Name: Instant Pot Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons Canola oil ((divided)); 1 lb ground chicken; 1/4 cup breadcrumbs; 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1 onion, finely diced; 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons Vermouth ((or broth or wine or water)); 1 cup chicken broth ((or vegetable broth)); 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves; 1/4 teaspoon salt ((or more to taste)); 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 1/4 cup 10% cream

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Instant Pot Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce are delicious and easy to make. Perfect for a weeknight meal. They reheat well and great for meal prepping work and school lunches.

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Nothing screams comfort like a bowl of steaming Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce. Serve them with mashed potatoes and it’s the ultimate cozy comfort meal. The mushroom sauce (or gravy) is lusciously creamy and delicious. Meatballs are soft and juicy.

If you like creamy mushroom sauce, then you should also try Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin with Mushrooms.

Making meatballs in Instant Pot means that you don’t have to worry about watching the pot on the stove. Electric Pressure Cooker does all the work and you can totally let everything cook and mingle in the pot without needing to watch the stove.

There are a couple of ways of making Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce in Instant Pot. One way (the one I documented in the video and with process photos) is a little bit more involved and another way is a bit easier. The flavour and texture between those options will be slightly different but both versions will still taste delicious.

Ingredients to make Instant Pot Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

For meatballs:

Ground chicken
Breadcrumbs (plain or seasoned)
Seasonings (I use Mrs. Dash seasoning, garlic salt, pepper)

For the mushroom sauce:

Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Vermouth (or wine or water for deglazing)
Chicken broth
Seasonings (I use fresh thyme, salt, pepper)

Also needed:

Oil
Cornstarch
Cream

How to make Instant Pot Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

Option 1:

Make the meatballs. Combine the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, seasonings and form meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball or a bit smaller. About 14-16 meatballs.

Sauté the meatballs in Instant Pot in a bit of oil for a few minutes on each side. No need to cook through. This step is only to add a bit of crust and develop flavour.
Remove the meatballs from Instant Pot and set aside.
Add more oil to Instant Pot. Add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic to Instant Pot and sauté for another few minutes stirring occasionally.
Deglaze the pot with Vermouth and scrape the bottom of Instant Pot really well to make sure that there are no little bits stuck to it. If there are bits stuck to the bottom of the pot then Instant Pot may show a “burn” message and not come to pressure.
Add the sautéed meatballs on top of the mushrooms, add broth.

Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. It’ll take about 7-8 minutes for Instant Pot to come to pressure.
Once cooked, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes or until it’s fully released.
Add a few tablespoons of hot liquid from Instant Pot into a bowl with cornstarch and mix really well until it’s fully dissolved.
Add the cornstarch slurry into the pot. It helps the sauce thicken.

Add the cream and mix well.
Turn Sauté function on and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy.
Serve with Instant Pot mashed potatoes or Instant Pot Polenta.

Option 2:

Do not sauté the meatballs. You can also skip sautéing the onions and mushrooms (although this is the step I suggest you try not to skip as it really develops the flavour but if you are pressed for time, then you can skip it). Proceed with the rest of the steps as in Option 1.

Tips and Variations for the recipe

Meatballs
- Feel free to use your favourite meatball recipe.
- You can make turkey, beef, chicken, etc meatballs as you like.
- You can use store-bought meatballs also (either pre-cooked or not).
- You can use frozen meatballs also. You’ll need to omit the first step of sautéing them.

Vermouth
- This is my absolutely favourite way of deglazing pans. I don’t drink wine often so I rarely have a bottle open.
- Vermouth is fortified wine so an open bottle will last for months.
- Vermouth has a very earthy and savoury flavour so it’s great for cooking.
- I use either sweet or dry vermouth.
- You can use wine, broth, or even just water for deglazing.

Broth
- I always use Better Than Bouillon when I don’t have homemade broth in my fridge.
- You can use any kind: chicken, vegetable or even beef.
Cream
- Can be omitted.
- The sauce will still be “creamy” because of the cornstarch slurry. Although the flavour will change.

Spices and seasonings
- You can use your favourite seasonings, herbs and spices to flavour the meatballs and mushroom gravy anyway you like.
- I am a huge fan of Mrs. Dash original no-salt seasoning. It has a blend of herbs and spices that really works for me. I prefer not to re-invent the wheel and just use it.
- I also love fresh thyme with mushrooms. You can add tarragon, rosemary, sage, or your favourite herbs.

More Instant Pot Meatballs Recipes:

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