Get ready for flavor-packed Instant Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs! These juicy meatballs are drenched in a mouthwatering grape jelly sauce, all made effortlessly in your Instant Pot. No fancy chef skills required—just deliciousness in every bite.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
- Instant Pot Ease: Effortless cooking with quick and tender results.
- Sweet-Savory Bliss: Grape jelly + savory meatballs = irresistibly delicious.
- Anytime, Anywhere: Versatile dish for any occasion—appetizers, main course, or snacks.
📋 Ingredients
- 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.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
- Chili-Grape Fusion: Mix sweet chili sauce with grape jelly for a zesty base.Let the Instant Pot create a mouthwatering twist to classic meatballs.
- Citrusy Delight: Elevate the dish with a unique twist by using orange marmalade, adding a delightful citrusy flavor to the mix.
- Try Turkey Meatballs: Swap traditional meatballs for turkey ones in the Instant Pot.
- Cranberry Twist: For a festive touch, consider adding cranberry sauce to the grape jelly meatball glaze.
🔪How to Make Instant Pot Grape Jelly Meatballs?
- Step 1: Throw your meatballs, BBQ sauce, and grape jelly into the inner pot. Stir to combine, making sure the meatballs are fully covered.
- Step 2: Next, put the lid on your Instant Pot and make sure it's secure. Set your steam release valve on the lid to the "sealing" position.
- Step 3: Press the manual or pressure cook button your Instant Pot and set it to 5 minutes.
- Step 4: After the pot beeps, do a quick release by flipping the valve on the lid to the "venting" position.
- Step 5: Open the lid and stir the meatballs well in the sauce to completely coat them. Serve and enjoy!
👩🍳 Expert Tips
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 ½ 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 ½ 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.
💭 FAQs
Absolutely! If you want to add more flavor to your meatballs, you can use ground beef to roll your own. Make small homemade meatballs using your ground beef. Then, you will follow the above-mentioned directions but set the time for 7 minutes instead of 5.
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.
Yes, you sure can. If you want to cook Instant Pot frozen meatballs, then you’ll just need to add an extra 4 minutes to the cooking time when pressure cooking in the Instant Pot.
Yes, you can slow-cook Instant Pot BBQ meatballs by placing pre-cooked or raw meatballs in a slow cooker, covering them with your favorite BBQ sauce, and cooking them on low for 4-6 hours until fully flavored and cooked.
Allow the meatballs to cool for no more than 2 hours after cooking, then transfer them along with the grape jelly sauce into a shallow, airtight container. Refrigerate for 3–4 days or freeze in portioned, freezer-safe containers or bags (labeled with the date) for longer storage. When ready to eat, thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat thoroughly to 165°F.
Serving Suggestions
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Party Meatballs:
- Rice: White or brown rice to absorb the flavorful sauce.
- Baguette Slices: Crusty bread or baguette slices for easy dipping.
- Vegetable Skewers: Grilled or roasted vegetable skewers for freshness.
- Coleslaw: A refreshing coleslaw to balance the sweetness.
- Cheese Platter: A selection of cheeses, crackers, and fruits for a varied experience.
- Fried Rice: Grape jelly meatballs served over a bed of fried rice for a complete meal.
🍜 Related Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Leave a review and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below, or tag us in our Facebook Group! Alternatively, bookmark it in your browser or save to Pinterest.
Instant Pot Party Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Meatballs frozen
- 2 cups BBQ Sauce
- 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
More Great Party Food Ideas
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:
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.