Instant Pot Spaghetti is easy, one pot and ready in 30 minutes! Brown the meat, add uncooked pasta, sauce and voila!
Other Italian inspired dinners we love to make in the pressure cooker include Instant Pot lasagna and Instant Pot chicken pasta.
Table of contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy Spaghetti Ingredients
- How to Make Spaghetti In an Instant Pot
- Tips for Best Instant Pot Spaghetti Results
- Do I Stir Before Turning on Instant Pot?
- Can I Double Instant Pot Spaghetti?
- What to Serve With Spaghetti?
- Freezing and Storing Instructions
- More FAQs
- More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Instant Pot spaghetti recipe with meat sauce is a go-to meal on a busy weeknight. It’s budget-friendly, comforting, and an easy dinner recipe!
We’re not trying to replicate an authentic Italian pasta dish because we all know any true Italian recipe requires old-fashioned time and effort.
What we are trying to do is give the essence of Italian-inspired flavors a modern twist with the magic of the Instant Pot!
It’s a cross between two reader favorites spaghetti in tomato sauce and homemade meat sauce. And I have to admit for healthy pasta recipe it sure comes close to the real deal!
Every busy home cook needs to keep this recipe in their arsenal. One pot spaghetti Instant Pot (even the browning of the meat) means not only an easy dinner, but easy clean up too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Familiar mouth watering taste is just one reason you will love this pasta that can be enjoyed year round!
- Family favorite: Kids and adults alike will love this dish.
- It’s quick and easy: 10 minute cook time plus more hands off than any other method, even my slow cooker crockpot chicken spaghetti!
- Double the recipe to serve a larger crowd. The best part is, the cook time remains the same.
- Leftovers are just as good the next day and the day after that.
- A one pot spaghetti meal: Make for easy clean up!
Easy Spaghetti Ingredients
What I love about this recipe is that you can use 5 simple ingredients you have on hand! It’s convenient and flexible with any ground meat, pasta, or sauce.
- Pasta: You can use white, whole wheat or gluten free spaghetti noodles. As for the shape, you can use long or short pasta, realistically. It’s totally flexible.
- Ground meat: Ground turkey or lean ground beef are usually what I have on hand. Poultry will make Instant Pot spaghetti leaner and therefore a healthier choice.
- Tomato sauce: Plain canned tomato sauce to which we’ll add simple spices. Salt and a bit of sugar to reduce acidity. You could opt for jarred spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce that already has spices, salt, and sugar added to it.
- Spices: Dried oregano, basil and thyme or try with homemade Italian seasoning. You can skip them with jarred pasta sauce.
How to Make Spaghetti In an Instant Pot
There’s no waiting for the water to boil and no sauce splattering all over the place.
This Instapot spaghetti recipe comes out perfectly cooked and not mushy and the entire dish is super flavorful.
Brown meat: Press Saute and cook ground beef until it’s in small pieces. If it is beef or lamb, I would drain it mid way to reduce the fat and speed up sauteing.
Then, add 2 cups water and seasonings, and scrape the bottom of the pot.
Add pasta: Break pasta noodles in half and lay them criss cross in 6 layers.
Add sauce: Pour tomato sauce on top and do not stir. Do not worry about water and sauce not covering the noodles. There is enough steam inside the pot to soften them under pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes: Then do Quick Release to release the pressure after it is done.
Stir and let sit for 3 minutes to soak up the juices. If the pasta is too firm for your liking, let it sit about 10 minutes longer.
Tips for Best Instant Pot Spaghetti Results
Using a pressure cooker will transform your idea of there being only one way to make pasta, this is one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes for beginners!
- If pasta is “crunchy”: Close the lid and let it sit an extra 10 minutes after cooking. Pasta cooks fast so it’s always better to undercook and allow it to sit. You can’t reverse overcooked pasta.
- Too much liquid: When you first open the pot, spaghetti might look very watery. Give it a stir and a few minutes to absorb more of the surrounding liquid.
- Clumping noodles: Criss crossing pasta resolves most of the clumping issue. Even if there is some clumping, that’s completely OK. Just use a fork to separate them.
- Gluten free pasta: I would reduce cooking time from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
Do I Stir Before Turning on Instant Pot?
No. You do not stir until after cooking is done. This is to prevent burn which can happen if tomato sauce is at the bottom of the pot.
Can I Double Instant Pot Spaghetti?
If you have 8 quart Instant Pot, you can double the ingredients for pressure cooker spaghetti but keep the same cook time.
For a 6 quart pot, you can only add 1.5 times ingredients and the cook time remains the same.
For a 3 quart Instant Pot, cut all ingredients in half (even the water) but keep the same cook time.
What to Serve With Spaghetti?
- Salad: Tomato mozzarella avocado salad would pair well as a side or starter to a delicious pressure cooker spaghetti meal.
- Bread: A basket of cauliflower breadsticks or any crusty bread is a welcome addition. Dip in garlic olive oil bread dip for a true restaurant style experience right at home.
- Wine: You know what they say “I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to my food”.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
Storing and reheating: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Best way to reheat it is in the microwave.
Freezing: Cooked pasta is one of those foods that doesn’t thaw well, too mushy.
However, if you are meal prepping the entire recipe, cook spaghetti for 3 minutes, cool (pasta will keep cooking with residual heat) and freeze in portions.
Then thaw and reheat in the microwave or bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. This will help with the overcooked pasta issue.
More FAQs
Using the criss cross method when layering the noodles in the pot. This means taking some of your noodles and layering them flat across the pot in one direction. Then taking another handful and layering them across in the opposite direction. Continue doing this for all the layers.
This should help, although there may still be clumps after cooking. Just stir with tongs and use a fork to separate them.
Close the lid and let the pasta sit for 10 minutes. The hot sauce and steam inside the pot will “cook” it to your desired texture.
Yes! Just follow the recipe and skip spices.
Yes. Put water in first, then seasonings, noodles and sauce. Do not stir. Enjoy a meatless spaghetti.
Yes, but you need to thaw it first using my Instant Pot frozen ground beef method then proceed with recipe.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot chicken alfredo
- Instant Pot bolognese
- Instant Pot meatballs
- Instant Pot goulash
- Instant Pot mac and cheese
Browse 45 healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1 tsp basil dried
- 1 tsp thyme dried
- 1 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or sugar
- 10 oz whole wheat spaghetti or white spaghetti
- 28 oz tomato sauce low sodium
- Grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley or basil for serving
Instructions
- On 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, press Saute and wait until display says Hot. Add meat and cook until brown in color, breaking into pieces constantly. Instant Pot doesn't really brown the meat and it doesn't have to be cooked through. If cooking beef, I drain the fat in the middle of cooking.
- Add water, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Scrape the bits off of the bottom of the pot with spatula while stirring everything. Helps to avoid Burn message. Press Cancel.
- Break noodles in half and add criss cross in about 6 layers. It helps to prevent noodles from sticking. Pour tomato sauce and maple syrup on top. Do not stir.
- Close the lid, turn pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 5 minutes.
- After Instant Pot has finished cooking, release pressure using Quick Release method by turning valve to Venting and open the lid. Spaghetti will look watery. Don't worry. Stir gently and let sit for 3 minutes.
- Serve hot garnished with parsley or basil and grated Parmesan cheese. Or however you like spaghetti. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Best way to reheat is in a microwave.
- Freeze: Do not freeze leftovers. For meal prepping entire recipe, cook spaghetti for 3 minutes, cool (pasta will keep cooking with residual heat) and freeze in portions. Then thaw and reheat in microwave or bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. This will help with overcooked pasta issue.
- To double the recipe: If you have 8 quart Instant Pot, you can double the ingredients but keep same cook time. For 6 quart, you can only add 1.5 times ingredients but not double – same cook time.
- 3 quart Instant Pot: Cut all ingredients in half (even water) but keep same cook time.
The perfect Spaghetti! It turns jarred sauce into a much thicker, creamier texture that coatsevery noodle. I make this all the time, and it’s so much tastier and easier than cooking noodles and sauce separately. No need to add the seasonings with a jar of sauce either. A new family favourite… Thank you for this one!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi again,I did get a burn notice but when I opened the pot and mixed it it was cooked so we had it with the shrimp.It was yummy! There was only a little stuck so no biggie.Just don’t know why I got the notice I never get it with the sausage.Maybe you can figure it out again it was yummy.
Oh good that it turned out! Thanks for updating. The layer of meat on the bottom creates a better barrier from sauce touching.
Hi there,
This is our favorite recipe and we always make it with sausage.I was wondering if I could make it with shrimp instead.The hubby has a hankering for shrimp and spaghetti with a red sauce.So what do you think?Thanks in advance for the advice!
I think that would work, just add your uncooked shrimp on top of pasta. If you are using cooked shrimp, you probably don’t need to stir it in until the end. Note the recipe has not been tested, so I am not sure exactly how it will turn out but do let us know 🙂
omg Olena ive beeb wanting to try it forever but nervous wow its so good and quick in 5 min
have been following your blogs for over a year now Thank you
From Carol Ann
Happy Holidays
So glad you tried it Carol Ann! Happy Holidays!
Tried your recipe this week with ground turkey and it was delicious! I used spaghettini noodles, kept the same cook time and the noodles were perfect! My husband and son loved it! I’d like to try with veggies next time. How do you recommend adding red peppers and carrots to the recipe? Should I include when browning the meat, as you’ve mentioned for onions, celery and mushrooms?
Yes! So glad you enjoyed it!
Yes and glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! We all loved it – only gripe: No leftovers, my guys totally consumed it! Thank you!
Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!
I did mine with frozen meatballs and used the saute to brown and followed the rest of the direction and it was amazing
Awesome! Thanks for the review!
Questions- still working on being friendly with my IP. No problems yet but intimidated from PC explosions in the ’50’s!
Can I use black bean pasta? What modifications needed?
Can I use prepared (store bought!) marinara or spaghetti sauce? Already have some & want to use it up.
Your a gem! The detailed explanations, videos , substitutions etc. for each record are good sends to us rookies!
Nsmaste
Black bean pasta – yes, reduce cook time to 3 minutes. Black bean pasta is quite strong taste, I would recommend a chickpea or red lentil pasta with this pasta. If using your favorite jarred pasta sauce: Reduce dried herbs to only 1 tsp and salt to 1/2 tsp, and eliminate maple syrup. Jarred sauce is already seasoned.