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Instant Pot Freezer Meals :: Meatballs

  • Author: Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes under pressure
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: About 50 meatballs 1x
  • Method: pressure cooker

Description

Delicious and versatile make-ahead meatballs!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 yellow onion, minced
  • 1 C panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 C shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp each oregano and basil
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 3 lbs ground beef

Instructions

To freeze:

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well with your hands until all the ingredients are well-incorporated.
  2. Form the meatball mixture into 1″ meatballs. Place on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Place both baking sheets in the freezer. After the meatballs are frozen, transfer them to freezer bags and return to the freezer.

To cook from frozen:

In the Instant Pot: (With sauce) Add frozen meatballs and thawed marinara sauce to the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for ten minutes. Quick release pressure and serve immediately. (Without sauce) Add frozen meatballs to Instant Pot, along with 1/4 C of water. Cook on high pressure for ten minutes. Quick release pressure and serve immediately.

In a skillet: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add thawed meatballs and brown, turning after about five minutes, and cooking until done, about 12-15 minutes total.


Notes

These meatballs and sauce made enough for three freezer meals for our family of 6.

I prefer to cook my noodles separately, but if you would like to cook everything all together, then you can add them to the pot after the meatballs cook. For angel hair, add it to the meatball/sauce mixture and cook again under pressure for 2 minutes. For a thicker noodle, you may want to slightly reduce the cook time (7 minutes instead of 10), add the noodles after 7 minutes, and cook everything under pressure again for 5 more minutes.