Description
These Instant Pot Cranberry Meatballs are a deliciously tangy and savory appetizer or main dish, combining juicy ground beef meatballs with a sweet and slightly spicy cranberry sauce. Made quickly with simple ingredients and cooked perfectly in an Instant Pot, this recipe is ideal for family dinners or holiday parties.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (panko or regular)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp minced onion
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp coarse kosher sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil (canola, vegetable, or avocado)
Sauce
- 7 oz jellied cranberry sauce
- 6 oz Heinz Chili Sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water or orange juice
Instructions
- Prepare the Meatballs: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, milk, and egg. Let this mixture stand for 3 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to soak and soften, creating a tender base for the meatballs. Then, add the minced onion, dried parsley, garlic powder, coarse kosher sea salt, and ground black pepper, mixing well to incorporate all seasonings evenly. Finally, add the ground beef and mix thoroughly until all ingredients are combined evenly.
- Form Meatballs: Using a cookie scoop for dinner-sized meatballs or teaspoons for smaller appetizer-sized meatballs, shape the mixture into balls ensuring even sizes for uniform cooking.
- Brown Meatballs: Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode and heat the olive oil. In batches, brown the meatballs on all sides to develop flavor and color, being careful not to overcrowd the pot to ensure even browning. Once done, remove the meatballs and set them aside.
- Prepare the Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the jellied cranberry sauce, Heinz Chili Sauce, brown sugar, and water (or orange juice) until fully combined. This sauce will provide a balance of sweet and tangy flavors to complement the meatballs.
- Cook in Instant Pot: Return all browned meatballs to the Instant Pot and pour the prepared sauce evenly over them. Seal the Instant Pot lid and set to MANUAL (Pressure Cook) mode for 12 minutes. When cooking time ends, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure to keep the meatballs tender and juicy.
- Serve: After the pressure is fully released, open the Instant Pot and gently stir the meatballs to coat them evenly with the sauce. Serve immediately or keep warm in the Instant Pot for up to 3 hours until ready to enjoy.
Notes
- Using panko breadcrumbs will yield lighter, softer meatballs, but regular breadcrumbs work well too.
- For a slightly sweeter sauce, substitute water with orange juice.
- Make sure not to overcrowd the Instant Pot when browning meatballs to ensure they brown properly.
- You can double the sauce ingredients for more sauce, especially if serving over rice or noodles.
- Leftover meatballs and sauce keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- If using frozen meatballs, you may need to increase cooking time by a few minutes.
