Spicy Honey BBQ Instant Pot Meatballs

This recipe for Spicy Honey BBQ Instant Pot meatballs couldn’t be easier! These frozen meatballs are tender, juicy, and sweet with a kick!

Frozen meatballs in the Instant Pot are a quick and easy dish you can always have on hand. This Instant Pot meatball recipe is smothered in a sweet and spicy sauce for a tasty dinner option or party appetizer! It’s as popular as my Instant Pot chicken chili in this house.

SPICY HONEY BBQ INSTANT POT MEATBALLS
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My Instant Pot is my most used kitchen appliance these days. It makes completely frozen food in just minutes! There’s no need to thaw these meatballs — just toss everything in the pot and walk away.

This spicy bbq meatball recipe is great year-round. The smoky sauce is perfect for a pool day, dinner parties, or a quick weeknight meal. I love that it’s made with ingredients pretty much everyone always has on hand.

Instant Pot Meatball Ingredients

FROZEN MEATBALLS: I love to keep a bag of frozen meatballs on hand It’s so easy to add them to my dinner plans or whip up a saucy appetizer. You don’t need to thaw these before cooking, so keep them in the freezer until it’s time to make this meatball recipe. I like to use ground beef meatballs for this recipe, buy turkey of chicken meatballs will work too.

SPICY SAUCE: This homemade sauce is made with sriracha, honey, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, chipotle powder, vegetable broth, beef broth, cornstarch, and a little of your favorite bbq sauce. This sauce is probably a level 3 spicy on a scale of 1 to 5 for me. To make it less spicy you can use less sriracha, red pepper flakes, and/or chipotle powder.

I make this sauce in the blender, but you can skip that step if you want a chunkier sauce. Just make sure the cornstarch is completely incorporated to avoid a clumpy sauce.

How to Make Spicy BBQ Meatballs

1. First, take the frozen meatballs out of the freezer and then add the meatballs to your Instant Pot. No need to defrost, you’re cooking these meatballs right out of the bag!
2. Then, blend all the sauce ingredients until it’s super smooth.
3. Now, pour the sauce over the meatballs and seal your Instant Pot.
4. To cook, set it to High Pressure (manual) for 15 minutes. When the cooking time is up, let it naturally release for about 5 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure. Be careful of the steam!
5. Finally, once the meatballs have finished cooking, give them a quick stir, Make sure all the meatballs are smothered in sauce. The Instant Pot will brown the meatballs while they cook. These are great over rice or served plain.

You can even freeze these after cooking for a quick and easy dish that just needs reheating! These easy Instant Pot meatballs will last up to 2 months frozen, or up to a week in the refrigerator.

How Long to Cook Frozen Meatballs in Instant Pot

Since frozen meatballs are pre-cooked, you’re just looking to heat them through for these easy Instant Pot meatballs.

I cook my frozen meatballs in the Instant Pot for about 15 minutes on high pressure (manual). Then all I have to do is let the pot naturally release another 5 minutes before quick releasing the rest of the pressure.

Frozen meatballs in an Instant Pot cook much faster than in an oven! This method also keeps them moister than an oven, which can dry out frozen meatballs. 

What Do You Eat with Buffalo Meatballs?

These easy meatballs are great garnished with a little bit of parsley or blue cheese. Sometimes I even add a sprinkling of parmesan for a little saltiness.

One of my favorite pairings is to serve these meatballs with a creamy corn salad or spicy ranch cauliflower. It’s a delicious meal ready in under an hour!

I love to pair this with some simple roasted Brussels sprouts or top some zoodles with the meatballs and sauce.

More Amazing Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Meatball Soup
• Apricot Glazed Instant Pot Ham
• Instant Pot Turkey Tenderloin
• Tex-Mex Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
• Instant Pot Whole Chicken
• More MAIN DISH recipes…

Tools used to make this Spicy Honey BBQ Instant Pot Meatballs recipe

Instant Pot: A pressure cooker is the best way to make dinner in a flash. Think Crockpot in reverse! It’s great for quick dinners, homemade yogurt, and juicy, flavorful meat.

Blender: You don’t have to use a blender for this recipe, but I prefer a smoother sauce. This one is great for hot and cold dishes like sauces, soups, and smoothies.