Whenever I have a party or family coming over, my go to dish is meatballs. Meatballs are delicious and super easy to make. But, I got a little tired of just plain old BBQ meatballs. So, I decided to try these Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs. And, man was I impressed! These are a new fav at all our family get togethers.
There are some recipes that seem like they are complicated and end up being super easy to make. These Hawaiian meatballs are one of those recipes. These Hawaiian meatballs are almost a dump and go recipe that is perfect for dinner or as a party appetizer. Whenever you choose to eat them, using your Instant Pot makes this dish super quick.
What are Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs
Traditional meatballs are typically made with BBQ sauce. So, you make your meatballs and then you top them with BBQ sauce. Hawaiian meatballs use BBQ sauce with a Hawaiian twist. All you do is add in pineapple to the BBQ sauce to give it a Hawaiian taste. Kind of like adding pineapple to your pizza makes it a Hawaiian pizza. Hawaiian meatballs are sweet and tangy.
Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need ingredients for the meatballs and ingredients for the sauce. Here’s what you need:
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ TBSP Salt
- ½ TBSP Pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ TBSP Garlic powder
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ½ TBSP Onion powder
- ½ TBSP Parsley flakes
Sauce:
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 10 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
- 3 green onions chopped, more if desired for garnish
How to Make Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs
This recipe requires you to make the meatballs and then cook them. Next, you will make the sauce. Here’s what you need to do:
Step 1 Mix Ingredients into Ground Beef
In a bowl, place all the ingredients for your meatballs. Mix well. This includes the ground beef and seasoning above.
Step 2 Set up Your Instant Pot
Add the trivet to your Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot.
Step 3 Put Meatballs in the Instant Pot
Using a cookie scoop, or a spoon, round into a ball using your hand. Place each meatball on the trivet. You can even stack them!
Step 4 Pressure Cook
Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for 7 minutes.
Step 5 Quick Release
After the time is done, release the pressure by bringing the valve toward you. Remove the meatballs and place into a bowl (or to save another dish, remove the trivet and meatballs from the instant pot, set aside, drain the water, and add the meatballs back to the pot.)
Step 6 Add the Sauce
Mix all your sauce ingredients into a bowl. Then, add them to your meatballs. Make sure the sauce covers each meatball. Mix well.
Step 7 Serve
Serve alongside rice, noodles, or by itself. Mahalo and enjoy!
Can You Store Leftovers?
You can store your leftover meatballs in the refrigerator. I would suggest putting them in a bowl with a lid or in a ziplock bag. You can keep them in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Ground beef does tend to dry out some, so when reheating the meatballs, add a couple spoons of butter to make them juicier.
Can You Freeze Them?
Yes, you absolutely can freeze your meatballs! Simply place them into a freezer ziplock bag. You can keep them in your freezer up to 6-months. When you want to reheat them, just remove the number you want to eat and microwave them for a couple minutes. Or, you can bake them until they are warm.
Side dishes to add
These Hawaiian meatballs make a great appetizer, but if you want to eat them as a meal you may need a side or two to go along with them. I suggest trying:
Other Instant Pot Beef Recipes to Try
Are you looking for other instant pot beef recipes to try? Check out some of our other favorites:
Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
7 minutes
Total Time:
17 minutes
A quick and easy appetizer or main dish!
Ingredients
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ TBSP Salt
- ½ TBSP Pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ TBSP Garlic powder
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
- ½ TBSP Onion powder
- ½ TBSP Parsley flakes
- Sauce:
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 10 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
- 3 green onions chopped, more if desired for garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, place all the ingredients for your meatballs. Mix well. This includes the ground beef and seasoning above.
- Add the trivet to your Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot.
- Using a cookie scoop, or a spoon, round into a ball using your hand. Place each meatball on the trivet. You can even stack them!
- Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for 7 minutes.
- After the time is done, release the pressure by bringing the valve toward you. Remove the meatballs and place into a bowl (or to save another dish, remove the trivet and meatballs from the instant pot, set aside, drain the water, and add the meatballs back to the pot.)
- Mix all your sauce ingredients into a bowl. Then, add them to your meatballs. Make sure the sauce covers each meatball. Mix well.
- Serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!
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