Instant Pot Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs

It’s spring and like you, I want to spend less hours in the kitchen and do more things outdoors. So, this recipe for Instant Pot Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs is exactly what we need. I was delighted when I received The Gluten-Free Instant Pot Cookbook from authors Jane Bonacci and Sara de Leeuw. The revised and expanded cookbook gave me more recipes to try in my Instant Pot multi-cooker plus I had new gluten-free meal ideas.

In fact, as I was writing this post, I scurried back and forth to the kitchen, and other parts of the house puttering about. Earlier, we were doing errands and the spring-like moderate temperature outside was so glorious, it was tough to get back inside the house.

When I came back to my kitchen, I zeroed in on this recipe for its ease of cooking and because I already had all the Asian ingredients in my pantry. Mixing and shaping the meatballs only took minutes. And like always, the Instant Pot cut cooking time in nearly half, which allowed me to walk away and do other stuff.

The cookbook recipe for these meatballs was meant to be an appetizer. But the sweet-savory aroma and robust ginger-scallion flavors of the teriyaki sauce was so enticing, I made this into a main dish for dinner. I added a crisp coleslaw mix, by simply stir-frying the tangle of julienne cabbage and carrots for a few seconds. On the serving platter, the cabbage slaw formed the bed for the zesty meatballs. I served the entire dish with fragrant jasmine white rice, a staple in most Filipino meals. It was a delightful, joy-inducing entree for a lovely spring day.

About the book:  More and more people, and friends of ours are limiting gluten in their diets, so finding Instant Pot recipes is a huge challenge. I am in constant search of a good gluten-free recipe when we have friends over and they have these dietary preferences. The Gluten-Free Instant Pot Cookbook, Revised and Expanded (Harvard Common Press) offers 50 new recipes and full color photos. The cookbook offers tasty and creative gluten-free alternatives that range from breakfast, soups, appetizers, dinner dishes to desserts. All the recipes cook fast and delicious in the Instant Pot or other brands of pressure cookers. As authors Jane Bonacci and Sara De Leeuw said “Everyone in the household will love these dishes, even those who are not eating gluten-free.”

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5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs

This Instant Pot Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs recipe was a wholesome meal that I transformed from what was originally an appetizer to a main dish. I used turkey ground meat for a gluten-free preference. The sweet-savory teriyaki sauce swirling around the meatballs added Asian flavors to the entrée which I plated on a bed of crisp coleslaw and served with rice. This recipe was inspired by The Gluten-Free Instant Pot Cookbook, Revised & Expanded (Harvard Common Press) by Jane Bonacci and Sara De Leeuw.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time24 minutes mins

Total Time44 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian, Filipino

Keyword: Instant Pot Turkey Teriyaki Meatballs

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

For the teriyaki sauce

• 1 cup organic tamari soy sauce (wheat-free)
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon freshly-grated ginger
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the coleslaw mix

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 3 cups coleslaw mix of cabbage and carrots julienne strips

For the meatballs

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs gluten-free
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup scallion greens divided
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons cold water
• boiled rice for serving

Instructions

To make the teriyaki sauce:

• In a medium-sized bowl, combine the tamari soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey and black pepper. Set aside.

To make the coleslaw stir-fry:

• Click Saute on the Instant Pot keypad. Add a tablespoon of oil. When oil is hot enough in 1 to 2 minutes, saute the onions. When onions are translucent in 2 minutes, add the coleslaw mix. Stir fry for 1 minute. Click Cancel to turn off.

  Remove the vegetables and set aside.

To make the meatballs:

• Mix together in a large bowl the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, 1/4 cup of the scallion greens, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Combine the ingredients well.

  Shape the meatballs into half-inch spheres to make about 40 meatballs.
• Press Saute on the Instant Pot. When the inside pot is hot, pour the oil. When oil is hot enough, add the meatballs in a level layer at the bottom of the pot. Brown the meatballs for 2 minutes per side. 

  Not all the meatballs will fit at the same time. Braise the meatballs in two batches. Remove those that are brown and set aside on a platter. 

  Continue browning the next batch of meatballs for 2 minutes on each side. Set aside with the rest on the platter. 

  Click Cancel to turn off Saute function.
• Once the meatballs are brown, return them to the inside pot.

  Pour the previously mixed teriyaki sauce all over the meatballs.
• Close and lock the lid in place.

  Set the steam release handle to a Sealing position.

  Click Manual and cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes.

  When the buzzer sounds to announce cook time is finished, do a NPR (natural pressure release) for 10 minutes, allowing the steam to come down on its own.
• When the float pin drops, it is safe to unlock the lid.

  Press Cancel to turn off.
• Separately, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water to form a slurry.

  Press Saute on the keypad. When the meatball sauce starts to bubble in about 3 to 4 minutes, add the slurry to the inside pot. 

  Keep stirring till the sauce thickens and so the gravy does not stick to the bottom. The sauce will thicken in about 3 to 5 minutes around the meatballs.

  Click Cancel to turn off.

To serve:

• Arrange the coleslaw stir-fry on the bottom of a large, rimmed serving platter. 

  Place the meatballs over the coleslaw mix. Pour the teriyaki gravy over the meatballs, allowing some of it to graze the vegetables. Garnish with remaining scallion greens.

  Serve warm with rice.

Notes on the Instant Pot

• After the Saute function, it takes about 17 minutes for the Instant Pot to preheat before the High Pressure cooking time begins. For other multi-cooker brands, please consult the product manual.

Did you love this recipe? I have more Filipino Instant Pot recipes in my newest cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Cooking in A Multicooker Pot. Buy my cookbooks and books on Amazon.com sold worldwide in paperback and Kindle format.

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Disclosure: Instant Pot is the brand name of a multi-cooker that cooks in high and low pressure. I was not paid by the Instant Pot company to mention the product or brand nor endorse it. This is not an ad. My views and opinions are my own.