This Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe is so fast and easy! The easy homemade marinara sauce that is so delicious. If you don’t own a pressure cooker, don’t dismiss this recipe! You can easily adapt this to a slow cooker– it’ll just take longer. The homemade meatballs don’t require browning, without sacrificing flavor.
I’ve been making a lot of meals in my slow cooker or pressure cooker, I can handle about thirty minutes of standing…tops! This recipe was super simple to make, and it is absolutely delicious! Best of all, you don’t have to brown the meatballs and they turn out perfect. No bottled spaghetti sauce, either. Win!
I don’t make meatballs very often, but if I do, I like the idea of using a panade.
A what, you ask? Prounced, Pa-Nod. With this recipe, panko crumbs and milk are combined to make a paste. This will not only bind the meat together, but will prevent dry meatballs. Win.
A combination of ground beef and pork, sauteed onions, garlic, fresh parsley, Parmesan cheese and egg makes delicious meatballs. NOTE: In order to pressure cook the meatballs, they needed to be sturdy, so this recipe has adjusted the proportions of milk and bread crumbs to build a sturdy meatball, that wouldn’t bust or turn mushy.
The meatballs are ready to go, so it’s time to make the sauce.
Sure you can buy bottled spaghetti sauce. But if making your own is quick, easy and delicious– wouldn’t that be your first choice? This sauce did not disappoint at all. Fresh garlic, crushed tomatoes, onion, red pepper flakes and a little sugar is all you need. The browning cycle of the pressure cooker took about 10 minutes for the sauce to cook. Submerge the meatballs, carefully, into the sauce.
Lock the lid on and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
You don’t have a pressure cooker? Well, you can adapt this to a slow cooker. You’d have to simmer the sauce on the stove, and I’d slow cook this for about six hours.
The beauty of pressure cooking is that you save hours of slow simmering. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I wouldn’t want to mess with someone’s Mama, who makes the best authentic Italian meatballs. But, if you’re looking for a shortcut that doesn’t sacrifice flavor… this recipe is the one to do it. I love my pressure cooker!
The meatballs held up really well. Okay, one or two broke apart just a teeny bit. They were moist, and the sauce was as good as any I’ve had in a restaurant. This is super easy to make.
The Best and Easy Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
MEATBALLS:
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated, 1/2 cup
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 pound meatloaf mix ground beef and pork combo
SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano minced or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cans crushed tomatoes 28 ounces
- Sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh basil as a garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in pressure cooker pot over medium high heat (I use the browning cycle on my electric pressure cooker) until shimmering. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in oregano, red pepper flakes and two-thirds of garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes no longer taste raw, about 10 minutes.
- Season with sugar, salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, mash the panko and milk into paste in medium bowl with a fork.
- Gently mix in meatloaf mix, Parmesan, parsley, egg remaining garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with hands until thoroughly combined.
- Shape mixture into 12 even-size meatballs. Gently nestle meatballs into sauce.
- Lock pressure-cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. As soon as the pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. adjusting heat as needed to maintain high pressure. NOTE: I just set my electric pressure cooker to medium pressure and everything turned out great.
- Remove pot from heat. Quick release pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
Notes
Nutrition
It looks scrumptious. I'll have to give it a try soon.
oh yum this looks really great! I love spaghetti and meatballs!
styleandchocolates
You sure make great use of your pressure cooker Debbie – I would have never thought of meatballs in it. I like the idea of milk and Panko in them.
I use an egg and bread crumb panod in my meatloaf–had not idea I was mixing in a panod–THANK YOU.
Hmmm I bet you COULD slow cook the turkey…in fact, I'm sure it would be ultra moist and awesome! Or get the husband to grill, perhaps….
I am constantly amazed by all the things you can make in a pressure cooker!
I've learned something new!! Panade! Can't wait to try this.
p.s. The boys are asleep now, but they got your email and say, "HI! It's us!" LOL
Perfect, I was just thinking I wanted to try a new meatball recipe and here it is, slow cooker and all! Thank you. Hope your knee gets better faster and faster so you can get back to what you love, cooking up great dishes!
Thank you for this recipe! I just received a pressure cooker for my birthday and I am so excited! My only newbie question… can this be doubled?
Well, I made this tonight and I despite the fact my brand new pressure cooker is faulty (adjust button on Instapot not working??)(, these are DELICIOUS! I did not double it like my question above, but I will next time. I think I have now read that you do not need to adjust times, the pressure adjusts accordingly. Thanks for the recipe.
I have been making this recipe often for over a year and LOVE IT! Being able to cook meatballs from scratch with the sauce in the IP is one of my favorite IP meals! No more heating up the kitchen with the meatballs baking separately like I used to do. So easy and delicious! Thank you.
This is one of my favorite recipes. Who knew you didn’t have to brown the meatballs in advance? Thanks!