Vibes for Dinner
dinner
Instant Pot Meatball Bolognese
By Mitch · February 23, 2026
A high-protein bulking meal scaled to fill a 6-quart Instant Pot, roughly 6 big servings. Battle-tested and adjusted for perfectly cooked pasta.
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
30 minutes
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 750 g ground beef
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp MSG
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 450 g penne or rigatoni
- 450 g frozen meatballs
- 1 can (800ml) canned diced tomatoes
Method
- 1
Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add olive oil and let it heat up. Add yellow onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic cloves and cook another 30 seconds. Add ground beef and break it apart. Cook until browned, about 6 minutes.
- 2
Pour in beef broth, Italian seasoning, salt, MSG, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. This is crucial to prevent burn warnings.
- 3
Add penne or rigatoni and give everything a stir to combine.
- 4
Place a single layer of frozen meatballs on top of the pasta.
- 5
Pour canned diced tomatoes evenly over everything. Do NOT stir. Keeping the tomatoes on top prevents scorching.
- 6
Lock the lid, set valve to Sealing. Pressure Cook on High for 8 minutes.
- 7
Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure. Give everything a good stir. The sauce will have thickened nicely. Taste and adjust salt.
Notes
- Roughly 5,000 calories total, about 830 calories per serving. Protein is 80-90g per serving.
- Top with parmesan or mozzarella to push calories higher.
- Meal preps well, keeps 4-5 days in the fridge.