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Sharing a new instant pot recipe today, instant pot turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash.
I’m currently having a moment with the Instant Pot. To be honest, I am still figuring some things out, but so far I have created three recipes that I am head over heals for, this better for you instant pot chicken and spinach ramen, these healthy meatballs you see here, and an upcoming Indian inspired recipe.
Now that I am three full recipes deep into Instant Pot territory, I can officially say I am liking it. Still not sure it’s better than my beloved crockpot or Staub Cocotte, but it’s great for quick, one-pot cooking.
Today’s recipe is truly a super star recipe. You guys all know I love spaghetti squash, but what I don’t love about spaghetti squash? The insanely long cook time. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe out forever now and I am so happy to report that it turned out better than I could have imagined.
Homemade, flavorful turkey meatballs, in a delicious red sauce, over top spaghetti squash. All cooked together in the Instant Pot. Promise, it’s not too good to be true.
This recipe all starts with the meatballs. I’m going to be honest, I am not normally a meatball person, but occasionally I get inspired to make some. I’ve never made turkey meatballs before, so these have me greatly excited. To keep the meatballs moist, I used my Nonnie’s trick of crumbling soggy bread into the meat mixture. I also used a bit of ricotta and prosciutto to keep the lean turkey from drying out.
The only non-Instant Pot step in this recipe is broiling the meatballs. I know, I know, you want an all one-pot recipe, but trust me, broiling the meatballs is a million times easier and quicker than browning them in the instant pot. When I attempted browning the meatballs in the instant pot, lets just say it did not end well, and it took thirty minutes as opposed the the four it takes to broil. Trust me, broiling is the way to go!
Once the meatballs are browned, just add everything to the Instant Pot, cover, and cook on high pressure for fifteen minutes. Yup, just fifteen minutes and your spaghetti squash is cooked! I was shocked too, but it worked so well.
What I love most about this recipe, I mean aside from its speedy cook time is that it really does taste amazing. I was worried that the meatballs might be dried out and the squash might be too hard, but both were perfect. Cooking the meatballs in the Instant Pot actually traps in the the moisture and keeps them from becoming dry.
I served the meatballs over the squash with just a little parmesan and fresh basil and it turned out to be the perfect mid-week dinner. My whole family loved this recipe. Even my picky brothers enjoyed this one, but they did boil up some real spaghetti, because…they don’t do squash.
I am working on them.
Before I say see ya for the day, I just wanted to point out the new HBH site design! I am so exited to have this finally live. We have been working endlessly on this new layout since March and I am hoping that it really improves the reader experience.
Please bear with us over the next few days as we work out any technical kinks. It’s a lot of info to transfer over from the old site’s layout, so there may be a few glitches here and there. Please let me know if you guys notice anything we need to correct, and sorry in advance for any inconvenience. Like I said, hoping in the end this improves your overall experience here on HBH. Plus, isn’t it pretty?!
Over the next few weeks we will be launching a new site feature for the holidays, so keep an eye out for that. Lots of fun things coming your way!
For now, let’s focus on tonight’s dinner and do a spaghetti (squash) and meatball night!
Oh and also? If you don’t own an Instant Pot, this is easily adapted for the slow cooker. Just do all the same steps as directed, but instead of adding everything to the Instant Pot, add them to your slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 443 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
- 2 slices thick soft whole grain or white bread
- 1 egg
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 ounces prosciutto, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pinch each kosher salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 small-medium spaghetti squash (about 4 pounds)
- 1 parmesan rind, plus parmesan for serving
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the broiler to high and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. Add the ground turkey to a medium bowl. Take the bread and run it under water until dampened, but not soaked. Gently squeeze the excess water out of the the bread and then crumble the bread over the turkey. Add the egg, 2 cloves garlic, ricotta, prosciutto, oregano, cumin, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Coat your hands with a bit of olive oil, and roll the meat into 2 tablespoon size balls (will make 10-12 meatballs), placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes or until browned. 3. To the instant pot, add the tomatoes, remaining 3 cloves garlic, red wine, 1/2 cup water, and a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper. Poke the spaghetti squash all over with a fork. Place the spaghetti squash in the center of the sauce and then arrange the meatballs around the squash. Add the parmesan rind and thyme. Cover and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes or until the squash is easily poked through with a fork, this will depend on the size of your squash. Smaller might only need 15 minutes, while large squash might need 45 minutes.4. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Carefully remove the squash from the crockpot and transfer to a cutting board. Wipe away any grease and then carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds, then using a fork, scrape the squash into strands.5. Divide the spaghetti squash among plates and spoon the meatballs and sauce overtop. Top with parmesan and basil. Enjoy!
Notes
*To make this in the crockpot, broil the meatballs as directed and then add everything to your crockpot, layer the meatballs into the sauce as directed. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Serve as directed.Â
Meatballs today…tomorrow something Halloweeny!
turkish food is wonderful.
So yummy! Thank you!
Tried this recipe tonight and was not pleased with the result. First, if you have the 6qt instant pot the meatballs don’t all fit around the squash, so you’d need a bigger instant pot or a smaller squash. More importantly, I am curious how anyone could have success with this recipe as written. The spaghetti squash lets off a TON of water when it’s cooking, and the sauce turned out so watery that it was almost inedible. I would not make this again; it’s much better to bake the squash in the oven.
Hi Kathy, I am so sorry this recipe did not work well for you. I hope you enjoy some other recipes on my blog. If you have any questions I would love to help you out! Happy New Year!
This recipe was a hit with my family and an easy enough one to attempt with my new instant pot (I’m having a serious learning curve with this thing!).
I did find that I ended up with a fair amount of excess water at the end. I accidentally added an extra 1/4C of wine, but this was quite a bit more than that. Only thought is that the squash held quite a bit more liquid in it than the one used in this recipe.
That being said, I probably wouldn’t change the measurements for my second attempt, just would use the sear function to cook off some of the moisture.
Thanks for inspiring me in the kitchen!
Hi Jocelyn! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you!
I also had a LOT of trouble with the recipe. By the time I went to make it the recipe on my phone listed “2 (24 ounce) cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes”. The web version listed “2 cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes”. It now says “2 (28 ounce) cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes”. This led to me buying one 28oz can of tomatoes (the equivalent of the first ‘2 cans tomatoes’, then seeing the ‘2 24 ounce cans’ and panicking. Is it 2 cans equalling 24 ounces? Is it 2 24 ounce cans? I added an extra 14.5 ounce can and a smidge of water.
By the time it was done the meatballs were cooked, the squash was hard, and there was cups and cups of tomato juice and no thick sauce. I finally took out the squash and scooped out the cups of tomato juice, sauted it within an inch of its life to thicken it, and made spaghetti noodles for the meatballs.
I still don’t know how much tomatoes it really takes. The meatballs were good but the rest…was a disaster. A very frustrating night. Thankfully I haven’t had these problems with your other recipes or cookbook.
Hi Maia,
I am SO SORRY for the trouble. I messed up the amounts of tomatoes. It 2 (28 ounce) can of tomatoes. So sorry about that. This recipe is weird, some have tried and had great success while other have tried it and their squash did not cook properly. My only conclusion is that the Instant Pots are varying in the way they cook, which is causing and issue with timing. I have made this a few times now and each time it took about 30 minutes for my medium size squash to cook. My sauce never comes out water, but if you are having trouble with that, try using just 1 can of tomatoes. Again, so sorry for all the trouble with this recipe. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.
Thanks for the answer! I’ve never had problems with any of your other recipes (the ancho chile steaks w/cherries are a favorite with everyone I cook them for) so this was a disappointment. It could be that we have different sizes of Instant Pots or different versions that’s causing the mixup. Now at least I know the tomato amount although I still don’t know why my sauce was so watery!
i had a ton of problems with this recipe (and am now waiting for my pasta to finish cooking, having given up on spaghetti squash in the instant pot).
-there were no amounts listed for the tomatoes – i found in comments that you used 24 oz & i ended up using 28 oz. still when i started trying to cook in the instant pot, it said “BURN” on the display – turns out that is what happens when there’s not enough liquid in the pot
-what size pressure cooker are you using? the spag squash (mine weighed 3 and change) did not fit with the meatballs. mine is 6 qt, so maybe that was just an oversight on my part.
ended up fishing out the meatballs that were able to fit and putting them on the stovetop with some sauce. tried to cook the spag squash on 15 mins on high pressure and it was still undercooked even after i saw in the comments you recommended to someone else to poke it with a fork.
this was a disaster.
Hi Jacqui,
I am so sorry you had so much trouble with this recipe. It is hard to say went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Unfortunately, Instant Pot’s can all vary and this can cause cooking times to be off. Again, I am incredibly sorry you had so much trouble. If there are any questions I can answer, please let me know. Thanks, Tieghan
This looks AMAAZIIING!! ? Hoping to make it for a girls night/pumpkin painting party next week (#StarOfTheShow???). But is there any way to make it dairy-free? Recommended modifications or substitutions for the ricotta? (…and/or Parmesan rind?). Many thanks in advance for your advice!
Oh that sounds so fun. Hope it happens! You can just omit the ricotta and parmesan. The recipe will be great minus them too. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thank you! ?
I found your beautiful cookbook first then joined the Instagram group. The photography is gorgeous! Maybe I missed it but making the spaghetti squash recipe tonite and was wondering what size cans for the tomatoes? Thank you so much! Oh and the website is very inviting and also beautifully done.
Thanks so much!! I use 24 ounces cans! Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe. Thank you! 🙂
I love this, such a great dinner idea!
Thank you! I hope you love this Laura!
What’s an instant pot? Is that pressure cooker?
On #3 it says to ‘Pot the spaghetti squash, I’m guessing you mean ‘poke’.
Can’t wait to make this!!!
Terri
Hi! Yes, it’s a pressure cooker. You may also use a slow cooker, but see the note on the recipe about this. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love this recipe! 🙂
Hey Tieghan,
I like your idea of adding the cheese and bread to the Turkey meatballs! Also, I love the site design and think it looks really lovely. It feels a bit odd to adjust to the new layout but I really like how clean everything looks! I hope the site will still stay warm and inviting and think the colors look nice.
Good luck adjusting to the new layout and I hope you’re staying warm. 🙂
Hi Kristin!
I am so happy you like the new layout of the blog + am so happy you like this recipe! Thank you!
Hello! I’m in the middle of cooking this yummy recipe and was wondering if I’m the only person having trouble reading this new font and color? I’ve adjusted my computer and phone but it is still very light.
Thanks!
Hi Lauren! You are not, I find it easier to see if you zoom in on the screen! I hope this helps! Thank you!
Yeah… I’m not much of a meatball gal myself. It’s not that I don’t like them, they’re just not on my ‘want some’ radar. But, these meatballs look delish!
Well, I hope you love these Demino! Let me know!
HI,
Love the new look of the site, with one exception – the font is a little too light.
This is something I see on a lot of blogs and web sites. Please keep in mind that some of your older (yet devoted) readers might need a darker font in order to be able read this clearly.
THANKS!
Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am really glad you are liking it though!
Hi Tieghan! I spied the redesign yesterday and it’s absolutely beautiful! Still totally you, but also totally updated!
Thank you Chelsea!
Hey Tieghan – Great site redesign – I agree with everyone. Like the clean sleek look to it. I used to have
to review and test new sites in another job, so will keep you posted if there is bug or glitch! Cannot believe ALL the big changes you are accomplishing…and still continue to develop new recipes, excellent photographs and all your postings. Are you sure you are not cloned?! Great fall recipes too – so much fun to be in the warm kitchen and create! We appreciate all that you do 🙂
Haha thank you Tammy! I am so glad you are enjoying the new design and everything that is going on. Oh, and if you see a bug or glitch please let me know!