Instant Pot Salisbury Steak Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy (with Video)

Learn how to make the most delicious Instant Pot Salisbury steak meatballs in mushroom gravy for a comforting, family-favorite dinner meal. Made with ground beef, these juicy and saucy pressure cooker meatballs can be served over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta (or veggies).  See step-by-step photos below the recipe. Leave a rating or comment at the bottom of this post if you’ve made this recipe or have any questions!

What is Salisbury Steak?

The Salisbury steak is actually a ground meat patty, usually shaped like a hamburger, grilled or pan-fried and served in a rich brown sauce or gravy.

Ever wondered what the Salisbury in Salisbury steak refers to what exactly? It is named after James Salisbury, who was an American physician advocating a meat-centred diet to promote health in the 19th century. He had a recipe for a hamburger-style meat patty - which was popular with European immigrants at the time - that he served in a rich sauce.

The name Salisbury steak has been used ever since and today the patty comes with a variety of gravy-like sauces, some with onions and mushrooms like in our version.

Instant Pot Salisbury Steak Meatballs

In this recipe, we've taken the idea of traditional Salisbury steak but instead of making flat patties, we opted for small-shaped meatballs. These are briefly seared in the Instant Pot using the Saute function, then pressure cooked together with onions and mushrooms gravy broth, which features classic ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, mustard and tomato paste.

You will need good-quality ground beef to make the meatballs but pork or lamb could also be used or mixed in.

The broth can be made with chicken or beef stock but make sure to use low-sodium as you will get quite a bit of seasoning from the onion soup mix and other condiments. It's always better to add more salt at the end if needed.

The final gravy is thickened with some all-purpose flour or you can use gluten-free flour or tapioca/arrowroot for a Whole30 and paleo version (see notes for recipe modifications).

You will find the recipe for Instant Pot Salisbury steak meatballs in mushroom gravy just below or you can jump to step-by-step photo instructions under the recipe card.

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Rate This Recipe

4.73 from 11 votes

Instant Pot Salisbury Steak Meatballs (with Video)

Make these juicy and saucy Instant Pot Salisbury steak meatballs in mushroom gravy for that perfect, comfort-food family dinner. Made with ground beef, this comforting stew-like dish can be served over mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, or quinoa. For a low-carb version, make a side of zucchini noodles or cauliflower mash or “rice.”

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Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 320kcal

Ingredients

For beef meatballs

• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 lbs. ground beef 0.7 kg, we used lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced or crushed

To cook with the meatballs

• ½ cup chicken or beef stock low-sodium
• 1 medium onion halved and sliced
• 2 cups mushrooms 8 oz., sliced

For the gravy broth

• 1 cup chicken or beef stock low-sodium
• 2 tablespoons onion soup mix
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

To finish the sauce after cooking (slurry)

• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour or gluten-free
• 4 tablespoons water

Instructions

• Prepare the meatballs. Combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands. Roll into small meatballs and set aside. 
• Sear the meatballs. Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté button twice or three times until it changes from Normal heat setting to More. This will get our pot hot for searing the meat. Allow about 2 minutes to heat up and add the oil. 
• Add the meatballs in batches and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. If you feel that the pot is too hot, press the Sauté button again to change it to Normal heat setting. Remove pre-cooked meatballs to a plate. 
• Deglaze the pot. Once you remove all the meatballs, change the Saute setting to Normal. Pour in half a cup of the stock and use a spatula to scrape every bit of cooked meat from the bottom. It is super important that you scrape all the bits and mix them into the broth, so they don't cause a BURN error. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process at this stage.
• Combine meatballs and gravy ingredients. Add sliced onions and mushrooms and stir through well, then return the meatballs on top. 
• Mix the remaining stock with onion soup mix, tomato paste, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl or a jug. Pour this gravy broth over the meatballs. No need to stir! 
• Set & cook. Secure the lid on top, making sure the steam release valve is pointing to Sealing on older models. Select Pressure Cook/Manual and adjust the time to 10 minutes at HIGH pressure. 
• After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 5-7 minutes and then the 10-minute timer will begin.
• Once the timer is done, use the Quick Release button/handle on top to release the pressure manually right away. 
• Make the slurry. Combine the flour and water in a small bowl and whisk with a fork into a smooth slurry mixture. Set aside. You can do this a few minutes before the meatballs are finished pressure cooking. 
• Finishing the gravy. Open the lid, remove the meatballs and while the sauce is still hot, pour in the slurry, stirring continuously. The gravy will thicken instantly. 
• Return the meatballs and stir through or transfer to a bowl and pour the gravy on top. Sprinkle with parsley. 
• Serve with mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, pasta or rice. 

Video

https://dashboard.mediavine.com/videos/vxarg1hoosb3xyzexdh6

Notes

We used 4 very large potatoes to make enough mash for 4 servings. You can use your favorite mashed potato recipe here and make it on a stovetop while the meatballs are cooking or prepare it in the Instant Pot ahead of time. Check out our beginner-friendly Instant Pot mashed potatoes here.

Paleo/Whole30-friendly version: Omit Panko bread crumbs from the meatball mixture. You can add a couple of tablespoons of tapioca flour or almond meal. Replace onion soup mix with 2 teaspoons onion powder + 1 teaspoon garlic powder and use regular stock instead of low-sodium stock, or add a little salt. Instead of Worcestershire sauce, use 1 tablespoon coconut aminos + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. And instead of all-purpose flour, use tapioca flour or arrowroot flour to thicken the gravy at the end. 

Gluten-free option: use gluten-free bread crumbs or omit from the meatball mixture and use gluten-free flour in the slurry. 

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 884mg | Potassium: 654mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 4mg

CourseMain

CuisineAmerican

KeywordGravy, Ground Beef, Instant Pot, Meatballs, Pressure Cooker, Salisbury Steak

Made this recipe?Mention @instantpoteats or tag #instantpoteats!

How To Make Salisbury Steak Meatballs In Instant Pot

Here are step-by-step instructions for making vegetable lentil stew in the Instant Pot. We made it in the Instant Pot Duo Classic & Nova 6-quart pressure cooker.

• Step 1. Combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands. Roll into small meatballs and set aside. 
• Step 2. Mix the gravy broth ingredients - stock with onion soup mix, tomato paste, mustard and Worcestershire sauce -  in a bowl or a jug.

• Step 3. Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté button twice or three times until it changes from Normal heat setting to More. This will get our pot hot for searing the meat. Allow about 2 minutes to heat up and add the oil. 
• Add the meatballs in batches and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. If you feel that the pot is too hot, press the Sauté button again to change it to Normal heat setting. Remove pre-cooked meatballs to a plate.
• Deglaze the pot.Once you remove all the meatballs, change the Saute setting to Normal. Pour in half a cup of the stock and use a spatula to scrape every bit of cooked meat from the bottom. It is super important that you scrape all the bits and mix them into the broth, so they don't cause a BURN error. Press Cancel to stop the Saute process at this stage.

• Step 4.Add sliced onions and mushrooms and stir through well, then return the meatballs on top. Pour this gravy broth over the meatballs. No need to stir!

• Step 5. Secure the lid on top, making sure the steam release valve is pointing to Sealing on older models. Select Pressure Cook/Manual and adjust the time to 10 minutes at HIGH pressure. 
• After a few beeps/seconds, the ON sign will come on indicating the pot is heating up and the pressure is building; pressurizing will take about 5-7 minutes and then the 10-minute timer will begin.
• Once the timer is done, use the Quick Release button/handle on top to release the pressure manually right away. 
• Step 6. Open the lid and remove the meatballs to a plate.

• Step 7. Combine the flour and water in a small bowl and whisk with a fork into a smooth slurry mixture. You can do this a few minutes before the meatballs are finished pressure cooking.
• Pour in the slurry into the hot onion and mushroom broth, stirring continuously. The gravy will thicken instantly. Return the meatballs and stir through or transfer to a bowl and pour the gravy on top. Sprinkle with parsley. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, pasta or rice. For a low-carb version, make cauliflower mash or cauliflower rice or other vegetables of choice.