These Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are the ultimate comfort food that’s paleo, Whole30, and kid-friendly! Enjoy it over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice to keep it low carb.
I can’t believe I haven’t had a classic Italian meatballs recipe on my blog until now. It’s mostly because my husband isn’t a huge fan of tomatoes or tomato based sauces, but I love them. I still make them and he’ll eat them, but I try not to make it too many times in the week for his sake.
However, these Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce might be on regular rotation because they are SO comforting and delicious, so I’m planning to make them again and again (sorry, Charlie!).
Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe
With the weather cooling down and the days getting shorter, I’ve been craving comfort food more and more. These Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce fit the bill and are great for the entire family, even kids will go crazy for these! Best of all, it’s easy to make a large batch of (takes only 30 minutes!) and easy to cleanup since it’s all made in the Instant Pot, so it’s a good one to make on a busy weeknight.
With spices like oregano, garlic, and onions, it has all the familiar and cozy flavors that everyone loves!
Instant Pot Size
This recipe was made in a 6 qt Instant Pot, with just enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pot. If you have one that’s larger, it may not come to pressure and you’ll have to add more liquid so be prepared to adjust the recipe accordingly, or water down the liquid to make sure it’ll cook.
Keeping it Whole30 or Low Carb
These Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are fantastic on their own, but they are saucy enough that you can serve over your favorite gluten free pasta or some white rice.
However, if you are doing the Whole30 challenge or you want to keep low carb, you can serve them over:
- zucchini noodles,
- spaghetti squash,
- or cauliflower rice.
These options are also a great way to add some extra veggies into your diet. These meatballs also freeze and defrost beautifully without changing the texture or flavors so go make them a big batch to enjoy for days!
Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion diced
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp sea salt
- Optional: Chopped parsley and red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix together. Do not overmix.
- Roll into balls the size of golf balls and set aside.
- Set a 6qt Instant Pot on Sautè and add avocado oil.
- Once the Instant Pot signals that it's "hot,' add onion and garlic and cook stirring for 5 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- Press Cancel on the Instant Pot, and then add crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, and sea salt, and stir together.
- Remove about 1/3 of the sauce and set aside.
- Gently add the meatballs to the Instant Pot over the sauce.
- Pour 1/3 of the sauce that was previous removed back in, covering the meatballs from the top.
- Close the lid, make the sure the pressure valve is set to Sealing.
- Cook on Manual on high pressure for 7 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps to a finish, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid and serve over cooked spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or cauliflower rice!
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Good quick but I’d sear the meatballs the next time because they were falling apart and weren’t completely cooked.
Oh no – sorry they fell apart! You have to be really careful with the meatballs when you toss them with the sauce. I’ve never had it not completely cooked so I’m not sure what happened.
Mine fell apart too :/ and I kept getting the burn message. Next time Ill try adding the meatballs a few at a time and stirring them around as I add. Hopefully that will prevent the breaking and the burn notice
I’m so sorry! I’ll revisit this recipe soon and see if I made a mistake on the instructions. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Does anyone else have problems with the IP not coming to pressure? I have made this recipe twice and both times I’ve had to add more water and by the time one done the meatballs are overcooked because of the extra time simmering prior to it actually coming to pressure. Other than that it’s great recipe. Just wondering what the right amount of water is.
Hi Ross, are you using a 6qt IP? If not, you may need to add more liquid.
Any suggestions for draining/reducing the fat from them?
Not sure since I eat high fat, but you can try putting the whole things in the refrigerator and chilling it overnight after cooking it. The fat should float to the top and harden. You can the take that off and reheat it.
This was a great recipe, made this last night and it came out delicious. I have an 8 qt instant pot and did not have a can of crushed tomatoes, so I used a can of Raos sauce to make this and diced up some tomatoes for some added texture. I probably added double the nutritional yeast, which helps bind the meatballs together. I also added some fresh chopped parsley to the meatballs. When rolling the meatballs together, I made sure they were rolled pretty tight in the palm of my hands, which may have helped them stay together too. I also made sure the tomato sauce was covering the bottom of the pot and poured it on top to cover all of the meatballs before turning on the IP, which may have helped it cook more evenly/thoroughly. For the additional fat coming from the meatballs, I tilted the pot and used a large spoon to skim most of the fat layer off the top and save the rest of the sauce on the bottom.
So glad you enjoyed! Love your 8qt adaptation, and Rao’s sauce is so good!
These look delicious and I would love to make them for dinner one day next week. Is there anyway I can make them without the eggs? I have an allergy…
You can try using flax eggs and it should work!
This recipe is fantastic! It’s easy to make; its whole30 compliant; it uses the instant pot; and, my kids love it!
I’m going to try it with a pork/turkey mix to see if that works.
Yay! Thank you so much!!
I made these for dinner tonight. I used 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground pork because that’s what I had thawed. I also used Rao’s sauce because I couldn’t find tomatoes in the pantry. They were very good, tender, held together well, good flavor and so fast in the instant pot. Plus Whole30 which is a bonus! My husband liked them too so that makes this recipe a definite make again. Thank you!
Thanks so much! So glad you and your husband both enjoyed!!
I’ve made this 10+ times and it is super yummy! I use 50/50 ground beef and pork and sub the water for beef broth. Quick, easy, and makes excellent leftovers. Thanks for sharing!