Instant Pot Meatballs

This instant pot meatball recipe is perfect when you want a hearty meal without spending much time in the kitchen. It uses ground beef, cooks under pressure for just 12 minutes, and delivers tender meatballs simmered in a rich red sauce. Enjoy them piled into a meatball sub or spooned over pasta for an easy, satisfying dinner.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is how the Instant Pot cooks the meatballs and sauce together at the same time. No browning in batches, no simmering all day, and no extra pans to wash. Everything cooks in one pot, the process is fast, and the result is incredibly tender, juicy meatballs infused with rich tomato flavor. It’s a huge time-saver compared to the slow-cooked meatballs I grew up with.

In my family, “gravy” meant spaghetti sauce, and my mom learned to make hers from her mother. Their gravy would bubble on the stove for hours, filling the house with the kind of comforting aroma you remember for a lifetime.

That same comforting smell fills my kitchen today — only now, thanks to the pressure cooker, I can get there in a fraction of the time.

And truly, the flavor of these meatballs simmered directly in the sauce is something special.

Want to use the meatballs in a recipe? Try my meatball sub recipe.

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Helpful tips

• I like my tomato sauce on the chunky side, so I use one can of diced tomatoes and one can of crushed tomatoes, but if you want a smooth sauce, use two cans of crushed tomatoes.
• I prefer to add my herbs and spices, so I buy cans of tomatoes without added ingredients like basil, etc. I suggest you do the same.
• I sometimes make meatballs with a mixture of ground meats, such as beef and ground pork or beef and lamb; the rest of the recipe remains the same whether you use a single meat or a mixture.
• You could use ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer.
• I use baby portobello mushrooms, but you can use white button mushrooms.
• My mom used green bell peppers in her gravy, but I prefer red bell peppers. Use what you prefer.
• I choose grass-fed beef whenever possible because it tastes better than conventional beef. Grass-fed is not much more expensive, so give yourself a treat and taste the difference.
• I recommend you layer the ingredients in the order I give in the recipe card, so you don’t get a burn message on your pressure cooker.
• Do not stir the ingredients together before cooking because you want the meatballs to be under the tomatoes; stirring them will disrupt that. You will stir it once it’s all cooked.
• You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. And this recipe is very freezer-friendly and can be stored for up to 5 months.
• Reheating these meatballs is easy; place them with sauce in a deep sauté pan or saucepan and heat them on low for 10 – 15 minutes.

How to make instant pot meatballs and sauce

Pre-step

Get your pressure cooker or instant pot and a mixing bowl.

Step one

Gather the starting ingredients – medium/large onion, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. (A)

Step two

Chop the onion into medium chunks and add to the instant pot container.(B)

Step three

Chop the red bell pepper into chunks and add to the container. (C)

Step four

Gather the rest of the ingredients – grass-fed ground beef, eggs, herbs and spices, breadcrumbs, and canned tomatoes. (D)

Step five

Add ground beef to the mixing bowl. (E) Add oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. (F)

Step six

Add two eggs (G) and add breadcrumbs. (H)

Step seven

Use your hands to mix the meat mixture. Roll them into meatballs once the meat is combined with the rest of the ingredients. I like bigger meatballs in my gravy, so mine are fairly big. I made 10 meatballs out of 1 pound of ground beef.

Place the meatballs into the instant pot container. (I)

Step eight

Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and bay leaf. (J)

Step nine

Slice the mushrooms and add them on top. Don’t stir. (K)

Step ten

Place the lid on the instant pot and seal it. Make sure the venting knob is set to sealed and the pressure is set to high pressure and the mode to normal.

Press the pressure cook or manual button and set the timer to 12 minutes.

The pressure cooker will take around 20 minutes to come to pressure before the meatballs start to cook.

Step eleven

Once the Instant Pot beeps that it’s done cooking, either let the pressure release naturally, which will take around 20 – 25 minutes, or do a quick release after 5 minutes.

Remove the lid. (L)

Now, you can stir the ingredients together. You can either serve the meatballs out of the instant pot container or transfer them to a serving bowl like I do.

Yum, yum.

Time to serve it.

Delicious! I hope you enjoyed these instant pot meatballs with sauce recipe. It’s so easy to make and super satisfying. It happens to be one of my favorite instant pot recipes.

Other sauce recipes

• Spaghetti sauce
• Tomato gravy
• Enchilada sauce
• Sour cream sauce

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

First published in August 2021.