Just 3 ingredients are all you need for these instant pot BBQ chicken meatballs! Made with ground chicken, BBQ sauce, and coconut flour for a super easy, healthy, and delicious protein option great for dinner, an appetizer, parties, or game day. Paleo, Whole30, and gluten-free.
Last updated on October 31, 2019.
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Where my Instant Pot lovers at?!? I’ll admit I didn’t love mine at first, but I am slowly starting to use it more and more. I made this instant pot buffalo chicken last month which blew my mind so I figured let’s keep going. And here we are with some BBQ chicken meatballs!
I don’t know about you, but meatballs are one of the easiest things to whip up. Simply combine the meat and some spices or seasoning, cook them, and use them however you want. Our life is crazy busy right now with travel and I need all the easy meals I can get!
These Whole30 chicken meatballs make an easy protein for dinner or meal prep. We’ve been eating them paired with some greens, roasted veggies, and some kind of carb, but they would be awesome with zucchini or sweet potato noodles.
It’s also October and prime football season! Enter all the finger food please. You can’t go wrong with meatballs and BBQ sauce for anything football related, so why not combine the two. They make a great dish to search as an appetizer or game day party.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Meatballs (Paleo/Whole30)
The beauty of these Whole30 chicken meatballs is all you need is 3 ingredients. Yep, that’s right. Plus some salt and pepper, but I’m not really counting that. They come together quickly and the Instant Pot does all the cooking for you!
Here is what you need:
- ground chicken
- BBQ sauce – I love Tessamae’s
- coconut flour
- salt and pepper
To make the meatballs, first combine the ground chicken, some of the BBQ sauce, coconut flour, and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine. Form into equal size balls. Then cover the bottom of your Instant Pot with the rest of your BBQ sauce – about 1/2 cup.
Next add the meatballs to the Instant Pot and cook on the poultry setting on high pressure for 10 minutes. Put Instant Pot on saute mode for 5 minutes to thicken up the BBQ sauce. Once it reduces a little, toss the meatballs in the sauce!
And that is about how easy as it gets!
Additions or Substitutions for BBQ Chicken Meatballs
With this recipe only being 3 ingredients, there really isn’t much to substitute, but I’ll give you few choices to change up or add to the recipe.
To make substitutions:
- ground turkey – if you can’t find ground chicken, ground turkey will work the same. Just make it isn’t too lean as you need some fat to hold the meatballs together
- flour – I like coconut flour for this recipe as it’s super absorbent and helps hold them together. You can try another flour substitute (like almond), but you would probably need more as it doesn’t act the same way as coconut
To make additions:
- spices – add in some spices to help pump up the flavors
- veggies – you could totally add some finely chopped veggies into these. I would just cook them first before mixing with the meat
If you don’t have an Instant Pot
I know not everyone has an Instant Pot. But good news is you can just make them a few other ways as well. Simply follow the direction and form into balls.
To make on the stove:
First, add some oil to a large saute pan and let it get hot. Next add the meatballs and cook for 10-12 minutes, moving around every so often, until browned and cooked through.
To make in the oven:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes until cooked through.
To make in a slow cooker:
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Since you won’t be cooking them in a sauce, I would suggest making your own sauce. The sauce from the Instant Pot is thinner than your typical store bought BBQ sauce so I would take your BBQ sauce and heat it up with a little bit of broth on the stove to thin it out some. That way it can easily coat the meatballs when they are done.
What to serve with Whole30 Chicken Meatballs
The options are endless on what to serve with these! And the beauty is the Instant Pot does all the cooking so it frees you up to make a few side dishes! Here are some things that would go great with BBQ chicken meatballs:
- cauliflower rice – always a good go to. Cheesy bacon or avocado cauliflower rice would be great options
- sesame garlic green beens
- stuffed in a sweet potato – when in doubt, stuff in a sweet potato!
- chipotle Mexican coleslaw
- on top of a salad – bacon, avocado, tomatoes, and cucumbers would be delicious with them. And maybe even some ranch dressing too!
- with any kind of veggie and a side of crispy roasted potatoes
- with zucchini noodles, sweet potato noodles, or spaghetti squash
More Whole30 Meatballs
Slow Cooker Chicken Zucchini Meatballs
Turkey, Kale, & Apple Meatballs with Apple Tahini Sauce
Spinach & Artichoke Meatballs with Lemon Garlic Sauce
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Meatballs
ingredients
- 2 pounds ground chicken (I used 93/7)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, divided
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add chicken, 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, coconut flour, and salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined. Using a tablespoon as a scoop, take out a heaping scoop roll into balls. Should make about 30.
- Take the remaing 1/2 cup BBQ sauce and spread it out on the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add meatballs, spreading out evenly. You will probably need to to layer them on top of each other. Close lid, make sure vent is set to sealed, and set to poultry mode on high pressure for 10 minutes. Manually or naturally release pressure when done.
- Set Instant Pot to sauté mode and sauté for 5 minutes until sauce thickens and coats the meatballs. Toss meatballs in sauce and serve as you like. Enjoy!
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I tried these today using Perdue ground chicken, Bob’s Red Mill Organic coconut flour, and Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ. Unfortunately, a few fell apart in the IP and the rest sort of crumbled when plated. I found the texture to be a little off – I want to say grainy but that isn’t quite right. This was my first time making a non-sweet food with coconut flour so maybe I’m just not use to it.
Hi Kelly! Sorry, they didn’t turn out for you. Coconut flour is a little bit grainy, but with not using that much, you shouldn’t be able to notice them. I don’t think the brand of chicken would matter. Hard to say what exactly went wrong.
Loved these!! Super easy and tasty!
Glad you enjoyed Meghann!
You should be horse whipped for the amount of ads and videos and fluff you have to wade through to get to the recipe.
Ok they were delicious though! Lol!
I am glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for trying despite the ads!
I only have one pound of ground chicken to make this. Would I still use the same amount of flour or do I need to reduce it?
Hey Shirley, I would reduce it by half (since using half the amount of chicken) since it is pretty absorbent and you don’t want them to dry out. I would also reduce the amount of BBQ sauce in the meatballs, but keep the same amount in the IP. Hope that helps!
Hey Leslie, sorry you feel that way, but this is how I earn my income to provide countless free recipes on this site.
Is the 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce enough liquid to build pressure? I thought I needed at least a cup of liquid for my 6-quart Instant Pot.
Hey Kasha! It is for mine, but I know everyone’s is so different. I have another IP recipe and people have trouble with it getting up to temperature. If you are in doubt, I would add more – it will just make for more sauce to toss them in at the end!
I made this last night. Y’all!! 🤤🤤 I am always looking for quick ideas. I made these, left the IP on delay and went to the gym. All I had to do was sauté them when I got home while I made my salad and threw some rice with it. The roomie and I loved them! They’re going to be a staple in my weekly rotation!
😍🤗
Yes! Love that you made them fit into your life! So glad you both liked them – thanks for trying Beth!
Thanks Kelly!!!
I made these in my instapot!
Another yummy, easy recipe. I made these for my hubby and he loves them! I will be serving them as an appetizer for our next group gathering!
Love this! Glad you enjoyed them and the husband did too! Thanks for the comment and review Terri!
Can’t wait to try them I like chicken every way
You tried them last time you were here haha!!
Hello Kelly,
I don’t have an instant pot. Would my slow cooker work for these? I realize that the cooking time would be longer, of course!
Thanks,
Tricia
Hey Tricia! Yes, I think they will work just fine in the slow cooker. I would say low for 6-8 hours. I have made these in both the slow cooker and IP and they work great in both – https://healthguidecentral.org/slow-cooker-chicken-zucchini-meatballs/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E