This is the quickest and easiest way to make spaghetti and meat sauce: In the Instant Pot! The pressure cooker does most of the work and the result is absolutely delicious, so this is a favorite family meals on busy nights.
Spaghetti in the instant pot
- Prep is so quick and easy for this recipe – a great way to make a bolognese-inspired pasta dish if you’re short on time.
- Thanks to cooking in the instant pot with the sauce, the spaghetti soak up so much flavor when cooked under pressure this way. This makes the dish taste great, even though you barely have to do anything!
- Serve with parmesan cheese and chopped basil/parsley to make a simple recipe feel extra-special.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Spaghetti: You can also use penne or rigatoni in place of the spaghetti, if you prefer. As with the spaghetti, place the pasta on top of the meat mixture, cover with spaghetti sauce and don’t stir before pressure cooking.
- Onion/carrot/celery: Feel free to leave any of these (or all of these) out if you prefer. You can also use a chopped green pepper in place of the celery. ½ teaspoon dried onion powder added with the other seasoning is fine to use in place of the fresh.
- Spaghetti sauce: Just use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce! I always use tomato basil. If you don’t want to use ready-made spaghetti sauce, please don’t substitute with canned diced tomatoes – they don’t yield the same result. You can use plain tomato sauce and season it with some extra salt, garlic powder, onion powder and dried basil, if you prefer.
- Broth: Beef broth makes this a little richer and “beefier”, chicken broth is milder. If you have neither, you can use water, but there will be less flavor.
How to make Instant Pot Spaghetti
sauté vegetables brown beef and season place broken spaghetti on top and pour over broth spread tomato sauce on top and pressure cook (do not stir!)
1. Vegetables: Cook the vegetables in olive oil on the “sauté” setting until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Meat: Add the beef and cook until browned. Stir in all seasoning, then switch off.
3. Spaghetti and broth: Layer the halved, uncooked spaghetti evenly on top of the beef mixture. Pour the broth on top.
4. Add sauce and cook: Evenly spread the spaghetti sauce over the spaghetti WITHOUT stirring anything up. Pressure cook for 6-10 minutes (depending on exact pasta, see notes below)
5. Finish: Once the done with cooking, release pressure manually. Then stir very well and serve immediately.
after cooking after stirring
Recipe tips
Scrape the bottom: After browning the beef and vegetables, make sure you scrape the bottom of the instant pot to remove any stuck bits. Otherwise you might trigger the “burn” warning during pressure cooking.
Do not stir! Really, you do not need to stir this before pressure cooking. Just follow the instructions closely and it will come out perfectly.
Spaghetti clumped together? This usually means they aren’t fully cooked yet. Use kitchen tongs to gently break them up a bit (do not stir! just gently pull the stuck spaghetti apart a little) and pressure cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Cooking time: The cooking time can vary depending on the exact type and brand of spaghetti you’re using.
For example, I used artisan spaghettoni when I took the photos for this recipe, and they took 10 minutes in the pressure cooker (the packet indicates 14 minutes cooking time on the stove). My regular old spaghetti I often use indicate a “normal” cooking time of 10 minutes for the store brand I get, and they take 6 minutes in the pressure cooker.
A great way to determine your cooking time is to check the package for the recommended cooking time for the stove, then reduce this number by 3-4 minutes and use this as your pressure cooking time.
Remember: It’s better to start with less pressure cooking time if you’re unsure. You can always close it again and pressure cook for another 2-3 minutes if your spaghetti aren’t done yet. If you overcook the spaghetti, there is no way to fix it.
Serving ideas
I love that this spaghetti dish is an all-in-one type of meal – you have your starches, your protein and your vegetables all going on in the same pot! If you want to round out your meal, here are some delicious sides to try:
- Sautéed green beans (or air fried green beans)
- A tossed salad with Italian dressing or balsamic vinaigrette
- Sautéed zucchini
- Roasted broccoli or air fryer broccoli
- A cherry tomato salad or a cucumber tomato salad (or a cucumber tomato avocado salad)
Recipe video
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (12-oz) box spaghetti uncooked, broken in half
- 2 ¼ cups broth beef or chicken are both fine; see notes
- 1 (28-oz) jar jar spaghetti sauce
- grated parmesan cheese to serve, optional
- fresh herbs to serve, optional
Instructions
- Cook vegetables and ground beef: Set a 6-quart electric pressure cooker to "sauté". Add oil, then add onion, celery and carrot and cook until onion is translucent. Add ground beef and seasoning, stir well and cook until browned. Switch off instant pot.
- Add pasta and sauce: Evenly place uncooked spaghetti over beef and vegetable mixture. Pour in broth (it should come up to the spaghetti). Spread the spaghetti sauce on top. Do not stir!
- Pressure cook: Close lid and set the valve to "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 6-10 minutes (see notes regarding cooking time). Quick release pressure, then open the lid. Stir well and serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Spaghetti: You can also use penne or rigatoni in place of the spaghetti, if you prefer. As with the spaghetti, place the pasta on top of the meat mixture, cover with spaghetti sauce and don’t stir before pressure cooking.
- Onion/carrot/celery: Feel free to leave any of these (or all of these) out if you prefer. You can also use a chopped green pepper in place of the celery. ½ teaspoon dried onion powder added with the other seasoning is fine to use in place of the fresh.
- Spaghetti sauce: Just use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce! I always use tomato basil. If you don’t want to use ready-made spaghetti sauce, please don’t substitute with canned diced tomatoes – they don’t yield the same result. You can use plain tomato sauce and season it with some extra salt, garlic powder, onion powder and dried basil, if you prefer.
- Broth: Beef broth makes this a little richer and “beefier”, chicken broth is milder. If you have neither, you can use water, but there will be less flavor.
Cooking tips
Scrape the bottom: After browning the beef and vegetables, make sure you scrape the bottom of the instant pot to remove any stuck bits. Otherwise you might trigger the “burn” warning during pressure cooking. Do not stir! Really, you do not need to stir this before pressure cooking. Just follow the instructions closely and it will come out perfectly. Spaghetti clumped together? This usually means they aren’t fully cooked yet. Use kitchen tongs to gently break them up a bit (do not stir! just gently pull the stuck spaghetti apart a little) and pressure cook for 1-2 more minutes. Cooking time: The cooking time can vary depending on the exact type and brand of spaghetti you’re using. For example, I used artisan spaghettoni when I took the photos for this recipe, and they took 10 minutes in the pressure cooker (the packet indicates 14 minutes cooking time on the stove). My regular old spaghetti I often use indicate a “normal” cooking time of 10 minutes for the store brand I get, and they take 6 minutes in the pressure cooker. A great way to determine your cooking time is to check the package for the recommended cooking time for the stove, then reduce this number by 3-4 minutes and use this as your pressure cooking time. Remember: It’s better to start with less pressure cooking time if you’re unsure. You can always close it again and pressure cook for another 2-3 minutes if your spaghetti aren’t done yet. If you overcook the spaghetti, there is no way to fix it.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 01/13/2020. Updated with new photos, better text and slight improvements to the recipe on 06/01/2021.
RennaeK says
My husband does not cook but I’ve been sick so I talked him through making this.
I should add that he’s not a fan of red sauce or spaghetti in general.
He made this and LOVED it! Now he wants me to print the recipe so he can find it easily. 😁
Nora says
I’m so glad to hear this, Rennae! And I hope you’ll feel better soon.
Greg says
This recipe works and I’m going to keep working on this to make it the perfect Instant Pot Spaghetti and meat sauce. We gave it an 8.2 out of 10. But the simplicity and base ingredients makes it so customizable. We added one link of Italian sausage and did eight minutes to make up for other comments which was perfect. It’s just missing something. Dried basil and oregano? .5 points of pork? I’ll figure it out but it’s a GREAT recipe for families and I’d recommend it easily. Kids would LOVE it.
Nora says
Thank you so much for your thorough feedback, Greg! Much appreciated. Please come back to report when you tweak it enough to hit 10/10, I’d love to know!
Courtney says
We really love this recipe but have found that my spaghetti doesn’t cook fully in the 6 minutes. I usually have to release pressure, stir and then pressure cook for another 5 minutes.
Nora says
Courtney, I believe spaghetti brands can differ in cooking times. But 11 minutes does sound very long for the instant pot, that’s basically how long you need to cook them on the stove. I sometimes need to add 1-2 minutes of cooking time if we use a thicker spaghetti kind. But if the 11 minutes work for you, then that’s perfect!
Sasha says
My family loves this recipe. The last two times I ran into issue with some of the noodles clumped together and not fully cooked. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong and how to correct my error? I will pick up the clumped noodles so the dish is still delicious.
Nora says
Sasha, I’m not quite sure why this would happen, I never had an issue. Are you using regular spaghetti? Which brand? I’ll try to figure this out!
Susan Buzin says
I don’t usually make a lot of spaghetti at our house but the Instant Pot is changing all of that! This recipe is absolutely amazing! I did’t really think you could improve spaghetti but this simple recipe did. I do cook quite a bit in the Instant Pot and this will become one of my go-to dinners on a busy day or when the family is craving some comfort food.
The “doctoring” of the sauce makes a bottled jar taste homemade. I usually make meatballs but this meat sauce makes me think “Never again!” I do agree with another reviewer that the pasta needs to be pressed down a little to make sure it is mostly covered with the broth. It was a wee too much al dente for me but the flavor was amazing so who cares! The leftovers the next night might have been even better…
The days of putting sauce over pasta are OVER for me. When the pasta absorbs the broth and cooks with all of the yummy spices and onions in the Instant Pot, it will make you want to never boil another pot of water and waste time draining and dirtying a pan and a colander.
This recipe is now filed under “Favorites.” Thank you!
Carie says
My kids ate it! That makes it 5 star. Thank you!
Rachelle says
This was delicious. A couple of tips: Make sure to push the noodles down into the liquid (without stirring) or they won’t cook all the way. This happened to us and I didn’t realize it until after I had stirred it all up, so i put it back under pressure for another 2 minutes and that did the trick, but some stuck to the bottom. I think if you ensure the noodles are covered you’ll be fine and maybe let it natural release for a couple minutes so the steam cooks the noodles. But other than that little blooper it was absolutely delicious.
Bre says
I have never been a huge fan of spaghetti…so much so they for the first time in years, I purchased spaghetti noodles last week. I couldn’t remember what for, but then your recipe popped up and I knew I had to try it since I’m on a “try new things” kick…this recipe is SO GOOD! It’s also SO EASY! I literally put it all together and got ready for work and when I was done, the spaghetti was done! The spaghetti noodles were perfectly cooked and the sauce had amazing flavor! Definitely saving this in my “tried and true amazing recipes” board!
Nora Rusev says
Bre, I’m the same with spaghetti, but thanks to Peppa Pig my kids are obsessed with them, ha! So when I do actually share a spaghetti recipe, it has to be pretty much perfect for my taste 😉 I’m glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it as much as we do! Thanks for coming back to leave your review, I appreciate it so very much.
Tina says
Di after cooking?d you drain the hamburger after cooking?
Nora Rusev says
Tina, I don’t! We have quite lean ground beef we buy directly from a local farm, so it works well without draining. Feel free to drain if you prefer!