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Home » Instant Pot » Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

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Published: Aug 14, 2018 Updated: Dec 22, 2018 by Paint the Kitchen Red | 28 Comments

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce in a black bowl and wood background; napkin with bread on the side - Pinterest collage with 2 images - Paint the Kitchen Red

This Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is a one-pot pressure cooker recipe and does NOT use jar spaghetti sauce.  The sauce is made from scratch and the spaghetti and sauce are cooked together to make a quick and easy, kid-friendly, delicious meal!

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce in a black bowl and wood background; napkin with bread on the side - Paint the Kitchen Red

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll probably notice that this recipe is a departure from the usual, which tends to be international and/or spicy.  That doesn’t mean we don’t eat Mac and Cheese or Spaghetti; it’s just that I don’t post those recipes.

 

Recently I got a request from a special person (my daughter!) to post my spaghetti recipe on this blog.  She’s going to be living in an apartment at her university and plans to cook.  She requested some Instant Pot pasta recipes that aren’t on the blog, so you get to enjoy them too!

 

Many of the Instant Pot Spaghetti recipes that you find on the internet use jar spaghetti sauce.  I’m not opposed to jar pasta sauces and I do use them once in a while.  But it’s so easy to make the sauce from scratch in the pressure cooker that there’s really no reason to use jar pasta sauce.

 

The sauce in this Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce recipe is very similar to the sauce that 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.

Tips

  • Substitute ground pork or half quantity pork/half quantity beef for the ground beef.

  • Substitute 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning for the dried basil and oregano.

  • Omit sugar and add 1/4 cup shredded carrot.

  • 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 may need to change the pressure cook time.

  • Spaghetti tends to clump together when cooked in the Instant Pot.  You can reduce the clumping drastically by spreading out and layering the dry spaghetti in a criss-cross pattern.  If there are still clumps when pressure cooking is completed, stir the spaghetti and separate the clumps using a fork.

  • I like my spaghetti 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’re new to the  Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot  DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

GO DIRECTLY TO RECIPE

Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Ingredients

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Ingredients - ground beef, crushed tomato, broth, spaghetti, tomato paste, black pepper, salt, oregano, garlic, parsley, sugar, oil, basil, garlic, crushed red pepper, onion - Paint the Kitchen Red

 

How to Make Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (Step-by-Step Instructions)


Instant Pot Ultra Duo Saute Function collage - arrows pointing to Saute in Duo and Ultra - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Instant Pot DUO:  Select the ‘Saute’ function.
  • Instant Pot ULTRA:  Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 1 collage - oil, meat, cooked meat - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • 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.)

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 2 collage - drain fat, onion and garlic, cooked beef - from Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Drain fat or remove fat from beef with a small ladle.
  • Add onion and garlic. Stir until onion is translucent.

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 3 collage - spices, stirred and deglazed- Paint the Kitchen Red

  • 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.

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 4 collage - broth, sauce, one layer spaghetti fanned out - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Add remaining broth and stir.
  • Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, but don’t stir.
  • Divide spaghetti into three batches.
  • Add one-third of spaghetti over the tomatoes, spreading it out horizontally.

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 5 collage - spaghetti fanned out top to bottom, fanned out right to left, submerged in liquid - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Add the next one-third of spaghetti, spreading out vertically.
  • Add the final layer, spreading out horizontally.
  • Using a spatula, push down on spaghetti until submerged in the liquid.

 

Instant Pot Duo Manual mode 6 minutes collage - close lid, press manual, press - or +, display shows 6 - Paint the Kitchen RedInstant Pot DUO Pressure Cook:

  • Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
  • Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until the display reads ‘6′ (6 minutes).

 

Instant Pot Ultra pressure cook 6 minutes collage - open lid, select pressure cook and set time to 00:06, display says on - Paint the Kitchen Red

Instant Pot ULTRA Pressure Cook:

  • Close the lid.
  • Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust time to 6 minutes (00:06).
  • Press ‘Start’.

 

Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cooking collage - display shows On, float valve is down, display shows L0:00 - Paint the Kitchen Red Instant Pot Ultra pressure cooking collage - Ultra display shows On, float valve is up, display shows 00 00 - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
  • Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
  • The display will count down from 6 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’  or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.

 

Instant Pot Duo release steam and open collage - move steam release handle to venting with help of a towel, float valve is down, Instant Pot Duo is open - Paint the Kitchen RedInstant Pot DUO 2 Minute Natural Pressure Release:

  • Once pressure cooking is complete, wait for 2 minutes and release pressure.
  • Move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position. Remove the towel after turning the knob.
  • When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
  • Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.

 

Instant Pot Ultra Release Steam and Open collage - press steam release button, float valve in down position, Instant Pot Ultra is open - Paint the Kitchen RedInstant Pot ULTRA 2 Minute Natural Pressure Release:

  • Once pressure cooking is complete, wait for 2 minutes and release pressure.
  • Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
  • When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
  • Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.

 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Instructions 6 collage - cooked spaghetti and sauce, stirred, served on white plate - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • 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 to be too liquidy, allow it to rest for 3 to 5 minutes, and it will absorb the extra liquid.
  • Sprinkle with chopped parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce in a black bowl and wood background; napkin with bread on the side - Paint the Kitchen Red

Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This Easy Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce recipe does NOT use jar pasta sauce.  The sauce is made from scratch and the spaghetti and sauce are cooked together to make a quick and easy one-pot meal that’s kid-friendly and delicious!
4.64 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: instant pot, meat sauce, spaghetti
Main Ingredient: beef, pasta
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 579kcal
Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup onion chopped
  • 2 Tbsp garlic minced
  • 1 tsp salt  or to taste
  • 1 tsp  sugar
  • 2 tsp  dried basil
  • 1 tsp  dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp  black pepper or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp  crushed red pepper or to taste, optional
  • 2 cups low sodium beef broth or chicken broth
  • 28 oz. (1 can) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp  tomato paste
  • 1/2 lb dry spaghetti
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Parsley chopped, to garnish

Instructions

  • Select the 'Saute' function and pre-heat 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 fat or remove fat from 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.
  • Press ‘Cancel’ to turn Instant Pot off.
  • Add remaining broth and stir.
  • Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, but don’t stir.
  • 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. Add the next one-third of spaghetti, spreading out vertically. Add the final layer, spreading out horizontally. (see blog post for step by step photos).
  • Using a spatula, push down on spaghetti until submerged in the liquid.
  • Close the lid and pressure cook for 6 minutes.
  • Do a 2 to 5 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR 2 to 5).  *
  • 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 to be too liquidy, allow it to rest for about 5 minutes, and it will absorb the extra liquid.
  • 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.
  • See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 579kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 739mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 12g
Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your photos! Tag me on Instagram @PaintTheKitchenRed hashtag #paintthekitchenred

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.

If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle

    November 02, 2019 at 8:02 am

    I came across your spaghetti with meat sauce recipe, and currently it is my family’s favorite dish! In addition to your instructions, I sautee puertorrican sofrito, green peppers, olives, no pepper or crushed red peppers and voila! You have saved dinner so many weeksays!!! Thanks!!! (Last time I also tried preparing 1 box of spaghetti. It took longer to come to pressure, and I added 2 additional minutes of HP cooking.)

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      November 02, 2019 at 1:05 pm

      Michelle – I too love this recipe because it’s so easy and satisfying. I love the sofrito substitution. Thank you for sharing your modifications. I also add shredded carrots sometimes 🙂

      Reply
  2. Brynn

    July 23, 2019 at 4:19 pm

    This was delicious as is, but would there be a way to adjust it to make the noodles separately? My daughter is only a fan of a little sauce so in the future I’d probably do it on the side. Also then I could feeeze the leftover sauce for next time!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      July 29, 2019 at 8:20 pm

      Brynn, this recipe was my own creation by combining my homemade pasta sauce recipe with spaghetti. Here’s the (non Instant Pot) pasta sauce recipe . I wouldn’t recommend making the pasta sauce in the Instant Pot because you’d need to add a lot of liquid to make the Instant Pot seal. And that would make it too watered down. This is a very tasty and easy recipe.

      Reply
  3. Ro

    June 14, 2019 at 2:41 pm

    This was delicious! So easy and have already shared this. Even my husband, who does not care for pasta, really enjoyed it. I am not too familiar with the instant pot but next time I would like to increase the amount of pasta. I was left with a lot of meat sauce. Any tips on that? How much more liquid do I need? Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      June 18, 2019 at 1:20 am

      Ro, thanks for the comment; I’m glad you enjoyed it. If you add more pasta, add 2 cups liquid for every 8 oz. of pasta. Either broth or water will work. Let me know if you need further help.

      Reply
  4. Karen

    March 05, 2019 at 6:52 am

    Easy and delicious! The sauce is very flavorful, yet quick to prepare. I expect this recipe will be on my menu plan often. I used Italian sausage in place of the ground beef because that’s what I had on hand.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      March 05, 2019 at 6:58 am

      Thanks for your comment, Karen. And I’m happy to hear you like this easy and quick recipe like I do!

      Reply
  5. Jen

    February 23, 2019 at 9:23 am

    If I am not cooking the pasta in the sauce, should I reduce the amount of liquid?

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      February 23, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      Jen, yes you would need to reduce the liquid and the only concern I have with that is you shouldn’t have trouble sealing. Make sure you don’t stir the tomatoes in.

      Reply
  6. Steven Johnson

    February 14, 2019 at 10:30 pm

    I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      February 16, 2019 at 10:05 am

      Hope you enjoy it, Steven!

      Reply
  7. Terence

    February 06, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Recipe came out great, even I ate it (I don’t usually eat Italian food, but my kids love it). Wasn’t watching very closely, so ended up with NPR of 3 minutes, which gave perfect al dente spaghetti (De Cecco Spaghetti #12)

    Reply
  8. Aaron

    January 08, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    This recipe did not work in my 6-quart instant pot. Followed the recipe exactly and I did not get enough pressure in my instant pot for pressure cooking. Luckily the meal wasn’t a complete disaster as I got the pasta to cook thoroughly.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      January 08, 2019 at 8:48 pm

      I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Here are some possible reasons why your Instant Pot didn’t come to pressure.

      Reply
  9. Ginger

    December 01, 2018 at 12:24 pm

    This was my first recipe in my new IP. I am gifting IP’s to my 3 daughters for Christmas so I gifted one to myself too! The spaghetti was perfect and you made it so easy to accomplish with your detailed instructions on your blog. Thank you! My question, two of my daughters have 4 kids and they are hungry at dinner! Can they double this recipe exactly and expect the same results or does liquid need to be altered. Also can I sub a little burgundy wine for some of the broth? Thank you for making my first IP experience a great one!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      December 01, 2018 at 12:40 pm

      Hi Ginger, I’m glad the recipe came out well. Yes, you can substitute wine for some of the broth. As long as you don’t go past the 1/2-full mark for foods that expand: pasta, rice, beans, etc. yes, you can double. You might have a bit more clumping of the spaghetti. Just pull apart with a fork. And one more point: when you double, you don’t double cooking time. Thanks for your comment 🙂

      Reply
      • Keisha

        March 13, 2019 at 9:03 am

        Even though when doubling the recipe the cooking time stays the same, but does the amount of liquids stay the same to pressurize a larger amount of food or does the amounts of liquid need to be doubled as well?

        Reply
        • Paint the Kitchen Red

          March 13, 2019 at 2:46 pm

          Keisha, it depends. If you’re cooking a recipe where there’s a lot of liquid and it’s discarded, then you might be able to keep the liquid the same but otherwise, you would double the liquid. Especially in a recipe like this one because the pasta will absorb the liquid. Hope that helps!

          Reply
  10. Jen

    August 27, 2018 at 11:24 am

    This was super simple and delicious! I doubled the recipe because I have three teenagers, and it worked perfectly. We still had plenty of leftovers, which we love. I used 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 mild Italian sausage and it was very tasty. This will be going into regular rotation. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      August 27, 2018 at 1:55 pm

      That’s great, Jen. I do like the flavors of Italian sausage mixed in. I so glad you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  11. John

    August 23, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    This one was a big hit with the whole family and was an easy weeknight meal.

    Reply
  12. Diane

    August 20, 2018 at 5:09 am

    Hi ~ looking forward to trying this but I have a few questions (beginner!).
    * can you use gluten-free all rice pasta? (Not the blends of corn, etc.) …if yes, any adjustments to the liquid or cook time!
    * can you substitute rice instead? …if so, what liquid and/or time adjustments?
    I’m new, so still looking at so many recipes, and I haven’t found any that have these options included.
    Thanks for any input!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      August 20, 2018 at 8:56 am

      Hi Diane, although I have not used gluten free pasta, I’ve heard Barilla brand works well – not sure if it’s a rice pasta though. One reader on another pasta recipe of mine used 12oz. gluten free pasta for 4 minutes and also added 1/2 cup of water. If I were to do it with rice, I would add the liquid, stir, add the rice, tomato products and not stir. 1 cup rice: 1 1/4 cup broth, pressure cook for 4 minutes if Jasmine rice, 6 minutes for long grain rice. Natural Pressure Release (NPR) 10 minutes. Keep me posted on what happens!

      Reply
  13. Lindsay

    August 18, 2018 at 9:58 am

    Love this kid-friendly meal that allows for a homemade spaghetti sauce for my family. You’re food blog is the absolute best! I’m recommending it to all my family and friends. Keep those fabulous
    recipes coming. You rock the kitchen RED!

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      August 19, 2018 at 3:15 pm

      Lindsay, thank you for your comment, and for passing on the word – I so appreciate it.

      Reply
  14. elaine

    August 18, 2018 at 9:22 am

    I do love your IP recipes and the whole web-site, for that matter!!!! One of my VERY favorites!!!

    One suggestion, rather than putting items in red (which is very difficult to read) – I would suggest bold and italics…

    I’m finding your comment area text print to be extremely light or faded in shading.

    Reply
    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      August 18, 2018 at 9:27 am

      Hi Elaine – thank you so much for taking the time to make those suggestions. I picked red for obvious reasons but didn’t consider the viewability for everyone. Let me play with the colors and fonts and see what I can do to make the text and links easier to read. Thank you also for your kind words.

      Reply

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Neena profile thumbnail - Paint the Kitchen RedHi there! I'm Neena and on this blog I share my favorite Instant Pot recipes, with step-by-step instructions and photographs to help you make delicious dishes in your Instant Pot. Read More →

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