Instant Pot Spanish Meatballs (Albondigas) with Tomato Sauce. Spanish style meatballs make a great main dish or tapas style appetizer.
Albondigas! I’m visiting the flavors of the Mediterranean using meatballs. (Doesn't everybody travel the world by meatball? Just me?)
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These meatballs use my Instant Pot meatball technique, one I'm using to travel the world. I've done Instant Pot Italian Meatballs, Instant Pot Greek Meatballs, and Instant Pot BBQ Meatballs. So, I've been to Italy, Greece, the US and now Spain. Where should I go next? Let me know in the comments.
Why are they called albondigas?
Because albondigas is Spanish for meatballs.
🥫Ingredients
- Meatloaf mix - ground beef and ground pork
- Plain breadcrumbs
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Fine sea salt
- Smoked Spanish Paprika
- Dried oregano
- Egg
- Olive oil
- Red wine
- Chicken broth
- Crushed tomatoes
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Sherry vinegar
See recipe card for quantities.
Smoked Spanish Paprika
Smoked Spanish paprika, pimenton de la Vera, is one of my favorite ingredients. (I'd call it a secret ingredient, but it's not a secret - I talk about it all the time). It's the main spice in these meatballs, and that's part of why I love them so much. Other than the smoky paprika, this is a pretty standard meatball recipe. Mix the meat, spices, bread crumbs, and an egg, shape into meatballs, and cook in tomato sauce in the pressure cooker.
🥘 Substitutions
- Meatloaf mix: My grocery store does a 2:1 ratio of ground beef to ground pork, and I like how that works for meatballs. But, you can use all ground beef or all ground pork if you want. Ground turkey would work in a pinch, too.
- Smoked Spanish paprika: You don't have to use Spanish paprika. If you have another smoked paprika, go ahead and use it. (My local Hungarian market smokes their own paprika, and it tastes great in this recipe.) If you can't find smoked paprika, a regular paprika is fine.
- I use "Sweet" or "Mild" paprika in this recipe, but if you want more heat, use Spanish smoked hot paprika, aka "Pimenton Picante".
How to make Instant Pot Spanish Meatballs With Tomato Sauce
- Make the meatballs: In a large mixing bowl, work the meatloaf mix, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, paprika, oregano, and egg together. Shape the meatball mixture into 16 golf-ball sized meatballs.
- Heat the olive oil an Instant Pot set to sauté mode until the oil starts shimmering. Saute the onion and garlic in the pot, then sprinkle with the paprika and some sea salt.
- Pour the wine into the pot and stir, scraping any stuck bits of onion loose from the bottom with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Simmer the wine for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol.
- Stir in the chicken broth. Add the meatballs to the pot, trying for a single layer of meatballs. Pour the crushed tomatoes over the meatballs.
- Pressure Cook for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 15 minutes (Use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 13 minutes if using a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure to come down naturally, about 20 minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for 15 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.)
- Serve: Scoop the meatballs out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Stir the fresh ground black pepper into the tomato sauce in the pot. Pour a few ladles of sauce over the meatballs, and use the rest to sauce your rice or pasta. Enjoy!
🛠 Equipment
📏Scaling
This recipe doubles easily in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cut all the ingredients in half and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. The cooking time does not change either way; it takes the same amount of time to cook each meatball, no matter how many are in the pot.
☃️ Storage
You can store the meatballs in the sauce in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze them for a few months. Bring the meatballs to a simmer in the sauce before serving. I portion leftover meatballs into 2-cup containers, cover them with tomato sauce, and freeze them for my lunch.
💡Tips and Tricks
I serve them as a main course with rice, or Spanish Tapas style, 2 or 3 on a small plate, topped with tomato sauce, as appetizers for a dinner party.
What to Serve with Spanish Meatballs
- These meatballs make for a hearty dish in a tapas bar dinner, served with Patatas Bravas (Spanish fried potatoes), and slices of dry chorizo sausage and Manchego cheese.
Instant Pot Spanish Meatballs (Albondigas) with Tomato Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: A dozen meatballs
Description
Instant Pot Spanish Meatballs (Albondigas) with Tomato Sauce. Spanish style meatballs make a great main dish or tapas style appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds meatloaf mix (1 pound ground beef, ½ pound ground pork)
- ¾ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion, grated or finely minced
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
- ¼ cup minced fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 egg, beaten
Spanish Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (Pimenton de la vera)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup red wine (or more chicken broth, or water)
- 1 cup chicken broth, (homemade or low sodium store-bought), or water
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (a splash) Sherry vinegar (optional)
- Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Shape the meatballs: In a large bowl, break up the ground beef and pork. Sprinkle the bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, paprika, and oregano over the meat, then work the dry ingredients into the meat. Once everything is evenly mixed, add the beaten egg, and work it into the meat. Roll the meatball mixture into 16 golf-ball sized meatballs, each about 2 inches in diameter.
- Sauté the aromatics for the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil an Instant Pot set to sauté mode (or other pressure cooker set to medium heat) until the oil starts shimmering. Add the onion and garlic to the pot. Sprinkle with the paprika and ½ teaspoon sea salt, then saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer the wine: Pour the wine into the pot and stir, scraping any stuck bits of onion loose from the bottom. Bring the wine to a simmer, and simmer for 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol.
- Everything in the pot: Stir in the chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure nothing is sticking. Add the meatballs to the pot, trying for a single layer of meatballs. (I usually wind up with one that has to sit on top of the others). Pour the crushed tomatoes over the meatballs.
- Pressure Cook for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 15 minutes (Use “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” mode in an Instant Pot), or for 13 minutes if using a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure to come down naturally, about 20 minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for 15 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.)
- Serve: Scoop the meatballs out of the pot with a slotted spoon. Stir the fresh ground black pepper into the tomato sauce in the pot. Pour a few ladles of sauce over the meatballs, and use the rest to sauce your rice or pasta. Enjoy!
Notes
Spanish olive oil and a Rioja red wine are traditional for this recipe, but I don’t worry about it, and use what I have on hand.
Can’t find smoked paprika? You can use regular paprika in this recipe. But, before you give up, check the spice aisle at your grocery store - you might be pleasantly surprised to find smoked paprika has snuck in while you weren’t looking.
Tools
6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Spanish
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Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Jeff Winett says
Could not rave more about a dish, even if I tried. Made these late in the day and simply heated over stovetop to serve on top of well toasted rustic bread. I've had smoked paprika forever, but after swooning over Mike's dish, I just ordered the exact version he shared. In other words, I will be making this A LOT! Oh, I do one little extra step...when the pressure releases, you can then see some risen fat around the perimeter....I prefer to use a spoon to gently lift off that fat, which is so easy to do!