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    Home » Recipes » Main Dish

    Instant Pot Frozen Meatballs

    Published: Aug 9, 2021 · Modified: Oct 7, 2022 by Kelsey Smith

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    This easy Instant Pot frozen meatballs recipe cooks frozen meatballs in pasta sauce so you can get dinner on the table in just 20 minutes.

    Instant Pot meatballs are a delicious appetizer, a tasty pasta topper, or the perfect juicy meatballs for meatball subs.

    Made-from-scratch meatballs are great, but sometimes you need an easy dinner for the whole family that you can plate in no time. Frozen meatballs are faster (and less messy!) to make.

    This is a great recipe if you want a flavorful Italian meatball recipe without the extra work.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Meatballs coated in pasta sauce served over spaghetti

    Recipe highlights

    • Simple recipe: Only 5 ingredients! This is a great way to make a delicious pantry meal.
    • Easy weeknight meal: This recipe takes only 20 minutes from start to finish in an electric pressure cooker.
    • Pantry meal: Freezer meals with pantry ingredients make for quick dinners.

    More frozen meatball recipes to bookmark:

    • Slow cooker Hawaiian meatballs
    • Instant Pot BBQ meatballs

    Ingredients

    This Instant Pot meatball recipe only call for five ingredients, and two I would say are optional if you're really in a pinch. This is an easy meal.

    Instant Pot Italian Meatball Ingredients
    • Frozen meatballs: I use Kroger Italian Style Meatballs. They are fully cooked and are found in the frozen food section at the grocery store.
    • Pasta sauce: I generally use store brand, but any 24 oz jar works.
    • Water: The Instant Pot can give you trouble if you don't use enough liquid.
    • Italian seasoning: For flavor.
    • Parsley: For flavor.

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    Place a trivet in the bottom of the pot. Add water, meatballs, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Smooth the sauce over the meatballs, mixing in the seasoning.

    Tip: The half cup of water is important to avoid a burn notice. The sauce will thicken as it cooks.

    Frozen meatball ingredients in the Instant Pot with a trivet at the base.

    Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release.

    Hint: Cooking time is only 5 minutes, but it takes up to 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure.

    Cooked meatballs in pasta sauce in the pressure cooker.

    Carefully remove the trivet and return the meatballs to the pressure cooker liner.

    Instant Pot Frozen Meatballs with Pasta Sauce

    Equipment

    • Pressure Cooker: I use an older version of the Instant Pot Duo 6-quart. This is a small recipe, so you could absolutely make it in a 3-quart Instant Pot.
    • Instant Pot trivet: My Instant Pot came with a trivet, but you can find trivets on Amazon. Just make sure they are the correct size for your pressure cooker.

    Do I really need a trivet?

    I use a trivet often (whenever it works for the recipe) because I used to run into the burn notice frequently, even when I used plenty of liquid. I've read that older models can have this issue if you're not careful.

    Placing the trivet in the base of the pressure cooker is just added insurance that your meatballs won't burn to the bottom of your pot. Consider trivet use to be a best practice.

    If you don't have a trivet, you may be able to get away with it. I've checked several other Instant Pot meatball recipes and trivet use is hit-or-miss. It's up to you!

    Substitutions

    This is a very simple and easy Italian meatball recipe, so the sky is the limit on substitutions and variations.

    • Frozen meatballs: Frozen meatballs that are fully cooked are a critical component of this recipe. Raw, made-from-scratch homemade meatballs will not work for this recipe. However, you can use any kind of frozen, fully-cooked meatball. Try turkey meatballs or homestyle meatballs.
    • Pasta sauce: Use any pasta sauce for this recipe. Vodka sauce would also be tasty. Canned tomato sauce could work in a pinch but may need to be seasoned to taste.
    • Water: Do not skip the water or you may run into a burn error. Instead, you could use beef broth or another type of broth for even more flavor.
    • Seasoning: You can absolutely skip this part altogether, I just find adding a few spices livens up generic pasta sauce.

    To Serve

    For a potluck or party, serve on a platter with toothpicks or cocktail sticks.

    For a main dish, serve meatballs over cooked pasta of your choice (spaghetti and meatballs).

    Alternatively, serve the meatballs inside a hoagie roll or a brat and sausage bun with provolone cheese for meatball subs or in King's Hawaiian rolls for meatball sliders.

    Garnish with shaved or shredded parmesan (pictured) and fresh basil or parsley (pictured).

    Spaghetti and meatballs.

    Storage

    Store leftover meatballs in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

    To reheat, cover the meatballs with a paper towel and microwave in 30-second intervals.

    Easy Instant Pot Italian Meatballs
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    Instant Pot Italian Meatballs

    This easy Instant Pot frozen meatballs recipe cooks frozen meatballs in pasta sauce so you can get dinner on the table in just 20 minutes.
    4.75 from 4 votes
    Recipe by: Kelsey Smith
    Prep time: 5 minutes
    Cook time: 5 minutes
    Pressurizing Time : 10 minutes
    Total time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 5

    Equipment

    • Pressure cooker

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup water
    • 26 oz frozen meatballs fully cooked
    • 24 oz pasta sauce
    • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
    • 2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

    Instructions
     

    • Place a trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add water, meatballs, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Smooth the sauce over the meatballs, mixing in the seasoning.
    • Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release. Carefully remove the trivet and return the meatballs to the pressure cooker liner.

    Notes

    Storage: Store leftover meatballs in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat, cover the meatballs with a paper towel and microwave in 30-second intervals.
    Food safety: Fully-cooked frozen meatballs should be reheated to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F/74°C.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 423kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 27gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 729mgPotassium: 841mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 617IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 3mg
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: Instant Pot, meatballs
    Tried this recipe?Rate it to let me know how it was!

    Frequently asked questions

    How long should you cook frozen meatballs in the Instant Pot?

    Cook frozen meatballs in the Instant Pot with pasta sauce and water on high pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release.

    What is the best brand of frozen meatballs?

    Cooked Perfect, Kroger brand, Farm Rich, and Nature's Rancher are great frozen meatball brands.

    Food safety

    Fully-cooked frozen meatballs should be reheated to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F/74°C.

    More easy Instant Pot recipes

    • Instant Pot cheeseburger macaroni
    • Instant Pot tortellini soup
    • Instant Pot white bean soup
    Instant Pot Frozen Meatballs with Pasta SauceInstant Pot Frozen Meatballs with Pasta Sauce

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      33 Sunday Dinner Ideas for Two
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      Creamy Kale Pasta

    About Kelsey Smith

    I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working on college textbooks, you might find me here, sharing recipes, social media tutorials, and more.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Lance Demers says

      January 12, 2022 at 5:21 pm

      5 stars
      Very fast and so delicious. Thank you

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        January 13, 2022 at 11:11 am

        Hi Lance, thanks for taking the time to let me know how it went. Glad you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Kelsey says

      October 17, 2021 at 11:05 pm

      5 stars
      Frozen meatballs are so fast in the IP.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working, you might find me here, sharing easy comfort food recipes.

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