Easy Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe

These delicious and easy Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe are going to be your next family favorite. This easy recipe only takes 10 minutes to prep and has a 12 minute cook time in the pressure cooker!  

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You can meal prep this Instant Pot recipe ahead of time by preparing the tangy meatballs and keeping them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. This makes for a quick and tasty meal that the whole family will love!

This Instant Pot recipe makes for a perfect appetizer or served as a main course over white rice, brown rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta.

The Players for Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ingredients:

• Bread – I like using a slice of bread for the meatball mixture. Alternatively, you can use bread crumbs if you’d like.
• Milk – Using milk will add moisture to our meatballs.  it forms a paste-like consistency that, when mixed with the meat, helps bind the ingredients together and contributes to the overall texture of the meatballs
• Egg –  One egg is needed to act as a binder. This helps to hold the meatball mixture together.
• Garlic – You can use freshly minced garlic or garlic powder for this easy recipe.
• Onion – Fresh onions or onion powder is needed to make our Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs.
• Salt & Pepper – Use salt and pepper to taste.
• Beef – I’ll be using lean ground beef for this instant pot meatballs recipe. You can even make turkey meatballs to switch it up!
• Pork – To give more flavor to our meatballs, I’m also using ground pork.  Feel free to use all ground beef if you prefer!
• Chili Sauce – You’ll need one 12-ounce jar of Chili Sauce to make the sweet and sour sauce, 
• Grape Jelly – Grape jelly provides a sweet and slightly tart flavor that complements the savory meatballs and the tangy sauce.

Tools:

• Instant Pot – To make these delicious IP Sweet & Sour Meatballs, you’ll need an Instant Pot. I love using my Instant Pot for recipes like this Chicken and Rice Casserole and this Easy Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli Soup Recipe.

How to make Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs

In a large bowl add in your one slice of bread (this can be the butt or heel of your bread loaf) or your bread crumbs and combine it with the milk.  Allow it to sit for 1 minute to allow the bread to soak up the milk.  Add in your egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and mix together well. 

Next, add in your ground beef and ground pork (if using ground pork) and combine ground meat together with your hands or a wooden spoon.  

Once your meat is thoroughly combined, begin to form small meatballs,  I make mine around the size of a golf ball.  If you’re looking to serve this as an appetizer, make them slightly smaller, about 1-inch in size.

In a separate small bowl, make the sweet chili sauce.  Combine the sauce ingredients by adding one jar of chili sauce and grape jelly together in a bowl.  

Add the Sauce and Meatballs

Pour half of the sauce into the bottom of the empty Instant Pot so that the meatballs won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Place your homemade meatballs into the Instant Pot and pour the remaining sauce over the meatballs.

Place the lid of your Instant Pot on top and set the valve to Sealing. Cook the sweet and sour meatballs on High Pressure for 12 minutes. When the time is up, allow the meatballs to release naturally for 5 minutes.  Carefully move the valve from Sealing to Venting and wait for the float valve pin to drop before removing the lid.

If you want to make your sauce thicker, make a cornstarch slurry by combining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and add it directly to the meatballs and sauce.

You can make these Hawaiian meatballs by adding in some bell peppers (red peppers, yellow, orange or even a green bell pepper!) land sweet pineapple chunks.  I would add the bell peppers into the sauce before cooking, and add the pineapples once the meatballs have finished cooking.

Serve your Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs over rice if desired.  Enjoy!

Storage and Reheating Instructions

To store leftover sweet and sour meatballs, place meatballs into an airtight container.  The meatballs will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, place your sweet and sour meatballs into a microwave-safe dish and heat for 2-3 minutes at 50% power in the microwave.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs in the Slow Cooker or Oven

• Crock Pot: To cook this sweet and sour recipe in the crock pot, place your meatballs into the slow cooker and pour the sauce over the meatballs.  Stir the meatballs and sauce together and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
• Oven: To cook these easy grape jelly meatballs in the oven, place your meatballs into a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray and pour the sweet and sour sauce over the meatballs.  Bake in the oven that has been preheated to 375 degrees fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes. 

Pin it for Later!

If you end up making these Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Meatballs, leave me a comment.  I’d love to chat with you!

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