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Updated July 13, 2021
Instant Pot Hawaiian Beef Meatballs
Looking for a great appetizer that doubles as a lovely weeknight meal?
These Instant Pot Hawaiian Beef Meatballs are an amazing choice for either one!
With some extra sauce on the side, you’ll have a great appetizer for any occasion.
If you’re having them for dinner, they’re great served over rice with the veggies that are cooked along with them.
End up with leftovers? Don’t worry, you can store them easily in the fridge in a secure container and they also freeze well!
They’re easy to make and require very little prep.
The quick cook time helps make these Instant Pot Hawaiian Beef Meatballs a great choice for a weeknight meal.
Now that you’ve gotten a quick rundown on this recipe, let’s get into it!
Serves: 4 (as a meal) also great for a party appetizer
Cook Time: 10 Minutes (inactive time is about 5 to 7 minutes when the instant pot heats up)
Ingredients:
The ingredients for this recipe are fairly simple but pack the meatballs with so much flavor!
There are quite a few liquid ingredients in this recipe but they’re all easy to find.
Apple and pineapple juice are key, along with soy sauce, and hoisin sauce.
You’re also going to want fresh ginger, garlic, and pineapple.
You round it all out with brown sugar, corn starch, water, sesame seeds, and of course the frozen meatballs!
We included a simple list of the exact measurements and ingredients below.
Ingredients
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons hoisin sauce
4 teaspoons garlic
1/4 cup brown sugar (may be replaced with honey)
3 teaspoons corn starch
1 can pineapple; juice reserved
28 oz frozen beef meatballs
1 cup water
Sesame seeds for topping
Instructions:
Most of the work for this recipe is going to be in the sauce itself, but you still have to cook the meatballs!
Thankfully, steaming them in an Instant Pot is incredibly easy.
Once they’re finished steaming, you can remove the steaming tray, drain, and begin prepping the sauce.
If you have a large measuring cup, this is a great opportunity to use it to hold all of the different ingredients.
Stir them together well, and you’re ready to move on to transforming that wild mix into an incredibly flavorful sauce!
Add your meatballs back to the pot, set the Instant Pot to saute, and you’re ready to start the sauce.
Pour the liquid over the meatballs, it doesn’t need to evenly coat them as you pour because you’re going to stir.
Stir the sauce and meatballs until the sauce thickens.
When thickened, you can turn off the Instant Pot.
Add the canned pineapple (without the juice) and stir until thickened again.
Serve over white rice and you’re ready to go!
For detailed step-by-step instructions, look below!
Place steamer basket into the Instant Pot.
Pour in 1 cup water.
Add in the frozen meatballs and place the lid on the Instant Pot.
There isn’t much of a limit to how many meatballs you can make, though you want all of them to be able to get some steam.
Set valve to sealed.
Set timer to 6 minutes.
Once the Instant Pot warms up and stops counting and beeps release the pressure by turning the valve.
Remove meatballs to a medium or large-sized bowl.
Lift and drain pot insert.
Once drained, replace the pot insert it back into the Instant Pot.
Add meatballs back to the pot.
In a glass liquid measuring cup, add apple juice, pineapple juice, fresh ginger, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and corn starch.
Whisk thoroughly until combined.
Set instant pot to saute mode.
Pour the mixture over the meatballs.
Stir until sauce thickens around the meatballs.
Once thickened properly, turn off the Instant Pot.
Add in the pineapple from the can but not the juice.
Stir until sauce thickens around the meatballs.
Once thickened turn off instant pot.
Serve over rice topped with sesame seeds.
They can also be served on their own as an appetizer or snack!
Read: 20 Mouthwatering Meatball Recipes For Beginners
Final Thoughts
These Hawaiian Instant Pot Meatballs were incredibly easy to make, feed plenty, and are a crowd-pleaser no matter how you serve them!
We hope you enjoyed this quick and simple recipe, whether you had them as a dinner served over rice or as an amazing appetizer for any kind of party.
You can also substitute the pineapple out if you find the sauce sweet enough on its own or if you’d prefer something with a bit more kick!
This lovely combination also works well served with noodles, a few different veggies, and other types of rice.
If you’re looking for some other party favorites to accompany these, a quick side dish if you’re using them as an entree, or a lovely dessert to follow up, we have plenty of options for you!
Thank you for checking out this amazing recipe, I hope you explore some of our other amazing recipes!