A sweet and tangy sauce, frozen meatballs, pineapple and peppers make these Instant Pot Hawaiian meatballs a tasty dinner!
Find out just how easy it is to make Instant Pot Hawaiian meatballs with rice, getting dinner on the table fast!
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Sometimes we busy moms need shortcuts when it comes to dinner.
Although I enjoy making meals from scratch, I simply don’t always have time for it. I’m guessing you can relate!
So even though I love my homemade baked meatballs, I often turn to frozen meatballs to get dinner on the table quickly, especially on a busy weeknight.
Instant Pot frozen meatballs recipes are a fabulous shortcut!
In fact, I use frozen meatballs in my Instant Pot meatball subs, Instant Pot Italian meatballs and rice, Instant Pot sweet and sour meatballs, Instant Pot Swedish meatballs, and Instant Pot albondigas soup!
And because I love this Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken and these Hawaiian Sloppy Joes, I decided to change it up a bit and make Instant Pot Hawaiian meatballs!
Tangy Hawaiian Meatballs in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
It takes just a few minutes to mix up a tangy sauce, using ingredients you probably already have on hand!
Then, adding in some canned pineapple, a diced pepper, and the meatballs makes this a hearty and satisfying meal.
Not only that, but you can cook the Instant Pot white rice at the same time! I’ll show you exactly how to do it.
How to Make Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs Using Frozen Meatballs
It’s really easy to make this delicious meal!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Frozen meatballs
- Bell pepper
- Canned pineapple
- Pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple)
- BBQ sauce
- Brown sugar
- Rice vinegar
- Ground ginger
- Garlic powder
- Cornstarch (optional)
How to Make It:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Add meatballs. First, you’ll add the frozen meatballs to the insert pot of the Instant Pot.
Mix the sauce. Next, you’ll add in the pineapple and peppers. Then, whisk together the sauce ingredients, then pour it over the meatballs. Stir to combine everything.
Place the trivet on top of the meatball mixture.
Combine rice and water. Next, combine the rice and water in a baking pan that will fit into your Instant Pot. I use this aluminum bundt pan and it works like a charm.
Lower the pan onto the trivet in the Instant Pot.
Pressure cook. Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position. Select a cook time of 3 minutes at high pressure, followed by a natural release of pressure.
Thicken sauce. Once the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and lift the pan of rice out (be careful–it’s hot!). Fluff the rice with a fork and remove the trivet.
Add a cornstarch slurry to the hot liquid, stirring to combine. Allow the sauce to thicken for a couple of minutes, then serve over rice!
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker – I’ve had this model for more than 4 years and it’s still going strong!
- Baking pan for rice – I have this one and it works like a dream because it conducts heat so quickly!
Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs with Rice
Meatballs, pineapple, peppers, and a sweet and tangy sauce make these Instant Pot Hawaiian Meatballs a surefire dinner win!
Ingredients
- 14-oz package frozen homestyle meatballs
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 20-oz can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve the juice for the sauce)
- For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice (from the can of pineapple)
- 3 TBSP soy sauce
- 3 TBSP brown sugar
- 2 TBSP rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Optional: 2 TBSP cornstarch + 2 TBSP water (for thickening sauce after pressure cooking)
- For the Rice:
- 1 1/2 cups white rice
- 1 12 cups water
Instructions
- In the insert pot of the Instant Pot, add frozen meatballs, bell peppers, and drained pineapple chunks.
- In a small bowl, whisk together BBQ sauce, pineapple juice, soy sauce,
brown sugar, rice vinegar, ground ginger, and garlic powder. Pour over
the meatballs, stirring to combine. - With cooking spray, grease a bundt pan that will fit in your Instant Pot. Combine white rice and water in this pan.
- Place the trivet on top of the meatball mixture. Lower the bundt pan onto the trivet.
- Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position. Select a cook time of 3 minutes at high pressure.
- After the cook time is complete, allow a natural release of pressure.
- Once the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and lift the bundt pan out. Fluff rice with a fork.
- If you want to thicken the sauce a bit, add the optional cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. Give it a couple of minutes to thicken, then spoon over the rice and serve.
Notes
I used plain white rice in this recipe, because its cook time is similar to that of the chicken. I would not recommend using brown rice, since it requires a much longer cook time than the chicken does. If you prefer brown rice, I recommend cooking it separately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 393Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 1145mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 3gSugar: 32gProtein: 12g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
A family favorite! I’ve never done the rice with it because I use jasmine rice and it takes about 7 minutes to cook. It’s such an easy recipe that I make the rice first in the IP and while that’s cooking I get the meatballs all prepped and ready to go in the IP after the rice is done. Takes about 45 minutes from start to finish. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoy it as much as we do, Allison! Thank you for your kind words and for sharing how you cook it! 🙂