A dish is filled with pasta

Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce—So Good, Easy & Cheap, It’s Insane!

I love my Instant Pot—the greatest time-saving, magic-producing, easy-to-use kitchen appliance known to [wo]mankind. But I have to admit the idea of making Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce in a single pot, all at the same time sounded fabulous. But the process just did not sit well with me.

A dish is filled with pasta

I use it almost every day to make everything from eggs to pot roast, steel-cut oats, and (wait for it …) cheesecake! Yes, the BEST cheesecake ever! But haven’t we learned that pasta and pressure cooking do not play well together? Pasta will turn to mush, breaking down in ways that make it not particularly edible. No wonder I was suspicious!

Listen to the real experts

Rave reviews from cooks and food enthusiasts I respect highly kept haunting me. I had to give it a try if only to prove once and for all that pasta in a pressure cooker will turn out a mushy mess, lacking distinct flavor, texture, and visual appeal. Boy was I wrong!

This spaghetti method with meat sauce will knock your socks off! What’s so great is that the pasta turns out perfectly, but more than that it comes out infused with the flavors from the meat sauce. And it hugs each strand of spaghetti, clinging to it the way it’s supposed to! I find this so much better than preparing the pasta in a separate pot, then pouring the meat sauce over the top to serve.

I’ve been making this once a week for a couple of months—first for dinner and then reheating the leftovers for lunch the next day (even better the next day!). And I have to say is this is the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long time. I’ll never make spaghetti and meat sauce any other way. And once you try it, I predict you won’t either.

 

Ingredients

A close up of food on a table, with Spaghetti and Sauce

To make Instant-Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce,  you will need:

  • olive oil
  • chopped onion (optional)
  • minced garlic (optional)
  • ground beef
  • salt
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • water
  • your favorite jarred marinara, spaghetti, or tomato-based pasta sauce
  • dry spaghetti
  • Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional and not pictured)

 



 

General Instructions

A close up of a bowl of soup, with Spaghetti and SauceHere’s the critical issue. You must follow the specific instructions exactly, and I’m talking about how you layer and add the ingredients to the Instant Pot. At one point the recipe instructs “Do not stir!” so please, don’t do it! Here’s the “Clifs Note” version for how to do this, with the complete recipe and full instructions in the printable recipe card below.

  1. Set Instant Pot to “saute,” adding olive oil, chopped onions and garlic. Cook until tender.
  2. Add ground beef, salt, and powders, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula and continue cooking until no longer pink.
  3. Add part of the water and all of the spaghetti sauce.
  4. Stir well to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  5. Break noodles in half and layer on top.
  6. Do. Not. Stir
  7. Add the rest of the water.
  8. Set to High Pressure, then quick-release.
  9. Stir, plate, top with Parmesan, serve.
A dish is filled with pasta
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4.60 from 15 votes

Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This is the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long time. I'll never make spaghetti and meat sauce any other way. And once you try it, I'm predicting that you won't either.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Instant Pot coming to pressure10 minutes
Total Time28 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4
Calories: 581kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ onion, chopped fine (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups water, divided
  • 24 ounces marinara, spaghetti or tomato-based sauce
  • 8 ounces dry spaghetti
  • Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

Instructions

  • Set Instant Pot to "saute." Add olive oil, optional chopped onions and optional minced garlic. Allow to cook until tender and slightly translucent.
  • Add ground beef, salt, onion powder and garlic powder, breaking up the beef and stirring until it is no longer pink.
  • Turn Instant Pot Off.
  • Pour 1/2 cup of water and all of the pasta/marinara sauce into the pot. Stir to combine well, making sure to scrape any stuck-on bits from the bottom. 
  • Place broken spaghetti on top, half going north and south, half east and west in a criss-cross pattern.
    A close up of a bowl of soup, with Spaghetti and Sauce
  • Pour remaining 1 ½ cups water over the top of the spaghetti. Do. Not. Stir!
  • Apply Instant Pot lid, setting the pressure valve to "Seal."
  • Set Instant Pot to High Pressure for 8 minutes. It will take 10 to 12 minutes to come to pressure.
  • Open the pressure lease valve (quick release) as soon as the 8 minutes cook time is complete.
  • Open the pressure cooker and gently stir the spaghetti into the sauce. Look at that!
  • Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese, as desired.

Notes

  1. Chopped onion and minced garlic are optional. However one or both will add fresh, additional flavor.
  2. I have made this with regular spaghetti, thin spaghetti, and angel hair. All come out just great! 
  3. Use your favorite jarred marinara or other tomato-based pasta sauce. My favorite is Prego brand, however I have tested this recipe with a number of sauces (whichever one is on sale!) and find that the sauce does make a big difference in both color and taste. Some sauces are thicker than others, some more poignant in flavor. This is totally up to you. 
  4. The DO NOT STIR! instructions will keep the meat at the bottom and the pasta at the top of the pot for the entire 8 minutes of cook time. This is key! In a way the meat and pasta cook separately without you having to do any kind of separation technique. Just set the spaghetti on top. 
  5. Because I live at 5,280 ft. altitude, I adjust cooking time by one minute to 9 minutes. 
  6. Suggestion: Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 581kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1559mg | Potassium: 1016mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 737IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 5mg

 

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61 replies
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  1. Laurel Porter says:

    I made this recipe exactly as written and horrors! My instant pot starting flashing “Food Burn” “Food Burn”. I immediately turned off the pot and released the pressure. What happened? I truly followed the recipe completely, although I used a different brand marinara sauce. Once the pot was opened, i was able to simply stir in the spaghetti and cooked everything on the saute function for a few more minutes. But it was apparent that some of the meat had burned on the bottom. I am thinking maybe less meat next time, and stir all the water into the pot before adding the spaghetti. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      While this has never happened for me, I can give you a few suggestions. The recipe is for a 6-qt or larger Instant Pot. Is yours 3-qt? Also, turn off saute once the meat is browned. Don’t allow it to continue to cook while you go thru the subsequent steps. It’s a good idea at this point to add the spaghetti sauce and water as instructed, then stir well and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom (prior to adding the pasta).

      My IP is quite elderly by now, and I have read that the newer models are a lot more sensitive to that “food burn” warning. I have never seen it on my machine and trust me, I’m prone to burning stuff. It may be a featured added to newer models.

      In the future, should this happen, note the time remaining, then hit cancel, followed by quick release. Open IP and carefully without stirring too much, use a spatula or other flat utensil to scrape the bottom. The contents may be browned, but that is not a problem. Then reapply the lid, set as before, but reduce the time to the remaining number of minutes. Should be good to go.

      Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      I make no adjustments, and have done this with thin, angel hair, spaghetti, penne, mini penne, rigotonti—always turns out great. The only goof I have encountered is if I walk away and forget to perform a quick release as soon as the cook time finishes. Once I left it for a full hour and that was a total FAIL! Mush instead of pasta. Making sure that you quick release the Instant Pot valve as soon as the cook time is complete is key.

      Reply
  2. Jana says:

    5 stars
    This is the best spaghetti I’ve ever made… Mary thank you- I too love my IP and this is amazing and so easy!! My husband adores spaghetti and this will be a frequent part of our dinner rotation!! Love it!!

    Reply
  3. Emily T says:

    5 stars
    This recipe looks delicious and I’m going to try it now! Although I don’t have spaghetti, but I have “ruffles” which I think would take about the same amount of time to cook. I will try to come back and give an update! (I’m also adding diced bell peppers after cooking the meat/onions/garlic.)

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      I use angel hair quite often in this recipe and I do not make any changes to the time. Sometimes I even us penne, which is much larger and still no changes!

      Reply
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