The juicy seasoned meatballs covered with a sweet and sour sauce adds tang to the fresh vegetables used in this Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs dinner. Now add sweet pineapple chunks to this dish and it’s simply an amazing, quickly prepared dinner that I’m pretty sure will go into your weekly rotation!
What’s Great About This Sweet And Sour Meatballs Dinner?
Ok, so first of all, the meatballs are made so tender in the instant pot, and they aren’t dried out AT ALL!! And because the last step is steaming the veggies, they have a nice bite to them but are tender and cooked through. The sweet and sour sauce marries all of the flavors together, making this a SUPER KID FRIENDLY meal for any night of the week.
Plus, if you take a bit of time to prep this meal into an instant pot freezer meal, it will save you even MORE time so that dinner seems like a breeze!!
Directions For How To Assemble The Sweet And Sour Pineapple Meatballs Freezer Meal:
1. Open the bag of frozen, prepared meatballs. Dump them into the freezer bag and pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible as you close it.
2. In another freezer bag, mix together the carrots, pineapple, onions and green pepper. Seal the bag.
3. Group together the smaller freezer bags and place into a larger gallon-sized freezer bag. Add the printed recipe into the bag as well for your future reference.
4. Freeze for up to 3 months.
One thing to do to make things easier, you can print out the recipe and slip it into the big container bag when assembling the meals, so that the printed recipe can be re-used again the next time you make the freezer meal, and the cooking instructions are right there, handy as well!
Directions for Cooking This Sweet and Sour Meatball Dish From Fresh
Add the frozen bag of meatballs to the instant pot bowl. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Add 1 cup of chicken broth.
Place the lid on the instant pot and move the toggle switch to “sealing”
Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release to remove any steam. Add the fresh onions, peppers, carrots and pineapple. Stir.
Place the lid back on, seal, and press ‘steam’ for 1 minute. When cooking time is up, do a quick release.
If you’d like the mixture thicker, press ‘saute’ and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir till the liquids are thickened.
Serve and enjoy!
Directions for Cooking Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs from Frozen
Add the frozen bag of meatballs and sauce to the instant pot cooking insert. Add 1 cup of chicken broth.
Place the lid on the instant pot and move the toggle switch to “sealing”
Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release to remove any steam. Add the bag of frozen onions, peppers, and pineapple.
Place the lid back on, seal, and press ‘steam’ for 1 minute. When cooking time is up, do a quick release.
If you’d like the mixture thicker, turn the machine off, and then press ‘saute’ and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir till the liquids are thickened.
Serve and enjoy!
**Note: Please expect the instant pot to take a longer time than normal to come to pressure before cook time begins.
Directions for Cooking This Pineapple Meatball Dish A Slow Cooker
Add all the frozen ingredients to the slow cooker bowl. Add HALF of the cooking liquid. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7.
Thicken the sauce at the end of the cooking time if you wish, by turning the pot on ‘high’ and adding the cornstarch slurry.
Cover and let cook another 15 – 20 minutes until thickened.
How Long Will This Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs Dinner Stay Good For In The Freezer?
As long as the ingredients are placed in freezer (quality) bags or containers, the meals should last up to 3 months!
What Else Can I Use As The Pressure Cooking Liquid For This Instant Pot Dish?
You could use pineapple juice or veggie broth. They will all add extra flavor but water works well too. I would not use beef broth as the beef flavors may overtake the flavors in this dish.
Tips and Tricks For Making This Pineapple Meatball Recipe Even Better!
A fantastic tip to save even more work is to double the recipe ingredients and make TWO separate freezer meals at one time, or freeze one meal and make the other for dinner that night!
Using good quality ingredients will end up producing a much tastier dish.
If you wanted to make this meatball dinner go further, you can add more vegetables and pineapple to stretch the servings (and nutrition aspect) of this dish.
Feel free to omit the onion if the little eaters don’t care for them. However, if you use a sweet onion, and combined with the sauce, most times little ones won’t even notice they’re there.
Can I Make This Dish Vegetarian?
Absolutely, yes. For the meatballs substitute, you could use a vegetarian meatball product. Most big grocery stores carry something like these ones here. I have no sponsorship with this company, I only list it for your reference. Also, for the cooking liquid, I would use pineapple juice first, and if that’s not available, I would use vegetable broth.
What Side Dishes Can I Serve With This Instant Pot Sweet And Sour Dish?
I would serve this dish on plain rice or a bowl of fried rice. You could also serve on rice pilaf! You could also serve it plain but pair it with a nice side salad.
How Can I Make This Meatball Recipe Low Carb?
Well, you would have to create the sweet and sour sauce yourself (or find a sugar free version). You could try using this Sugar-Free Sweet and Sour Sauce from My Keto Kitchen. You would want to avoid using the pineapple chunks, use extra sweet peppers, and use vegetable broth as the cooking liquid. I would also serve this dish on cauliflower rice.
Can I Refreeze The Cooked Leftovers?
I don’t really think this dish would reheat nicely. Mainly because of the vegetables that may get over soft by refreezing, and then cooked too long on the reheat. You could eat the leftover the next day for lunch or dinner, but I would not refreeze the leftovers.
This Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs dinner is one of a series of Instant Pot dishes that I made with time-saving, freezer meal applications in mind. Here are a few others that I’ve made in that collection for you to take a peek at!
BBQ Instant Pot Sausages and Peppers On Buns
Instant Pot Garlic and Honey Chicken
Instant Pot Campfire Chili
Instant Pot Honey Sriracha Pork
Instant Pot Garlic and Honey Chicken
I sincerely hope you like this recipe for Instant Pot Sweet And Sour Pineapple Meatballs dinner! It’s a super delicious, super kid-friendly dish! If you made any changes to the recipe or directions, I’d LOVE to hear your switch-ups! Thanks so much for stopping by The Salty Pot today and I hope you have a wonderful day!
**DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS INSTANT POT SWEET AND SOUR PINEAPPLE MEATBALLS RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD TO USE FOR LATER!!**
INSTANT POT SWEET AND SOUR PINEAPPLE MEATBALLS
Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs will be a delicious sweet and tangy meatball dish that the whole family will LOVE!
Ingredients
- 2 lb prepared and cooked meatballs
- 12 oz sweet & sour sauce
- ½ onion, sliced in thick slices, layers separated
- 12 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained
- 1 green pepper, de-seeded and chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- cornstarch slurry *see notes
Instructions
Directions For How To Assemble The Sweet And Sour Pineapple Meatballs Freezer Meal:
1. Open the bag of frozen, prepared meatballs. Dump them into the freezer bag and pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible as you close it. 2. In another freezer bag, mix together the carrots, pineapple, onions and green pepper. Seal the bag. 3. Group together the smaller freezer bags and place into a larger gallon-sized freezer bag. Add the printed recipe into the bag as well for your future reference. Freeze for up to 3 months.
One thing to do to make things easier, you can print out the recipe and slip it into the big container bag when assembling the meals, so that the printed recipe can be re-used again the next time you make the freezer meal, and the cooking instructions are right there, handy as well!
Directions for Cooking This Sweet and Sour Meatball Dish From Fresh
Add the frozen bag of meatballs to the instant pot bowl. Pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Add 1 cup of chicken broth. Place the lid on the instant pot and move the toggle switch to "sealing" Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release to remove any steam. Add the fresh onions, peppers, and pineapple. Stir. Place the lid back on, seal, and press 'steam' for 1 minute. When cooking time is up, do a quick release. If you'd like the mixture thicker, press 'saute' and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir till the liquids are thickened. Serve and enjoy!
Directions for Cooking Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Pineapple Meatballs from Frozen
Add the frozen bag of meatballs and sauce to the instant pot cooking insert. Add 1 cup of chicken broth. Place the lid on the instant pot and move the toggle switch to "sealing" Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release to remove any steam. Add the bag of frozen onions, peppers, and pineapple. Place the lid back on, seal, and press 'steam' for 1 minute. When cooking time is up, do a quick release. If you'd like the mixture thicker, turn the machine off, and then press 'saute' and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch slurry and stir till the liquids are thickened. Serve and enjoy! **Note: Please expect the instant pot to take a longer time than normal to come to pressure before cook time begins.
Directions for Cooking This Pineapple Meatball Dish A Slow Cooker
Add all the frozen ingredients to the slow cooker bowl. Add HALF of the cooking liquid. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7. Thicken the sauce at the end of the cooking time if you wish, by turning the pot on 'high' and adding the cornstarch slurry. Cover and let cook another 15 - 20 minutes until thickened.
Notes
A cornstarch slurry is a 1tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2-3tbsp water. Mix well and pour into the sauce to thicken.
A fantastic tip to save even more work is to double the recipe ingredients and make TWO separate freezer meals at one time, or freeze one meal and make the other for dinner that night! Using good quality ingredients will end up producing a much tastier dish. If you wanted to make this meatball dinner go further, you can add more vegetables and pineapple to stretch the servings (and nutrition aspect) of this dish. Feel free to omit the onion if the little eaters don't care for them. However, if you use a sweet onion, and combined with the sauce, most times little ones won't even notice they're there.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 2 cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 970Total Fat: 51gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 151mgSodium: 2075mgCarbohydrates: 98gFiber: 7gSugar: 38gProtein: 34g
Gail says
I used a yellow and red pepper. The order of my ingredients was yellow pepper, onions, meatballs, sauce, red pepper, carrots, pineapple. Pressure cook for 5 mins. It was wonderful. Onions and yellow pepper reduce into the sauce.
Jennifer Neal says
I just made this and it was a hit…….I am going to make a few minor adjustments though for next time. I am going to double the carrots (to four) and 1/2 the amount of pineapple. Thanks so much! My kids loved it (except all the pineapple and they wanted more carrots)!
Joanne says
Hi Jennifer! Well, how awesome is that (That your little ones wanted more carrots!!!)? I LOVE that! I’m ALWAYS behind someone who wants to tailor my recipe to make it a hit for their family. Yaaay!
Richard says
The method “from fresh” doesn’t mention when to put in the carrots. I just assumed they went with the onions, pepper, and pineapple. A 1 minute pressure left them very hard. I’m trying an additional 4 minutes, Just did that. I think they could use a minute more but they’re just OK. Maybe in with the 5 minute initial cook?
Joanne says
Hey Richard! Ok, here’s a few thoughts on that. So I have a 3 minute instant pot recipe here on the blog. The carrots were put into a cold pot and they were sliced thicker than how I sliced them for this recipe. I don’t know how you sliced your carrots, but I did mine almost in the shape of slivered almonds kind of thing, so they were thinner than your average slice. Plus, when you add the carrots, the pot is hot, the liquid is hot, as are the meatballs. So when I tasted the carrots at the end, they were great. I’m thinking maybe we had a different size slice on the carrots, and that was the difference? Also, maybe our texture preference is different as well. I prefer a carrot that is still firm, but with a tender bite, if that makes any sense.
Your troubles with the carrot texture is puzzling to me so I would like to test the recipe one more time. You mentioned leaving them in there for 5 minutes. Personally, I wouldn’t like that length of time, I think it would make the texture softer than I prefer.
Question for you though… if you left the carrots in for four minutes, did you leave the pineapple and peppers in there as well? How was the texture of the pepper after pc for 4 min?