Easy Instant Pot Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe

This easy instant pot teriyaki meatballs recipe will be your new weeknight go to! Easy homemade beef meatballs tossed in a homemade teriyaki sauce. Cooking meatballs in the instant pot not only makes easy clean up, but it creates tender, juicy meatballs! Homemade teriyaki sauce is easy to make and requires just a handful of ingredients you probably already have!

Highlights of this teriyaki meatball recipe:

• Easy appetizer recipe
• Make a great weekly meal prep or easy weeknight meal
• Family favorite, serve over rice with veggies like carrots, bok choy, and snow peas for a filling meal
• Budget friendly ingredients
• Customizable, can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken
• Great for picky eaters, the entire family will enjoy this recipe
• These are perfect as a main dish
• Sauce is easy and flavorful to make, leftover sauce will keep in the fridge!

First Steps:

• Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl
• Mix to combine meatball mixture
• Portion and roll into balls
• Transfer to sheet pan and chill
• Transfer chilled meatballs into the base of the instant pot

Tools I used for these easy teriyaki 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.

Variations & Serving Ideas:

• Serve as a delicious appetizer at holiday parties or for game day, lay out toothpick for easy grabbing!
• Use store-bought teriyaki sauce
• Serve over a bed of rice topped with avocados, green onions, cilantro, limes, and more
• Serve over lo mien noodles or with stir fried vegetables
• Use homemade or store-bought meatballs

What to serve teriyaki meatballs with?

Serve this easy instant pot recipe with Failproof Long Grain Rice in the Instant Pot, Perfect Brown Rice (without a rice cooker), or Perfect Steamed Rice (without a rice cooker). You could also serve over noodles or with stir fried veggies.

How long do beef meatballs take to cook in the instant pot?

Depending on the size of the meatballs, they will be cooked in about 20 minutes. Always make sure beef reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees before consuming, use a meat thermometer if needed!

We like our meatballs topped with sesame seeds and sliced green onions!

If you like these instant pot teriyaki meatballs, you’ll love these other easy instant pot recipes….

Easy Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Instant Pot BBQ and Grape Jelly Meatballs

Easy Five Ingredient Instant Pot Beef Chili

Instant Pot Apple Cider Pork Loin

2 Ingredient Instant Pot Pesto Chicken

Failproof Long Grain Rice in the Instant Pot

What is homemade teriyaki sauce made of?

Homemade teriyaki sauce is so simple to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. Save money and avoid additives/preservatives by making your own. Consisting of soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, garlic, water, this sauce thickens up great with a cornstarch slurry and has nice flavor. Perfect for this delicious teriyaki beef recipe.

This delicious recipe makes a great easy dinner or meal prep recipe, the homemade meatballs can be made in bulk and stored in the freezer for several months!

Grocery store list & substitutions:

• Lean ground beef
• Panko bread crumbs
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• Red onion
• Large eggs
• Garlic powder
• Soy sauce, could substitute low sodium soy sauce, coconut amino, or tamari
• Brown sugar
• Honey
• Minced garlic cloves
• Cornstarch
• Substitute store-bought teriyaki sauce or gluten-free teriyaki sauce

Second Steps:

• Let instant pot meatball cool slightly
• Transfer to a mixing bowl, top with homemade teriyaki sauce
• Toss to combine

Instructions for the teriyaki meatball recipe:

For the easy meatball recipe:

• In a large mixing bowl combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, garlic powder, 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, you will get about 25 meatballs. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until hard.*
• Add the chilled meatballs into the base of the instant pot. Secure the lid onto the pressure cooker. Turn on, select “Pressure Cook” setting, set to “high pressure” for 20-22 minutes, and start.
• Once the timer has expired and the meatballs have finished cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally.

For the homemade teriyaki sauce:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, garlic, and water. Heat over medium-high heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to medium-low, in a small bowl combine the corn starch and tablespoon of water, stir to combine. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the sauce, whisking well, and allow to simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring often until thick and reduced. If the sauce is to thick, thin with a little water.
• Toss the cooked meatballs in the teriyaki sauce, serve over steamed rice and top 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.

*Cooking time may need to be adjusted by the size of the meatballs, they should reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees F. before serving. 

*If desired, you can use the saute function to brown the meatballs prior to pressure cooking.

Pro tips for perfect meatballs:

• Use a portion scoop or cookie scoop to get even sized meatballs
• Chill or freeze meatballs before cooking so they don’t fall apart during cooking
• Start on the low end of cooking and add more time add needed to keep meatballs from getting dry
• Thicken teriyaki sauce with cornstarch, it thickens without changing the flavor

Serve over steamed brown or white rice!

Did you make this recipe?

I would love to see it! Take a picture and post to Instagram with the tag @theheartylife and the hashtag #theheartylife – You can also leave me a question or comment below! If you’ve tried this recipe, feel free to give it a star rating on the recipe above.