatball hold its shape and the onions are well cooked too.
Brown Sugar: substitute with Worcestershire sauce
Herb de Provence: substitute with mixed herbs or Italian seasoning
Smoked paprika
Black pepper
Salt to taste
How to make instant pot meatballs and sauce in easy steps
Make the meatballs: To a big bowl, add ground beef, breadcrumbs, grated onions, parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt, black pepper and whisk one egg in. Get your hands in there and mix to combine. Don’t overmix so that the meatballs don’t come out tough.
Scoop and roll the meat mixture in your palms in small portions to form a ball. You should get between 12 to 15 meatballs. To make the job easier and for equal meatball sizes, use a medium size cookie scoop.
Make the meatball sauce: turn on your instant pot, select saute button and set to normal. Add olive oil, passata, herb de Provence, brown sugar, beef stock and mix to combine. Sprinkle smoked paprika and salt on the sauce, don’t stir.
Add the meatballs to the sauce, do not stir. Lock the lid of the IP securely and turn the valve to the sealing position. Select the manual or high pressure cook, then time for 6 minutes.
The timer would beep once it’s done cooking, leave the pressure cooker to naturally release for 5 minutes then carefully do a quick release.
Carefully stir the meatballs and sauce to combine. Serve with pasta, rice or as an appetiser with homemade garlic bread.
Tips
- If using cooked frozen meatballs, adjust the timer to 7 minutes instead of 6 minutes.
- For lighter tomato sauce, add ½ cup of beef broth to the sauce and reduce the salt added to the
- Use any herbs and spices of choice you want to the meatballs.
- Make this instant pot meatballs without sauce easy by skipping the tomato sauce. Instead of cooking the meatballs directly in the IP with the sauce, add 1 cup of beef broth to the pot and place the meatballs on a trivet. The meatballs won’t crisp up like it would if you baked or pan fry them, simply finish it off in the grill or broil for few minutes.
More instant pot recipes you would love
Instant pot spaghetti sauce with frozen ground beef
Pressure cooker chicken and rice
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Instant Pot Meatballs Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 500 g Ground beef You can also go half and half but using half ground beef half ground pork. You may even use ground turkey or chicken
- 500 g passata substitute with spaghetti sauce
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs substitute with 2 crustless white sliced bread
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 Egg
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 Beef stock cube I used OXO, you can use any brand of choice
- ½ tablespoon dried parsley
- ⅓ cup grated red onion
- ½ tablespoon brown sugar substitute with 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons herb de Provence substitute with mixed herbs
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- To a big bowl, add ground beef, breadcrumbs, grated onions, parmesan cheese, dried parsley, salt, black pepper, milk and, whisk one egg in. Get your hands in there and mix to combine. Don’t overmix so that the meatballs don’t come out tough.
- Scoop and roll the meat mixture in your palms in small portions to form a ball. You should get between 12 to 15 meatballs. To make the job easier and for equal meatball sizes, use a medium-size cookie scoop.
- Turn on your instant pot, select sauté button and set to normal. Add olive oil, passata, herb de Provence, brown sugar, beef stock and mix to combine. Sprinkle smoked paprika and salt on the sauce, don’t stir.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce, do not stir. Lock the lid of the IP securely and turn the valve to the sealing position. Select the manual or high-pressure cook, then time for 6 minutes. The timer would beep once it’s done cooking, leave the pressure cooker to naturally release for 5 minutes then carefully do a quick release.
- Carefully stir the meatballs and sauce to combine. Serve with pasta, rice or as an appetiser with homemade garlic bread.
Video
Notes
- If using cooked frozen meatballs, adjust the timer to 7 minutes instead of 6 minutes.
- For lighter tomato sauce, add ½ cup of beef broth to the sauce and reduce the salt added to the
Nutrition
Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.
Lence Ardzanovska says
Its great, very easy and delicious, just as I thought so.
Gearoid Ó Broin says
Milk is listed as an ingredient but does not appear in the instructions.
Ajoke says
Thanks for the observation, recipe is now updated accordingly.