Instant Pot Cocktail Meatballs (Dr. Pepper Meatballs)

Wow your friends and family with this flavorful instant pot cocktail meatballs recipe! You are going to love how easy it is to make these tasty Dr. Pepper meatballs in your instant pot. Serve them on toothpicks for a fun finger food.

I love tasty appetizers that feed a crowd. Some of our other favorites are Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs, Instant Pot Meatballs with BBQ Sauce, Instant Pot Artichoke Dip, Pulled Pork Nachos, and Instant Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings.

These instant pot cocktail meatballs are great because they feature a from-scratch sauce with the added flavor of dr. pepper that takes them from ordinary cocktail meatballs to amazing cocktail meatballs. If you are looking for even more instant pot recipes, make sure you order our cookbook: The “I Love My Instant Pot” Affordable Meals Recipe Book.

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This is a recipe that people will ask you for. They may also request you to make “those meatballs in your instant pot” again and again. Lucky for you, they really only take about 15 minutes of prep work and can be kept warm in the instant pot until ready to serve. 

I like to either serve them directly from the instant pot or on a platter with toothpicks. Whatever way you serve them, they are sure to be a hit!

What to serve with instant pot dr. pepper cocktail meatballs?

If you are hosting a party, we recommend serving beef chili, pulled pork, or meatball subs (with the best meatballs) along side these cocktail meatballs and a few other tasty sides like a yummy fruit salad.

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Yield: Serves 6

Instant Pot Cocktail Meatballs Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Additional Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 47 minutes

Wow your friends and family with this flavorful instant pot cocktail meatballs recipe! You are going to love how easy it is to make these tasty meatballs in your instant pot. Serve them on toothpicks for a fun finger food.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 can Dr. Pepper
• 1 1/4 cups water, divided
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 3 pounds ready made meatballs

Instructions

1. Press saute button on instant pot.
2. Combine dr. pepper, 1/4 cup water, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, corn starch, Worcestershire, salt, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and red pepper flakes inside instant pot. Whisk to combine.
3. Bring sauce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, whisking often.
4. Remove Dr. pepper bbq sauce from Instant pot and set aside.
5. Clean and dry the Instant pot insert and place back in instant pot.
6. Pour 1 cup of water into Instant Pot.
7. Place steamer rack inside Instant Pot and fill it with the meatballs.
8. Close the lid and set the pressure release valve to sealing.
9. Press the manual or pressure cook button and set to 5 minutes on high pressure.
10. Natural pressure release.
11. Remove meatballs and drain water.
12. Add Dr. Pepper barbeque sauce back to pot and add meatballs.
13. Press sauté button and let cook about 2 minutes, until heated thoroughly.
14. Serve warm, on toohpicks, or directly from the instant pot on the keep warm setting.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Steamer with Extendable Handle
• 
  The "I Love My Instant Pot" Affordable Meals Recipe Book
• 
  Instant Pot Duo 80 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, and Warmer, 8-QT, Stainless Steel/Black

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

Approximately 4 meatballs
Amount Per Serving Calories 154Total Fat 50gSaturated Fat 17gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 150mgSodium 1731mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 6gSugar 19gProtein 33g

Nutrition information is an estimate.

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