My Instant Pot Meatballs are inspired by my family's Italian meatballs and sauce recipe. The great thing is, this recipe is easier and much quicker than the original version!
How to make meatballs in an Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) vs Stovetop
Essentially, I prepare my meatballs and tomato sauce just like I would on the stovetop, but instead of simmering the meatballs slowly, I pressure cook them for less than 10 minutes.
That being said, you can follow this exact recipe using a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot on the stovetop, except instead of pressure cooking, just partially cover the pot and simmer for 30-60 minutes or until meatballs and sauce achieve desired texture and flavor.
To make this in the pressure cooker, brown the meatballs in batches on the saute setting. Then, cook the onions and garlic for the sauce. Add in the tomato products and basil. Return the meatballs to the pot, cook on high pressure for about 8 minutes, and you have a delicious dinner ahead.
The Best Meat to Use for Meatballs
For the optimal flavor, I like to use a mixture of ground beef, veal and pork. You can also use all beef, a mix of just beef and pork, or a mix of just veal and pork.
For moist and juicy meatballs, use meat which is approximately 20% fat. If you're concerned about your heart health, leaner ground meat would work totally fine too! You could even use ground chicken or turkey, although I'd recommend the dark meat over the white.
Serving Suggestions for Instant Pot Meatballs
- Cook 1lb of dried pasta of choice, such as spaghetti or rigatoni. When pasta is cooked just short of al dente, transfer pasta to sauce in instant pot, and cook on saute setting until the pasta absorbs some of the sauce and the sauce thickens slightly, about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Serve on top of my Creamy Parmesan Polenta as seen in the photos.
- Warm some crusty bread in the oven for dunking.
- Make a simple salad on the side.
- No matter which side dishes you're serving, top the meatballs with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
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- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Pasta alla Vodka
- Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta
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Italian Instant Pot Meatballs in Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Description
Inspired by my family's Italian recipe, these Instant Pot Meatballs in sauce, give you all the comfort of Sunday dinner in half the time!
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 陆 lb ground beef*
- 陆 lb ground pork
- 陆 lb ground veal
- 2oz or about 2 slices of any white bread, crust removed
- Milk or water for soaking bread
- 2 large eggs
- 录 cup finely chopped parsley
- 录 to 陆 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping* (preferably Parmigiano Reggiano)
- 1 medium clove garlic, minced or smashed with garlic press
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
Sauce:
- 录 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
- 陆 medium onion, chopped (~1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or smashed with garlic press
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2, 28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 sprigs fresh basil, plus more for topping
- 1 tsp sugar or to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Soak bread: Place bread in a bowl and pour over enough milk or water to cover. Allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes while preparing other ingredients. Squeeze out and discard any extra liquid.
- Make panade: In a large bowl, combined soaked bread, eggs, parsley, cheese and garlic, and mix to combine.
- Season meatballs: Add ground meats to bread mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix gently to combine, making sure not to overmix and toughen meat. To taste for seasoning, make a tiny tester meatball and cook on stove top. Based on the flavor, add more salt, pepper or cheese, as desired.
- Roll and brown balls: Roll meatballs into golf ball sized rounds. Do not pack tightly. Heat Instant Pot on saut茅 setting on high. Add one tablespoon of oil, followed by meatballs, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side or until well-browned. Transfer onto a plate. Add remaining tablespoon of oil and continue to cook in batches until all meatballs are browned. Discard excess oil in pot, but do not clean pot.
- Cook aromatics: Reduce heat to medium setting. Add 录 cup of oil and chopped onion to pot. Season with salt, and saut茅 about 5-7 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saut茅 for 30 seconds, making sure not to burn.
- Add tomatoes: Add tomato paste and reduce heat to low setting. Cook about 5 minutes, or until slightly darkened in color. Puree canned tomatoes in blender until smooth, and add to pot. Stir scraping off fond from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt. Add meatballs back to pot. Stir in sprigs of basil.
- Pressure cook: Seal pot as per manufacturer鈥檚 instructions. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes. Natural release for 5 minutes and then quick release remaining pressure.
- Adjust sauce: If sauce is a little thin for your liking, turn pot onto medium saut茅 setting and simmer until desired thickness is achieved. Taste sauce for seasoning. Add salt and a couple of pinches of sugar, as desired. Remove and discard cooked basil.
- Serve: Serve these Italian meatballs with warm crusty bread, pasta or my creamy parmesan polenta. Top with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil, grated parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil, if desired. Enjoy.
Notes
I suggest using ground beef with 20% fat. 聽Feel free to use all ground beef, or half ground beef and half ground pork, or half ground veal and half ground pork.
If you are using parmesan which is pre-ground from the grocery store, or ground with your vitamix, for example, I suggest starting with 录 cup and adding more to taste, if desired. If you grate parmesan with your microplane, which creates lighter fluffy strands of cheese, use about 陆 cup of loosely packed cheese, and adjust as needed.
If you are serving meatballs with pasta, this recipe makes enough sauce for 1lb of dried pasta.
To cook on the stovetop, follow steps 1-3 as directed. For step 4, brown the meatballs in a Dutch oven or nonstick pan. Make the sauce in the same Dutch oven as directed above, or another heavy bottomed sauce pot. Simmer meatballs in sauce with pot partially covered, for 30 to 60 minutes or until flavor of sauce is developed, and sauce is thickened to desired consistency.聽
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Pressure Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 525mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 27g
- Cholesterol: 135mg
Allison says
Love this! It's almost identical to my stovetop recipe, but half the time! I use beef and pork and a little more garlic. Perfection!
Sabrina Russo says
That's great!! More garlic is never a bad idea 馃檪
romain says
Half veal - half pork on polenta and ready in no time. Love this!
Sabrina Russo says
Thanks, Romain 馃檪
Nancy Russo says
Excellent recipe Sabrina will be making these tomorrow.
Sabrina Russo says
Thanks! Let me know how they turn out 馃檪