This Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce is a one-pot pressure cooker recipe. The spaghetti sauce with meat is made from scratch. In this one-pot spaghetti recipe, the pressure cooker spaghetti and sauce are cooked together to make a quick and easy, kid-friendly, delicious meal! You can use jar sauce, too.
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I recently got a special request from my daughter asking me to share my spaghetti recipe on the blog. She’s moving into an apartment and requested some easy Instant Pot recipes!
Many pressure cooker spaghetti recipes you find online use jar spaghetti sauce. I’m not opposed to jar pasta sauces, and I do use them occasionally. But it’s so easy to make the Instant Pot spaghetti sauce with meat from scratch in the pressure cooker, and I love that I can customize the flavors.
The sauce in this Instant Pot spaghetti meat sauce recipe is very similar to the sauce I use in my Instant Pot Penne with Sausage in Tomato Cream Sauce recipe, but I’ve increased the quantity of garlic and spices and added tomato paste.
➡ Looking for pasta recipes? Try Instant Pot Garlic Shrimp Pasta, Instant Pot Vegetarian Rigatoni Bolognese, Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup, Curry Pasta (Stovetop version), or Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Key Ingredients
More details in the recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
Meat
- Substitute ground pork or use half ground pork, half ground beef instead of ground beef.
- The more fat content in the meat, the more fat there will be in the final product. For this recipe I like to use lean ground beef.
- If you’re using a higher-fat meat, after sauteing the meat, drain the fat as needed before continuing with the recipe.
Spices
- Substitute 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning for the dried basil and oregano. You can also sprinkle some fresh basil to garnish.
- Add a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce to enhance the flavor. Reduce the salt as needed.
Sugar
- I really like how the sugar balances out the tartness of the tomatoes. You can add more or less, to taste. If you’re not a fan, omit the sugar and add ¼ cup of shredded carrot.
Burn Message
- To avoid getting the burn message, make sure you deglaze the inner pot really well before pressure cooking.
- To deglaze, press Cancel and add a few tablespoons of water or broth to the hot inner pot. Stir and scrape the bottom of the inner pot to remove all the brown bits and allow them to be incorporated into the dish.
- Layer the spaghetti ON TOP and don’t stir it in.
- Layer the tomatoes ON TOP and don’t stir it in.
[Read More: Instant Pot Burn Message – Everything you Need to Know]
Spaghetti
- Spaghetti tends to clump together when cooked in the Instant Pot. You can reduce the clumping drastically by spreading the strands out and adding the dry spaghetti in batches, in a criss-cross pattern. If there are still clumps when pressure cooking is completed, stir the spaghetti noodles and separate the clumps using a fork.
- The spaghetti is added in last, right before closing the lid to pressure cook i.e. without stirring it in. You just want to make sure it’s submerged in the liquid by gently pushing down on the noodles with each addition.
- The spaghetti I use for this recipe is Barilla Spaghetti No. 5 which is a medium thickness. Its stovetop cook time is 9 minutes. If the cook time listed on your package is different, you will need to adjust the pressure cook time.
- The rule of thumb for how long to cook spaghetti noodles is to take the cooking time on the box, divide by 2 and add 1. e.g. if the pasta stovetop cooking time is listed as 9 minutes, the cooking time for the Instant Pot pasta would be 5 minutes (9 divided by 2 = 4.5; 4.5 + 1 = 5.5; Round down to 5)
- I like my Instant Pot spaghetti noodles to be cooked more than al dente, so I release the pressure after 5 minutes i.e. 5-minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR 5). If you like al dente pasta, release pressure after 2 minutes.
[Read More: All the Different Pressure Release Methods]
Mushrooms
I stir in about two cups of quartered mushrooms after cooking the onions when I want a more substantial meal. You can even add more. I like to use baby portabello mushrooms, but you can add any kind.
How to Release Pressure When Pressure Cooking Pasta
Doing a quick release (QR) of pressure while pressure cooking pasta can result in food particles spewing out of the steam release valve. When releasing pressure, do it in bursts.
This means you release steam for 1 second and stop. Repeat multiple times until the steam coming out is less forceful. At that point, you can release the remaining pressure in a steady stream.
[Read More: Instant Pot Natural Release or Quick Release?]
❓ FAQS
Yes, you can substitute ground turkey or ground pork for the ground beef.
Make the recipe vegetarian by omitting the beef and substituting the beef/chicken broth with vegetable broth or water.
Whole wheat or whole grain pasta can be substituted for regular pasta. Take the stovetop cook time on the box, divide by 2 and add 1. e.g. for a cooking time of 6 to 8 minutes, the pressure cook time would be 4 minutes (Midpoint of 6 to 8 minutes = 7; 7 divided by 2 = 3.5; 3.5 + 1 = 4.5 minutes; round down to 4).
You can use any type of pasta you wish. Just follow the formula above to calculate how long to pressure cook for. The only type of pasta I’ve had trouble with is gluten free pasta. I don’t recommend it in this recipe.
To use jarred spaghetti sauce instead of crushed tomatoes, reduce the salt and all the spices by half, and proceed with the recipe. I like Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce.
The recipe is quite meaty, but if you like more meat, feel free to add more.
You can increase the quantity of spices by about ¼th. Soy sauce is another flavor booster – add a couple of teaspoons and reduce the quantity of salt accordingly.
The recipe calls for 8 ounces of spaghetti and it is quite saucy. If you want it to be less saucy, add an extra 2 to 3 ounces of spaghetti. I usually weigh the spaghetti. There’s no need to change the pressure cook time or quantity of liquid.
Yes, you can double the recipe. Use 3 ½ cups of broth instead of 4 cups if you’re doubling the recipe. You may wish to reduce the meat quantity by a bit too. Use the same cooking time.
Make sure the pasta is completely submerged in the liquid. You may be using a different brand than was used in the recipe. Increase the cooking time by 2 minutes next time.
Make sure you’re using High Pressure and not Low Pressure!
It’s common to see excess liquid after you pressure cook. Leave the Instant Pot open and let the pasta sit for about 10 to 15 minutes and it will thicken up quite a bit. If it’s still too watery, heat the spaghetti and sauce in Saute mode until it’s thick enough.
⏲️ How to Cook Spaghetti in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
Saute the beef
- Turn on Saute mode. Add olive oil to inner pot of Instant Pot.
- Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. (If the beef browns too quickly, press ‘Cancel’ until the Instant Pot cools down a bit and press the ‘Saute’ button again.)
Saute onions and garlic
- Drain fat or remove fat from beef with a small ladle.
- Add onion and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.
Stir in spices
- Add in salt, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Deglaze pot with a tablespoon or two of beef broth or chicken broth, stirring until liquid has nearly evaporated.
- Press Cancel to turn Instant Pot off.
Add broth, tomatoes and some spaghetti
- Add remaining broth and stir.
- Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, but don’t stir.
- Divide spaghetti into three batches and add them in a criss-cross pattern.
- Add one-third of spaghetti over the tomatoes, spreading out from right to left.
Add remaining spaghetti in batches
- Add the next one-third of spaghetti, spreading out from top to bottom.
- Add the final layer, spreading out from right to left.
- Using a spatula, push down on spaghetti until submerged in the liquid after every addition. It is very important that the spaghetti is below the level of the liquid.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 06:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a 5 minute natural release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
Stir, allow to rest, and garnish
- Stir Instant Pot pasta sauce and spaghetti until combined.
- If there are any strands of spaghetti stuck together, use a fork to separate the strands.
- If you find the spaghetti to be too liquidy, allow it to rest for 10 minutes, and it will absorb the extra liquid. If it’s still too liquidy, select Saute mode and simmer till thickened.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese.
Best Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef lean (500 grams)
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp black pepper powder or to taste
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper or to taste, optional
- 2 cups beef broth or chicken broth
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes (794 grams)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- ½ lb dry spaghetti (8 oz or 226 grams) – broken into ½ strands
- parmesan cheese freshly grated
- parsley chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Select the Saute function and preheat the Instant Pot.
- Add olive oil to the inner pot.
- Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. (If the beef browns too quickly, press Cancel until the Instant Pot cools down a bit and press the Saute button again.)
- Drain the fat or remove fat from the beef with a small ladle.
- Add onion and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.
- Stir in salt, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, black pepper and crushed red pepper.
- Deglaze pot with a tablespoon or two of broth, stirring until liquid has nearly evaporated. Make sure there are no brown bits stuck the the bottom of the inner pot. This will help you avoid the Burn Message!
- Press Cancel to turn off Instant Pot.
- Add remaining broth and stir.
- Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, but don’t stir. This will also help you avoid the Burn Message!
- Divide spaghetti into three batches. Add spaghetti to the inner pot in a criss-cross pattern: add one-third of spaghetti over the tomatoes, spreading it out horizontally. Push down with a spatula to submerge the pasta. Repeat with the remaining batches (see the blog post for step by step photos).
- Using a spatula, push down on spaghetti until it has submerged in the liquid.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
- Do a 2 to 5 minute Natural Pressure Release and release the pressure in bursts. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Open the lid and stir spaghetti and meat sauce until combined. If there are any strands of spaghetti stuck together, use a fork to separate the strands.
- If you find the spaghetti is too liquidy, allow it to rest for about 10 minutes, and it will absorb the extra liquid. If it's still too liquidy, select Saute mode and simmer until thickened.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and shredded parmesan cheese before serving.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- * Use 2 minutes Natural Pressure Release (NPR) for al dente pasta.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Ruth says
Family favorite! When my Instant Pot died I replaced it just for this recipe!
Neena Panicker says
Hi Ruth, awww, that’s so great to hear that you love this Instant Pot spaghetti with meat sauce recipe!