Instant Pot Spaghetti

Here’s an easy 10 minute Instant Pot spaghetti recipe with jar sauce and ground beef! Dump spaghetti with just a few ingredients to make a one pot pasta that feeds all five of us for under ten dollars! Use a Crockpot Express or make Ninja Foodi spaghetti the same way using high pressure.

Quick Instant Pot Notes

If you’re new to using this high pressure pot, this is the first recipe you should make. If you follow the directions below you’ll never make it on the stovetop again. It doesn’t matter whether yours is the Crockpot Express brand or you want to make it as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe. All of these pots work the same with high pressure.

We use Ragu jar sauce to make but with our homemade Instant Pot spaghetti sauce is possible too. Include frozen meatballs if you’d like at the same time and they will get tender all in one pot together too. A cheap meal that is family friendly.

How long does spaghetti take to cook in Instant Pot?

With everything cooked in one pot it came out perfectly in just 10 minutes AND it’s been on the most popular Instant Pot recipes TWO years in a row! So yummy right??!! It’s truly a grab your Instant Pot and set, then GO type of recipe. Even if you choose to use shells or penne pasta the timing stays the same.

Adding Frozen Meatballs

Want quicker, instead of browning ground beef at the get go you could instead throw in some frozen meatballs. Don’t worry, during the 10 minute cook time they will not only defrost but warm all the way thru to the middle too. Add in at the same time as your sauce, but no more than 2 cups or ratio won’t work.

You could make it vegetarian without meat, as is stated in the recipe card below, or cook porcupine meatballs in Instant Pot separately first. Then serve them together and enjoy with parmesan cheese.

Can you pressure cook with spaghetti sauce instead of water?

Yes and no. There is liquid in marinara let’s say but not enough, you need to thin it out with some broth or water too to make a successful pot of 10 minute Instant Pot spaghetti. For every jar add 2 cups more liquid to thin it out.

Dump Spaghetti

There are 3 main ingredients such as pasta, sauce and some water. You can just leave that as is or of course you can add other seasonings or want your sauce a bit chunkier. Optional add ins for this spaghetti Instant Pot recipe are;

• Garlic powder
• Pinch of Italian seasonings
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. fresh diced tomatoes

Just in case you get the burn message displayed on your machine here is how to deglaze your Instant Pot so you can resume cooking. If you’ve never cooked spaghetti in one pot before it is so much easier than cooking everything separately. I love how the noodles turn out cooked in the sauce too.

Instead of boiling them all on their own you’re just adding some water to the overall mixture so it absorbs it from there.

Instant Pot Spaghetti Time

1. You just set Instant Pot to saute.  Add the olive oil, onions and lean ground beef (or Italian sausage). Cook meat until it’s no longer pink. That is assuming you’re adding protein.
2. Drain if desired, we buy low saturated fat meat so I don’t bother. Turn pot off now. If you add frozen meatballs you can skip this step and just throw them in on the bottom.
3. Spread browned meat on to the bottom of the pot. Add your marinara sauce on top. Pour water on top of that. Break the spaghetti noodles into 3 equal pieces and gently submerge into liquid.
4. Close lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release when done. Give it a good stir and serve.
5. Add the ground beef pasta into bowls for spaghetti night, and top with parmesan cheese.

Serving Size and Recipe Yield

Like I said, the protein is up to you. I think it is a heartier more filling meal if you have some in there but that is totally up to you.

I would say this recipe serves 6 comfortably, so for 4 people there may be a bit left over. Of course that depends on who you are feeding. We have 1 man, 3 daughters and myself. This recipe feeds all of us with probably 1 serving for lunch I save for leftovers the next day.

I will tell you that I still have and use the “oldest” and first version that came out way back when. It was only $99 then, no fancy preset buttons, and it still works fantastic 3+ years later. You do NOT need the most expensive “fanciest” Duo, Lux, Plus, Ultra or Smart Wifi versions.

Of course if you’re techie and have to have “all the things” then go ahead but simple is best in my opinion.

If you want more than what the recipe calls for I would recommend making two batches separately. I personally prefer it this way though others have said doubling it works fine for them in their 8 qt.

Here are a few questions you might be asking yourself if it is your first time making this. I hope these answers help you to becoming an expert.

Yes it comes out perfectly every time. My oven and stove are crying lately because I rarely ever use them anymore.

Now if you want to do a twist on an already favorite dinner recipe you could make Instant Pot taco spaghetti too!!

• The only difference for this one is you’re going to follow our instructions on how to make Instant Pot taco meat
• Then continue with the same directions below from steps 4 on.

It will give your traditional pressure cooker spaghetti dish a bit of a kick with a ton of flavor, we love both really.

Throw a loaf of the best garlic bread in the oven and top with some parmesan cheese and it’s one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes. You can find many more easy dishes on my site too if you’re looking for another IP meal!

This is one of the most popular cheap Instant Pot recipes too. It costs less than $10 to feed 5-6 people which is pretty amazing. If you include a bag of meatballs it might be closer to $14 but still a bargain.

Cook time for spaghetti depends on the method you decide to take. Using the traditional stovetop method from start to finish including waiting for the water to boil, then the noodles to come to a boil again until tender I would say 20-25 minutes might be accurate. 

This takes closer to 16 minutes which may not be a huge difference but there are so many other benefits. One is, the noodles have a lot more flavor because they’re being cooked right in the sauce itself. You don’t have to watch the water or test the noodles a few times to ensure they’re tender and done.

There are less dishes to clean up because all the cooking is done in one pot. Note: Timing is set to 10 minutes, if you want your noodles more al dente set to 8 minutes instead.

Cooking noodles in sauce gives them the most flavor, in pressure cooker is the easiest method using these directions below. If using the “old fashioned” stovetop method the instructions are very similar just thin our your spaghetti or tomato sauce with water or broth bring it to a boil add dry spaghetti noodles – I prefer to break them into 3 equal parts so everything is submerged Cook for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally so pasta doesn’t stick

Yes if you don’t watch it carefully enough in your pot it can, and noodles will become gummy. It is best to cook until al dente. Using this Instant Pot spaghetti recipe will avoid that as it is timed perfectly. I hope if you landed here looking for Instant Pot pasta recipes we have helped quite a bit!

More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes

Here are a few others you might want to try to make this week; If you’d like to use your slow cooker you can try our crockpot spaghetti and meatballs recipe too.

1. This Instant Pot lasagna soup is comfort food in a bowl with small noodles and WAY easier to make than using traditional wide pasta.
2. More 5 ingredient Instant Pot recipes
3. Instant Pot cheesy chicken spaghetti has a bit of a kick and tons of flavor.
4. You’ve gotta’ try this Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole, it is amazing.

If you let it sit what little liquid is there will get soaked up by the noodles and thicken a bit too. It stays well inside the Instant Pot for quite some time so even if we are all getting home at different times everyone can enjoy this Instant Pot spaghetti dish.