Instant Pot Meatballs

Craving meatballs and sauce but short on time? Make this instant pot meatball recipe that calls for ground beef. It only needs 12 minutes of pressure and it makes the most tender meatballs cooked in red sauce: perfect in a meatball sub or for dinner, served over pasta.

One thing I love about this recipe is cooking meatballs and sauce simultaneously in the pressure cooker, not in stages: it’s less work, takes less time, and makes the meatballs soft and juicy. Another thing I love is that these instant pot meatballs can be ready in a fraction of the time it takes than if you were slow cooking them most of the day.

I’ve mentioned before that my mom learned how to make meatballs and gravy from her mother. Gravy is what our family calls spaghetti sauce. My mom’s gravy would bubble on the stove for hours as the aroma permeated the air.

It was such a comforting smell and continues to be here in our household. I just don’t take hours to create it!

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

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Helpful tips

• I like my gravy on the chunky side, so I use one can of diced tomatoes and one can of crushed tomatoes, but if you like a smooth gravy, use two cans of crushed tomatoes.
• I prefer to add my own herbs and spices, so I buy cans of tomatoes that don’t have any 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 pork or beef and lamb; the rest of the recipe remains the same whether you use a single meat or a mixture.
• I tend to use baby portobello mushrooms, but you can use white button mushrooms if you prefer.
• My mom used to use green bell peppers in her gravy, but I prefer red bell peppers. Use what you prefer.
• I choose grass-fed beef whenever I can because it tastes better than conventional beef. Grass-fed is not that 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 and stirring them will disrupt that. You will stir it once it’s all cooked.

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 in medium chunks and add to the instant pot container.(B)

Step three

Chop the red bell pepper in 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, and garlic powder. (F)

Step six

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

Step seven

Use your hands to mix the meat mixture together. Once the meat is combined with the rest of the ingredients, roll them into meatballs. 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 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 to a serving bowl like I do.

Yum, yum.

Time to serve it.

Delicious! I hope you enjoyed this instant pot meatballs with sauce recipe. It’s so easy to make and super satisfying.

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 the 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!