Instant Pot Italian Meatballs & Spaghetti without Dairy, Eggs, Gluten & Breadcrumbs
 
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I often feel as though heaven must be guiding me as I just go for it and try something crazy in the kitchen. I knew I wanted a meatball recipe for this cookbook but had never successfully made an Italian version (I have a teriyaki and an Asian version on my website). Plus—I’d never made them in the Instant Pot. I prayed the quinoa would hold as the binder, shut the lid and crossed my fingers and toes. Angels must have whispered this recipe in my ears, because it keeps its shape, has great texture and tastes, pun intended, amaze-balls. My kids are still asking when we can have these again.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • ⅔ cup (160 ml) water
  • ⅓ cup (58 g) uncooked quinoa
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (about 1 tsp)
  • 1½ tsp (1.5 g) dried oregano
  • 1½ tsp (1 g) granulated onion powder
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 lb (455 g) Italian sausage
  • 1 (24-ounce / 710-ml) bottle tomato basil marinara sauce
  • 1 (12-ounce / 340-gram) package gluten-free spaghetti
  • Fresh basil or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
  1. Place your water and quinoa in your Instant Pot. Close the lid. Use the pressure button to set your Instant Pot to high pressure. Move the valve to sealing. Hit manual and use the plus and minus buttons to reach 1 minute.
  2. Once the timer is done, allow the pot to sit for 10 minutes. Once the display shows “L:10,” move the valve to venting to finish releasing any leftover pressure.
  3. Once the quinoa is cool enough to handle, place it in a bowl with the garlic, oregano, onion powder, basil, parsley, salt and Italian sausage. Mix well by hand.
  4. Form the meatballs by hand, making them about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Pour half of the bottle of marinara sauce into the bottom in the Instant Pot. Place the meatballs on top of the sauce and pour the rest of the sauce on top.
  5. Close the lid and move the valve to sealing. Hit manual and use the plus and minus buttons to reach 10 minutes.
  6. While the meatballs cook, boil your spaghetti according to package directions until al dente; then drain and rinse.
  7. Once the timer is done, move the valve to venting to quickly release the steam.
  8. Serve the meatballs and sauce over your pasta and garnish with fresh basil or parsley, if so desired.
Notes
Pasta Note: I used to use brown rice noodles for pasta dishes, but found that those don’t hold up in hot soups or the next day in leftovers. The brands that have both rice and corn have a much better texture.

This recipe is reprinted with permissions from An Allergy Mom's Lifesaving Instant Pot Cookbook: 60 Fast and Flavorful Recipes Free of the Top 8 Allergens by Megan Lavin.
Recipe by Go Dairy Free at https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/instant-pot-italian-meatballs