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These Instant Pot Meatballs are the easiest way to make meatballs, EVER. No browning or sautéing. Just throw them in the sauce uncooked and let the Instant Pot do the rest!
Meatballs Made Faster!
Meatballs in the Instant Pot are THE way to go when it comes to meatballs. They really couldn’t be easier! When cooking meatballs in a pan, they can crumble and fall apart. Baking them can dry them out. Cooking them in the Instant Pot is easier AND tastes better. By cooking them in the sauce, the meaty flavor infuses the sauce and makes it so much more flavorful. Instant Pot Meatballs can be shaped, thrown in, and cooked without falling apart AT ALL. The meatballs stay tightly packed and don’t crumble in the sauce!
Table of Contents
- Meatballs Made Faster!
- Instant Pot Meatball Ingredients
- How to Make The Meatballs
- Put them straight in the Pot!
- Any Kind Of Pressure Cooker Will Work
- Avoiding The Burn Notice
- How Long To Cook Meatballs in the Instant Pot
- How Long To Cook Frozen Meatballs
- Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Meatballs
- Tips for Cooking and Serving
- Questions About Instant Pot Meatballs
- More Easy Meatball Recipes
- Instant Pot Meatballs Recipe
- Want More Instant Pot Recipes?
Instant Pot Meatball Ingredients
- Ground beef: You can also use a beef/pork mixture with lean ground beef and Italian sausage, or if you prefer turkey meatballs use ground turkey.
- Onion – Yellow or white will work best, very finely chopped or grated.
- Bread crumbs – Seasoned or unseasoned is fine. We like using panko bread crumb
- Parmesan cheese – This is one of those few recipes where the powdery kind from the canister works great. You can also use fresh grated, just make sure is super fine.
- Eggs – The “binder” that holds the meatballs together.
- Milk – Adds more moisture to the meat while cooking and keeps it from drying out. You can also use heavy cream.
- Seasonings – Garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper (feel free to add or sub out other dried or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme).
- Spaghetti sauce – You can use jarred pasta sauce or our recipe for canned spaghetti sauce.
How to Make The Meatballs
For full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients well. It’s honestly the easiest to go this with your hands. That way the meat doesn’t get overmixed. It just gets perfectly combined.
- Form into 1.5-inch balls using your hands or a small ice cream scoop or cookie scoop.
- Roll together into a nice ball and place them directly into the sauce in the Instant Pot!
Put them straight in the Pot!
See? Uncooked! Crazy right? The first time I made these, I was a little worried. I thought that the meatballs wouldn’t keep their shape and I would end up having meat sauce, which happens to me more than I would care to admit when I am sautéing meatballs in a skillet. I don’t know why they don’t fall apart in the Instant Pot. It’s like magic.
Any Kind Of Pressure Cooker Will Work
I also need to mention that this will work great in ANY kind of pressure cooker. No matter what you use, you will get the same results. Just make sure you have enough liquid in the pot so it will actually seal. You also don’t want to get a burn notice. Which brings me to…
Avoiding The Burn Notice
Tomato-based sauces can be tricky in an Instant Pot because tomatoes have a tendency to burn easily. Make sure your sauce is thin enough to create steam and seal the pot. You can thin it out by adding a can of diced tomatoes or even just a little water. If you are worried about it being TOO thin, you can always add tomato paste or tomato sauce to your pasta sauce after the meatballs are done cooking. I like using my homemade canned sauce because the consistency is just right. If it seems too thin afterward, I will add a few tablespoons of tomato paste and that usually does the trick.
How Long To Cook Meatballs in the Instant Pot
- Cooking time (high pressure): 7 minutes, slow (natural) release 5 minutes.
One of the best things about making meatballs in the Instant Pot is how quickly they cook. These meatballs only need 7 minutes on high pressure, followed by about a 5 minute natural release. The natural release helps the meatballs stay tender and juicy instead of drying out or falling apart from a quick pressure change. After that, you can carefully release the remaining pressure and they are ready to serve.
How Long To Cook Frozen Meatballs
Want to use precooked frozen meatballs? You can use store-bought frozen meatballs or you can use our easy recipe for homemade frozen meatballs. Simply cook on high pressure for 5 minutes and do a 5-minute natural release. If the meatballs are on the larger size, add another 2-3 minutes on high pressure.
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Meatballs
To store your meatballs after cooking, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes, and then place them in an airtight container or freezer zip-top bag. Store them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3 months. These meatballs are great for meal prep and you can make large batches at one time. To reheat, place frozen meatballs in the fridge overnight to thaw and re-heat over the stove top or in the microwave until meatballs are cooked through and the marinara sauce is hot.
Tips for Cooking and Serving
- For this recipe, I used our own Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce, but you can use your own recipe or just store-bought spaghetti sauce. No matter what you use, it is going to be awesome. Even store-bought spaghetti sauce will be kicked up a notch because the meatballs will be cooked in it, giving it an incredible flavor.
- Not a huge fan of ground beef? Feel free to try ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken meatballs too! We will often do a mixture of both ground beef and pork to make them more tender.
- These meatballs can easily be made gluten-free if you want to switch out the Panko breadcrumbs for gluten-free breadcrumbs. You can also use gluten-free oats if you don’t have breadcrumbs on hand.
- Of course, you will want to serve these meatballs over gluten-free pasta if you have an intolerance to gluten. If GF pasta isn’t your thing, you can also use zoodles (spiralized zucchini), or you can use spaghetti squash.
- Have leftovers? These meatballs make incredible meatball subs! Give them a try!
Questions About Instant Pot Meatballs
Yes! That’s one of my favorite things about this recipe. The meatballs go into the Instant Pot completely raw and cook perfectly in the sauce while they pressure cook. No need to brown them first.
Yes. You can shape the meatballs ahead of time and keep them covered in the refrigerator until ready to cook. They also freeze really well before or after cooking.
Yes. They don’t need to be in a perfect single layer. The Instant Pot cooks them evenly as long as they have enough liquid in the pot.
Usually tough meatballs happen when the meat mixture gets overmixed or the meat is too lean. I like using ground beef with a little fat and mixing just until combined.
Read Next: 27 BEST Instant Pot Recipes
More Easy Meatball Recipes
Have you tried cooking meatballs in the Instant Pot yet? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how you liked them. And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🍝
Instant Pot Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lean
- 1/2 cup onion, grated
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups spaghetti sauce , (see notes above)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (except spaghetti sauce) until well mixed. Mixing together with your hands works great.
- Form into balls using hands or small ice cream scoop. You want them to be slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Spray bottom of Instant Pot with cooking spray and add spaghetti sauce.
- Place meatballs over the sauce, layering them if necessary. It's OK if they touch, just don't squish them too much.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and switch valve to “sealing”. Press “Manual” and set to high pressure for 7 minutes.
- After you hear the timer go off, allow to slow release for another 5 minutes and then do the quick release (you do this by carefully switching the tab to "venting"). Remove lid from Instant Pot, stir.
- Serve over cooked pasta noodles.
Equipment
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I also got the burn notice. I created a steam option without adding water to the sauce. I placed the trivet into the pot (legs down) and propped a Pyrex bowl with some water inside on top. You get the steam and it’s a safer option that a foil boat.
This is a great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Can I leave the cheese out? My son can’t eat dairy
Thankd
Of course! It will be just as good without the cheese. Thanks for asking!
Hi! Just wondering if I could make this without the milk? Or can you suggest a milk replacement? I’m also going to use ground turkey instead. Making this for my one year old daughter, thanks!
Unsweetened almond milk should work fine as a replacement. You definitely don’t want to leave it out because the meatballs will be dry.
How did it work with ground turkey as that is what I want to do. Also using a milk replacement.
Loved them! Great recipe….thanks! 👍
We leave out the breadcrumbs as a binder but we do use chichirones or pork rinds as they are called.
A tip is buy them at the dollar store, otherwise they are most $3 bucks for the same brand and bags which is crazy.
And as a binder they work great just smash them (be carefull) up in the bag with the bottom of coffee cup on the counter, ps crack open the bag first as they will expand.
I tried this last night with ground turkey. I followed the directions exactly and it came out perfect! Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe!
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for letting us know!!
Ahh-mazing! I’m new to instant pot cooking and new to meatballs and these BLEW. MY. MIND! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it, Jen! Thank you for the 5-stars!!! Enjoy your Instant Pot – it makes cooking fast and easy. I love mine!
I rarely comment on recipe sites but I just had to give this 5 stars! Even after reading the positive reviews, I was sure this would never work and I’d end up with one giant lump of meat or the dreaded ‘burn’. What I actually ended up with was a bunch of perfect, beautifully cooked meatballs and I could not be happier that I don’t have to pan or oven fry them ever again. I used jarred Prego sauce and stirred in about 1/4 – 1/3 cup of water before placing the meatballs on top. Thank you!
Yay! Amy I am so glad these meatballs worked out so well for you! Though I love a good pan-fried meatball, you just can’t beat how easy these are. Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment!
Made this with turkey mince and added garlic, ginger, chilli crushed in my mortar and pestle. I also added bread soaked in milk instead of bbreadcrumbs. I made a sauce with half the garlic, ginger, chilli paste and lots of herbs and onion and cooked for 5 mins on High Pressure before adding the meatballs. Turned out delicious and it was so easy! Ive tried making meatballs before and it always turned into a mess but not this time!Thank you for a great recipe!
So glad to hear that ground turkey works just as well! Thank you for sharing how you made these with such great success!
I have a question- instead of adding water to the sauce can I add a bit of red wine? I usually do when I am making ground beef sauce and the flavor is amazing. But I am new to up cooking, so I don’t know. Thanks!
Yes, you absolutely could– I probably wouldn’t use too much though because that taste won’t cook out as much as it would in a regular frying pan. You just want to be sure there is enough liquid in the pot so the IP will seal. Maybe a little water and a little bit of red wine just for flavor?
I got the BURN also. Might want to advise of that option to fix that in the actual recipe. It was absolutely amazing. Best meatballs ever
Yikes, yes I will address that in the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
Great-tasting meatballs. One question-I’ve tried this a few times and get burnt sauce at the bottom of the pot every time. What can I do to avoid this?
The sauce you are using is probably too thick. One thing I have done is spray the IP with cooking spray and then add about 1/2 c. of water. THEN I will add the sauce and meatballs. You can also try adding the water and THEN the meatballs and THEN the sauce over the meatballs.. this keeps the sauce away from the bottom. It wouldn’t hurt to add 1/4 c. of water over the top of the sauce as well, that way it can pool up on top of the sauce and steam out. Hope these suggestions help!
Very tasty and easy! It made magnificent meatball sub sandwiches. Thanks for the recipe.
You are very welcome! Glad to hear the meatballs work so well in meatball sandwiches. YUM!
Nice recipe but 1 star for wasting so much time scrolling down to it.
Yeah, that 5 seconds is really a time waster…. *eyeroll*
Ratings are for the food, not the wesite set-up. Sad to see such a comment.
Should the meatball be covered in sauce or just a little at the bottom?
I like to put the sauce in first and then add the meatballs. I don’t know if it really makes a difference, it’s just how I usually do it. I hope this helps!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. First time I’ve ever used a pressure cooker and frost time making meatballs! So dang delicious!!!
So happy to your your first pressure cooker recipe was a success! Thanks so much for the 5-stars!
We are not really beef eaters, can I use turkey instead?
You can absolutely use ground turkey instead 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight with spaghetti and everyone really enjoyed it! I’m new to the instant pot and have also never made meatballs before, and it took 2 hours to actually complete the whole thing but cooking it was fast! Now that I have done it before I’m sure it will go faster next time. My dad said they were amazing and my mom said they were tender! So thank you.
Thank you so much for the kind comment and 5-stars! This has been our go-to way to make meatballs lately, too. Once you get it down, dinner will be ready in a snap. SO much faster (and more flavorful) than baking or frying– plus I think it makes the sauce taste better 😉
I thought 1 tsp was Waaay too much salt… It looked like a lot when I was adding it, but I did so anyway, and just thought it was much too salty. And I’m one who salts everything! I’m a big rule follower… so don’t want to suggest options, but I’m guessing even cutting in 1/2 may be better
Otherwise, good recipe!
Sorry this turned out so salty for you– I guess it really depends on what kind of pasta sauce you use. Some are already salty enough and some need a little more salt added. Per your comment, I am changing the recipe so the salt is more to taste. Thank you for letting me know!
Maybe you used regular salt instead of kosher salt? I did that once and the recipe was too salty. Kosher salt crystals are larger, so there are fewer of them when measuring, so not as salty as a teaspoon of regular salt.
I made these last night and had them over spaghetti for dinner. A big hit with everyone! We will make these again, and I have given the recipe to two friends so far this morning.
Thanks!
Jamie– thank you so much for passing the word along to your friends! So glad you liked this recipe, we made it the other night and experimented with LARGE meatballs and they turned out awesome. Just added an extra 5-minutes and they were so good! And the kids loved having one GIANT meatball on their plate lol