Instant Pot Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

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Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is an easy one pot weeknight meal made with simple ingredients that the whole family will love.

This simple but delicious spaghetti recipe is made with ground beef, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning and spaghetti noodles.

Spaghetti topped with Parmesan cheese on white plate.

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If you are just getting started using your Instant Pot, this is a good basic recipe for you to begin with. Spaghetti is an easy Instant Pot meal!

Why You Should Make Spaghetti In The Instant Pot

One Pot Meal - It's made in the Instant Pot so it's an easy one pot meal. You have less dishes to wash.
Family Friendly - This is a meal everyone will love, including the picky eaters!
Budget Friendly - Spaghetti is an inexpensive but filling dinner that uses budget friendly ingredients.
Classic Comfort Food - A big pot of spaghetti hits the spot any time of the year.

You may be wondering why you should cook spaghetti in the Instant Pot instead of Stovetop. I find it's so much easier and more hands-off than the traditional way of cooking on the stovetop.

You don't have to wait on the water to boil to cook the spaghetti and you don't have to stand over the stove stirring the sauce as it cooks.

In the Instant Pot, once you brown the ground beef and then add in the rest of the ingredients you can go do something else and let the Instant Pot finish dinner for you. And you only have one pot to wash since it all cooks together. So easy!

Spaghetti with meat sauce topped with Parmesan cheese on white plate beside red napkin.

The Instant Pot is a time saver at meal time. A few of our favorite recipes to make is this Instant Pot Five Cheese Ziti, Instant Pot White Chicken Chili, Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast and Instant Pot Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers. As you can see there is a variety of meals you can enjoy that are easy to make and delicious!

Ingredients

Olive Oil
Ground Beef - I use lean ground beef. Use at least 85% lean.
Yellow Onion - A chopped onion adds more depth and flavor to the sauce. Yellow onions adds a sweetness when cooked.
Minced Garlic - You can use jarred or fresh garlic.
Italian seasoning - Helps to season the ground beef.
Diced tomatoes - One can of diced tomatoes to add more flavor and liquid to recipe.
Marinara sauce - You can use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce! I usually use either a Marinara sauce or Tomato Basil sauce.
Spaghetti Noodles - You will need to be break the spaghetti into pieces. You can use regular or whole wheat pasta in this recipe.
Water

How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Ground Beef and onions sauteing in Instant Pot.

Diced Tomatoes added to ground beef in Instant Pot.

Set the Instant Pot to sauté setting. Add olive oil and once hot add in the onion and cook until translucent. Then add ground beef, and Italian seasoning to the pot. Stir and break-up the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. If needed, drain any excess grease.
Turn off Instant Pot and add ¾ cup of water to pot and scrape the bottom with spatula to deglaze the pan and remove any stuck-on bits. This helps to avoid getting the "burn" notification.
Next add in undrained diced tomatoes, marinara sauce and one cup of water. Stir to combine.
Break the uncooked spaghetti noodles in half. Carefully add them to the Instant Pot. Make sure you spread the noodles apart as they are added and crisscross the noodles to help prevent them from sticking together as they cook.
Gently press the noodles into the sauce mixture until they are covered. If the liquid does not completely cover the noodles, add enough water to cover.
Close and lock the lid and set to sealing. Cook on high pressure cook for 8 minutes.
Quick release pressure then remove the lid and stir. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.
Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

How To Store Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe Tips

Once you pour in your marinara sauce, add your cup of water to the jar and shake it to remove the remaining sauce before adding to the Instant Pot. This gets all the sauce out so you don't waste any.
After browning the ground beef, don't skip the step of deglazing the pot. You need to make sure you get any stuck-on bits removed to avoid getting the "burn" notification.
You can use ground turkey or chicken in place of ground beef.
For more flavor you can use beef broth instead of water.
Make sure to fully submerge the spaghetti in the sauce so they will cook evenly.
For a creamy sauce you can stir in 2 Tablespoons of cream cheese after in has finished cooking. This will give you a thicker creamier sauce.
Don’t worry if you open the lid to watery looking spaghetti sauce. Stir it well and allow to sit for 3 to 5 minutes so the spaghetti can absorb some of the extra liquid. If the sauce does not appear to thicken you can choose the “Sauté more” function to simmer and thicken the sauce.

Cooked Spaghetti in Instant Pot being stirred with wooden spoon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Spaghetti Sauce Be Used As The Liquid In Instant Pot?

Since spaghetti sauce is tomato based it is too thick to be used as the only liquid in the Instant Pot when making spaghetti. Water or broth needs to be added to allow steam and pressure to build in Instant Pot.

Will Tomato Sauce Burn In Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot requires thin liquid such as water or broth at the bottom so it can come to pressure. Since tomato sauce is thicker you may get the burn notice. To avoid this you will need to thin your tomato sauce by adding water or broth.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce topped with Parmesan cheese on white plate sitting on wooden counter.

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I hope you enjoy this delicious Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce! If you try this recipe, please come back and rate it and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from you!