Ninja Foodi Spaghetti

Our Cheesy Ninja Foodi spaghetti will become your new favorite dinner using both your pressure cooker and air fryer functions! If you’re new and looking for Ninja Foodi recipes for your new machine try this with jar sauce.

This is the BEST pasta you’ll ever try in your new fancy kitchen appliance! This is it! A one pot dinner with tender noodles and melted cheese on the top. If you’ve never had baked spaghetti before this is how you’ve gotta make it. Baking in the oven is so old fashioned. 😉

Are you obsessed with your pressure cooker and air fryer too??!! I made Instant Pot spaghetti years ago and it was a hit. Not only with my family but everyone else who tried it. But NOW there’s a new player in town and they can melt that ooey gooey cheese I love right on the top without having to transfer it into a dish and in the oven. 

First – Let’s start with some helpful tips: Now once you’ve tried our cheesy Ninja Foodi spaghetti just go to our tab at the top and find more to try. Then let us know which one was your favorite!

Ingredient Notes

We typically will use a roll of ground beef to make this but really any ground meat will do. You can make this with no meat too if you prefer but we are focused on high protein so that is a must for us. If you want to omit you would just skip that step.

You will want to use some Olive oil to saute your meat in the first step if you choose to add that. Avocado oil would be another choice for this.

I like to add a small yellow or white Onion diced in there for some added flavor and texture. They are a nice add in but optional of course.

If you choose to use long Spaghetti noodles you will want to break into thirds, or you can use penne or medium shells.

I will use whatever type of Jar of spaghetti sauce I find on sale like Ragu or Prego, marinara or meat sauce makes it easy and quick.

You do need some added liquid to cook the noodles to al dente so you can do this with some water, or broth is better for more flavor

I choose to add a layer of Mozzarella cheese for the top, and lightly brown it with the lid that is attached so it gets nice and slightly crispy and ooey gooey (optional). You can add more parmesan cheese if desired too

Substitutions and Variations

If you want this to be spicy you can use all hot ground sausage or half and half to be a bit milder but with a kick. Homemade sauce can be used but remember to use the same measurements. You can skip the cheese for dairy free or use one from Daiya.

If you’d rather make homemade spaghetti sauce you’re free to do so, just use 24 oz in total. I typically use jarred just because I don’t have the time to put it all together but either way is great.

First off you are going to use the pressure cooker function. This means the lid that is NOT attached is the one you want. What you want to remember when cooking Pressure Cooker Pasta is make sure it is submerged into the liquid or sauce for best results.

This is no different than in any other pressure cooker. The difference comes at the end when you melt and lightly brown the cheese on top. That is a game changer y’all!! You just brown the meat, pour in the sauce and liquid, break up the noodles to submerge and cook!

Yes I have other pots and yes I have been using them for years but in order to do this in prior years I had to dirty a baking dish. Transferring everything into a pan, preheating the oven, and waiting for the broil setting to do the work. Not anymore! I love one One Pot Spaghetti.

Once you have made this you will see how easy it is, and get the feel of the ratio between the two like you’ll need for our Ninja Foodi macaroni and cheese recipe too.

Tips for Cooking Ninja Foodi Spaghetti

You will want to initially saute the onions, salts, and ground meat together until the pink is almost all gone. If you’re using ground beef you can leave a touch of pink but if I’m using pork Ninja Foodi sausage I cook it all the way through. It will continue to cook in the pressure cooking process too though so don’t stress about it too much..

Spread your meat on the bottom of the pot and leave it there as a barrier. This way the pot won’t think it is burning and stop working. Pour your sauce evenly across that. For the best result you want to fill that pasta sauce bottle with your water with the lid back on and shake so you’ll be able to get the rest of the sauce out.

This liquid will be poured into your pot now but do NOT stir anything. Grab 1/2 of your noodles out of a 16 oz. box (that is how I measure, seriously) and break them into thirds. SPRINKLE pasta in the pot. If you throw them in as one big chunk they will come out as one big chunk, not separated.

Gently submerge noodles with a spoon. Do NOT stir. Then close your lid and steam valve and set to pressure high pressure for 9 minutes. Quick release at the end.

Yes, you could serve it up right then……but it gets WAY better!! In the recipe card below you can go all the way with the browned mozzarella on top or stop once the noodles are tender, with a short cook time.

How to Melt Cheese on Top

I do both, I stir in 1 cup of mozzarella and let that melt inside the dish and then go a step further to make it super cheesy! Next you’ll want to sprinkle in 1 more cup of cheese on the top. I use a mix of mozzarella and parmesan but use whatever you love.

Use the air crisp lid for 4-5 minutes to melt that cheese and lightly brown it. Voila!! Done to perfection and you are ready to enjoy this baked spaghetti style dish.

The pressure cooker Mexican casserole we make is similar to this one. You make the pasta and then melt cheese on top. I’d try that next. Then make our Ninja Foodi taco pasta.