These savory Instant Pot Meatballs are a fast, easy meal that your family will love. The tasty and tender meatballs come together quickly using simple ingredients, and the Instant Pot ensures that you'll have dinner on the table in 30 minutes.
This Instant Pot Meatball recipe is great for any night of the week, whether you're craving a cozy comfort meal or need a quick protein that everyone will like. Keep it simple and serve over pasta, or add side dishes to make it a full production.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground beef: I used lean ground beef for this recipe.
- Pork sausage: Substitute Italian sausage if desired.
- Italian style panko breadcrumbs: These keep the meatballs tender, and I've had great results with this particular type.
- Grated parmesan cheese: For ultimate flavor, use a wedge of parmesan and grate it yourself.
- Eggs: They bind the other ingredients together to keep the meatballs shaped.
- Garlic Powder: Gives a savory flavor, and so much easier to use than fresh garlic.
- Italian seasoning: Adds a robust and savory flavor. Use store bought or make your own Homemade Italian Seasoning.
- Cooking oil: You can use any high smoke point oil such as canola, vegetable, avocado or sunflower seed oil. Avoid low smoke point oils such as olive oil and butter.
- Marinara sauce: We like Rao's marinara sauce or homemade sauce.
How to Make
Be sure to see the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Combine. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, pork sausage, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder until well combined. While you can mix it well with a mixing spoon, I find it easiest to use clean hands to mix it together.
- Shape. Divide the meat mixture into 12 even-sized portions, shaping them into large balls.
- Sear. Use the sauté feature of your Instant Pot and add the cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs and sear on each side for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot you may need to sear the meatballs in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan.
- Add sauce & stir well. Once the meatballs are seared, but not fully cooked through, cancel the sauté function and stir in the marinara sauce. Be sure to stir well and scrap up anything on the bottom of the pan.
- Pressure cook. Seal the Instant Pot and set it to pressure cook for 7 minutes.
- Release pressure. Once the Instant Pot finishes cooking, allow it to naturally release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining steam.
- Serve & enjoy. Serve the meatballs and sauce hot over pasta, optional, and garnish with fresh, minced parsley, optional.
Recipe FAQ's
To store your Instant Pot Meatballs, place them in an airtight container or a sealed zip-top bag and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. If you want to store them for a longer period, they can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat with a little bit of sauce or water so they don’t dry out.
There are so many great ways to change this recipe to match the occasion. For example, you can change out the sauce to a meat sauce, veggie sauce or alfredo sauce. You can also cook the meatballs without the sauce by using just beef broth instead, reducing it to 1 cup of liquid. You can also use this recipe to make cocktail meatballs by making them smaller, using a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop, and cook them in a BBQ or sweet asian sauce. Be sure to reduce the cooking time as the smaller meatballs will cook through much more quickly.
Top Tips
- The trick to making tender meatballs is simple. Ingredients like the egg and breadcrumbs add tenderness and moisture. Also, having a bit of fat in your meat helps. The combination of the pork sausage and ground beef is the right ratio to ensure the meatballs turn out perfect.
Recipe Variations
- I used Rao's Marinara sauce in this recipe, but you can use any jarred or homemade marinara or flavored pasta sauce in this recipe. Be sure to use at least 24 ounces or 3 cups of sauce for best results.
- You can substitute plain Panko breadcrumbs instead of Italian style breadcrumbs and add a teaspoon or two of Italian seasonings.
- Swap ground turkey or chicken for the ground pork if you prefer.
Easy Sides to Pair With Instant Pot Meatballs
If you want to keep things super simple, pair your Instant Pot Meatballs with pasta. If you're up for putting in a little more effort, here are some easy side dishes that will go well with the flavors in this recipe:
- Air Fryer Asparagus
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Roasted broccoli
- Green salad with light vinaigrette
- Roasted green beans
Storage & Reheating
- To store: You can store your leftover cooked meatballs in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Place the meatballs in the air fryer at 400˚ F for 5-7 minutes or until heated through. You can also reheat them in the oven at 350˚ F for 10-15 minutes.
- To freeze: These meatballs can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat with a little bit of sauce or water so they don’t dry out.
More Recipes
- Air Fryer Meatballs
- Skillet Lasagna
- Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes
- Juicy Air Fryer Hamburgers
- Crock Pot Taco Soup
Did you make this recipe? Leave a star rating and I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
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Instant Pot Meatballs
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound sweet Italian sausage
- 1 cup Italian style panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- Cooked pasta, for serving
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, pork sausage, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder until well combined. While you can mix it well with a mixing spoon, I find it easiest to use clean hands to mix it together.
- Divide the meat mixture into 12 even-sized portions, shaping them into large balls.
- Use the sauté feature of your Instant Pot and add the cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs and sear on each side for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot you may need to sear the meatballs in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan.
- Once the meatballs are seared, but not fully cooked through, cancel the sauté function and stir in the marinara sauce. Be sure to stir well and scrap up anything on the bottom of the pan.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set it to pressure cook for 7 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot finishes cooking, allow it to naturally release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining steam.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce hot over pasta, optional, and garnish with fresh, minced parsley, optional.
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