This Instant Pot Spaghetti Recipe delivers quick results with big flavor. The perfectly seasoned marinara sauce and noodles come together in less than 30 minutes for an easy one-pot meal any night of the week!
Recipe Notes:
One pot pasta recipe – No strainers or extra pans to wash makes clean-up a breeze.
30 minute meal – This spaghetti is ready to eat in 30 minutes!
Incredible flavor in every bite – Cooking spaghetti with the sauce and a few herbs and seasonings transforms ordinary noodles into an Italian feast.
Make it your own – Add ground beef or sausage, toss in a few veggies, or enjoy this spaghetti all on its own. It’s always delicious.
Kid friendly dinner idea – Even picky eaters love slurping down this spaghetti!
Spaghetti is one of the ultimate comfort foods. Whenever I don’t know what to make for dinner, spaghetti saves the day, and keeps everyone happy. This easy instant pot spaghetti makes dinner deliciously easy. The next time you get a craving for spaghetti, let your Instant Pot give you a hand. It might be one of my favorite pasta recipes yet!
Recipe Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients you will need to make spaghetti in an Instant Pot. Important notes and substitutions for certain ingredients are discussed. The full printable recipe, with amounts and specific details, can be found at the bottom of the page.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Ground Beef – I recommend using 85% lean ground angus beef in this recipe for the meat sauce, but you can use whichever cut you like. You can replace the ground beef with ground turkey or Italian sausage if you like. You can also leave it out entirely if you want meatless spaghetti sauce.
- Spaghetti Sauce – use a jar of whatever spaghetti sauce your family enjoys. I am particularly fond of Rao’s Marinara or Silver Palate San Marzano Marinara.
- Italian Seasoning – I usually have Italian Seasoning on hand, but if you want to make your own, combine 2 tablespoons each of dried basil, oregano and parsley, with 1 tablespoon each of dried thyme, garlic powder and red chili flakes or red pepper flakes. Then measure out what you need for the recipe.
- Diced Tomatoes – You can also use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce.
- Optional Ingredients – If desired, you can dice up some green peppers, celery, carrots, zucchini, olives or mushrooms and add them in.
How To Make Instant Pot Spaghetti
1. Begin by preparing the Instant Pot spaghetti sauce. Start buy pouring the jarred spaghetti sauce into a large bowl.
2. Add crushed tomatoes to the spaghetti sauce.
3. Stir in Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and sugar and mix to combine. Set this mixture aside.
4. Add the olive oil to your instant pot and set the function to saute. Break up the ground beef and add it to the oil. As it browns, use a hard spatula or wooden spoon to stir and break up the meat so that you don’t have any large chunks. Cook the beef completely through. Turn off the saute function. Drain excess fat from the pot. Make sure that you scrape the bottom of the instant pot well with the wooden spoon. We don’t want any bits stuck there when we pressure cook later.
5. Pour 2 cups of water over the cooked ground beef.
6. Break handfuls of the uncooked spaghetti in half and place it on top of the water. Criss-cross and spread out the handfuls so that the spaghetti is not in a big clump.
7. Pour the spaghetti sauce mixture over the noodles until they are completely covered. Make sure there is liquid above and below the spaghetti to help it cook evenly.
8. Press the spaghetti down a little under the sauce if there is still some uncovered after adding the sauce. Do not stir. The sugar from the sauce needs to stay above the bottom of the pot while cooking, otherwise it will crystallize and begin to burn.
9. Seal the pressure cooker and set the cook time for 8 minutes on high pressure.
10. When the cook time is done, use the quick release.
11. When the pressure is released, give the spaghetti a thorough stir to mix together all the ingredients.
12. Leave the lid off and allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving so the sauce can thicken. Garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired, and serve.
Tips and Advice
Storage: This easy instant pot spaghetti will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge. Or you may freeze it for up to 2 months.
Water: Make sure you use the entire 2 cups of water in this recipe It is required to build up steam and prevent ingredients from burning.
Don’t Stir: Your pasta will have a nicer texture if you do not stir it before cooking. Stirring it will lead to a gummy texture and can cause burning. Wait until after it is cooked to stir it.
Recipe FAQs
The cook time is 8 minutes, but plan to add a few additional minutes after cooking for the sauce to thicken up.
Yes! This Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe uses uncooked pasta.
No, you cannot use the sauce in place of liquid, but you can use the combination of sauce and liquid.
What To Serve With Instant Pot Spaghetti
While this can really be an all in one meal, here are a few recipes you could serve with spaghetti.
- Cheesy Garlic Rolls
- Green Beans Almondine
- Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Garlic Knots
- Olive Garden Salad Recipe
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
If you love this recipe, check out my Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel, Lemon Pasta and my Lasagna Soup for more easy weeknight dinner options!
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 14 ounces diced or crushed tomatoes (14-15oz size cans will work)
- 16 ounces uncooked spaghetti
- 2 cups water
- optional: parmesan cheese to garnish
Instructions
- Pour spaghetti sauce into a large bowl. Add crushed tomatoes to bowl. Stir in Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and sugar and mix to combine. Set this mixture aside.
- Add the olive oil to your instant pot and set the function to saute. Break up the ground beef and add it to the oil. As it browns, use a hard spatula or wooden spoon to stir and break up the meat so that you don’t have any large chunks. Cook the beef completely through. Turn off the saute function. Drain excess fat from the pot. Make sure that you scrape the bottom of the instant pot well with the wooden spoon. We don’t want any bits stuck there when we pressure cook later.
- Pour 2 cups of water over the cooked ground beef.
- Break handfuls of the spaghetti in half and place it on top of the water. Criss-cross and spread out the handfuls so that the spaghetti is not in a big clump.
- Pour the spaghetti sauce mixture over the noodles until they are completely covered. Make sure there is liquid above and below the spaghetti to help it cook evenly. Press the spaghetti down a little under the sauce if there is still some uncovered after adding the sauce. Do not stir. The sugar from the sauce needs to stay above the bottom of the pot while cooking, otherwise it will crystallize and begin to burn.
- Seal the pressure cooker and set the time for 8 minutes on high pressure. When the cook time is done, use the quick release. When the pressure is released, give the spaghetti a thorough stir to mix together all the ingredients. Leave the lid off and allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving so the sauce can thicken. Garnish with parmesan cheese if desired, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
You don’t say how much spagetti noodles to use.
Thanks for catching that! Fixed!