Best-Ever Italian Meatballs
By :Party In An Instant Pot Cookbook
instant pot, instant pot recipes, instant pot meatball recipes, instant pot Italian meatballs
Serving these meatballs with cute little cocktail skewers would be the classy thing to do, but we much prefer going the (insanely cheesy) slider route.
instant pot, instant pot recipes, instant pot meatball recipes, instant pot Italian meatballs
Votes: 9
Rating: 4.33
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Cook Time 24 minutes
Servings
6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb italian sausage
  • 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 box panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes 28 oz
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
Cook Time 24 minutes
Servings
6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb italian sausage
  • 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 box panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
  • 2 large eggs beaten
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes 28 oz
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
instant pot, instant pot recipes, instant pot meatball recipes, instant pot Italian meatballs
Votes: 9
Rating: 4.33
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, sausage, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and eggs gently with your hands until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper and form into 24 balls.
  2. Set Instant Pot to Sauté and heat oil. When oil is shimmering, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  4. Add crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, then add meatballs.
  5. Secure lid and set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on High for 8 minutes. Follow manufacturer’s guide for quick release, making sure to wait until the cycle is complete before unlocking and removing the lid.
38 replies
  1. Helen in CA
    Helen in CA says:

    Had to add water….due to BURN notice. So then had to use SAUTE to reduce the sauce.

    Also, the 8 min wasn’t long enough to cook the meatballs. But the simmering I had to do to reduce the sauce, finished cooking the meatballs. I added Italian Seasoning and some fennel seeds to the sauce while simmering. All that said: think they’re pretty good and I’ll do this again (prepared by my experiences).

  2. krystal
    krystal says:

    It was a giant mess. The screen kept flashing burn because of the oil in the bottom of the pot from the saute function. After 45 minutes of having the burn screen on and off, we just gave up.

  3. Colleen
    Colleen says:

    Got the burn food notice twice. Added water to my sauce to thin it out. 8 minutes and the meatballs were not cooked through. Definitely add more time. I added 5 more minutes.

  4. Ric
    Ric says:

    Kept getting burn indicator and could not get the instant pot to pressure cook. Ended up slow cooking the meatballs and sauce. Would not recommend this recipe for Instant Pot.

  5. jp
    jp says:

    Just fyi…to avoid getting the burn indicator message, InstantPot recommends taking the inner pot out for 5-10 minutes when switching between the saute and pressure cook functions. Used to get the same burn alerts on recipes until I started doing this.

  6. Monica
    Monica says:

    Would not recommend this recipe! I had to make it into meat sauce in the top stove because it kept burning in the instant pot. 🙁 basically made Italian sloppy joe style.

  7. Marie
    Marie says:

    Really disappointing and unclear recipe. Is it two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, or a total of 28 oz? How much is half a box of breadcrumbs (which are sold in different sizes)? I also received a burn notice within about 1 min of pressure cooking so cancelled it and added 2 cups of beef stock and that seemed to solve the problem. Since I had to keep stirring liquid in, some of my meatballs fell apart though.

  8. Nicole
    Nicole says:

    I have made these twice now, both times having received the burn indicator. First time I simply added some water, second time I added water and still the burn indicator persisted. Finally removed all the meatballs and put the trivet it. Put all the meatballs back in piled on and around the trivet. Cooked for 11 minutes based on previous reviews. Is a delish meal but the recipe definitely needs adjustments for cooking time and use of a trivet.

  9. Nbrody
    Nbrody says:

    I used the trivet and added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth, after doing this i did not ecperience the Burn error. I used ground chicken instead of beef. Also, the recipe is vague regarding the crushed tomatoes. I used 2 twenty eight ounce cans, and it turned out great.

  10. Randy
    Randy says:

    Also kept getting burn notice, finishing on stove top…but I will try again with the technique of removing pot between sauté and pressure cook…that makes sense!

  11. Rachel
    Rachel says:

    All I did different was I used fresh herbs, (basil, oregano and flat parsley) and I browned my meatballs first in a frying pan, just until the sides were brown. Then I added them to the sauce. I cooked it on low for 20 min, about to eat, but it smells amazing

  12. Mike E.
    Mike E. says:

    I am also getting the burn indicator. Totally annoying I am trying to reduce the sauce a bit we will see. Not sure why they aren’t adjusting the recipe base on this feedback. Also it’s not clear on the recipe if it is 2 28oz cans of tomatoes or 28oz total. I hate incomplete recipes and I am new to this thing.

  13. Mike E
    Mike E says:

    Also getting the food burn error. They should adjust this recipe. So annoying as I am new to this Insta Pot.

  14. Audrey
    Audrey says:

    I made this reciepe last night…I only used 1 28oz can and didnt have any burnt notice. I also had to add extra time for cooking. I used a reciep before this that said to help prevent the burnt notice when going from saute to pressure cook to scrape any black stuff from bottom of the inner pot. I also turned saute off as soon as I added the crushed tomatoes and mixed it before adding meatballs and after I added the meatballs I put lid on and set the instant pot to pressure cooker.

  15. Michelle
    Michelle says:

    What a disaster. It took me so long to cook this recipe. The burn noticed freaked me out until I googled it. Then I added 1/2 of water. Burn message once again. A total of three rounds including taking out half the meatballs. Eventually I gave up and cooked them on the stove top with the ones I could salvage. I wish I had read these comments before taking on this recipe. If you’ve cooked this recipe successfully please share specifics. Thanks and lesson learned .

  16. Ava M Clemons
    Ava M Clemons says:

    Ok so this recipe turned out fantastic for me I mixed the ground beef with italian sausage (not links) anyway I did not get the burn indicator because I forgot to saute the onions prior to adding the sauce based on these comments I am so glad I forgot anyway it turned out great and I served it with bow tie noodles, salad, and garlic bread family loved it super moist and not dence!!!

  17. Mike Cole
    Mike Cole says:

    My favourite recipe….if you turn off saute ante scrape the pot you will never get the burn. Quickly brown first if you prefer some texture but either way they always work out great.

  18. Ma
    Ma says:

    Wasted my time, put them through 3 times, each time adding more liquid and cleaning the bottom. We had a soupy mix and crumbled meatballs. In the end, after an hour of this, and a mess in the kitchen, we ended up cooking the whole thing in the oven. No good, and a waste of perfectly good ingredients, not to mention my time.

  19. Mary Anne
    Mary Anne says:

    I bought meatballs from the meat counter at Whole Foods and used this recipe to create the sauce and to cook the meatballs. My meatballs were perfectly cooked. I didn’t get the burn indicator (and I sometimes do for other recipes) and I topped them with fresh mozzarella. They came out very tasty. Will make again and will try the meatball recipe part.

  20. Andrew K
    Andrew K says:

    I used one cup of bread crumbs, two 28 oz cans of tomatoes. Removed Instant Pot from base unit for 5+ minutes to cool in between the sauté and pressure cook phase. VOILA! BEST MEATBALLS EVER!

  21. Dawn Capri Shackleford
    Dawn Capri Shackleford says:

    I sauted my onions and just turned it off while mixing up my meatballs and the did it as written except I used 1/2 cup of bread crumbsand I didnt have the parsley but I had everything else and I knew with sausage and beef that I should cook my meatballs longer and I used 2 28 oz cans of the tomatoes and added 10 minutes to the cook time and yummmmmm!!!! I never add water except to get all the sauce out and only a spash of water per can and swish it around!!!!

  22. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    stupid wife added 1/2 box of penko crumbs. it was a 2 pound box. This isn’t the first time we all sat down to eat then throw the food away and settle for Fruit Loops. I wish the recipes were idiot proof. I dont think its healthy for my children to be eating sugary cereals for brakfast and dinner or am I over reacting

  23. Ed S
    Ed S says:

    To the previous reply named Anonymous. My stupid wife did the exact same thing with a 2 pound box of penko crumbs. she also kept wining about some burn notice which didn’t surprise me cause she manages to burn our meals quite frequently. What a waste of hard earned money and food. Instead of Fruit Loops we settled for doughy pancakes. At least they weren’t burnt. I looked over the recipe as well as the replies and gave her a full pardon on this meal. She said she’ll make it up to me tonight. God I love this woman!!!

  24. J Pacheco
    J Pacheco says:

    I have made this recipe numerous times in my old instant pot without a problem. Always came out perfect and delicious. Had to replace my instant pot with a new one. Tried this recipe in the new pot twice and got constant burn notices and gave up both times as the taste was awful. I think this recipe needs to be reworked and revised to avoid the burn notice problem that seems to happen to many.

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