Instant Pot BBQ Meatballs

Instant Pot BBQ Meatballs are tender and juicy meatballs full of BBQ flavor. They cook quickly in the Instant Pot, making them an easy dinner for any night of the week. They are also a delicious appetizer for a party or holiday.

We love these meatballs served with mashed potatoes and peas!

If you would rather make BBQ Meatballs in the oven, pop over to this recipe for Best Baked BBQ Meatballs.

If Instant Pot Meatballs are a favorite definitely check out the Instant Pot Italian Meatballs or Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs!

RELATED: Instant Pot Boneless BBQ Ribs

Ground Beef for BBQ Meatballs

For these Instant Pot meatballs I would recommend using 85/15 ground beef. It still has enough fat to give you that delicious juicy flavor, but not as fatty as 80/20 (save that 80/20 for Grilled Hamburgers!).

You can also use 93/7 ground beef, it will just be a little leaner than the 85/15. You can use 80/20 but the meatballs will shrink quite a bit as the fat melts out of the beef.

BBQ Sauce for Instant Pot Meatballs

One reason you will love this BBQ Meatball recipe is because you are not making your own BBQ sauce. Just use your favorite store bought or restaurant sauce.

This way you can have your meatballs sweet, spicy, smoky, vinegary… however you like. And you add as much sauce as you like!

But if you are feeling super ambitions, you can always pop over to this Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe and make your own!

Step by Step Instructions

1. Combine Meatball Ingredients

To make Instant Pot BBQ Meatballs start by mixing all the meatball ingredients, start with the bread crumbs, milk, Worcestershire, and seasonings. Then add the ground beef and using clean hands combine. Do not overmix the beef or you will have tough meatballs.

• 1.5 lbs. Ground Beef 85/15
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder

Form Meatballs

Form the mixture into your preferred meatball size. A cookie scoop can make quick work of this!

• For entrée size meatballs use about 2 tablespoons+ of beef mixture per meatball, which will give you around 12-15 meatballs.
• For appetizer size use 1 tablespoon of beef mixture, which will give you around 18-22 meatballs.

Prep The Instant Pot

In the Instant Pot pour in 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

Put the metal trivet over the liquid. Place the meatballs on the trivet in one or two layers.

Pressure Cook

Lock the lid in place and cook on meat/stew mode OR manual mode, high pressure, normal heat for 7 minutes. Do a 5 minute natural release and then finish releasing the pressure with a quick release.

Coat with BBQ Sauce

Preheat your oven broiler. Place the cooked meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet and cover them in your preferred BBQ sauce. You can dip, pour, or brush on the BBQ sauce.

Place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes so the BBQ sauce caramelizes to the meatballs and warms thru.

Serve!

Time to eat! Serve up these BBQ Meatballs with extra BBQ Sauce on the side.

BBQ Meatballs for Dinner

BBQ Meatballs make an excellent dinner entrée. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes or baked potatoes and a veggie like roasted broccoli, green beans, or asparagus.

If you are watching carbs you could also serve it with cauliflower rice or my Rosemary Cauliflower Puree instead of potatoes. Or if you love sweet potatoes check out my Savory Mashed Sweet Potato Recipe.

BBQ Meatball Appetizer

These Instant Pot BBQ Meatballs also make a great party or holiday appetizer. Simply form the meatballs a little smaller so they are bite sized and continue with the recipe as written!

Serve them with these toothpicks so your guests can pick them up and gobble them up in one bite.

More Meatballs & Related Recipes

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