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These Instant Pot Meatballs are the easiest way to make meatballs, EVER. No browning or sautéing. Just throw them in the sauce uncooked and let the Instant Pot do the rest!
Featured with this Recipe
- Instant Pot Meatballs
- Instant Pot Meatball Ingredients
- How to Make Meatballs
- Put them straight in the Pot!
- Any Kind Of Pressure Cooker Will Work
- Avoiding The Burn Notice
- Quick Reference: How Long To Cook Meatballs in the Instant Pot
- Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Meatballs
- Tips for Cooking and Serving
- Frequently Asked Questions About Instant Pot Meatballs
- Want More Instant Pot Recipes?
- How to Make Instant Pot Meatballs
- Instant Pot Meatballs Recipe
Instant Pot Meatballs
Try this Instant Pot Meatballs recipe with some of our favorite side dishes or salads. If it’s bread you are looking for, you can never go wrong with Hot & Cheesy Garlic Bread, Breadtwists, or our Parmesan Pull Apart bread.
Meatballs in the Instant Pot are THE way to go when it comes to meatballs. They really couldn’t be easier! When cooking meatballs in a pan, they can crumble and fall apart. Baking them can dry them out. Cooking them in the Instant Pot is easier AND tastes better. By cooking them in the sauce, the meaty flavor infuses the sauce and makes it so much more flavorful. Instant Pot Meatballs can be shaped, thrown in, and cooked without falling apart AT ALL. The meatballs stay tightly packed and don’t crumble in the sauce!
Instant Pot Meatball Ingredients
- ground beef – You can also use a beef/pork mixture with lean ground beef and Italian sausage, or if you prefer turkey meatballs use ground turkey
- onion – yellow or white will work best, finely chopped or grated
- bread crumbs – seasoned or unseasoned is fine. We like using panko bread crumb
- parmesan cheese
- eggs – the “binder” that holds the meatballs together.
- milk – adds more moisture to the meat while cooking and keeps it from drying out
- seasonings – garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper (feel free to add or sub out other dried or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme)
- spaghetti sauce – you can use jarred pasta sauce or our recipe for canned spaghetti sauce
How to Make Meatballs
- Combine all ingredients (except spaghetti sauce) in a large bowl until well-mixed. Mixing together with your hands works great.
- Form into 1.5-inch balls using your hands or a small ice cream scoop or cookie scoop. You want them to be slightly smaller than a golf ball. I like to set them on some parchment paper as I roll them.
Put them straight in the Pot!
See? Uncooked! Crazy right? The first time I made these, I was a little worried. I thought that the meatballs wouldn’t keep their shape and I would end up having meat sauce, which happens to me more than I would care to admit when I am sautéing meatballs in a skillet. I don’t know why they don’t fall apart in the Instant Pot. It’s like magic.
Any Kind Of Pressure Cooker Will Work
I also need to mention that this will work great in ANY kind of pressure cooker. No matter what you use, you will get the same results. Just make sure you have enough liquid in the pot so it will actually seal. You also don’t want to get a burn notice. Which brings me to…
Avoiding The Burn Notice
Tomato-based sauces can be tricky in an Instant Pot because tomatoes have a tendency to burn easily. Make sure your sauce is thin enough to create steam and seal the pot. You can thin it out by adding a can of diced tomatoes or even just a little water. If you are worried about it being TOO thin, you can always add tomato paste or tomato sauce to your pasta sauce after the meatballs are done cooking. I like using my homemade canned sauce because the consistency is just right. If it seems too thin afterward, I will add a few tablespoons of tomato paste and that usually does the trick.
Quick Reference: How Long To Cook Meatballs in the Instant Pot
Cooking time (high pressure): 7 minutes
Slow release (natural release): 5 minutes
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Meatballs
To store your meatballs after cooking, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes, and then place them in an airtight container or freezer zip-top bag. Store them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3 months. These meatballs are great for meal prep and you can make large batches at one time. To reheat, place frozen meatballs in the fridge overnight to thaw and re-heat over the stove top or in the microwave until meatballs are cooked through and the marinara sauce is hot.
Tips for Cooking and Serving
- For this recipe, I used our own Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce, but you can use your own recipe or just store-bought spaghetti sauce. No matter what you use, it is going to be awesome. Even store-bought spaghetti sauce will be kicked up a notch because the meatballs will be cooked in it, giving it an incredible flavor.
- Not a huge fan of ground beef? Feel free to try ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken meatballs too! We will often do a mixture of both ground beef and pork to make them more tender.
- These meatballs can easily be made gluten-free if you want to switch out the Panko breadcrumbs for gluten-free breadcrumbs. You can also use gluten-free oats if you don’t have breadcrumbs on hand.
- Of course, you will want to serve these meatballs over gluten-free pasta if you have an intolerance to gluten. If GF pasta isn’t your thing, you can also use zoodles (spiralized zucchini), or you can use spaghetti squash.
- Have leftovers? These meatballs make incredible meatball subs! Give them a try!
Read Next: 27 BEST Instant Pot Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions About Instant Pot Meatballs
It’s not the time as much as it is the temperature. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees. By following this recipe you will have perfectly cooked meatballs in 20 minutes.
Yes! The meat will heat up quickly in the Instant Pot, making it a safe cooking method.
If cooking pre-cooked meatballs and they are frozen, you can cook them on high pressure for 5 minutes and do a 5-minute slow release.
Definitely, these are great used for a meatball sub sandwich, with toothpicks as an appetizer, or even as a main dish with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables for a more low-carb option.
Read Next: Pym Test Kitchen Impossible Spoonful
Want More Instant Pot Recipes?
Strapped for time? We have dozens of delicious dinners that come together in no time! Check out some of our Instant Pot favorites:
How to Make Instant Pot Meatballs
Instant Pot Meatballs
Video
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef lean
- 1/2 cup onion grated
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups spaghetti sauce (see notes above)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (except spaghetti sauce) until well mixed. Mixing together with your hands works great.Form into balls using hands or small ice cream scoop. You want them to be slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Spray bottom of Instant Pot with cooking spray and add spaghetti sauce. Place meatballs over the sauce, layering them if necessary. It's OK if they touch, just don't squish them too much.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and switch valve to “sealing”. Press “Manual” and set to high pressure for 7 minutes.
- After you hear the timer go off, allow to slow release for another 5 minutes and then do the quick release (you do this by carefully switching the tab to "venting"). Remove lid from Instant Pot, stir, and serve over cooked pasta noodles.
I love these meatballs. I make them with ground turkey and usually with only a pound of meat. They are so easy and quick to make and always a big hit!
I love these meatballs. I make them with ground turkey and usually with only a pound of meat. They are so easy and quick to make and always a big hit!
Simple and tasty. Love this and so does my Husband, who can be hard to please!
I have made this with Turkey mince and been very successful! Thank you for sharing the recipe, I make it once a week now and sneak frozen chopped spinach into the mix to trick my daughter lol
This is my 2nd comment, but just wanted to say I added 1/2 cup water to some sauce & stirred, then added remaining sauce & meatballs on top. NO burn notice what so ever.
LOVE! Followed recipe fairly exactly & family loved it. Will make this way again & again. Thanks!
Love this recipe! Made it at least 20xs using Turkey meat and my family LOVES it!
Your meatballs are falling apart in the skillet because you’re using a recipe without egg, which acts as a binder. Two tablespoons of psylium husk in the mix will help a lot if you can’t cook with egg.
Fabulous! I’ve made the recipe with, beef, turkey, and veal – all amazing. Its a great “go to” meal and makes plenty for 2 dinners for our family.
I made this recipe for 20 people exactly as it was posted and it came out delicious & moist. I used jarred Prego Chunky Veggie Sauce and everyone loved them. Because of the amount of meatballs I made, I had to cook them on the stovetop but it was just as easy for me. Two thumbs up!
I’m so happy you like this recipe as much as we do! Thank you for the review!
This looks amazing! My daughter is highly allergic to milk protein, so we will have to omit the cheese. Will this affect how the meatballs cook? Would you suggest using anything in its place, or will it be fine without? Thanks in advance for the feedback!
I think it would be alright without the cheese. If you want to, you could use some nutritional yeast as a substitute! Maybe not 1:1 exactly, a little less nutritional yeast and add some more breadcrumbs.
I eat kosher, so I left the cheese out and it turned out fine
This recipe makes a very nice, moist meatball… so often meatballs can get dried out with just a bit too much cooking… not with these!
Greatings from Australia! New to Instant Pots and wanted to try this recipe. I have 4 young children ranging in age from 9 to 2 and all of them inhaled the dish. I loved the flavour also. So comforting. Thank you for posting this. Not a single meatball left.
I am on a Keto diet, but use this recipe with my own keto changes. Turns out yum every time!
You can avoid the “burn” signal problem by putting the ingredients into a round Corningware casserole and placing the casserole into the Instant Pot stainless steel pot on the trivet with a cup and a half of water in the bottom of the pot (under the casserole). Put a glass lid on the casserole pan, and cook according the recipe instructions. This prevents the “burn” signal problem. Cleanup is much easier too!
Instead of the spaghetti sauce could I use a brown gravy then put on top of mashed potatoes.
I haven’t tried gravy in the instant pot, so I’m not sure. Usually gravy has some milk or cornstarch in it and those things don’t cook well in an IP.
My meatballs turned out great!! I followed the recipe and directions exactly. I have never gotten a burn notice when using tomato sauce, but I have an older IP Duo 5 qt. Thank you!!
Best meatballs ever. My grandkids inhale them.
I love using these instant pot meatballs in spaghetti. Perfect addition that the kids love
This recipe turned out great! I ended up using Ragu instead of making my own sauce like i normally do, but even with jar sauce the meatballs were delicious! This is definitely my new go to meatball recipe. It was so quick and easy making them in the pressure cooker. Thanks
These meatballs were delicious! I love how easy they are to make!
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This recipe is fantastic. I love that in following all the instructions and measurements to a ‘T’, the outcome is exactly what you would hope for. The only substitution I made was onion powder in lieu of grating onion but that was only for the sake of convenience. I made the meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball and cooked them for 11 minutes instead of 7 but followed the other cooking instructions verbatim and the results were perfect and delicious. Unlike some reviews, I didn’t get a burn notice but I would emphasize the importance of spraying the bottom of the Instant Pot with the non-stick cooking spray to minimize the possibility of this happening. Needless to say, I’ll be making this again!
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m happy you love this recipe as much as we do!
Would the cooking time change if I made the meatballs bigger? Baseball size
Yes, you would probably have to cook longer. I don’t know exactly the time, you’d have to experiment with it!
Ok so this was a fail for me. I got the food burn message. I even added water to the spaghetti sauce. When I got the error I scooped it all out and finished on the stove top. They tasted great but I need help to make this one work.
The same thing happened to me tonight. I am not sure how to make sure that does not happen again.
LOVE THESE MEATBALLS!!!
I am an Instapot virgin haha, so I came here to get the easiest recipes. This recipe was the first one I tried. I’ve made these heavenly meatballs quite a few times now, and today i though I must leave a 5-star review that I always forget to write.
YAY!!! I’m happy this recipe was a success for you. Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂