Gluten Free Lo Mein-Themed Meatball Pasta in the Pressure Cooker

Today, I was in the mood for something warm, filling, and low effort. It’s been a low energy day, and my musculoskeletal system is protesting the weather.

Some type of one pot noodle dish seemed just about perfect. And the Instant Pot makes these much easier.

Prepared meatballs were also a very tempting protein source. They’re tasty, versatile, and pretty well dump-and-go for a quick meal. Especially now that we’re living in Sweden, I always try to keep a meatball supply ready in the freezer. Probably the majority of prepared meatballs here are gluten free by default, using potato products for the little bit of binder–but, it does always pay to read the ingredients carefully before you buy.

My first thought today was a basic tomato-based Italian themed meatball pasta, which I will also post the next time I throw some together. But, that would mean that I needed to grate some Parmesan, and also come up with some sort of side salad or other vegetable for a rounded meal.

So, then my mind turned to more Asian style noodles, including a good bit of vegetables alongside the protein for a complete one-dish meal.

Considering that I wanted to use the meatballs, a short pasta shape made more sense than long noodles. I’ve also found that they are easier to manage in a one pot dish. It may not be traditional, but frankly nothing about this is! It’ll still be delicious.

The vegetables we’ll need. This did require a little onion and cabbage cutting, but I opted to use a chunky frozen vegetable blend for the rest to add some color and variety. I didn’t end up chopping this neat twinned green onion tonight, because I realized we already had some leftover sliced in a jar.

The vegetables will cook pretty tender with this cooking method, but I’m fine with that tonight. If you prefer a more tender-crisp texture, you could also cook them on the side and add them in at the end once the seasoned pasta is cooked.

The ingredients otherwise are pretty simple. We have meatballs, pasta, and some seasonings. This particular size batch will only need half each of the pasta and meatballs.

Tonight I opted for bowties, because they hold up well for one pot cooking and don’t want to poke up out of the liquid nearly as much as something like penne. More important when you don’t want a very saucy dish and won’t be stirring it during the cooking! But, any short shape will work fine, you’re just likely to need more liquid to submerge it properly. You could also totally use spaghetti or linguine, broken in half to fit down inside the pot.

As for the seasoning sauce, we’re going for a rather international mix of ingredients. The Shaoxing rice wine used in so much Chinese cooking is unfortunately made with wheat, but substituting sake will give you a good flavor. And while we’re reaching for the sake, we might as well grab the mirin too for its distinctive sweet flavor which combines so well with sake. You can substitute a teaspoon of sugar if you don’t have mirin. Right now I have a bottle of Thai oyster sauce going, but generally I would buy Lee Kum Kee’s GF version. This brand is a little sweeter, but still pretty good.

Since we’re using beef-and-pork meatballs, I am going for a cow version of the local liquid equivalent of Better Than Bouillon tonight. You can use any broth component that you like, for the equivalent of 2 cups / 500ml of liquid. And since we’re going lazy and not frying any aromatics, I’m just opting for garlic powder rather than fresh.

Once you have the little bit of prep done and the seasoning sauce mixed and ready to go, this meal goes together in no time. And it definitely hit the spot tonight!

Gluten Free Lo Mein-Themed Meatball Pasta in the Pressure Cooker

An easy one-pot pasta meal with meatballs and plenty of veggies, cooked simply in the Instant Pot.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course, One Dish

Cuisine: American, Chinese, East Asian-inspired

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 small onion sliced
• 3-4 cups white cabbage (750ml-1L) shredded fairly thickly
• ¼ tsp salt mixed in to season the cabbage
• 200-300 g chunky frozen vegetable mix of your choice (just around ½ lb.)
• 1 large green onion Chopped, with the whites and green top separated
• 300 g frozen meatballs (just around ½ lb.)
• 200-250 g short dry pasta shape of choice (just around ½ lb.)
• 500-600 ml broth (2-2½ cups)
• OR water plus enough Better than Bouillon or crushed cubes to make 500ml/2 cups of broth

Seasoning Sauce

• 2 tbsp GF soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp mirin
• OR 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp GF oyster sauce
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper can use black

At the End

• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• sliced green onion green tops, to garnish

Method

 

1. After assembling your ingredients as detailed above, it's time for some simple layering.

   Start with your onions, the white part of the green onion (if using), and frozen meatballs.
   
2. Distribute the dry pasta over the top.
   
3. Pour over about half the liquid, and pour the seasoning sauce over the top.

   Rinse out the bowl with the rest of the liquid, and pour that in too.
   
4. This is roughly the liquid level we're going for: just barely up to the top of the dry pasta. No need to stir, just poke any pieces of pasta that are sticking up down into the liquid.

   We're aiming for most of the liquid to be absorbed, and the vegetables will contribute a little more as they cook.
   
5. Add the lightly salted cabbage, and then the frozen veggies to steam on the very top.
   
6. Cook on "Manual – High" for 5-7 minutes depending on your pasta. I know these Garofalo bowties need 7 to my taste.
7. Let the pressure natural release for 10 minutes before opening the valve.
8. Stir together, and evaluate pasta doneness and the remaining liquid level. If it's too watery and your pasta is not quite there, simmer uncovered for a few minutes until it's good.

   Also adjust the seasoning as required. I added a little more salt and pepper, but did not need to simmer.

   NOTE: the pasta will absorb a little more liquid as it rests.
9. Remove from the base, stir in the sesame oil, and let sit covered for 10 minutes before serving.

   Serve with the green onion tops, and whatever other garnishes you prefer. Enjoy!