Easy Instant Pot BBQ and Grape Jelly Meatballs

These easy instant pot BBQ and grape jelly meatballs are the perfect appetizer or easy weeknight dinner. Homemade beef meatballs in a quick BBQ and grape jelly sauce. For an even quicker meal, substitute premade frozen meatballs. These meatballs make a great meal prep or quick weekday rice bowl, they will keep fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days.

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Highlights of the instant pot meatballs:

• Easy appetizer recipe
• Perfect for your next party
• Make a great weekly meal prep or easy weeknight meal
• Family favorite
• Budget friendly ingredients
• Customizable
• Great for picky eaters
• These are perfect as a main dish

Freezing the meatballs before cooking helps them stick together. Extra sauce can be spooned over the meatballs before serving!

Variations & Serving Ideas:

• Serve as a delicious appetizer at holiday parties or for game day
• Serve in a rice bowl topped with avocados, green onions, cilantro, limes, and more
• Substitute apricot preserves or cranberry sauce for grape jelly
• Use homemade or store-bought meatballs

Tools I used for these instant pot bbq meatballs:

• Glasslock Glass Food Storage Containers – the square containers are the perfect size for lunches or leftovers, stain proof, and they are dishwasher safe
• Tongs – a must have kitchen tool!
• USA Pan Half Sheet Pan – my go-to sheet pans, these are truly non-stick and clean up nicely
• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker – A versatile counter top appliance perfect for quickly cooking these meatballs! My favorite electric pressure cooker.
• Portion Scoops – perfect for getting even sized meatballs.

A flavorful yet easy recipe!

If you like these easy grape jelly meatballs, you’ll love these other simple recipes…

Easy Air Fryer Turkey Meatball Bowls

Meal Prep Sticky Sesame Meatballs

Air Fryer Chicken Meatball Bowls

Meal Prep Sticky Ginger Meatball Bowls

Grocery List & Ingredient Substitutions:

• Jar of grape jelly
• Bottle of barbecue sauce (any flavor – such as honey bbq, spicy bbq, or even substitute sweet chili sauce)
• Lean ground beef (or substitute store-bought beef, chicken, or turkey meatballs)
• Large whole eggs
• Bread crumbs
• White onion (substitute yellow or red onion)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Garlic cloves

I serve my meatballs over a bed of Failproof Long Grain Rice in the Instant Pot with lots of cilantro, green onion, avocado, and lime!

How do I keep my meatballs from falling apart?

A good mixture of binding agents is important. Both whole eggs and breadcrumbs are great for keeping meatballs from falling apart. A simple way to check that the meatballs wont fall apart while cooking is while rolling the meatballs. If the meatballs do not stay together while rolling, they will most likely fall apart while cooking. If your raw meatball mixture is falling apart, increase the amount of breadcrumbs as needed. You can also chill/freeze the meatballs before baking to help them hold their shape.

How do I make sure my meatballs are moist?

Pressure cooking meatballs in the instant pot keeps the inside light and moist. The key is to start on the low end of time and add more as needed! Cooking in a sauce, such as this bbq grape jelly sauce, is another key

Homemade beef meatballs are very simple to make and can be customized. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand!

Instructions for the sweet bbq homemade meatballs:

• In a large bowl combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, garlic, and onion. Gently mix with your hands until evenly combined. Use a portion scoop to scoop 1 oz. meatballs. Roll into balls and place on a sheet pan. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until hard.*
• In the base of an instant pot or pressure cooker, combine the frozen meatballs, barbeque sauce, and grape jelly. Make sure the meatballs are coated well so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Secure the lid onto the pressure cooker. Turn on, select “Pressure Cook” setting, set to “high pressure” for 12-14 minutes, and start.
• Once the timer has expired and the meatballs have finished cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally. Allow to cool slightly, serve as is or in a rice bowl topped with extra sauce. Leftover meatballs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes:

*Alternatively you could use store-bought frozen meatballs. I freeze the meatballs before placing in the pressure cooker so they don’t fall apart.

*If needed leave the meatballs in the instant pot and set to the warm setting to keep warm before service.

Make these 3-ingredient meatballs but substituting store-bought beef meatballs. Or make you own meatballs with a few simple ingredients.

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