Quick And Easy Instant Pot Cocktail Meatballs
Whether it’s a birthday party or a 4th of July party, these Instant Pot Cocktail meatballs are just what you need. I mean you can’t really have a party without some food. But, who wants to do the clean up after a big party? Not me! These Instant pot party meatballs make your life easy all the way around. With minimal cleanup, these finger foods are totally worth it!
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Contents
Why These Are the Best Party Meatballs?
There are a lot of things that go into making the best party meatballs.
First, they need to be made with high-quality, lean ground beef. This ensures that they’re delicious and juicy, without being greasy.
Second, they need to be well-seasoned. The perfect blend of spices will give them just the right amount of flavor.
Third, these cocktail meatballs need to be cooked to perfection. They should be slightly browned on the outside and cooked all the way through on the inside.
Finally, they need to be served hot, right out of the Instant Pot. These are the best party meatballs because they’re guaranteed to be delicious and satisfying.
Instant Pot COCKTAIL Meatballs Ingredients
For a sweet and tangy finger food, you won’t need much for this recipe! Here’s what you need:
- Frozen meatballs: Grab 2 pounds of frozen, unseasoned meatballs from your local grocery store.
- BBQ sauce: I prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce. However, you can use your favorite sauce with these.
- Grape Jelly: To get that sweet glaze, you’ll want to add in a cup of grape jelly. I use Smucker’s Squeeze grape jelly, but you can use whatever you prefer.
Scroll down to the bottom for the recipe card with exact ingredients!
Can I Make My Own Meatballs?
Absolutely! If you want to add more flavor to your meatballs, you can use ground beef to roll your own. Make small meatballs using your ground beef. Then, you will follow the directions below, but set the time for 7 minutes instead of 5.
Do I Have to Use Grape Jelly?
We use grape jelly with our BBQ sauce because it gives the meatballs a sweeter taste. It also helps to make a thicker sauce that covers the meatballs perfectly. However, you can skip the grape jelly and just use BBQ sauce instead.
How to Make Instant Pot Party Meatballs
You won’t spend a lot of time prepping or cooking these party meatballs. Just follow the steps below!
Step 1: Combine Ingredients
Throw your meatballs, BBQ sauce, and grape jelly into the inner pot. Stir to combine making sure the meatballs are fully covered.
Step 2: Prep and seal the Instant Pot
Next, put the lid on your Instant Pot and make sure its secure. Set your steam release valve on the lid to the “sealing” position.
Step 3: Pressure Cook your cocktail meatballs
Press the manual or pressure cook button your Instant Pot and set it to 5 minutes.
Step 4: Quick Release your instant pot
After the pot beeps, do a quick release by flipping the valve on the lid to the “venting” position.
Step 5: Stir your party meatballs and Enjoy
Open the lid and stir the meatballs well in the sauce to completely coat them. Serve and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks for making cocktail meatballs
Along the way, I have found some tips and tricks to make this recipe even smoother.
- Combine BBQ sauce and grape jelly first. I have found that mixing the BBQ sauce and grape jelly together in a bowl first makes it easy to coat the meatballs evenly.
- Add a little water. Most of the time the BBQ sauce and grape jelly is enough “liquid” to prevent a burn notice, but sometimes it gets stuck on the bottom as it heats up. To avoid a burn notice, add 1/2 cup of water to the inner pot before you pressure cook.
- Don’t panic. If you do get a burn notice, don’t panic. Simply release the pressure, open the Instant Pot and add in another 1/2 cup of water, deglaze the bottom of the inner pot, and try again.
- Add toothpicks. To make these meatballs true party meatballs, add a toothpick to each meatball so your guests can easily grab them.
Can I Use Frozen Meatballs In The Instant Pot?
Yes, you sure can. If you wis to cook instant pot frozen meatballs then you’ll just need to add an extra 4 minutes to the cook time when pressure cooking in the instant pot.
Instant Pot Party Meatballs
This Instant Pot Recipe is good to serve on any occasions.
Ingredients
- 2lbs Meatballs, frozen
- 2 cups BBQ Sauce of choice
- 1 cup Grape Jelly
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in your Instant Pot and stir well to combine.
- Secure the lid on your Instant Pot and set to manual pressure for 5 minutes.
- Quick release.
- Stir the meatballs well in the sauce to coat, then serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1390Total Fat: 68gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 38gCholesterol: 200mgSodium: 3971mgCarbohydrates: 154gFiber: 9gSugar: 112gProtein: 45g
Other Party Foods to Make
Whenever I have a party, I like to make quick and easy finger foods that everyone can enjoy! Here are some of my other favorite party foods:
- BBQ Chicken Sliders
- Instant Pot Meatloaf Bites
- Instant Pot Jalapeno Jelly Wings
- Vegetable Train Party Food
- Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods
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We make meatballs regularly and love trying different recipes! Haven’t tried one with grape jelly before. Excited to try.
These sound delicious. We like to snack on things like this during movie night so I’ll keep the meatballs in mind.
These sound like tasty bites, perfect for BBQ’s and parties. The sound like they would be full of flavour.
This would be perfect to make for my next gathering.
These are always a faavorite at potlucks. So I need to make these for my next potluck event.
I hate cleaning up after a party too. This meatballs sounds so savory
That seems to be a really nice, quick, and convenient recipe amd perfect for those instant parties too.
These look amazing. They would be great for some get togethers I plan to have soon. I’ll have to try this out and see. We do love meatballs.
This looks really good. My kids love meatballs and they could eat them forever. I’m sure gonna make this for them.
This sounds like a wonderful way to make meatballs, I love that you can do so much in an instant pot just wow!
These look like some killer appetizers. I love snacking on some meatballs.
These meatballs look so inviting! Can’t wait to try them!
What a fun idea! Meatballs are always a crowd pleaser and this would be a convenient party food.