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These salisbury steak meatballs are cooked in a light mushroom gravy, lightened up by using half ground turkey and half lean ground beef.
Salisbury Steak Meatballs
I’ve been dying to make these Salisbury Steak Meatballs which I adapted from my Salisbury Steak recipe. They are made in a light mushroom gravy, wonderful served over noodles, cauliflower mash or try them over mashed potatoes. You can make them on the stove, Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, you decide!
Why This Works!
- Comforting! Everyone loves a good meatball, and this fun twist will not disappoint!
- Lighter – you still get the same beef taste using half the ground beef, will less calories and fat using half ground turkey. The texture is lighter than using all lean ground beef.
- Yummy! Kid friendly, and the adults will enjoy it too.
- Freezer friendly – Leftovers freeze great.
- Quick! a 30-minute meal.
Ingredients
Meatballs
minced onions, lean ground beef, lean ground turkey, whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs, large egg, tomato paste, salt and black pepper
Gravy
all-purpose flour, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, Worcester, mustard powder, sliced mushrooms, beef broth, chopped parsley, salt and black pepper
How To Make Salisbury Steak Meatballs
You can make the meatballs three ways, on the stove, in the slow cooker or in the instant pot.
- Form the Meatballs: Sauté the minced onions over medium heat for about five minutes. Combine half of the onions with the ground beef and turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, egg white, broth, salt, and pepper. Shape it into meatballs.
- Brown the Meatballs: In a large, deep skillet (or in the Instant Pot) on medium-high heat, brown the meatballs. Set aside once done.
- Mushrooms: Add the mushrooms to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes. Return the meatballs to the skillet.
- Mix the Gravy: Whisk the flour and remaining broth until smooth. Pour in the rest of the onions, tomato paste, vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder. Pour over the meatballs and mushrooms.
- Simmer: Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Variations:
- Meat: Use 90% ground meat if you prefer. If you want all beef, skip the turkey, and double the beef.
- Eggs: If you’re allergic to eggs, you can substitute them with a flax egg.
- Gluten-Free: To make gluten-free Salisbury steak, use gluten-free breadcrumbs or oats, and instead of all-purpose flour, use rice flour or cornstarch to thicken the gravy.
- Tomatoes: If you want your gravy to have less tomato flavor, halve the tomato paste.
- Mustard: If you’re out of mustard powder, sub it with Dijon mustard or omit it.
- Vinegar: Swap the red wine vinegar for balsamic or white wine vinegar.
- Mushrooms: Don’t like mushrooms? Omit them! Love them? Add more!
Meal Prep:
To meal prep, double the recipe and refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months in an airtight container.
What to Serve with Salisbury Steak Meatballs
My family loves Salisbury steak over egg noodles, or Instant Pot mashed potatoes. It’d also be great cauliflower rice, or mashed cauliflower for a low-carb option. Cook some asparagus, spinach, or broccoli to finish off your meal.
More Meatball Recipes You Will Love:
- Italian Beef and Spinach Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Swedish Meatballs
- Chicken Romano Meatballs
- Moroccan Meatballs
Salisbury Steak Meatballs (Instant Pot, Stove Top, Slow Cooker)
These Salisbury Steak Meatballs are cooked in a mushroom gravy and lightened up by using half ground turkey and half lean ground beef. Kid-friendly, comforting and delicious!
Yield: 4 Servings
Serving Size: 5 meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup minced onions
- 1/2 lb 93% lean ground beef
- 1/2 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- 1/3 cup whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 larege egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste, divided
- kosher salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- 5 oz sliced mushrooms
- 1 1/4 cup reduced sodium beef broth
- chopped parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Finely chop 1 oz of the mushrooms into small pieces and set aside. Heat the Instant Pot on saute (or a large nonstick pot on medium-high) and add 1 tsp oil and onions and cook until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Divide onions in two.
- In a large bowl, combine half of the sautéed onions with the ground beef, ground turkey, chopped mushroom, bread crumbs, egg, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/4 cup of the beef broth, 3/4 tsp salt and black pepper.
- In a small bowl, blend flour and 1 cup broth until smooth. Mix in remaining onions, remaining 1 tbsp tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.
- Gently shape into 20 small meatballs.
Stove Top Method:
- Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat, add the remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs, in batches as needed, about 2 minutes until no longer sticks (if it sticks, it's not ready to turn yet). Flip and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook low heat for 25 minutes. Garnish with parsley.
Slow Cooker Method:
- Saute meatballs in a skillet with the remaining teaspoon of oil, then transfer to slow cooker with mushrooms, salt and pepper and pour sauce over. Cover and cook low 6 to 8 hours, until tender.
Instant Pot Method (see note below)
- Heat the Instant Pot on saute, add remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs (in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot) about 2 minutes until no longer sticks (if it doesn't turn, it's not ready yet), turn and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes. Quick or natural release. Garnish with parsley.
Last Step:
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Notes
*some people have issues with the meatballs sticking to the instant pot when browing. If this is an issue, you can brown in a skillet.
Nutrition
Serving: 5 meatballs, Calories: 271 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 12 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 124 mg, Sodium: 741 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 3 g
Categories:
Absolutely delicious! I was low on time one day so I just used turkey frozen meatballs and made it on the stovetop. Super yummy!
This was a delicious dinner. After reading through the directions a few times I was ready to start. I used the full pound of both ground turkey & beef doubling the ingredients which made 40 meatballs. I figured if I was going to the trouble I’d freeze them for a future dinner. After reading the comments I decided to bake them at 400degrees for 30 minutes which was perfect. I also doubled the sauce & added 20 meatballs to the sauce & simmered on low while I boiled the noodles. The meatballs were really tender & flavorful! We not only have leftovers but more meatballs in the freezer!
Thank you Gina for this great recipe!
My family loves this recipe. I use baby portabella mushrooms in the sauce. I also throw some of the mushrooms into the food processor and then add it to the meatballs. Good way to hide a little extra veggies.
Very tasty. Will make again.
My hubby insisted I give this a five and not a two lol. It isn’t what it is supposed to be but he is digging it and he can’t wait to see how it turns out on the stove top. So there ya go! Lesson learned for me what I can and can’t do IP and even if it isn’t perfect it can still taste amazing. Great job, Gina 😀
These were an absolute disaster in the instant pot. Just a complete burning mash of mess. I will try again on the stovetop since I bought enough to make two meals of this. Otherwise I wouldn’t though I have a feeling this is probably a great stove top meal, just a terrible IP one for me. It came out basically as sauce with ground beef and chicken by the time it was done. Also not a quick meal, took a long time to prepare. Oh well, happens!
5 plus! So so good. Whole fam ate it up in five minutes.
This is absolutely delicious. Have made it 3 times and it was a hit when our kids and grand kids (ages 8 and 11) came for supper as well as when we served it for a fancy “company” meal. The only teeny change I made was to add a couple tablespoons of heavy cream to the gravy for some extra “yum!” One thing I would like to point out is that if you go to print the recipe and increase the portion size using the servings calculator at the top of the page, the quantities in the ingredient list will increase but they will NOT increase in the instructions. For example, I doubled the recipe and yet the instructions said to finely chop 1 oz of the mushrooms when it should have been 2 oz. The quantities for the oil, tomato paste, beef broth, and salt should also have increased proportionately. (This explains why the first time I made this and doubled the quantity, there was hardly any gravy because the instructions should have said to add 2 cups of broth instead of 1.)
I had same issue. I wish this would be corrected!
Thanks for the What to serve ideas. Please continue. I need the help with simple sides
Definitely adding this as a staple. It was super quick to make a double recipe even.
This recipe is delicious!!! I cooked the meatballs in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. I sautéed the mushrooms (8 ounces) in the skillet, added the sauce to the skillet to heat, then I added the meatballs. Awesome recipe – thanks Gina!! And we have leftovers for another meal!!
These were So so so good!! We had them last night for dinner. Before I even took my first bite my husband said, these are amazing. So satisfying! We made cauliflower mash to go with them. Nothing else needed.
After being on WW since April, these feel like “cheat night” food, but fit nicely into the regular rotation! Thank you!!!
Absolutely delicious! Made this exactly as in the recipe. Meatballs are so tender and the sauce is perfect!
Delicious! I made this on my stove top with ground chicken instead of turkey because it was sold out at the store (and I am gluten-free, so I subbed gluten-free flour and GF bread crumbs), but still came out wonderful. I could drink the sauce, it’s so yummy.
These are absolutely delicious and I was a bit skeptical of the sauce. The sauce was perfect!! The only change I will make next time is to double the sauce recipe as our leftovers did not have enough sauce and the pasta we served it over was a bit dry. Still delicious and a keeper! Next time I may serve over cauliflower rice and sautéed kale. 😋
Beyond tasty and delicious! Recipe was a little tough to folllow and took longer than planned but the payoff! The whole family gobbled it up.
This recipe was met with RAVE reviews from my family. I did the stovetop method to the letter and I might only ever make mixed ground beef/turkey meatballs for everything from now on. The meatballs were delicious yet tender and the sauce…. well both the boys in my household LOVED it and so did I.
Great!!
We loved this recipe. Followed exactly except kept mushrooms separate as two kiddos don’t like them, so served on the side. Definitely will make again.
Hi,
Can these meatballs be baked? What temperature would you recommend?
400° for 20 minutes absolute perfection
One of our favorites. My husband doesn’t think he likes turkey but in this dish it’s perfect and he loves it! It’s definitely in my rotation of meals.
Love that!!!
These meatballs at sooo good, one of my favorite meals and they are great reheated
Want to try this recipe but can’t have tomato products. Is there a substitute for tomato paste or just leave it out?
I did a quick search on the web and found this article that might help you. Good luck because this is a great recipe. – definitely a family favorite around my house!
https://urbanfarmie.com/tomato-paste-substitutes/#:~:text=Pureed%20roasted%20red%20bell%20peppers,roast%20them%20yourself%20at%20home.
This is so good! Pretty much every recipe I have tried from Skinnytaste has been great! Family favorite
thank you!!
A fav! I’ve been making this for almost 2 years. Last week, I didn’t have mushrooms so I made it without. My girls gobbled this up and asked me to make again the next week. 🙂 My IP likes to give me the burn notice… I’d suggest browning the meatballs in a different pan. Luckily I have an extra IP pot to switch out. This is great with mashed potatoes or rice. Don’t pass up this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Simply the best!!
Thank goodness I made a double batch of these and froze them for another night. I baked my meatballs in the oven, then proceeded to make the sauce in a stock pot. Everyone devoured them! They are delicious! Thank you, Gina!
Love this recipe. Have made it several times.
is it possible to bake instead of saute the meatballs? I like to premake the meatballs in large batches and freeze them. Baking would save a lot of time!
A lady in the comments above said she bakes them.
My wife loves mushrooms and I do not but we both love these meatballs. Suer flavorful and easy to make quickly in the instant pot. Very satisfying.
A keeper. Great comfort meal.
Where are the stove top directions?
I just tweaked it to make it easier to read.
Was very good but I was confused, do you mixed the chopped mushroom into the meatballs or do you put them on top after?
Chopped gets mixed into the meatballs. 🙂
Have made these meatballs many times and it is always yummy. Kids especially love these with mashed potatoes. I always use my multi-cooker so I can sauté the meatballs and then turn it to slow cook when I pour the mushrooms and gravy over. One pan and 6 hours later, they are perfect!
SO GOOD!!!
Loved this recipe. I doubled the meat portion and freezing 1/2 of the meatballs. It was definitely a hit and I will be making this again!
How would I turn this recipe into gluten free?
This is a family favorite. The flavor is wonderful. I appreciate the work Gina put in to make tasty healthy recipes.
I sometimes get the stuff stuck 9n the bottom. Sometimes the meatballs fall apart. No one cares. They j7st dig in.
What could be used in place of the mushrooms?
Turkey made meatballs very sticky! Hard to turn in Instant Pot and I ended up with black on the bottom of pot. The meatballs were smushed but tasty.
It says to add chopped mushrooms to meatball mixture and then sliced mushrooms later in recipe. How much of chopped mushrooms are to be added?
See step 1, 1 ounce.
I used all 93% ground beef and did all on stove top.
Dish was good, but, not great. Surprising after reading so many great reviews. I found the sauce and also the meatballs lacking in flavor. My mouth and brain were searching for more depth of flavor, but it wasn’t there. It needscsomething, but I can’t put my finger on what I feel is missing.
Could I use all beef? I don’t like ground Turkey. Thanks!
Just as an FYI- the recipe calls to add the mushroom to the meatball and again to the sauce. I assume the mushroom should only be for the latter. I messed this batch up unfortunately.
See step 1, you mince part of them and add the minced mushroom to the meat, the sliced mushrooms get added later.
Wonderful meal on a cold, rainy fall evening.
Would you work using just ground turkey. I don’t love ground beef. Thanks Julie
Very tasty! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Can this be made into a keto version
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Real comfort food served with mashed potatoes.
Call me crazy….but I made this dish on a weeknight after work. Lol. I just got my Instanst Pot and I couldn’t wait to try it out!! A million dishes later and this dish was AMAZING!! The meatballs, the sauce, the taste. Let’s just say my servings were not skinny, LOL! I made this with the skinny mashed potato link from the recipe. Loved these two together!! I roasted some broccoli and I am in heaven! This is definitely a Sunday night dinner or any other day you have time to follow the directions and make a wonderful dish. Enjoy! Thank you Gina!!
Def should have read more reviews first! Tried to saute half the meatballs in the pot and it was a disaster. Threw the other half in the oven and broiled on both sides and they came out perfect. Then added them to the sauce to cook. Tasted great but don’t sear the meatballs in the pot! Added an extra 1-2tsp of Worcheshire sauce.
Made the meatballs tonight and we were not disappointed! Great flavor and they went together pretty fast. I don’t have an instant pot so I made some slight changes. I followed the ingredients exactly. I made the meatballs and browned them under the broiler. Then I put the meatballs and gravy into an electric skillet and simmered them until they were cooked through. Smelled as good as they tasted!!! Thanks Gina for another awesome recipe!!
It was more work than taste. Much easier to brown meatballs in oven. Will not make again.
Amazing!! All the yummy flavor of my mom’s old fashioned Salisbury steaks without feeling heavy/guilty! The sauce is runnier than gravy with Salisbury steaks but served over mashed potatoes/cauliflower, I didn’t mind the consistency one bit! Broiled the meatballs in the oven before transferring to instant pot. Doubled the recipe and kept the cook time the same for the single recipe!
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have any trouble making these in my IP. Grateful for a fast and delicious weeknight dinner.
This is a very tasty recipe however I always have difficulty sauteeing in the instant pot. I run into to the issue with your turkey meatball stroganoff recipe. I find that meatballs stick and makes it difficult. Tonight I sautéed in a stove top frying pan after giving up sauteeing in the IP. Delicious recipe
When cooking in a pot, what temp should I be cooking it at?
this meal was soooo good! It took all I had not to lick my plate. I am so glad that I doubled the recipe!
The meatballs were real tender. I will make this again.
I made this in the Instant Pot and while I didn’t have the burn problems other people did, it was a bit unwieldy to brown the meatballs, and I’m not sure using the Instant Pot actually served any convenience as opposed to stovetop in this case.
That said, the flavor is amazing and I’ll definitely make again, just on the stovetop next time. It does take a while to assemble, but that’s meatballs for you.
I bake my meatballs in the oven about 20 minutes at 350 (or 165F). Less mess an healthier than pan frying…
My husband and children loved this. And I loved the extra veggies of mushrooms and onions hidden in the meatballs since my kids are very anti veggie.
They were pretty simple to make. I cooked all the meatballs on a long skillet to speed up the browning process, especially since I made a double batch. My husband loved them so much I had to freeze lunch size portions for him to eat during the work week.
Great recipe! After reading the comments I only added 1 tablespoon of broth to the meatballs and browned them under the broiler before putting them in the slow cooker. They turned out perfectly! I served them with Skinnytaste garlic mashed potatoes and it was a huge hit. Nice to have a great slow cooker recipe in the summer months when it’s too hot to turn on the oven. Thank you!
I thought this was really good, I omitted the beef broth for when I made the meatballs. (Didn’t need it) The instapot has too small a surface for sauteing so I did them on the stove-top before transferring to the instapot for the final cook. My beef had a little more fat content so it didn’t stick but if I was using a low fat beef I would probably use 2 tsps of oil so that the meatballs wouldn’t stick. Overall, great recipe.
Total FAIL! I’m so upset with myself for not reading the comments first. Everything stuck to my IP and I got frustrated and just mushed it all together. Now it’s cooking on the stovetop. I’m not sure if I want to throw it away and order a pizza or just try to eat it over mashed potatoes….
Meatball mixture was way to MUSHY.
I did end up adding more breadcrumbs due to the moistness of the meat mixture. Try again. They were delish!
How would you freeze this? Would you cook the meatballs and then add the sauce and freeze?
Great recipe, but the “25 minutes” is a laugh. I admit I’m slow when it comes to cooking in general, but it took a full hour just to do all the steps leading up to putting the meatballs in the pot at pressure. Add on another ~25 to cook at 10 on high and release. I would budget 1-1.5 hours total if you plan on making this, unless you are incredibly on point and have all ingredients prepped and ready to go.
Very delicious. Omitted the vinegar and used 1/2 cup of red wine instead. Serve over half and half cauliflower mashed potatoes and green beans. Doubled the recipe so enough left over for tomorrow. 👍👍👍
Forgot to mention that I ground up oatmeal in place of the bread crumbs. They turned out absolutely great.
thanks for sharing about the oatmeal – I was thinking about trying that!
Hi! I love all your recipes…. think you are amazing. I’m going to be a new mom sometime next month…. wanted to prep a few make ahead and freeze meals. How would I freeze this? Would you prepare and freeze uncooked in a ziplock? ? What about the sauce? Hope to hear from you soon…Thank you so much!
Congrats! I would prepare and then freeze. 🙂
Had a terrible time with this recipe. The meatballs were too mushy and didn’t form well. They fell apart easily. Trying to sauté them in the Ip was challenging. Constantly got the burn notice on the IP and eventually moved them to the stovetop which was frustrating to do. All that said they tasted wonderful. I will try the recipe again with modifications.
I had the same issue!
Same issue! We eventually took out of the instantpot and put under broiler in oven to cook enough for them to hold together then moved back to IP for remainder of cook time. Meatballs were incredibly mushy when trying to form but I wonder if that is bc the meat was not super cold? Will give update on this method when done. they do smell good right now while cooking and am sure they will taste great too!
Tasted great. The way we cooked worked out fine ☺
Delicious! Wish I had read the comments first, I also had trouble sautéing the meatballs in my instant pot. I probably would sauté in a pan or bake in my oven as others did. I used some red wine instead of the vinegar.
Served with mashed cauliflower, also a success!! Used an instant pot recipe for the cauliflower, super quick.
I too wish I had read the comments first!
I made these with all ground turkey 93% because I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough before shopping.
Didn’t have beef broth, so I used chicken broth with an extra dash of worcestershire. Made in crock pot on low for 4 hours…super tender and yummy. Going to serve with butternut squash/cauliflower mash. Another keeper, thanks Gina.
Can you freeze these also?
Good recipe. Did them in the slow cooker, the meatballs were so tender.
Make sure not to add the 1/4 Cup of Soup to meatball mixture, or they will be too soft. I simply added the egg and they didnt fall apart, like they did twice!
I used broth in my meatballs and they just need to be handled gently with wet hands to shape.
My 8 year old son and I made these tonight on the stovetop and they turned out amazing! He gobbled it up which is pretty unusual for him. This does not taste like a “light” recipe. Highly recommend- used all lean ground beef.
Not sure what happened but I keep getting “burn” notice on my IP. I even gtook everything out, cleaned the bottom of the pot and started it over again and same thing. ANd thisa is SUPER timr consuming.
Burn notice means there is not enough liquid in your instant pot !
I got the BURN notice, but I just stirred the pot a bit, to get more liquid in the bottom, since I doubled the meat mixture. It worked perfectly after that.
Love love it! Husband doesn’t like mushrooms so I minced them instead of slicing, he had no clue. 😉
Thanks to the reviews here, I formed my meatballs and placed them on a foil lined cookie sheet and broiled them until they began to brown. They all stayed together nicely, and then I added them to the slow cooker and covered with the sauce. I don’t think I would ever attempt sautéing in the IP, since it seems lots of people had trouble with that step.
How long did you broil them? Did they fully cook before adding them to the slow cooker?
It was really yummy at the end, but it took an hour and a half (when making mashed potatoes too). Also, I would prepare the meatballs on the stove top rather than in the instant pot. It was way too hard to turn the meatball in there, and they were breaking apart, which was really disappointing.
Not sure what I did wrong.
Mine all turned to mush.
Mine did too. I will be making major modifications if I try this again. I try to always just follow the recipe the first time I make something
Dont add the extra broth to the meatballs the egg is enough and maybe just half of it
These also freeze and reheat really well!
These meatballs are the bomb! I did sub a little. I ground a chicken breast (needed to use up) to take the place of the turkey breast, and used tapioca flour vs regular flour to thicken. Also, had homemade chicken bone broth in freezer, so used that along with some beef seasoning to replace the beef broth.. It’s what I had on hand. Made them stove-top since I used my instant pot for my potatoes. So very good, will become a new staple for us!
Awesome!
Simple to make and delicious. Will make this again for sure.
Delicious!! Will become a regular in our weeknight dinner plans. Easier than it seemed.
Love these, and I do with a mix of 99 amd 96 percent fat free ground turkey, since that mixture is rather moist, once I have the balls made with a small cookie scoop, I bake them to get them started before putting in the slow cooker, so I don’t risk them falling apart. Meatballs tender full of wonderful flavor. The sauce is perfect and gets a bit thicker when it sits a bit or if make them, store and reheat them. Great recipe.
I made these last night, they were soooo good. I used all ground turkey and cooked on top of the stove, everything came out just fine.
I have made the Salisbury steak for many years . One of my favorites and my family. Can’t wait to try this in my insatant pot . Yummo! I would have to rate the Salisbury steak a 1,000 stars .
Made these last night with Venison burger and they were delicious! Held up great, tasted amazing, and the sauce was perfect.
Today I learned that Salisbury steak is one of my husband’s favorite meals. I’ve been looking for different ideas to get out of our dinner time rut, this will definitely go into our normal meal rotation! I did the stovetop method because I didn’t think pressure was necessary. I will probably not make into meatballs next time, I think patties will be just as good and less work. However, I was able to have this complete meal ready with green beans and mashed potatoes in less than 40 minutes, so I didn’t think it was time consuming at all! Awesome recipe!
Did this in the slow cooker today and it was great! Contemplating making it a one-pot-wonder in my Dutch oven next time, but wondering about time and temp in the oven. I’m new to the Dutch oven world, only really tried soups and sauces so far. Any thoughts?
Delicious! Reminds me of Swedish meatballs. I didn’t have mushrooms so omitted them. I didn’t have tomato paste but substituted tomato sauce. I think the paste would have added some sweetness to offset the acid from the vinegar. Definitely going to be making this again – with all the ingredients as per the recipe 😂
Anyone try this with almond flour as a sub for breadcrumbs? Keto. If so, how much?
This was so amazing. I had a hard time keeping the meatballs together but I’ll just broil them next time. The flavor was amazing. My bf loved them and he is picky.
Thank you for this recipe….it was really good but I had a hard time with the meatballs burning ….any tips♥️
This recipe is out of this world delicious. I don’t like ground turkey so I used ground chicken instead. Well worth the effort. Perfect comfort food for a chilly winter evening.
I made this with a slow cooker. OMGoodness was it amazing! The meatballs were so tender and the sauce was a perfect compliment to the meatballs and skinny mashed potatoes.
This recipe will be shared with my WW group and will be going in my printed recipes binder.
Thanks so much for making and sharing this recipe with us!!
So…I read the recipe 6-7 times and every time I swear it said to add the mushrooms to the hamburger when mixing it. So I did. But then found somewhere else it said to just add them. I was afraid I had ruined the meal. Nope! It was awesome! I added a package of brown gravy mix to the sauce and it was amazing!!! My only complaint is that it took an hour and a half to prepare. Now to be half of that time was my instant pot heating )it has to reheat for every single setting…which is so dumb. If it’s 341 degrees on sauté it should be hot enough to go to pressure cook right away, but maybe it’s suppsoed to be that way but it’s annoying). Otherwise the recipe was great. My kids love it, even my picky eater.
IT TOTALLY DOES SAY TO ADD THE MUSHROOMS TO THE MIX! I JUST DID THE SAME THING !
Another great recipe! This will become my new go to meatball recipe!
It says add 1oz finely chopped mushrooms to meatball mix and add the rest of the mushrooms to the gravy mix.
My pressure cooker preheats with every setting as well. It drives me CRAZY.
POOHB3EAR and SHELLEY – It’s a matter of physics. The pot coming to pressure has to do with steam building up inside the closed cavity. No matter how hot the contents are when you seal the pot, it just takes time for that pressure to build up. There is no shortcut.
I just read the directions carefully so I would not do what you did. The recipe said to put 1 oz of finely chopped mushrooms in the meat mixture. Thank you I might have made the same mistake.
I have to thank you because this is the second or third recipe of yours that I’ve made and this was simple and incredibly delicious. I kept telling my kids about school lunches when I was a kid…lol….and salisbury steak with mashed potatoes was one of my favorites. This hit the spot and brought back good memories without getting me off of my WW plan. I’ll keep cooking your recipes! THANKS!
My daughter and I loved these! I used only ground turkey and doubled the sauce. Served over cauliflower mash. Will make again!
I’m a new user to the instantpot BUT, I think this would be easier in a stovetop prep. It is difficult to turn and get the onion and meatballs out of the
IP because it is so deep. Also, 20 meatballs do not fit in one layer in the IP. This recipe does not instruct how to program the IP which was a problem for me. I did what I needed to do to make this a success, It was good after I put the IP on saute again to complete the cooking proccess.
This was delicious! I made substitutions to make it gluten free. I also broiled the meatballs in the oven first, before putting in the instant pot. I doubled the recipe for the five of us and barely have any leftovers! Family loved this!
Hi Gina,
I made this and loved it but now want to make for someone with an egg allergy. Any chance I can substitute the egg out?
Thanks!
Me too please. Allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts.
Could have used a bit more breadcrumbs to hold it together, would have browned the onions and meat in a separate non-stick pan as there was way too much burned/brown stuff on the bottom after. I had to scrub out the IP to avoid the burn message that would have definitely happened and probably would have prevented the balls from cooking all the way through. Anyway, other than that, it was delicious. Will make again with the adjustments mentioned for sure.
Next time, ad a little of your bef stock to the bottom of the pot after browning your meatballs to deglaze, scrape the browned bits off the bottom and continue with the recipe as usual. Works a treat. I also will use the ceramic nonstick liner if I’m worried about getting a burn notice.
This was like a flashback to my childhood—it tasted just like my mom’s delicious cooking. I’ve made it many times and my family loves it (even my mushroom-averse children, who aren’t aware of the wonderful flavor hidden in the finely-chopped mushrooms). I am so happy to be able to enjoy “real food” as a Weight Watcher. I find making meatballs tedious so I now make little slabs of meat that are easier to brown, and I adjust the points accordingly. So far have used a crockpot but am looking forward to using my new Instant Pot!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I put it over riced cauliflower
can you make with just beef and no turkey?
Sure
My dish turned out great. I used my crock pot express. The only thing I had to different at the end was take the sauce and put it in a pan over the stove and added a little more flour to thicken the gravy. It turned out perfect.
I looked for the stove top directions but couldn’t find them. Are there directions for cooking on the stove top?
Yes, they are actually within the recipe instructions—not separate.
People seem confused by directions for some reason; probably not reading thoroughly.
Step 1 clearly says to chop 1 oz. of the sliced mushrooms;, Step 2 clearly says to add CHOPPED mushrooms to meatballs. Remaining sliced mushrooms are added to sauce in Step 5. Step 3 is making the sauce called for in step 5; do not add to meatball mixture. Steps 3 and 4 should be switched for clarity.
For those having trouble with meatballs not cooking through, are you using only 1 lb. total meat and making 20 small balls? That size ball should be well done in 10 min. pressure cooking. My 2″ meatballs are done in 15 min.
I made these in my Instant Pot. Followed recipe exactly except added less beef broth when mixing meatball mixture. I did 1/8 cup instead of a 1/4.
I made exactly 20 meatballs, did not saute in instant pot , saute on stove in a non stick pan turned after 2 mins. Sauce is lovely meatballs all stayed together no problem in instant pot..Will make again love the recipe.
I made these for my husband and I and he absolutely loves them. We are both on Weight Watchers Freestyle and these are perfect for our plan. Thank ypu for coming up with these great meals and meal plans, keep up the great work.
My husband and I both loved this recipe. I made riced cauliflower to serve with the meat balls. No complaints from the meat and potatoes guy!
This recipe was so involved. It took less time to cook actual salisbury steaks on the stove. Tasty but won’t make it again.
This recipe was not a success for me. I tasted the gravy before pouring it over the meatballs & ended up tossing it. I had to make another gravy (frustrating) & went with Rachel Ray’s quick brown gravy. The onions burned while I was sautéing them & I had to cook the meatballs twice as long as recommended. In the end, they shrank to half their size. I believe the Instant Pot is not the ideal cooking method for meatballs & prefer the oven. I also was not pleased at all with this recipe.
This was so good!! The gravy was absolutely delicious. I will make this again. The only thing I did differently was cook the meatballs in the oven before I put them into the gravy to finish them. When I tried cooking them completely in the pot they started falling apart on me.
Excellent meatballs Gina! My family and I just love these meatballs and sauce that I cook on the stovetop and I always double the recipe for leftovers. They are tender , flavorful and go great with a roasted cauliflower parmesan mash. I use your recipes regularly and like the fact they are healthy and low in calories.
I doubled the meat, prepared the meat the day before and left it raw, then the next day rolled into balls and proceeded with recipe, I highly recommend doing this as the flavors were amazing, I also used 99% ground chicken as it’s zero Smart Points but still added beef broth for the beefy flavor, I tripled the broth part to have extra gravy, absolutely amazing!
DELICIOUS! I used 99% lean ground turkey instead as that is what I had. But, still yummy. May try next time using no beef to reduce points (i’m on WW). Will definitely make again.
Also, just bought my instant pot today. this was the first thing i made in it. can’t wait to try more of your instant pot recipes.
Great!
So delicious! My husband commented that it reminded him of old school TV dinners only a lot better. I used all ground turkey, a flax egg, and gluten free flour/bread (for breadcrumbs) and it turned out better than I thought it would.
WOW! This was amazing! I am not a fan of ground meat–or even meatballs, but this will definitely go on my regular rotation list!
I used only ground turkey because that’s what I had on hand and can’t believe how satisfying it was…(warning, you may need to add additional bread crumbs if using only turkey as your mix may be come out a bit too we…) The gravy is to die for delicious!
I served it with mashed potatoes and peas and the family GOBBLED it up.
Thanks for yet another amazing dinner Gina <3
“…may come out a bit too WET…”
Delicious. I doubled the recipe so I’d have leftovers. Made it on the stove top. Easy peasy and delicious.
Followed the ingredients list exactly but made in cast iron skillet and simmered in sauce for 30 minutes while the baby new potatoes cooked. Served with garlic green beans. Great meal with good flavor! Hubby is Mr. picky and he liked the flavor.
OMG, this was SOOOO good! My kids loved it, too.
My meatballs didn’t cook all the way through. Maybe mine were too big to begin with, I had to transfer to a frying pan and simmer, which made the sauce thicken up nicely. This was a good recipe, but I would do it stove top instead of the instant pot in the future. Thanks Gina
Can you make this with gluten free bread crumbs?
I don’t see why not.
I’m gluten free and make meatballs with a combo of almond meal and coconut flour. Works perfectly!
Where are stovetop directions?
Heat the Instant Pot (or non-stick pot) back on saute, add remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs (in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot) about 2 minutes until no longer sticks (if it doesn’t turn, it’s not ready yet), turn and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes (20 minutes in a regular pot)
This isn’t helpful since a stovetop does not have a “high pressure” setting. Should you cook on high temp for 20 minutes?
Low for 10 minutes in manual pressure cooker.
any tips on making this with frozen meatballs? #lazy
In the recipe, you say to combine the mushrooms with the ground beef and ground turkey in step 2. You also say to add the mushroom, salt, and pepper to the sauce in step 5. Do the mushrooms go in the meat or the sauce or both? Thanks.
the recipe calls for 5 oz of sliced mushrooms. In the directions it says to dice 1 oz of the mushrooms very fine. the 1 oz of finely chopped mushrooms goes into the meat. the other 4 oz of sliced mushrooms goes into the sauce. hope this clears it up for u
I made this with some changes. I left out the tomato paste and added 1 cup of sour cream when the cooking was finished. I also baked the meatballs before placing them in the pressure cooker. I served them over egg less wide noodles. Your meatballs must have been really big, I used less than 1 lb of meat and made about 20 meatballs, and they were big by my standards. I probably could have gotten about 40 or more meatballs from the meat mixture..
OMG these are so yummy! You never ever disappoint.
I changed it a little, since I had frozen meatballs. So good though! Thanks!
I’m wanting to also make with frozen meatballs but not sure what all qualifies as the sauce vs the ingredients to make the actual meatballs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated 🙂
This is one of our family’s favorite meals. Straight up as written or modified slightly based on ingredients at hand. Instapot or stove top. This comes together easily. And oh so delicious.
After reading other reviews about the time it took to make the meatballs, I baked mine instead of frying. I cooked at 375 for 15 minutes and they were done. I also did not precook the onions for the meatballs… I just chopped them very fine. They turned out great and saved time. The sauce was made per directions, but I found it a bit bland. I added beef base and some garlic with double the pepper. Served over mashed cauliflower. Over-all it is a very good and satisfying dish. Husband loved it.
First recipe I’ve used my instapot for and it was awful! The meatballs were sticking to the IP, the sauce was watery, and when all was said and done the meatballs were raw!
What the heck happened? Any advice?
Sooo… has anyone made this with frozen meatballs?
Why would you do that?
Same. Because it looks delicious, but I don’t have time to make the meatballs 🙂
I was thinking the same thing. You asked why Lori? Because I have a whole bag of meatballs in the freezer and I’d like to do something other than spaghetti
This was GREAT! To save time, I did brown the meatballs in a pan. It does take a little preparation (meatballs just do!), but it’s worth it. I added more bread crumbs (white, not wheat) to hold the meatballs together (my preference), I also added extra broth in the sauce to have more but maybe I didn’t need to (the sauce would have been thicker). THANK YOU!
Made this for dinner. Turned out amazing I added fresh minced garlic with onions. I didn’t add any beef broth to the meat mixture but I added a tsp of beef base instead. I also used regular bread crumbs instead of whole wheat. It was a little time consuming but it always is when your making meatballs.
This recipe was a real hit at our house. A real rib sticking dish for our snow day.
I’ve made this twice now and have had the same issue. I may add a half teaspoon of beef bullion and bypass the broth next time. It’s super tasty, but needs to be tweaked a little.
Can the sauce be frozen?
This is one of my favorite recipes from the site. I’ve only made it on the stove, but it’s wonderful served over mashed potatoes. Sometimes I’ll serve it with succotash and another vegetable, or just corn.
I made this recipe tonight in my new Instant Pot. My husband and I enjoyed the Salisbury Meatballs very much. I needed to use a touch more salt in the sauce, but I think it’s because the broth I used had very low sodium. It was a cold, snowy day here, and these were perfect comfort food served with mashed potatoes and green beans. I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
Any tips on meal prepping this for the freezer? Should I make the batch w sauce and mushrooms or just make the meatballs by themselves? Recommendations on thawing and reheating?
Made this recipe as written for dinner. It was a hit! Picky eaters even loved it! I will definitely be adding this to the dinner rotation. Meatballs were tasty and tender, the sauce went great with the Skinny taste garlic mashed potato recipe. Had with sides of cooked green beans and baby carrots. Yum!