These are the Best Instant Pot Meatballs. They’re cooked for 3 minutes in tomato sauce and covered in parmesan cheese – no sautéing required!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Extra-lean ground beef – use another kind of ground meat like ground chicken, pork or turkey.
- Yellow onion – shallots or white onion would be the best substitutes here.
- Breadcrumbs – use panko or almond meal instead.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a good dairy-free substitute for parmesan.
- Egg – the egg will help bond the meatballs but you can leave it out if you’re not a fan.
- Garlic – I prefer freshly minced garlic but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Dijon mustard – stone-ground mustard will also work but has a slightly different flavour.
- Worcestershire sauce – leave this out altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Tomato sauce – use any store-bought sauce of your choice or make your own.
How to make meatballs in the Instant Pot
- Mix together the ingredients.
- Form the mixture into balls.
- Spray the Instant Pot.
- Add in the tomato sauce.
- Place the meatballs over top.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy!
Cooking meatballs with pasta
You can cook Instant Pot spaghetti and meatballs at the same time. No need to cook the meatballs first! Simply layer the sauce, meatballs, then the pasta, and some water. You’ll need to add three cups of liquid total for every eight ounces of uncooked pasta, so if you’re using 2 cups of tomato sauce you’ll need about 1 cup of water in addition to pour over the pasta. Cook it all in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes on high pressure then do the quick pressure release and you’re good to go!
Frequently Asked Questions
You sure can! This meatball recipe is super easy because the raw meatballs will cook in the tomato sauce. Since you don’t have to worry about sautéing the meatballs first, you’re only using one pot – which means less cooking time and less cleaning time.
The secret to good meatballs is good quality meat, delicious seasonings and using binders like egg, breadcrumbs and parmesan.
You can use any tomato sauce you like for this recipe. If you want a blank canvas, use a plain tomato sauce. This way, the meatballs can be used for anything from pasta to sandwiches! If you’re low on time, I suggest using a jarred spaghetti sauce as I have done with this recipe. That way, you keep things simple and will have a full meal in under 30 minutes.
Storing and reheating
These Instant Pot meatballs will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator once they are fully cooked.
They’re great for meal prep – I like to prepare a large batch and divide them into individual portions. Mix and match the sides to create unique and satisfying lunches for a whole week.
To reheat, simply pop them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, sprinkling some water over top first or placing a damp paper towel over top to retain moisture and prevent splattering.
Freezing this recipe
These meatballs can be frozen cooked or uncooked.
To freeze uncooked meatballs, form the balls then place them on a tray in the freezer for an hour. After they have frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Freezing them for an hour first ensures they don’t stick together. Uncooked meatballs will last for 3 to 4 months.
To freeze cooked meatballs, allow them to cool completely first. They will last for 2 months in the freezer.
Once you have a stash of frozen meatballs, it’s quick to grab a few to accompany a meal. As a result, you can cook meatballs directly from frozen without thawing them!
To reheat cooked meatballs from frozen, just sprinkle some water over top and microwave for 3-4 minutes, checking on them halfway through the cooking time. I recommend only reheating 4-6 meatballs at a time.
More Instant Pot comfort food
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning these meatballs into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my grass-fed ground beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you’re adding meatballs to freezer bags then freezing them.
The Best Instant Pot Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, grated
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 (680mL) jar tomato sauce
- Parmesan cheese & parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. Roll each meatball into 1-inch balls.
- Spray Instant Pot with cooking spray and add tomato sauce. Carefully add in meatballs one by one. Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Garnish meatballs with parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve and enjoy!
