Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

Tender, moist and juicy Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce are amazing. The Meatballs cook in a Rich and flavorful Tomato Sauce.

Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

So, I asked a good friend of mine, Na’an Giemdilo, if Italians really refer to Tomato Sauce as Gravy.

She said, no Italian she knows calls it Gravy. She is Italian with family in Italy and I trust her. Sauce it is!

I used to baked my Meatballs in the Oven and then cook them in this Red Wine Gravy in a deep Cast Iron Dutch Oven on the stove top.

Converting the recipe to the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker was simple and the results are fantastic.

Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

There ingredients are pretty much Pantry Staples.

It looks like so much chopping, but in actuality, there is minimal chopping.

My shortcuts will save you loads of time.

How to Make Italian Meatballs?

• All ingredients for meatballs are chopped in a food processor.
• The ground meat is then combined.
• The mixture is rolled into balls, sautéed and then cooked in a red wine sauce.

I use this method with my Pressure Cooker Greek Meatballs too, which are delicious and a snap to make.

Use a Food Processor for Meatball Ingredients

Why Use a Food Processor for Meatballs?

First of all, a food processor is such a time saver in the kitchen.

All the ingredients for the meatballs can be added at the same time and processed to perfection.

Ground meat will combine with the meatball mix and break drown more.

This helps the make the meatballs will be easier to roll.

Each meatball will be nice and tight and stay together when cooked under pressure.

I even use my food processor when baking, like in my Pressure Cooker New York Cheesecake recipe.

Form All the Meatballs

The easiest way to get the Meatballs all about the same size, is to first divide the Meatball mix into four sections. Then divide each section into three Balls.

You can see this in one of the above photos.

Roll the Meatballs nice and tight.

Give them a roll in some Potato Starch and then set them aside, while you prepare the Pressure Cooker for cooking.

Make sure to let the Pressure Cooker heat fully, prior to adding the Olive Oil.

Doing so, will help make the Stainless Steel Pot, non-stick.

Sear the Flavor into the Meatballs

Searing the Meatballs after dredging through Potato Starch prevents the Meatballs from sticking and will add a nice crust.

Recently, I have been getting a slew of questions regarding searing the meat first.

I am asked if it is necessary or if they can skip the browning and/or searing of the meat.

Should I Sear or Brown My Meat?

• On some recipes, absolutely. But not on all recipes.
• There is not a boilerplate answer for this question.
• There are many, many factors that go into deciding about sautéing, searing, browning, or not to sauté, sear or brown.
• I will tell you that for this recipe, searing the Italian Meatballs first is highly recommended for maximum flavor.
• The Meatballs and Sauce shouldn’t be greasy, but we want some fat in the Sauce.
• Searing the Meatballs first, which will remove some of the excess fat, but will leave in the flavoring (and dumping the grease), will prevent this from happening.
• Alternatively, you can bake the Meatballs in the Oven or Air Fryer first. (see notes in the recipe card)
• Getting a nice and dark crust on these meatballs, will ensure a very soft and juicy meatball.
• I have a trick for cooking chicken, so that the White Meat always stays moist and juicy. Without this trick, you probably won’t have a juicy piece of chicken.

Dredging the Meatballs in Potato Starch first, makes searing super easy and the Meatballs will just roll around the pot.

Deglaze the Pot and Dump the Contents

This is something I rarely say.

Deglaze the cooking pot and dump out all the liquid and gunk.

Yes, yes, I know, Fond (the brown bits) are where flavor lives….Yummy and flavorful.

In this case, we don’t want the icky fat trapped inside.

If you are a beginner cook, you may have difficulty searing the Meatballs and need to use extra oil.

For more advanced cooks, if you are able to sear with just a little oil, then you can skip this step, keep the Fond and go on to the next step of cooking down the Onions.

Otherwise, start with a clean pot for the next step.

In my very popular Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joe’s recipe, it calls for draining the grease and liquid, as well.

I wrote about my reasoning in that article. One method is not always the same for every recipe, so I suggest at least trying the recipe as written and then coming to your own conclusion.

Grate the Onion for the Red Wine Sauce

The purpose for the Onion in the Sauce part of the Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce is for flavor, not texture.

Therefore, it is best to grate the Onions, so that they will completely disintegrate into the Sauce.

You can also grate the Carrots, which is for the same reason.

This Microplane works wonders. I like to use it for grating Fresh Garlic too.

Make sure to grate right into the cooking pot, so that you get all the Onion juice!

Making the Red Wine Tomato Sauce

There won’t be much to deglaze here and using the Red Wine to do the deglazing will allow much of the alcohol to burn off now and leave great depth of flavor.

Make sure you use a good Spatula that can handler higher heats.

Even if you are not a Red Wine drinker or hate Red Wine, you will still love this recipe. The Red Wine gives it  rich and deep flavor.

You are now ready to make the Red Wine Tomato Sauce.

It is super quick and pairs so nicely with the Italian Meatballs.

Whisk in the Tomato Paste

How to Make Italian Red Wine Tomato Sauce.

Tomato paste, canned tomatoes, seasonings and red wine simmers in the pot, with carrots, so that the sugar is released.

The Carrots will balance out the acidity of the Tomato Sauce.

Some people use Sugar to do this, so if you don’t have carrots available, add two teaspoons of Sugar.

The Sauce will already be very fragrant and wonderful.

You might want to have a loaf of my Country Sourdough Bread nearby, so that you can dip the bread into the Red Wine Tomato Sauce!

Rich Red Wine Tomato Sauce

Your kitchen will small amazing.

I mean amazeballs, really!

Not all canned tomatoes are created equally. It doesn’t so much matter the brand.

Make sure the label on the can reads “imported from Italy.”

You want the tomatoes to come from Italy, not tomatoes with Italian spices.

Time for the Meatball Bath

I can still remember cooking this recipe totally outside when we were RV’ing.

Since I don’t like to cook inside the RV, we set up a full kitchen outside.

It was ridiculous. I even bought several storage cabinets that doubled as kitchen counters.

Outside Kitchen

These Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce, are just as good cooked in the Pressure Cooker!!!!!

And, in a fraction of the time!!!!!

Grease and Oil Add Flavor

You can see from the above photo, the Italian Meatballs are not drowning in an oily and greasy Sauce.

Some oil and grease is good and does add flavor.

Yummy Meatball Sub!!!!

How good does this look?

Imagine putting these Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce in my yummy Air Fryer Italian Bread Buns?

Well, that might be too much, really, but, try those buns!

The Meatballs are tender, juicy and packed with flavor.

The Red Wine Tomato Sauce is to die for, seriously. Just ask Jen Neefer, one of my testers on this recipe.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

Oh yum! Rich and delicious Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce.

This is a very simple recipe and your family and friends will think you stood over a hot stove for hours and hours and maybe, all day!

For more Italian recipes, try my Instant Pot Italian Chicken Marsala recipe, my Pressure Cooker Italian Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake, Pressure Cooker Chicken Picatta recipe and so many more wonderful dishes.

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
• Instant Pot DUO80 (8 Quart)
• J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Culina Stackable (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Cilio Olivewood Spatula
• di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
• Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
• Alton Brown Salt Box
• Electric Pepper Mill
• 6 oz Porcelain Ramekins
• Sonder LA End Grain Teak Cutting Board, Juice Grooves & Compartments
• Small 1.5 Quart “Pot in Pot” Mixing Bowl
• Microplane Artisan Fine Cheese Grater
• 11 Cup Food Processor

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Sauce

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 44 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 54 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Jill

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1/2 pound Ground Pork
• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Potato Starch or more

Meatball Mixture

• 5 ounces Ricotta Cheese
• 1 cup/85g Old Fashion Oatmeal (not Instant)
• 3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
• 2 cloves/35g Fresh Garlic
• 1 large Egg
• 7 grams Sun Dried Tomatoes (dry, not in oil)
• 15 grams Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley (fresh)
• 19 grams Hard Parmesan Cheese grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1.25 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds crushed
• 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (or Sambal Oelek Chili Paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon Allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sauce

• 1 small Yellow/Brown Onion finely diced
• 2 cloves/40g Fresh Garlic minced
• 1/2 medium Carrots peeled and finely minced
• 1 cup Dry Red Wine
• 1/2 cup Beef Stock
• 2 springs Fresh Basil Leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 28 ounces Tomato Puree (crushed Tomatoes)

Garnish

• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
• Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

• Add all Meatball Mixture ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and process, until well combined. Add Beef and Pork and pulse to combine.
• Roll into 12 Meatballs and then dredge through Potato Starch.
• Select Sauté or Browning on Pressure Cooker and allow pot to fully heat.
• Add 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil to cooking pot. Sear Meatballs in batches, adding additional Oil, as needed, until slightly crisp and remove to a plate.
• Add ¼ cup Water and deglaze cooking pot. Dump out liquid/bits and start with clean pot.
• Add 1 Tablespoon Oil, Carrots and diced Onions to cooking pot. Sauté until soft.
• Add Garlic and Sauté for 30 seconds longer.
• Pour in Red Wine and deglaze cooking pot, making sure to scrape up all stuck on brown bits.  Add Tomato Paste and simmer for about five minutes to reduce the Wine.
  
• Whisk in Beef Stock, Tomato Puree, Oregano and Basil. Make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Carefully add Meatballs to the Sauce.
• Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at Low Pressure for 10 minutes. When Beep sounds, wait 15 minutes and then release pressure.
• Garnish with Parmesan Cheese, Basil, Parsley.
  

Notes

Searing the Meatballs after dredging through Potato Starch will help to form a crust and will prevent the Meatballs from sticking to the pot.  If you are not an expert at Searing, I suggest using the Potato Starch trick.  

If you are intolerant to Sun Dried Tomatoes, omit them AND the Smoked Paprika and use 2 ounces of Prosciutto instead. 

Alternative Methods

If you truly do not want to Sear the Meatballs in the Pressure Cooker first, you can either bake them in the oven at 350ºF for 10 minutes or in the Air Fryer at 330ºF for 8 minutes.  If you do that, add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil to the Meatball Mixture and then bake.

If you don't want to Sear the Meatballs at all, use very, very lean beef.  Then skip to Step 6.  However, I strongly recommend giving the Meatballs a nice Sear first.

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Pressure Cooker Italian Meatballs in Red Wine Tomato Sauce