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
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!
Instant Pot Meatballs
Ingredients
For meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef (grass-fed if you can get it)
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (heaping or 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (plain)
To layer
- 1 medium onion (or large – chopped in medium chunks)
- 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped in medium chunks)
- 10 ounces baby portobello mushrooms (sliced)
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons basil
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
Make the meatballs
- In a mixing bowl, add ground beef, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and eggs.
- Use your hands to mix the meat together with the other ingredients. Form the meatballs. I like my meatballs on the bigger size, so I ended up with 10 meatballs.
Start layering the rest of the ingredients
- Place the onions in the instant pot container.
- Add the red bell peppers.
- Place the meatballs on the peppers
- Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoon basil, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt and bay leaf.
- Lastly, add sliced mushrooms. Important: do not stir the ingredients together. See notes on why.
- Seal instant pot, make sure the venting knob is set to the sealed position. Also make sure the pressure is set to high and the mode is set to normal.
- Press the pressure cook button and set the timer to 12 minutes.
- Once the pressure cooker beeps that it is done, either let the pressure release naturally or do a quick release after 5 minutes. Make sure to protect yourself from the steam by putting on a oven mitt before nudging the knob to the venting position.
- Either serve the meatballs and sauce from the instant pot container or transfer to a serving bowl.
- Serve
- Eat
- Smile
- Enjoy
Equipment
See all my favorite tools and gift ideas at my Amazon Store page!Check out Elaine’s Amazon Store!Notes
- 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 alternate my meatballs with a mixture of ground meats – beef and pork or beef and lamb, but this recipe has just ground beef.
- 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 try it and taste the difference.
- You are going to layer the ingredients in the order I give in the recipe card. You do this so you don’t get a burn message on your pressure cooker.
- You will also not stir the ingredients together before cooking because you want the meatballs to be under the tomatoes and stirring them will disrupt that.
