Do you love using your Instant Pot or looking for more recipes to use for it? This recipe is for you! Cook both the meatballs and sauce together in the Instant Pot. You don’t need to sear the meatballs first. The homemade sauce is quick and easy, but if you want to skip that part use a large jar (or two) of store-bought pasta sauce instead. 

Go ahead and freeze these meatballs and save for later use if you’d like. And if you’re thinking of using the meatballs on their own, that would be amazing, the flavors here are versatile enough to pair with any of your favorite sauces, from Italian marinara sauce to bbq sauce to a Swedish cream sauce, and so much more.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• 1 pound Strandquist Family Farm ground beef

• 1 pound Strandquist family Farm ground pork 

• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 1/4 cup half parsley and basil

• 2 eggs, beaten

• sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

For the Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter, olive oil or beef tallow

• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 4 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 (28-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes and/or diced tomatoes and/or garden fresh canned tomatoes

Directions

Step 1. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, sausage, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley and basil, and eggs gently with hands until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 2 (optional step). To make the meatballs easier to form, I recommend covering and chilling the mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour. But if you’re pressed for time, you can skip this step.

Step 3. Use your hands or use a medium cookie scoop or spoon, and scoop and roll the mixture into 20-24 balls and set aside. (I recommend greasing your hands with a bit of olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking.)

Step 4. Set Instant Pot to Sauté setting and heat oil, butter and/or tallow. When oil is shimmering, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and oregano, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

Step 4. Add tomato paste, crushed or diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, then add meatballs.

Step 5. Lock lid and set to Pressure Cook on high for 8-10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, making sure to wait until the cycle is complete before unlocking and removing the lid.

Serve it solo, on buns or add it to your spaghetti. Enjoy!