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Instant Pot Meatloaf with Potatoes and Carrots {Pot-in-Pot}

The Instant Pot strikes again – this time with an incredibly fast and easy meatloaf with potatoes and carrots, all in one pot.

The more I use this magical pressure cooker, the more I love it. It’s very quickly becoming a staple in my weekly menu planning.

*Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This just means I earn a small commission if you purchase a product from that link (at no extra cost to you, of course).

Even when I’m meal-planning with my eMeals subscription (my new FAVORITE thing ever – seriously, life-changing for my weekly meal-planning and grocery shopping process.), I end up converting them to pressure cook – like I did with my Instant Pot Honey BBQ Chicken Tacos recipe.

An Instant Pot Pot-in-Pot Meal

One thing I’ve loved experimenting with is the “pot-in-pot” method, where you can cook two different things at the same time, all inside the Instant Pot.

You layer one item in the bottom of the main pot, and then place a second item in a smaller pot on a trivet (or a makeshift aluminum foil “bowl”) above it.

Fewer dishes + faster cook time = 🎉🍾🙌

{If you want to learn more about the pot-in-pot method and other Instant Pot terminology, acronyms, and jargon, check out my starter guide for Instant Pot beginners.}

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

I came across this recipe, and thought it could be the perfect contender to experiment with, and meld together with my Grammy’s “famous” (in our family, anyway) meatloaf.

Grandma’s Meatloaf – But even easier!

I know we all think our grandma’s cooking was the best, but my grandma’s meatloaf really was the best. She actually wasn’t a big cook – she always said she hated it, and it was too much work. (Preach, Grammy!)

But meatloaf was her specialty. She had a very specific process and very specific ingredients that had to be used for it to be juuuust right. So it’s gotta be good, right?!

Of course, I can never recreate it exactly the way she did – grandmas just have that magic touch. But I think this meatloaf recipe comes pretty dang close.

And when you add in the elements of fast pressure cooking and one pot meal-ing, it sends it right up over the top. I’m pretty sure my Grammy would more-than-approve of the work-minimizing aspects of this recipe.

How to Make Instant Pot Meatloaf with Potatoes & Carrots

So here we go. Assemble your ingredients:

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

You can see that everything is pretty basic. You may even already have all of it on-hand. That’s the beauty of meatloaf, isn’t it?

One thing my Grammy was always adamant about was using Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable Soup. Not just vegetable soup… vegetarian vegetable.

(I don’t know why… or even what the difference is… but I know it was important to her. So now it’s important to me!)

Mix together everything for the meatloaf. Just use your hands—embrace the mess that is meatloaf.

If you want, you can sauté the onions & peppers in the Instant Pot using Sauté mode first… or not.

I tried it both ways and honestly couldn’t tell a huge difference. I think if they’re finely chopped, they’ll be fine raw, but if they’re chunkier, then you may want to soften them up a bit.

Mix together the ingredients for the topping, while you’re at it.

Wash the potatoes and carrots and toss them in the Instant Pot liner, along with 1.5 cups beef broth & some salt & pepper.

If you have my favorite Instant Pot accessory – this silicone sling trivet – the place it on top of the potatoes and carrots.

Otherwise, just use the trivet that came with your Instant Pot, and fashion a homemade sling.

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

To make the sling, get a big sheet of aluminum foil, fold it in half lengthwise, then again, so it makes a long thick strip. Place it inside the pot, on top of the trivet, so the ends of the strip stick out over the top of the liner.

Then, we’ll make a makeshift bowl out of foil for the meatloaf. Get another large sheet of foil, fold it in half, and then just mold it into the inside of the Instant Pot (on top of the trivet and sling strip).

Shape it into a little bowl that fits within the liner. You’ll want the sides to be at least an inch and a half high, and you want there to be a little space around the edges between the foil and the liner—there needs to be room for the steam to get around it to build pressure and seal the pot.

{Pro-tip: turn the Instant Pot on Sauté mode at this point, so it can start heating. This will shorten the time it takes to come to pressure.}

Take out the foil bowl, and form your meatloaf inside it. Spread about half the topping over it.

Place the foil bowl back inside the IP, checking to make sure there’s room between the foil and the liner. Just smoosh the meatloaf in tighter and compress the foil bowl, if not (I ended up packing mine in a little bit more after I took this pic).

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

*Note: I actually didn’t use a foil sling for this photo – normally, you would see the tops of the sling sticking out the sides of the meatloaf. I desperately need to update these recipe photos, clearly!*

Close the lid, make sure the valve is pointed at “sealing”, and switch the pot to Manual for 35 minutes.

It should take about 10-15 minutes to come up to pressure.

Once it’s done, carefully quick release the pressure, and open the lid.

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

Spread the other half of the ketchup topping mixture over the top.

Now, I’m gonna let you in on a little chef’s secret here:

Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to lift the super hot, super full, super heavy liner out of the pot all by yourself, using clunky oven mitts. Doing so will most definitely result in your pristine meatloaf being face down onto the floor.

Or so I’ve heard.

*I* definitely did not serve my family meatloaf off the floor.

😳

A much more sensible method would be to lift the tips of the sling gently, to slightly raise the meatloaf, so you can slide a spatula underneath the foil bowl. Then, you can lift it out slowly, pinching the edges of the foil as needed to keep it balanced.

But what do I know, I eat floor-food.

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

Anyway, regardless of how you get your meatloaf out of your pot, your family will be ready to gobble it up.

The carrots and potatoes will be deliciously tender and soft, and so flavorful after cooking in the beef broth.

Keep in mind that if your family prefers their veggies to be more crisp than mushy, then this may not be the best method to cook these veggies for you.

My family happens to love mushy potatoes and carrots that borderline melt-in-your-mouth, so it’s perfect for us.

If you wanted beefy mashed potatoes, you could probably place just the peeled potatoes in the pot with the broth, and they’d be more than ready to mash in the pot by the time it was done cooking.

I haven’t that yet – so please let me know in the comments if you do. I’d love to know how it works out!

Instant Pot meatloaf on a plate with potatoes and carrots

Instant Pot Meatloaf with Potatoes, and Carrots

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Meatloaf has never been easier with this pot-in-pot Instant Pot meal. Carrots and potatoes cook right in the same pot as the meatloaf for a wholesome comfort food family meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup onions and peppers, chopped
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 4 eggs
  • 1.5 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. Montreal steak spice, (or your favorite spice mix)
  • 1 can vegetarian vegetable soup
  • 1 tsp. salt & pepper, each
  • 1.5 cups beef broth
  • 2/3 cup ketchup
  • 5 tsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. dry mustard
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 8-10 small red potatoes
  • 1 bag baby carrots

Instructions

  1. Sauté onions and peppers in the Instant Pot on Sauté mode, if desired.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the meatloaf ingredients: onions and peppers, ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, spice, soup, salt & pepper.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the topping: ketchup, brown sugar, dry mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
  4. Wash the potatoes and carrots, and cut the potatoes, if needed, so they’re all roughly the same size.
  5. Place them in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner, season to taste with a little salt & pepper, and pour 1.5 cups beef broth over them.
  6. Place the Instant Pot’s trivet on top of the potatoes and carrots.
  7. Make a foil bowl that fits inside the IP liner using a large sheet of aluminum foil.
  8. Form the meatloaf inside the foil bowl. Spread about half the topping over it.
  9. Place inside the Instant Pot, making sure there’s a little bit of space between the bowl and the liner (so there’s room for the steam to rise past it and build pressure in the pot).
  10. Seal the lid, and make sure the valve is set to “sealing”.
  11. Set the Instant Pot to Manual for 35 minutes. It should take about 10-20 minutes to come to pressure.
  12. When it’s done, carefully flip the valve to “venting” to quick release the pressure.
  13. Top the meatloaf with the rest of the topping, and serve.

Did you try this recipe?

Let me know what you think! Leave me a comment on this post, or share a photo of your culinary masterpiece on Instagram (and be sure to tag me - @onehangrymama).

Pin the recipe for later:

Instant Pot Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Carrots | One Hangry Mama

Wendy

Wednesday 13th of October 2021

I’m loading it in my multicooker right now as we speak. You didn’t say which level of pressure- high, medium, low for 35 minutes?? Thanks!

Instant Pot Tips ALL Beginners Should Read | One Hangry Mama

Tuesday 13th of August 2019

[…] only takes one batch of vaguely meatloaf-flavored oatmeal to make you wish you’d implemented this system from the […]

Rachel

Saturday 2nd of February 2019

If I cook half the recipe, is for the same amount of time (35 minutes)?

Bev

Wednesday 11th of April 2018

I just got my instapot and used it for the first time today. I made this recipe and followed it exactly as I am not sure about the instapot. The food was tasty but the potatoes burned to the bottom of the inner pot and the meatloaf was not cooked through. Any idea where I went wrong?

Cindy

Thursday 18th of January 2018

How might you do this without using aluminum foi!?

Chrissie

Thursday 18th of January 2018

You could certainly use another oven-safe dish instead. I’ve also seen people form the meatloaf directly in a steamer basket, so you could try that as well!

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