Instant Pot Spaghetti is a classic one-pot pasta dinner for busy families. This mostly hands-off pressure cooker spaghetti uses jar sauce and is ready in 30 minutes.
About this recipe
Here's an easy pressure cooker spaghetti and meat sauce recipe with ground beef, jar pasta sauce, spaghetti noodles, and classic seasonings. It's simple, delicious, and satisfies all the cravings for Italian food. This entree is 30 minutes from dry-to-done, but only the first 10 and the last 2 minutes are hands on with the Instant Pot method. Use the free time to toast up some French bread or make a tomato salad or sauteed asparagus.
This one pot pasta dinner is a family favorite from my collection of Instant Pot recipes. It's a close race with Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo or Lasagna Soup, but, of course, I want you to try them all.
Why we love Instant Pot pasta with jar sauce
- one pot to wash - You won't have to clean multiple dishes after making this one pot spaghetti. Heck, you don't even need to boil water.
- budget-friendly - Simple pantry ingredients are used to make this an affordable option to feel your small army.
- versatility - Don't like onions? Leave them out. Want a vegetarian pasta dish? Skip the meat. Want spicy spaghetti sauce? Add some crushed red pepper.
- so much flavor - Instant pot spaghetti tastes like you cooked the sauce all day because the pressure cooker helps build flavor faster than stove cooking.
- easy for any cooking level - Even pressure cooker beginners can find success with this recipe because there is very little hands-on cooking. In fact, you don't really even need to know how to cook pasta in a pressure cooker. It does it all for you! Just follow the recipe directions and find yourself with a delicious pot of spaghetti.
Ingredient notes
Get the ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card below.
- olive oil - or any kind of oil can be use to saute the ingredients.
- onion - aromatic vegetable that adds a sweet and savory flavor to the sauce. Use any onion
- garlic - fresh garlic (recommended) adds a traditional Italian flavor to any spaghetti and meat sauce recipe.
- pasta sauce - use your favorite jar sauce for this recipe.
- seasonings - we're adding oregano and Italian seasoning, but you know that sky is the limit here.
- water - 4 cups water might seem like a lot for this recipe, but trust me, the end result is the perfect consistency. Feel free to use broth instead of water, if you prefer.
- spaghetti- I use classic spaghetti noodles for this recipe.
How to make spaghetti in the Instant Pot
Get the full, printable recipe card below.
Use the Instant Pot "Saute" function to saute onions, garlic, ground beef, and seasonings until beef is cooked through. Deglaze the pot by adding a splash of broth and scraping the bottom to release any browned bits.
Press "Cancel" on the Instant Pot. Break pasta noodles in half and criss-cross in stacks over the beef. Add the water or broth, followed by the pasta sauce. Press the noodles under the liquid to submerge.
There's no need to stir anything. In fact, don't stir because you want to keep the thick pasta sauce away from the bottom (heat source) to prevent the cooker overheating early in the pressure cooking process (see section below).
Pressure cook by selecting the "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" button set on HIGH for 2 minutes (for al dente spaghetti) or 3 minutes (for soft spaghetti noodles) followed by 10 minute (NPR) natural pressure release.
Yes friends, you heard that right! 2 or 3 minutes pressure cook time with 10 minute NPR for perfect spaghetti every time!
Press "Cancel" and open the lid. It will look unusual at first (see photos below), but trust me, it all works out. Toss everything together to combine. I recommend turning the "keep warm" setting off to prevent overcooking the spaghetti.
Serve warm with a little Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Can I use ground turkey or sausage instead of ground beef?
Yes you can! Just swap in the same amount of either ingredient for the beef and you'll have an equally delicious meat sauce.
Can I add frozen meatballs?
You sure can! In fact, kids love any spaghetti with meatballs. To use frozen meatballs, you'll want to add them as the very last ingredient on top of everything else. Then stir them right into the spaghetti once it's done.
What if I don't have jar sauce?
You can use canned spaghetti sauce in equal amounts. If you don't have pasta sauce at all, stir together together 1 (16-ounce can) tomato sauce with ½ (6-ounce can) tomato paste and use in place
Does sauce count as liquid in pressure cooked spaghetti?
Pasta sauce adds some moisture, but without the right balance of liquid and sauce, your cooker is more likely to trigger the burn notice.
How to make this recipe extra saucy
I love the sauce consistency with this recipe. But, if you want saucier spaghetti than what you see in my photos, decrease the pasta amount from 16 ounces to 12 ounces, roughly ¾ of the 1 pound box. Or, you can just add more sauce to the spaghetti before serving.
Can I make this spaghetti without meat?
Yes, it's as simple as leaving out the meat and following the recipe exactly as it is.
Can I use an 8 or 10 quart Instant Pot for this recipe?
Yes! You may notice I'm using the 6 quart Duo Instant Pot. If you use an 8 or 10 quart pot, you won't need to adjust the time because this recipe uses 4 cups cooking liquid, which is well above the 2-cup minimum needed to pressurize larger pots.
How to avoid pasta clumping
There should be minimal pasta clumping with this recipe. If it does, no worries, it will easily separate when you go to stir the pasta with tongs. Hopefully, you're an Instant Pot recipe follower and you'll stack the dry spaghetti noodles in a criss-cross pattern on top of the cooked meat. This is what really prevents pasta clumping. Well, that and a properly sealed pot using a properly tested recipe. See? So many variables with Instant Pot cooking.
Overheat protection
Instant Pot spaghetti with jar sauce has an undisputed reputation for triggering the overheat protection notice – aka burn warning or burn notice. This happens when the liquid-to-solid balance is out of whack due to 1) a mechanical defect (unlikely); 2) improper pressure cooker usage (more likely); or 3) you're making an untested recipe, which happens, but my Instant Pot recipes are tested by yours truly multiple times.
However, the burn notice is still a pressure cooking reality and safety feature that happens, so you'll want to understand it better. You can visit the official Instant Pot resources page; look for the section titled 'Safety Mechanisms'.
Looking for more Instant Pot dinner recipes? This Taco Pasta recipe has made its way onto countless dinner menu rotations of my readers and I'm honored. The same goes for Instant Pot Tuna Casserole. Make either one and fall in love with your pressure cooker!
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ Onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 pound Lean Ground Beef (uncooked), or ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano, optional
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning, optional
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt, optional
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, optional
- 1 pound Uncooked Spaghetti Noodles (standard size), use ¾ pound for saucier pasta
- 1 (24 ounce jar) Pasta Sauce, same as 2 ¾ cups
- 4 cups Water, or broth
Instructions
Recipe yields 8 cups. If you scale the recipe up or down, the instructions stay the same.
- Select "Saute" and heat OLIVE OIL until Instant Pot display reads "Hot".
- Add ONIONS, GARLIC, GROUND BEEF, OREGANO, ITALIAN SEASONING, SALT, and PEPPER. Saute until beef is cooked through, stirring as needed. Drain any excess fat, if needed.
- Deglaze the pot by adding a few splashes of WATER (or broth). Use a flat-end utensil to scrape and loosen any browned bits stuck to the bottom (these are flavor gold). Select “Cancel” to stop the saute cycle.
- Break and scatter the SPAGHETTI NOODLES over the cooked beef in a criss-cross pattern.
- Add WATER to the pot. Pour PASTA SAUCE directly on the spaghetti noodles and spread in an even layer. Press the spaghetti under the liquid to submerge.
- Close and lock the lid and set the pressure release valve to “Sealing”. Select “Manual” or “Pressure cook” on HIGH 2 minutes (for al dente spaghetti) or 3 minutes (for softer). YES, YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT ... 2 or 3 minutes ... the spaghetti continues cooking in the next step (and we also don't like mushy noodles).
- At the end of the cook cycle, allow the pot to sit undisturbed for a 10-minute natural pressure release (NPR). DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP...the spaghetti is still cooking.
- Release any remaining steam, open lid, stir ingredients until well combined. Serve warm.Note: When you first open the lid after noodles cook, there will likely be a small amount of excess liquid. Just stir it into the pasta and it will get absorbed in minutes.
- To store, allow spaghetti to cool completely and refrigerate in airtight containers up to 5 days.
Traci's Recipe Notes
Equipment
- 6 quart Instant Pot or other size
NUTRITION
Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.
Carolyn says
I would add all of the optional items such as Italian seasoning and salt. I use 12 ounces of spaghetti not 16. There was a lot of sauce and I think if I did it next time I would use broth instead of water.
Traci says
Hi Carolyn, I'm sorry, I'm not following. Are you saying there was a problem?
David says
Will this recipe work the same for half the recipe? Also how much time added if using linguine?
The Kitchen Girl says
Hi David, yes it will work with half the amount 🙂 For linguini, I'd use the 3 minute pressure cook time for al dente or 4 minutes for softer and use same natural pressure release. Let me know if you have any more questions. Enjoy!
Debbie says
Easy great recipe! I modified it a bit because I had a 42 oz. jar of pasta sauce. I used 3 cups water and the whole jar of sauce, same amount of sausage and pasta. Next time double the sausage. Came out perfect except I'd cook it a couple mins longer. Thanks! Yum Yum!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay Debbie, so glad you were able to work with what you had on hand 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! I appreciate it!
Wendy says
Tried this tonight and the whole family loved it even my picky 15 yr old!!! Thank you so much!!! Can’t wait to try some others soon.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay Wendy! I'm glad the whole family loved it, even the picky one LOL. That's great feedback (and quite the compliment). Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Vicky says
The only thing I would do different is add a little more spice or double up on some of the spices. Otherwise it was very good and easy to make! It’s a keeper 🙂
The Kitchen Girl says
Hi Vicky, more seasoning is always welcome in spaghetti 🙂 I kept the spices minimal since this recipe calls for jar pasta sauce that's likely already seasoned, but glad you enjoyed. Thanks!
Don says
This is the only way to make pasta. Turned out perfectly, thanks!
The Kitchen Girl says
I couldn't agree more, Don. Glad you're enjoying the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback ... I appreciate it! 🙂
Neva says
Has anyone tried with 2 lbs of ground beef? Will it still work? Thanks!
The Kitchen Girl says
Hi Neva, I haven't tried that but I don't see any reason that it wouldn't work. I would probably add another 1/2 (or full) jar of pasta sauce to the recipe to keep the sauce consistent. Let me know if you try it out 🙂 Enjoy!
Graeme says
How would you modify this recipe for whole wheat spaghetti? Looks delicious!
The Kitchen Girl says
Thanks! Honestly, I've used whole wheat spaghetti and find that there's no difference in cook time in the IP. I would explore using your pasta without altering the recipe and you can add another pressure cook minute(s) if it's not cooked enough. You just don't want to overcompensate and overcook the pasta.
JB says
This Instant Pot spaghetti recipe is easy, delicious, and dialed in. I appreciate that about all of your pressure cooker recipes. Thanks for another winner KG!
The Kitchen Girl says
I'm glad you think so, JB! So glad you're enjoying them 🙂
Brianna says
I absolutely loved how this spaghetti turned out in the IP, I'm never making it any other way!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yay...so glad to hear it! I hear ya, it's hard to make spaghetti the old way after doing it like this lol. Thanks so much!
Amy says
OK it may be true that I am the last person on the planet who doesn't have an instant pot! But I have been toying with the idea. I love that I can make staples like these in them though. Didn't even realise I could make pasta in it. Awesome recipe. Thanks!
The Kitchen Girl says
Oh yes, Instant Pot pasta definitely made it all worth it 🙂 Hope you can pick one up soon...thanks!
Meenakshi says
Easy to follow recipe...perfect for week day dinners..thanks for the recipe.
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome! Glad you enjoy this one ... thanks so much!
whitney says
I do love that you don't have to boil any water and can throw it all in together! Instant pot meals are my fave!!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yes! That's my favorite thing about Instant Pot spaghetti ... no babysitting or schlepping hot water around. Thanks!
Claudia Lamascolo says
the kids ABSOLUTELY went crazy over this delicious sauce and pasta, I will make again as it went so fast its a great addition to the picky eaters me have!
The Kitchen Girl says
I'm so glad to hear it, Claudia. Thanks for the feedback! 🙂