If you are a meatball fan and an Asian fusion fan too, these Instant Pot General Tso’s Meatballs and Rice are for you!
Remember that time there was a major freakout over potatoes not being paleo, so much so that it warranted a 2 star review on my latest book (where I clearly tell you how you can sub sweets for whites)? Yeah that was like a hot minute ago, but it was so entertaining it inspired me to write this recipe for Instant Pot General Tso’s Meatballs and Rice.
Let me tell you a little something about me, if you didn’t already know.
- I have what my husband calls a steel trap and while I battle my fair share of brain fog and forgetting friends’ birthdays, there are certain things I’ll never forget (exhibit A up above).
- I’m real stubborn, like a damn bull, and so I like to combine my steel trap with my hard head and get creative
- I think there’s room for being flexible and as hard as it is for this Type A chick to adapt to change sometimes, I also know that when you remain completely inflexible, bad stuff happens.
- I eat rice sometimes. And potatoes. And for all the things you could potentially hate me for or hold over me, these should not be them.
- I’m a real smart ass, but you probably know that by now.
So when you combine all 4 of the aforementioned key points, the result of that is when someone says “you can’t”, there’s a good chance I indeed WILL and I’ll plaster it for all the world to see. So I made these Instant Pot General Tso’s Meatballs and Rice because in addition to the points made above, I freakin’ love meatballs and I love quick easy recipes in my IP. And nevermind that the last 2 recipes I published before this one were both meatball recipes, because this one had to be written and it is GOOD!
When I made my ONE POT INSTANT POT MEATLOAF, MASHED POTATOES AND GRAVY recipe awhile back, I had no idea that one pot Instant Pot meals would be that popular. But your enthusiasm inspired me to do more! So I decided it would be real fun to see if I could make flavored rice and meatballs in the same pot and today was the day my friends. Today was victorious! So if you are ready to dig into some Asian inspired meatballs with a kick paired with Basmati rice made in the same IP at the same time, you are in for a real treat! And don’t worry, I’ll make something besides meatballs one day, but today is not that day. Enjoy!!!
Instant Pot General Tso’s Meatballs and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos (I use THIS brand)
- 2 teaspoons onion powder, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons cassava flour
Instructions
- Pour the uncooked rice into the stainless steel bowl of your Instant Pot
- In a bowl combine 1/2 cup coconut aminos (I use THIS brand), 1 teaspoons onion powder, divided, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon sriracha, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup avocado oil or olive oil, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, 3/4 cup water
- Stir to combine
- In another bowl combine the ground turkey, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 2 tablespoons cassava flour
- Then add 2 tablespoons of the sauce mixture into the meat mixture, combine by hand and shape meatballs
- Pour the sauce mixture over the uncooked rice and give it a quick stir so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the Instant Pot
- Now place the meatballs on top of the rice and sauce. Give the ingredients a gentle stir before securing the lid
- Once the lid is on press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and adjust the time to read 16-17 minutes on low pressure; 16 minutes for firmer rice and 17 for slightly more tender
- Make sure your pressure valve is closed so it will come to pressure and allow the meatballs and rice to cook
- Quick release the pressure valve once the cooking cycle is complete and remove the lid once safe to do so
- Top with more toasted sesame seeds and minced green onion to garnish
Made these tonight and they were a hit! Might be my favorite meatball recipe to date.
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Wow thanks!!
What size meatballs do you shape and how many roughly?
I am not sure how many, I use a pound of meat and they are usually about 1-2 inches in diameter.
Okay thanks!
We cannot have rice but I want to cook these since your Egg Roll Meatballs from your new cookbook were such a hit with our family. (which we have loved every single recipe that we’ve tried so far!!) Would the cooking time be similar to the egg roll meatballs since we won’t have the rice? Thank you very much in advance!!
Yes you’ll have a ton of sauce that they cook in so you could reduce all of that to make sure you have 1 cup liquid total or you could reduce the sauce by using the Saute feature after you cook the meatballs and reduce the sauce a bit to dunk your meatballs in!
My instant pot pressure cooker valve no longer works. Is there another way to cook the meatballs? And what to do with the leftover sauce?
Maybe just make them on the stovetop and reduce the sauce?
This turned out like fried rice, but in only one step! Amazing. I will confess to using pork instead of turkey (that’s what I had and I’m too impatient to wait for a trip to the store) but it was a big hit. Thank you!
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Yay!!!
I made these tonight with ground chicken in lieu of ground turkey and they were delicious ! I followed the recipe exactly , other than using ground chicken, and am pleased with how simple it was, especially since this was my first go around with making meatballs in the Instant Pot. Thank you for sharing your healthy and delicious recipes?
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Fantastic, thanks for the feedback!
Awesome!!!!! Not surprised though. You rock!
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Thanks lady!
Loved this recipe! I just love one pot cooking. I did cook some broccoli on the side and mixed it in after cooking for a complete meal. Thanks for another quick and easy recipe!
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Sounds perfect!
I absolutely love this recipe and have made it twice, but the first time I made it, I got an error on my Instant Pot that tells me I need to open it up and check that contents are not burning on bottom. And they were, a bit. Rice stuck to the bottom. I tried 3x with the same result – never actually got to the “countdown” part of the process. But it ended up basically cooked and oh-so-tasty! (the IP did get to pressure enough that the steel bar popped up to seal)
So I made it a second time and made sure I added a bit more water right before cooking, but had the same error happen. I scraped the bottom and restarted, subtracting a bit of time. It started cooking and actually counted down for about 6 minutes before the error recurred. So I just let it sit for the remaining time plus a bit more.
Do you have any idea what’s happening for me or how to resolve? Because now I’m dying to also try your Rice Pudding and don’t want the same thing to happen.
Last, can you do the Tso’s Balls in a normal pot on stove, e.g. cook rice per normal with turkey atop?
Thanks!
P.S. Absolutely love your recipes! Over the years, I’ve found its best to find someone who seasons like you do and just stick with them. Thus, I have all your books!
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Hey Kathy, it sounds like your IP is overheating, which it shouldn’t as long as all the ingredients are stirred and there is enough water. More than a cup of water should always allow your IP to come to pressure appropriately, so I am not sure why it would overheat unless the water was not sinking to the bottom or stirred in. Which model IP are you using?
I’ve got the Instant Pot Smart Bluetooth 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker – purchased Oct 2017. Right now, I’ve got just “plain” rice in there (Volcano Rice – oh so good) and did not get the error. I used 2 cups rice with 2 cups water. Went to pressure just fine and no error message. Just finished cooking. I cooke with broth, not water. No clue what’s happening.
So your statement if I am reading correctly says you did not get an error message, but your earlier comment said you did. I am not sure when your IP is giving you the error?
This has amazing flavor and is a major win in our house where both kids are DF and GF! Not sure what happened but my rice didn’t cook at all, I used brown basmati rice. I did pressure cook on low for 17 minutes. Any help with the rice would be appreciated as my kids asked for seconds 🙂
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Did you make sure all the liquid got down into the bottom of the pot? And did your IP come to pressure ok?
Brown rice takes longer to cook.
Can i use soy sauce instead of coconut aminos? I cant get that here in germany, thanks!
Yes but decrease the amount or it will be too salty!
Can i sub another flour for the cassava flour if i don’t have it on hand?
Sure!
Would it be possible to sub basmati for jasmine? Also, could I double the meat to 2 pounds and still cook the same amount of time? 1 pound of meatballs doesn’t go too far around here! ?
Yes you could sub the rice, not sure about how that would affect the cook time. You can double the meat too!
If doubling the meat is ok, would I also be able to double the rice and sauce? Would this change the cooking time at all?
It should not change cooking time necessarily as the IP will take longer to heat up and the cook time will naturally be increased by adding more volume of ingredients to the IP
I’ve had this pinned since last year and finally made it last night…OMG it was so delicious!
I’m off rice right now and knew it wouldn’t work the same in the IP with cauliflower rice, so I improvised and made a cauliflower rice pilaf, baked the meatballs and thickened the sauce on the stove. My husband LOVED it. I was only sorry there wasn’t more left over for my lunch today.
Thanks for another winner, Jennifer!
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Yay!!! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Phyllis!
We made this tonight. It was very easy and so delicious! The perfect cold weather comfort meal. We served ours on top of steamed broccoli! Thanks for the great recipe!
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Yum!!!! So glad you liked them!
I am in the middle of this recipe right now. Made it with 3# and it absolutely will not reach pressure. I changed lids, and then machines. I’m on try #5. I suspect it will be necessary to split an amount this large into 2 pots to cook. It sure does smell good though!
Did you finally get it to pressure? Did you have plenty of water?
This recipe is HEAVENLY! Perfectly sweet and savory and just as good (or better) than a local teriyaki place. It’s actually in my Instant Pot now and it’s the fifth time I’ve made it. My kids love it too! I’ve started increasing the water by a quarter cup and adding chopped carrots, onions and cabbage to make it a full meal in one pot. DELISH!
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Thank you so much!
This recipe is amazing and definitely a favorite in our home. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried to double the recipe? Would it be too much for the instant pot in one go?
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Is there a charge for these monthly menus?
No charge!
When you go to look up the recipe and Google informs you: You’ve visited this page MANY time. I know Google, because I’m smart and it’s delicious.
I also double it every time. Further proof that I’m smart. My kids drool when I tell them I’m making it.
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LOL I love it
Making these tonight and I’m excited to try them! Is it possible to use less oil – would I need to add more liquid? Thanks!o
Yes adding more liquid may work!
My family loves this and it has become a weekly meal in our home! I would like to start doubling the recipe and had a couple of questions: Do I just double everything (including all the liquid) and cook at the same time? Or should I adjust the time? Thanks!
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