Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs cooked in tomato sauce is the best healthy 30 minute comfort meal! This recipe is easy to make is can be served with a bowl of spaghetti, rice, or other grains of your choice.
When life is getting busy I try to make some quick dinners that don’t take much time. Instant pot recipes are great for meals that need to be cooked fast. Plus, you don’t need to wash multiple pots and pans afterwards.
Also, if you like BEEF MEATBALLS, check out my recipe for Greek Meatballs and Tefteli .
This recipe for Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs became one of our favorites for a few reasons.
- It’s super EASY to make. Mix all the ingredients in one bowl, then cook it in a pressure cooker.
- It’s HEALTHY. Turkey is always popular among people who try to eat lean meat and reduce calories.
- It is perfect for a MEAL PREP. Make these meatballs and put them in lunch boxes with grains and vegetables.
Tips and Tricks:
There are a few tips I have to make the perfect turkey meatballs.
- You can finely chop the onion or grind it. I always like to grind my onion in a mini food processor to make it more like paste. This way it also produces more liquid, which adds more flavor to the dish.
- If you decide to grind your onion like me, your turkey mixture will be a bit more wet than with chopped onion. To balance, just add a bit more breadcrumbs (about ¼ cup).
- In general, the turkey mixture will be more or less wet for everyone, so adjust your breadcrumbs accordingly to get the perfect texture, so your meatballs are not falling apart.
- To make sure your meatballs don’t fall apart while cooking, I like to brown them on both sides. Plus, they taste better this way!
How to Make Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
This is a really easy recipe that you can make for dinner or a meal prep.
Just put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl (ground turkey breast, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, parsley, an egg, milk, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese), and using your hands, mix it well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Using your hands, form 12 meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each.
Set Instant Pot to Sauté on high heat and add olive oil.
When the olive oil is hot, brown the meatballs in two batches, so they are in a single layer and don’t touch each other. Brown them for about 1-2 minutes each undisturbed on both sides, until they get brown color. Then remove from the pot.
Add chicken stock and scrape any burned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add tomato sauce and mix. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
Transfer the meatballs back to the pot in a single layer.
Cover with a lid and cook on Manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure that the venting knob is turned to “Sealing”!
When it is done, let it naturally release the pressure for 5-7 minutes. Then switch the knob to venting position and release the steam. Make sure the steam is fully released and the valve is completely down before opening the pot!
Serve with pasta, rice, or other grains of your choice.
More Instant Pot recipe you might like:
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Rice Pilaf
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Penne Alfredo
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Barley Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Recipe
Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup chicken stock I prefer to use Homemade Chicken Stock
- 1 can tomato sauce 14oz
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients together (ground turkey breast, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, parsley, an egg, milk, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese), and using your hands, mix it well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Form the meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each.
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté on high heat and add olive oil.
- When the olive oil is hot, brown the meatballs in two batches, so they are in a single layer and don’t touch each other. Brown them for about 1-2 minutes each undisturbed on both sides, until they get brown color. Then remove from the pot.
- Add chicken broth and scrape any burned bits from the bottom of the pot. Then add tomato sauce and mix. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the meatballs back to the pot in a single layer.
- Cover with a lid and cook on Manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure that the venting knob is turned to “Sealing”!
- When it is done, let it naturally release the pressure for 5-7 minutes. Then switch the knob to venting position and release the steam. Make sure the steam is fully released and the valve is completely down before opening the pot!
- Serve with pasta, rice, or other grains of your choice.
Video
Notes
- You can finely chop the onion or grind it. I always like to grind my onion in a mini food processor to make it more like paste. This way it also produces more liquid, which adds more flavor to the dish.
- If you decide to grind your onion like me, your turkey mixture will be a bit more wet than with chopped onion. To balance, just add a bit more breadcrumbs (about ¼ cup).
- In general, the turkey mixture will be more or less wet for everyone, so adjust your breadcrumbs accordingly to get the perfect texture, so your meatballs are not falling apart.
- To make sure your meatballs don’t fall apart while cooking, I like to brown them on both sides. Plus, they taste better this way!
These were very good! I did make a few changes. I always squeeze the water out of my onion after pureeing; it becomes almost a paste and adds all the flavor without any of the liquid- I didn’t need to add any milk. I also didn’t brown the meatballs. I just nestled them into marinara sauce and cooked.them. They stayed together beautifully and were moist and tender.
Thank you, Mary! I’m glad that these changes worked for you.
Excellent meatballs!!! Perfect texture and flavour- this will be my go to recipe- I didn’t change a thing and it’s perfect
Thank you so much, Karin! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!