Making meatballs in the pressure cooker is easy, fast and splatter-free. I make them often so I’ve streamlined the whole process to dirty as few dishes as possible.
Meatballs in tomato sauce are a classic Southern Italian recipe, but when they’re draped over spaghetti, they’re actually being served in an Italian American way. Let me explain…
In Italy spaghetti is served with just the sauce the meatballs were cooked in, and then, as a second course, the meatballs are served on a new plate with a salad. The more practical new-world Italian Americans turned this two-course meal into a single dish by simply serving the meatballs on top of the spaghetti. And so, Spaghetti and Meatballs was born! Today’s busy old-world Italians, seeing the practicality of this arrangement, are starting to introduce this dish on their dinner table as well.
Meatballs are the ultimate frugal meat dish – the addition of breadcrumbs lets you make more with less without compromising flavor or appearance. The breadcrumbs are also the secret to tender meatballs – the more bread you add, the more tender and bread-puddingly the meatballs become. Make your own breadcrumbs out of sourdough bread, or whole wheat crackers and then pop them in the chopper or electric grater. Throw the bread crusts in there too, they add flavor and color.
And speaking of frugality, after serving this dish you’ll have enough tomato sauce left-over to freeze for one more pasta meal. The sauce will have taken some of the meatball flavor so it will be a light ragu. If I have any left-over meatballs (which is rare in my family) I break them up and toss them in the leftover sauce.
Making the classic Spaghetti and Meatballs
The meatballs will be able to wait a bit either with the electric pressure cooker’s “keep-warm” setting or in a sealed stovetop pressure cooker off the heat (for 30 minutes or more) but pasta waits for no man! I bring the pasta water to a boil in a separate pan once I’ve closed the pressure cooker. Then, when the meatballs are just finished their 5-minute pressure cooking time and I’m waiting for the 10-Minute Natural Release, I dump the dry spaghetti in the boiling water and cook them. When the spaghetti is ready, the meatballs are ready. I release any remaining pressure from the meatballs and use a couple of ladles of tomato sauce to dress the strained spaghetti. Then, I quickly pile the spaghetti in dinner bowls, top with meatballs, and serve.
More Serving Suggestions: Meatballs – no limits!
If spaghetti aren’t your speed there are tons of ways to serve these meatballs. Drop them and a drizzle of sauce on an island of mashed potatoes, tuck them next to steamed rice or slice them in half, line them up on a small baguette and cover with mozzarella cheese; slide that under the broiler for a few minutes for a meatball sub! Sometimes, right before making the meatballs, I slice and slide a tray of potato wedges in my little toaster oven and the kids love eating the meatballs and dipping these oven fries into the tomato sauce.
Leave a comment and photo, below, to let us know how you serve delicious pressure cooker meatballs!
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 L or larger | none | 5 min. | High(2) | 10-min Natural |
(per serving)
- Serves: Makes 25-30 meatballs and sauce for 2 <g class="gr_ gr_129 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="129" data-gr-id="129">pastas</g> (serves 8-10)
- Serving size: 1/10th (about 3 meatballs and ½ cup /120ml of sauce)
- Calories: 269.8
- TOTAL Fat: 14.6g
- TOTAL Carbs: 17.8g
- Sugar Carbs: 12.2g
- Sodium: 618.2mg
- Fiber Carbs: 0.8g
- Protein: 16.3g
- Cholesterol: 66.4mg
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped and divided
- ½ cup (60g) plain dried breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup (30g) grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1 pound (500g) mixed ground meat (for example pork, beef, and veal or just beef)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- ½ celery stalk, finely chopped
- 2¾ cups (700g) tomato puree
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- Quarter the onion and, using a mini-chopper, finely chop the onion (do not liquefy).
- Add half of the chopped onion into a large mixing bowl put the half-full chopper aside.
- To the bowl add the bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt, mix with a fork until well combined.
- Next, add the milk and when that is mixed-in well add the ground meat.
- Lastly, add the egg and mix using your hands in a kneading motion until it is distributed - set aside.
- To the heated pressure cooker add the olive oil and onion. While that is sauteing snap the carrot and celery into small pieces to fit in the chopper, finely chop and add to the pressure cooker.
- Add the tomato puree, salt, and water and mix well (leave the heat/saute' mode on).
- Move the bowl with the meat mixture next to the pressure cooker and start making meatballs - if you're not handy at making them the same size you can use a tablespoon to measure the quantity of meat for each meatball.
- As you make each meatball, drop them into the sauce. To get them in an even layer drop them in clockwise, then fill the center and start again with the second layer until you run out of meatball mixture - there is no need for precision here.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
- For electric pressure cookers: Cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
For stove top pressure cookers: Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker indicates it has reached high pressure, lower to the heat to maintain it and begin counting 5 minutes pressure cooking time. - When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the 10-Minute Natural release method - move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). For electric pressure cookers, when cooking time is up count 10 minutes of natural open time. Then, release the rest of the pressure slowly using the valve.
- See serving suggestions above for making spaghetti and meatballs.
Well that looks way to easy and delicious. Not to mention inexpensive. I have a friend who cannot eat beef so will be pork.
BTW I cook my spaghetti noodle in the IPS now. Bring water to boil, add noodles, close lid and cook for zero minutes (1 minute for linguini). Release pressure, uncover and just let them sit for 10-20 minutes. Slightly al dente which is how I like them. I have to break the noodles, but I am not a noodle twirler.
The reason I do them this way is that I am not a great pot watcher and have thrown out many a big pot of mushy spaghetti because I have over cooked it.
Helen,
Breaking the spaghetti in half would NEVER work in my house, or my country. ; )
Thanks for sharing your Instant Pot technique – it will certainly be useful to some readers!
Ciao,
L
I have seen many a person carefully chop up there noodles with a knife so they can eat them with the big spoon provided and not even notice the sneers from the Italian waiters or glare back balefully:) My wee grandma did this till she died at 97:).
Growing up in Eastern Canada the only pasta we knew was macaroni and cheese. My father, a sous chef, discovered spaghetti in 1962. He did leave the noodles long.
I was 18 before I even saw an Italian restaurant. Now we have many, but few serve spaghetti. My favorite makes cioppino to die for and wonderful sauces with their seafood.
These meatballs are tiny. I’ll bet they look beautiful in the serving bowl and plated.
For those who enjoy using “ice cream” scoops or dishers, a #60 scoop (U.S.) = 1 tablespoon, a # 30 scoop (U.S.) = 2 tablespoons. To go a little larger, a #24 scoop = 2 2/3 tablespoons and a #20 scoop = 3.2 tablespoons and a #16 scoop is 4 tablespoons.
I had planned to make Laura’s Meatball (with brown gravy) from her book next week but now I’m torn between those and this recipe. Decisions, decisions.
Laura, do you think these meatballs might fall apart if I made them a bit larger to save rolling time?
Hi Rita!
Well, pressure cooker meatballs (with breadcrumbs) have a tendency of not looking very nice on their own because they grow during cooking – they MUST be covered in some kind of sauce.
You can absolutely make the meat balls bigger. I make them about 2 tablespoons (when I’m not putting them on spaghetti)! You should be delicate with any-sized meat ball that is “boiled” (vs. steamed or baked) because they are quite tender. They absorb a bit of the liquid during cooking (due to the bread) and grow about about 50%.
The meatball recipe from the book has a few more steps, so make your decision based on time – they are BOTH fantastic. Sorry, not helping. ; )
Thanks for the scoop size info. Maybe I never had a good quality scoop (too late now, no trigger scoops in Italy), but whenever I’ve tried using one in the past I always spent more time un-sticking the meat from inside the scoop that gummed-up the gears than just making the meatballs by hand! Is there some special way or type of scoop you use to speed-up your meatball-making?
Please share!
Ciao,
L
Thanks Laura for the good tips. I’ll add them to the meatball recipes.
I don’t have much trouble with meat gumming up the gears, but depending on its consistency, it sometimes does need a little encouragement to release from the scoop. Dipping the scoop (disher) in cold water before scooping helps a bit. In the interest of uniformity, I don’t mind a little sticking. It keeps our little grandsons from trying to find the biggest meatballs in the batch.
Sorry. I forgot to ask if the meatballs expand much during cooking. ;)
If I wanted to double the meatball portion (to freeze for another meal), would the same cook time work? If doubling just the meatball portion won’t work because of insufficient liquid, how long would you cook a double batch of sauce/meatballs? We’re going to try this tonite. Hopefully I will get around to making fresh pasta to go along with it.
Well, it depends on the size of your pressure cooker. With a 6L, you could probably increase the recipe by 50% (increase everything including the tomato puree’ and water this amount). Already, with the amount of meat in the recipe, these meatballs settle into about two layers I think a fourth layer will bring them over the MAX FULL line of a 6L cooker cooker.
Ciao,
L
9.3 Liter Fagor. Pretty sure I’ve got enough room. But you can’t just double the meatballs without doubling the sauce?
I’ve made these twice now. Each time I thought the sauce was a bit “thin” or watery. I reduced the water by a quarter cup with the last batch, but still felt it was too thin. I’ll try a cup and a half of water next time and add a tbs tomato paste. I use Cento brand purée and will use Cento paste in the tube. The meatballs were very good and the sauce tasty. I prefer my sugo smooth so the purée was a good choice. I’m still curious about increasing the size of the batch. I love preparing my sauce ahead of time and freezing it for future meals. Again, I have the 9.3 liter Fagor, so I’ve got plenty of room. Should I increase the cook time, or should it not matter? Thanks for the recipe and the replies. If you would, please direct me to other tomato sauce recipes that you may have. I always like variations (like with squid, anchovies, tuna).
I have had good luck meatloaf in the pressure cooker. Just a giant meatball really. No sauce at all.
I think it would be okay.
I would be inclined to just make extra meatballs and freeze them without cooking though. Would add maybe a minute or two to the cooking time and in my mind less bother.
An easy way to portion meatballs is to roll meat in wax paper or saran, chill in freezer or 15 minutes or so, unwrap and slice and roll into ball.
This sounds like a fantastic recipe, and I might even try it tonight! My question is this: I’m still drowning in fresh tomatoes from the garden…(mostly San Marzanos). Can I just purée the fresh tomatoes myself and use those? Seeded, of course!! Thank you!! So happy I stumbled onto this site (thank you, Google) because I’m always looking for ways to use my pressure cooker…
Great idea! I would do the same quantity of puree and water from the recipe in fresh puree’d tomatoes only (5 3/4 cups). Instead of reducing the tomatoes and then adding water for the sake of matching the recipe. Fresh tomato puree should supply enough water to bring your cooker up to pressure.
Ciao,
L
P.S. Personally, I make all my fresh tomato sauces with skins, seeds and all! It’s very rustic but it’s easier and the skin and seeds are full of vitamins, too. ; )
P.P.S. My husband’s Southern Italian family keep their harvested tomatoes fresh for months by dipping them in sea water, and then putting them in a perforated crate evenly spaced out so they don’t touch each other and stacking these crates in a dark cool place such as a basement or garage. Try it!
Hi Laura,
I am brand new to pressure cooking and am deciding between the Instapot Bluetooth and Duo.
Both seem to be similar, but the software for Bluetooth reviews seem mostly unreliable at this point. I wondered your thoughts…
Also, re: tomato sauce.. could I saute pancetta and do more of a bolognese sauce ? Have you tried something like that? I would appreciate your comments. I am so excited to try the Pot and recipies.. I have already ordered your Book “Hip Pressure Cooking” due to arrive from Amazon tomorrow! Thanks for the site, your videos and assistance!
You COULD do a bolognese-style sauce, but why would you? The meatballs are already made of meat and they flavor the tomato sauce – it tastes very meaty . If you want to give the left-over tomato sauce more body just withhold 2-3 meatballs (in case there are no leftovers) and just crumble them in the sauce to use for next time. It’s a lot less work for similar flavor. : )
As for choosing an Instant Pot, the most important thing is to find out if the SMART App works on your phone or tablet – then click around to see if you like how it works. It’s not the prettiest, slickest, smoothest App in the world but it DOES get the job done. It will let you write recipe scripts to operate the cooker at any temperature and it will let you download scripts to run on the pressure cooker.
I just wrote an article comparing Instant Pot’s three current models – because I get asked this a lot!
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/which-instant-pot-model-is-right-for-you/
Happy Ballin’
L
Thanks for the tips! I agree 100% about the skins and seeds, however my husband (also Southern Italian – Puglia) INSISTS that the seeds make the sauce bitter, so I humor him and seed them. San Marzanos are so easy to seed that it’s not that big a deal. Storing in the crates is a cool idea, but I don’t really have the space for that, unfortunately. But I’ve canned about 12 quarts (so far) and socked away 3 quarts of “fresh” sauce, 3 quarts of eggplant/mushroom ragout and 4 quarts of ciambotta in the freezer…I’m ready for October!! And BTW, I’m making your hummus recipe as I write this…just about to drain and cool the chick peas!!
This could easily be done with ground meat and no meatballs. The taste would be the same. The work diminished.
You should try making meatballs following the recipe and, as you suggest, with just meat and compare. I think you’ll find that both taste and consistency would not be the same. But come back to let us know what you think.
Ciao,
L
Would this work using Canned tomatoes that have been cut into small pieces? I have a great sauce receipt that I use on the stove that cooks for 1 hour and then add tomato past and cook for 20 mins. Wanting to know how to cook this in a pressure cooker.
Yes. That would work. The sauce would just be a little chunkier. I actually prefer a chunky sauce and use whole canned tomatoes that I just chop coarsely in the pot.
If you want to keep the smooth texture, you could blitz the tomatoes with a stick blender.
As for the tomato paste, just put in last so it sits on top. If it goes in first it can scorch.
Stephanie, you can absolutely use canned “chopped tomatoes”, what are the other ingredients in your sauce recipe?
Ciao,
L
I made this for some friends who came for lunch today. We all loved it. We’re following the Primal way of eating (no grains), so I substituted 1 tablespoon of almond meal for the breadcrumbs. The sauce was somewhat thin, so I removed the meatballs to keep warm and stirred in a small can of tomato paste and simmered the sauce for about 10 minutes. That did the trick. I served the meatballs and sauce over cooked broccoli with a side salad dressed with homemade balsamic dressing.
Great recipe. Have made them twice now; everyone loved them.
There is a cooking time difference between this recipe and the meatball recipe in your cookbook. Is that because the meatballs are cooked in the tomato sauce in this one but they are cooked on a steamer rack in the one in the cookbook? Thank you.
Yes, the timing reflects the different cooking method: a meatball boiling in liquid is going to cook much faster than a meatball steaming in a basket.
Ciao,
L
Thank you for posting your information. You are a gracious person and your answers are all very lovely. Thank you for being so kind. I will be looking forward to others! PS, I was raised in an Italian family and my grandparents were so very kind and open to my nuances in the kitchen. I learned so much from then and they from me.
So how many meatballs should you get from this? Did you say 2 tablespoons each?
For the 25-30 meatballs in the photo, I used a 1- tablespoon measuring spoon. You might get 12-15 two-inch meatballs from this recipe. If getting the right amount of meatballs for each person is important I would weigh the mixture before making meatballs and divide it by the number of persons : )
My family has those who eat more, and those who eat less so I always manage to distribute any number of the meatballs to everyone’s satisfaction.
Ciao,
L
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I was wondeing what recipe would be tasty for my kids but this one looks amazing. I want few good recipe for my kids and most of the time I am very confused.
Your meatballs don’t disintegrate in the sauce?? I have to brown mine first or mine do.
No, since they drop into the boiling tomato sauce they hold together while cooking – they are quite tender when they’re finished so I would be delicate scooping them out. ; )
Ciao,
L
I have made this recipe many times and I, too, was amazed that the meatballs held together perfectly. It certainly saves having to brown them beforehand. It is the best way to do them and I have been making meatballs for 50 years. This recipe is perfect.
Thanks, Ann!
Would it be possible to make this a one-pot meal and add the pasta into the sauce with some additional cooking liquid like beef broth?
You could. But the problem is that the cooking time/pressure for the meatballs is different to what you need for the pasta. Pasta is 5 min (more or less – see link below), LOW pressure, QUICK release. This recipe is 5 minutes √, HIGH pressure, NATURAL release,
One possible solution would be to cook the meatballs as above, then add the pasta (not spaghetti) and cook the combined dish for T/2* minutes, low pressure quick release. You might want to reduce the meatball cooking time a bit to allow for the second cooking. But that will be something for trial and error.
* “T/2” is explained in the article referenced below.
For the do’s and don’ts of pasta cooking in sauce see
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/spicy-pressure-cooked-pasta-butterflies-the-secret-to-al-dente-pressure-cooker-pasta/
Ah that makes sense, Greg! I’m new to the pressure cooker game (just bought an instant pot), so this is all good advice. Thank you!
I posted a reply with a link, so it is waiting on moderation as it contains a link. Because of the earthquake in Italy, moderation may be delayed, so here is the text without the link. Search “spicy pasta butterflies” to get the link.
You could. But the problem is that the cooking time/pressure for the meatballs is different to what you need for the pasta. Pasta is 5 min (more or less – see link below), LOW pressure, QUICK release. This recipe is 5 minutes √, HIGH pressure, NATURAL release,
One possible solution would be to cook the meatballs as above, then add the pasta (not spaghetti) and cook the combined dish for T/2* minutes, low pressure quick release. You might want to reduce the meatball cooking time a bit to allow for the second cooking. But that will be something for trial and error.
* “T/2” is explained in the article referenced below.
For the do’s and don’ts of pasta cooking in sauce search for “spicy pasta butterflies”.
Greg, we’re all OK. Thankfully we live 125 miles from the epicenter and because of our specific location (in a triangular peninsula on the other side of the Apennines) we didn’t even feel it. However, we are very sad for our neighbors and are participating in blood donations, pop-up food and clothing drives for those that lost everything. I’ve lived though “the big one” in California and this is so much worse – the houses of are made of brick and stone, not flexible wooden beams, and even though the strength of the earthquake was less than the one I felt in San Francisco, in Italy most of the victims were sleeping inside houses that completely pulverized around them. While in California they teach you to duck-and-cover or stand in a doorway and don’t run outside to avoid head injuries, in Italy they tell you to run, run, run to the nearest uncovered area.
Thanks for your kind thoughts.
Ciao,
L
Glad to hear you’re okay! I’m in the Bay Area and lived through the big one in ’89, too. That’s the first thing I thought of when I heard about the earthquake in Italy. So very sad.
Kimberly, the best way to go about this is to cook the meatballs, and set them aside with some of their cooking liquid to keep warm, then toss in the pasta in the remaining sauce with any additional water needed.
I was wrecking my mind over different ways to do this but in the end you’ll either get overcooked pasta or under-cooked meatballs so doing it sequentially is the way to get the best results.
Ciao,
L
I figured it would be ambitious to try to cook it all in one pot at the same time, but worth a shot. Thanks!
Hi Laura,
I am looking to only make turkey meatballs in a large batch for freezing. Then later use them in recipes for 2 people. If I am more or less following this recipe minus the tomato sauce, and instead steaming on a trivet what would you suggest for the cook time? Would you have a suggestion to lower the carb while maintaining a tender meatball? Finally, I would like to use ground turkey. Would you suggest combining turkey with pork or something so it is not dry, or would using the pressure cooker keep it tender due to braising? I don’t stomach fat well anymore due to no gallbladder, so trying to reduce that as much as possible. Thank you!
To reduce the fat I would leave out the grated cheese. I don’t have a suggestion for replacing the bread – I’ve tried making these without it (kind of like burger meatballs) and they were tough and dry. If anyone has a recommendation for Patty for substitutions, please chime in!
Ciao,
L
Hi Patty, if all you want is LOWER carb, just reduce the amount of bread crumbs. For instance, I made this recipe but with double the meat (about 900g), and I only used 1/3 cup of bread crumbs. Based on the nutritional info on the package, that is only 19g of carbs – and that spread over 900g of meatballs – each ball is definitely low carb!
And each meatball was still very tender and juicy (however, everything else is the same for me, e.g., cooking in tomato sauce, and a beef/pork mix). I imagine any mix of bread crumbs and mix (making that kind of milk paste) will greatly increase the tenderness and juiciness of the finished meatballs.
And BTW, the ‘bread crumbs’ I used were actually crushed premium crackers (about 10 crackers). I didn’t realize my bread crumbs were expired until it was time to prep, so I used what I had on hand – and it turned out great! ;)
I am Sicilian-American and I have been making meatballs for 50 years, but only recently in the pressure cooker. I can tell you from my experience that using the right meat is crucial to getting a tender meatball. Also, you may not need a 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. I don’t use nearly that much for one pound of meat, but, as my mother used to say, “Mix it in until it looks and feels right”.
If the meat is too lean, the meatballs will come out not as tender. My son keeps trying to make them out of bison because it is so lean and his meatballs come out tough and chewy. I told him it was the meat. He finally made them out of a fairly lean (93%) ground beef and they came out very tender and nice. As far as turkey, if you are going to use the 99% lean turkey breast and leave out the breadcrumbs, I don’t think the final result will be the same as if you follow the recipe more closely. Those are just my observations
Ann, thanks so much for sharing your experience and observations! 50 years of meatball making are invaluable source to draw from.
Ciao,
L
I was wondering if meatballs would work in a pressure cooker. I was afraid they would just break apart and become a pile of mush. Now I am excited to try. I also like that it is a smooth sauce-I have some sensory issues with food and have a hard time with spaghetti sauce as it normally has chunky veggies in it. Adding this to my Pinterest file so I can make them soon.
Tami, a good immersion blender is indispensable in your situation – the more powerful it is the more quickly you can wizz any pulpy sauce into a smooth one!
If you’re in the U.S. I recommend Braun, if in Europe Bosch – if you don’t already have one. ; )
Ciao,
L
Used my own meatballs and cooked in pan to brown, removed, then I followed your recipe for the rest. I just bought this stovetop pressure cooker and this is my very first meal from a pc. I was scared it might not come out right, well, it did! Delicious flavor, but, a little too watery.
Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing the pic, Suzanne – yes the liquid is water in this recipe for two reasons. The first is because the breadcrumbs from the meatballs will absorb some of it, and the other is to keep the tomatoes from sticking. Mix-in a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste when you’re done and you’ll tomato-flavor all that extra cooking liquid without having to reduce. ; )
Ciao,
L
What can be used in place of the milk? Can I just skip it? Thanks for your tips!
Yes, you can skip it. If the meatballs are not sticking together, because they are too crumbly (which might not even happen) you can sprinkle a little bit of water.
Ciao,
L
I have always used warm water. That’s how my Sicilian mother and grandmother taught me to do it.
I made this tonight with great success! Very delicious! I think I could definitely eat these on a sandwich broiled with cheese! They were a huge hit with the family too. I was worried I would botch the recipe (had to use crackers for bread crumbs, and a mix of tomato stuff for the sauce, but I didn’t. It’s simple and well written and lends itself to adapting to pantry items. Thank you so much!
Why not brown the meatballs first in the pressure cooker and then saute the onions etc?
I liked the idea of not having to brown the meatballs and saving that extra step. The meatballs hold together without any problem and they come out so tender, I was happy to just put them in the sauce and close everything up without turning the meatballs during browning. Just my opinion.
Brand new to pressure cooking with brand new Instant Pot. I have a question regarding meatballs. I plan to make them from pork sausage with onion and green pepper, various spices, AND, use ground up Wheaties instead of bread crumbs. I’ve been making meatloaf with Wheaties since Columbus came over and they hold meatloaf together without changing the taste. Wheaties have about one-half the calories of bread crumbs. I plan to cook them in Ragu traditional. [For some people, that is probably another 4 letter word] But, I’ve read all kinds of time settings for meatballs which range from 5 minutes to 12 minutes. I don’t want to eat raw pork. Any suggestions
Roger