One night last week I realized I had a family-sized package of ground beef that needed to be used. I wasn’t in the mood for taco night, which is normally my ground beef go-to dinner. So I mixed my ground beef up in a bowl with a few spices, some gluten free breadcrumbs, and a dash of milk.
(I actually was out of bread crumbs so I crushed up some gluten free rice cereal with my Smood from Dreamfarm. Shhhh! That can be our secret.)
In about 15 minutes I had transformed that package of ground beef into a sheet pan full of gluten free meatballs destined for my Instant Pot.
I dumped a jar of our favorite spaghetti sauce into my Instant Pot and then tossed in as many meatballs as I thought my family would eat for dinner. Just 16 minutes under pressure and dinner was served!
I made some pasta and broccoli and patted myself on the back. (What I felt like was) a balanced meal was on the table with minimal effort WHILE I juggled four kids.
But that is only where this meatball recipe’s journey began!
We only cooked about a third of the meatballs in spaghetti sauce that night. The rest of the meatballs were rolled and then placed into a freezer bag.
A few nights later when dinner time rolled around I pulled a dozen un-cooked meatballs out of the freezer and put them in my Instant Pot with some beef broth. I set my Instant Pot for a little longer since they were frozen (18 minutes) and then brought the kids to the park nearby to tire them out.
When I came back I added some gluten free ramen to the broth and switched my Instant Pot to sauté for a few minutes until the ramen was cooked. With almost no effort I put another dinner on the table!
A week later, tummies were growling and kids were cranky, so I tossed the few remaining meatballs and some frozen spinach in another jar of spaghetti sauce and set it while I folded laundry.
I boiled some gluten free macaroni and tossed it all together. It was a crowd-pleasing meal that fed not only my family, but my sister’s family too! I loved that there were veggies hidden inside of the sauce.
So, with 15, maybe 20 minutes of prep time if you include clean up, I made three meals for my family.
I don’t have the energy and planning to do a day of cook-ahead freezer dinners, but I can handle a big batch of meatballs!
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Gluten Free Instant Pot Meatballs Recipe
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Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef, 80/20
1 1/2 cups gluten free breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or milk of your choosing
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Directions
In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix until just combined.
Lightly scoop the mixture using a 1 1/2 tablespoon spring-loaded ice cream or cookie scoop and gently roll each scoop into a more uniform ball.
Drop directly into your favorite sauce, or soup OR place the meatballs in a gallon size freezer bag in a single layer and freeze. (It helps if you put the bag on a sheet pan or plate so you can easily move it to the freezer. Remove the plate once the meatballs are frozen.)
If cooking in an Instant Pot set it manually to 16 minutes (or 18 minutes if frozen.)
Notes
In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix until just combined.
Lightly scoop the mixture using a 1 1/2 tablespoon spring-loaded ice cream or cookie scoop and gently roll each scoop into a more uniform ball.
Drop directly into your favorite sauce, or soup OR place the meatballs in a gallon size freezer bag in a single layer and freeze. (It helps if you put the bag on a sheet pan or plate so you can easily move it to the freezer. Remove the plate once the meatballs are frozen.)
If cooking in an Instant Pot set it manually to 16 minutes (or 18 minutes if frozen.)
Recommended
Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker
Cuisinart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop