Honey and Garlic Chicken Meatballs (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

Delicious Honey and Garlic Chicken Meatballs coated in a tasty sauce for a perfect family meal any night of the week.

Yummy Meatballs in a Honey Garlic Sauce

Do you know when you have one of those super busy weeks where you just want one of those easy quick meals to throw together?

Well, this recipe definitely ticks the box for a quick and easy meal.

I've been dashing around for appointments this week and so with it being almost dinner time and nothing prepared, I really did need something quick.

In the fridge was a choice of chicken thighs or chicken mince (ground chicken) to choose from and with know how much the kids love meatballs the latter was what I grabbed.

All that was left was decide on what kind of sauce to serve them with and my kids love Honey and Garlic Chicken, so that seemed the quickest and perfect choice.

How to Make Tender Delicious Meatballs

The key to making tender delicious meatballs is by using breadcrumbs, seriously it really makes such a difference.

Ever formed meatballs by just using the meat and seasoning, cooked them to then discover they have shrunk to almost nothing or fallen apart because you added too many mix-in ingredients? That's pretty typical.

When you drop bread into a liquid, it swells into almost double it's size, right? Well, that's exactly what breadcrumbs do when added to the ground meat for meatballs or meatloaf. 

Meaning they stay lovely and tender and are never dry. I also add some beaten egg to help them bind together but don't go throwing a whole egg in as it may be too much and make your mixture too wet, especially when using lean meats like chicken or turkey. I just add enough of the beaten egg to bind the mix altogether.

Do I have to use breadcrumbs?

If you really don't want to use up points on the breadcrumbs, then a little grated vegetable of choice, like zucchini (courgette) or carrot will work too (make sure you squeeze out all the excess liquid), but personally I find the breadcrumbs give the best result.

You can also make your own breadcrumbs, by just add some lightly toasted bread to a food processor until fine, you can even add in a little seasoning for additional flavour too if you like. If you use 100% wholemeal/whole wheat bread.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Meatballs

This yummy easy recipe for Honey and Garlic Meatballs can be cooked in a Slow Cooker or Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker). 

An Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) is a  7in1 cooker, that slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautes and has settings for soup, chilli, rice, porridge etc. It will literally cook these meatballs in minutes, so perfect for when you need a meal on the table quickly. 

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Since buying my Instant Pot, I use it on a regular basis, it's not one of those gadgets that sit in my cupboard forgotten. In fact, it never goes away. 

Instant Pot is a brand of pressure cooker, but there are various other brands and options out there. 

NOTE: Newer models of instant pot can be a bit more sensitive with tomato-based products, I've never had any issue with mine, but if you find yours displays a burn notice regularly, then it is recommended to layer any tomato products on the top and not combine for cooking. Then you can mix once all cooked. 

Converting to Stove Top?

What if I don't have an Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) or Slow Cooker? That's a pretty valid question, as not everyone does have one of those available.

No worries, these can easily be cooked stovetop too, just add the sauce ingredients to the stove, drop in the meatballs, and simmer until the sauce thickens and the meatballs are cooked through. (You may need to add in a little more water as the sauce will reduce down unlike in the Instant Pot/Slow Cooker).

Can I use other types of ground meat (mince)?

Yep, you sure can, can't find extra lean chicken mince (ground chicken)? Then swap for turkey, pork or beef, all will work well with this recipe. Chicken is the kids favourite, but you can go for what you have available. 

How to serve these Honey and Garlic Chicken Meatballs

For the main sides, there are so many great options such as:

• Perfect Oven Baked Chips
• Egg Fried Rice
• Plain Rice
• Noodles
• or for a healthier option Roasted Cauliflower Rice.
• Hey if you want Mashed Potatoes that will work too.

For my vegetable side, I just used a handy stir fry bag of shredded kale, Brussels, cabbage, carrots etc and just sauteed in a pan with a pinch of salt and black pepper. It literally takes a couple of minutes. 

You can go for any vegetables of your choice, use what you have on hand and what you prefer. 

More Meatball Recipes

Can't get enough of yummy meatballs recipes? Check out these:

• SWEET CHILLI CHICKEN MEATBALLS (OVEN OR ACTIFRY
• LAMB AND MINT MEATBALLS IN A SWEET AND SPICY SAUCE
• SLOW COOKER ITALIAN CHICKEN MEATBALLS
• CHICKEN AND MANGO MEATBALLS WITH A SPICY MANGO SAUCE
• CRANBERRY ALMOND CHICKEN MEATBALLS
• SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
• MOUSSAKA MEATBALLS
• SWEDISH MEATBALLS AND GRAVY

or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming Eats and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, value and smart points etc

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