Super Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This quick and easy instant pot spaghetti requires just 9 ingredients, and one pot, and takes less than 30 minutes to make so you can have this classic family favorite on the dinner table even on a busy weeknight! Add crispy garlic bread and a green salad for a well-rounded meal your family will love!

 

You Will Love This

• It’s perfectly saucy! Other recipes skimp on the pasta sauce but this one has a seriously saucy amount of hearty tomato sauce which perfectly coats every strand of spaghetti. If you’re tired of bland, dry spaghetti this recipe is for you!
• It’s a classic comfort food made easy! Spaghetti with ground beef and hearty red sauce is a classic family dinner favorite but it often requires multiple pots or pans and a strainer. This version cooks everything together in the instant pot which means you only have one dish to wash. And the best part is that it cooks from start to finish in under 30 minutes!
• If you’re skeptical about how it tastes when it’s all cooked together, let me calm your fears – this is one of the best instant pot pasta recipes ever! The starch from the pasta helps to thicken the meaty tomato sauce and the sauce gives the noodles an extra layer of flavor. And don’t worry, the noodles come out perfectly al dente – not mushy or gummy!
• If you loved this recipe, be sure to check out my instant pot cheesy penne with broccoli, easy rigatoni Bolognese, and my roasted tomato cream sauce. 

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ground Beef – I like to use 80/20 ground beef to get the best flavor. The more fat the more flavor, so keep that in mind as you choose your ground beef. You can also substitute the with Italian sausage or ground turkey.
• Italian Seasoning – Italian seasoning is the perfect blend of spices to add some depth to tomato sauce and spaghetti. If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, mix up your own by combining dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme, and dried marjoram.
• Garlic Powder – I like using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic for this meat sauce and spaghetti recipe. I think it adds the best garlic flavor to the sauce without risking the little pieces of garlic burning on the bottom of the pan. Feel free to add onion powder if you like as well!
• Uncooked Spaghetti – You can use any type of noodle with this recipe but I prefer to use regular spaghetti noodles. You can substitute fettuccine or short noodles, just keep in mind that the cooking time might vary with different pasta varieties.
• Beef Broth – Beef broth is the go-to for this meat sauce since it’s made with ground beef, but you can substitute with chicken broth or vegetable broth if that’s what you have on hand. Some recipes call for water but I find that broth adds a ton more flavor.
• Prego – Any store-bought spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce will work in this recipe. My go-to is usually Prego or Muir Glen pasta sauce.
• Tomato Sauce – Tomato sauce adds more of that delicious tomato flavor. I like to use canned tomato sauce. Your favorite brand will work.

Instructions

Brown ground beef on the sauté function and cook with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Deglaze with beef broth and stir to combine.

Break uncooked spaghetti noodles in half and fan them out in a criss-cross pattern on top of the meat mixture, layering as needed.

Pour pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and remaining broth over the noodles. DO NOT STIR.

Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Use the quick-release button to release the steam, stir the spaghetti, and let sit for just a couple minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve and garnish with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley or fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!

Tips

• Don’t skip the broth! The best way to add some extra flavor to this instant pot spaghetti is to cook it in broth instead of water. This just pumps up the flavor of everything and ensures that the flavor of the sauce doesn’t get diluted.
• If you find that the pasta is not quite cooked through after pressure cooking for 8 minutes, just seal the instant pot again and pressure cook on high pressure for another 2 minutes or so. I find that when I use brands like Creamette or Barilla, the pasta cooks in about 8 minutes. But when I use a brand like Delallo which is made with 100% semolina flour, it takes an extra couple of minutes to cook through.
• Serve with garlic bread! A great spaghetti dinner isn’t quite complete without garlic bread. Take a few minutes to throw together my extra-easy garlic bread recipe!
• Avoid overcooking the pasta with the controlled quick release instead of the natural release. You can also release the steam in short bursts until the float valve drops and you can remove the lid.

Burn Notice

• To avoid getting the burn notice, thoroughly scrape everything off the bottom of the pot after cooking the ground beef with the herbs and spices. It’s important to use the beef broth to deglaze the pot well at this point.
• Also make sure you DON’T STIR the ingredients together once you’ve added the spaghetti, sauce, and broth. Tomato sauce has a tendency to force the instant pot into the burn notice but if you have a layer of ground beef, broth, and pasta in between the bottom of the pot and the tomato sauce you should be good to go!

Does spaghetti sauce count as a liquid in Instant Pot?

Technically, no. Spaghetti sauce does not count as a liquid in the instant pot, which makes the beef broth a critical element that will help thin the sauce so the instant pot can cook everything properly.

How do you make instant pot spaghetti?

The best instant pot spaghetti recipe starts by browning the ground beef and cooking it with Italian seasoning and garlic. Then add beef broth, uncooked noodles, and tomato sauce, and cook for 8 minutes on high pressure and you’ve got a delicious, hearty meal your family will love!

How long does it take to cook pasta in an Instant Pot?

Spaghetti noodles typically take about 8 minutes on high pressure to cook in the instant pot along with meat, sauce, and broth.

Does pasta cook faster in a pressure cooker?

While pasta takes about the same amount of time to actually cook in the instant pot that it does in a pan on the stovetop, the trick is that you can eliminate the need for extra dishes and turn spaghetti, ground beef, and tomato sauce into a one-pot meal in a very short time.

Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: You can easily make this instant pot spaghetti ahead of time. Simply follow the instructions and then store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to reheat and serve.
• Storage: Store leftover spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Freezing: I don’t love to freeze this spaghetti recipe, unfortunately. I find that once you freeze and then thaw the spaghetti it affects the texture in an undesirable way.
• Reheating: Reheat the leftovers in a saucepan or skillet on the stovetop with a little bit of broth or water. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until it is warmed through. You can also reheat it in the microwave, cooking in 30-60 second increments until it’s warmed through.

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