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Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Meal Prep
Perfectly portioned lunches cooked 100% in your Instant Pot are completely possible! Pressure cook perfect buffalo chicken meatballs and fluffy quinoa TOGETHER in this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Meal Prep!
- Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield4 lunches 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Meatball mixture:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup finely minced onion
- 2 tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or EVOO)
For meal prep:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch pieces
- 4 celery stalks, cut into 3 inch pieces
- more buffalo sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except the oil. Mix with your hands until just combined. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (chop carrots and celery, then set up your meatball rolling station during this time!).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper to use as your meatball staging area. Using clean hands (and a #40 scooper if you have one), form the meatball mixture into 24 meatballs, approximately 1-inch in diameter each.
- Hit the Sauté button on your Instant Pot (affiliate link!). When the display says Hot, add oil to the insert. Use metal tongs to add 12 meatballs to the IP. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Flip each meatball and let them brown on the other side for 2-3 minutes. Remove the meatballs and place them back on the baking tray (they will not be fully cooked yet). Repeat with the remaining 12 meatballs. When all the meatballs are browned, hit the Cancel button on the IP to turn off the heat and wait at least one minute before moving on.
- Add broth and 1 tablespoon buffalo sauce to the IP. Next, add rinsed quinoa. Use a spoon or jiggle the insert so all the quinoa settles evenly on the bottom (careful, it’s hot!!). Finally, add all 24 meatballs to the broth, on top of the quinoa.
- Place the IP lid on, and make sure the steam release valve is sealed. Set the IP to Manual or Pressure Cook for 5 minutes.
- When it’s done pressure cooking, let the steam naturally release for 5 minutes. The quinoa will continue to cook during this time.
- Hit the quick release. After the float valve has gone down, remove the lid, let it cool, and portion the meatballs and quinoa into meal prep containers (affiliate link for the glass ones pictured!). Add your veggies, as much buffalo sauce as you want, and you’re done! Keep sealed in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Remove raw veggies when reheating!
Notes
If you don’t have an Instant Pot: No worries – cook quinoa any way you like (in the rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package directions). Mix and form the meatballs, but cook them in a 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Portion out your meal prep bowls in the same way, drizzle with sauce and you’re good to go!
If you want to skip the quinoa, simply follow steps 1-3, then add 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 TB hot sauce along with the meatballs in the IP. Pressure cook for 5 minutes, followed by quick release.
Please keep in mind that due to the nature of pressure cooking there may be inconsistencies from small variations in ingredients or altitude. Try it and see what works best for you!
Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal. Recipe inspired by Instant Pot Korean Chicken Meatballs by The Bewitchin Kitchen.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Lunches
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 meatballs + 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
- Calories: 483
- Sugar: 9g
- Fat: 19g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Protein: 31g