Instant Pot Spaghetti
This Instant Pot Spaghetti is quick, easy and full of flavor! Pasta and meat sauce cook together in the Instant Pot for an easy dinner.
When everyone’s hungry and you need to get dinner on the table fast, this Instant Pot spaghetti recipe is just the quick and easy recipe you need! You can brown the meat and cook the pasta all in the Instant Pot pot for the ultimate convenient family-friendly meal.
I first shared this Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe almost four years ago, and it continues to be one of the recipes that I make most often for my family for dinner. It’s ready in just over 30 minutes and everyone in the family loves it!
Why make spaghetti in the Instant Pot? Spaghetti isn’t a difficult meal to make on the stove, so why make it in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker? The real benefit is that you don’t have to watch multiple pots on the stove. You don’t need to drain the pasta, so you won’t dirty a colander, and you don’t need separate pots for the pasta and the sauce. Since the pasta cooks right in the marinara sauce, it absorbs the flavor of the sauce as it cooks. Everyone always tells me that this is the most flavorful spaghetti!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy Dinner Idea: It’s made with just 6 ingredients, plus salt and pepper. The active prep time is just 10 minutes, and the whole meal will be ready in 35 minutes.
- Easy Clean Up: You’ll have only one pot to wash at the end.
- Customizable: You can use ground beef, ground turkey or Italian sausage for the meat sauce. Both white and whole wheat pasta work well. You can even make vegetarian spaghetti. Find all of the details below.
- Crowd-Pleaser: This spaghetti is a flavorful comfort food dinner that the whole family will love.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Recipe Ingredients
The ingredient list for this recipe is short and simple! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground Beef: I like to use lean ground beef because there won’t be much grease to drain off after browning it. You can also use 80/20 and just drain off the grease after browning.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper add flavor.
- Water: The water is required to cook the pasta and also to allow the Instant Pot to pressurize. It will be absorbed as the pasta cooks.
- Spaghetti: Use either white or whole wheat spaghetti in this recipe. I’ve tested the recipe with both with good success.
- Marinara Sauce & Tomato Sauce: Cooking the pasta right in the sauce gives it so much flavor. I usually use a jar of store-bought marinara sauce to save time, but you can use homemade marinara sauce if desired. One 25 ounce jar of sauce equals about 3 cups.
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
I’ve tested this recipe in both my 6 quart and 8 quart Instant Pots and it works perfectly in both. If you’re new to Instant Pot cooking, my guide on how to use an Instant Pot can help you to get started.
- Brown the meat using the Instant Pot sauté function. Then turn the sauté function off.
- Add the seasonings and water. Stir well, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Break the spaghetti noodles in half and arrange them in a criss cross pattern on top of the meat; do not stir. Arranging the noodles in different directions keeps them from sticking together as they cook.
- Pour the tomato sauce and marinara sauce on top of the spaghetti. Again, do not stir.
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 5-7 minutes. (Specific timing instructions are given in the recipe card below).
- Do a quick pressure release.
- Let it rest for 3-5 minutes, stir and serve!
Recipe Variations
- Turkey Spaghetti: Substitute ground turkey for the ground beef.
- Italian Sausage: You can replace half or all of the ground beef with Italian sausage. Remove the sausage from the casings and crumble it as you brown it in the pot.
- Vegetarian Spaghetti: To make vegetarian spaghetti, put the water and seasonings in the pot first and stir (or start by sautéing some vegetables as described below). Then layer the pasta as directed in the recipe and pour the marinara and tomato sauce on top. Do not stir after adding the pasta and sauce. Pressure cook as directed.
- Add Vegetables: Before browning the ground beef, sauté chopped vegetables in 1 tablespoon of olive oil using the Instant Pot sauté function. Try chopped onion, carrots or bell pepper. If you wish to add quick-cooking vegetables such as chopped fresh spinach or frozen peas, stir those in after pressure cooking and then let stand with the lid on for 5 minutes.
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free pasta, such as Barilla gluten free. Readers have tried this recipe with gluten-free pasta with good success.
Recipe Tips
- Use a good quality marinara sauce that you love the flavor of, as it will impact the flavor of the finished dish.
- Do not stir after adding the spaghetti or sauce. You will arrange the spaghetti in alternating directions (see photo above) to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
- Be sure to do a quick release right away when the cook time finishes so that the pasta doesn’t over cook. Be careful as there will be a lot of hot steam that escapes through the steam release valve.
- When you first open the Instant Pot, the sauce may look watery. Give it a stir and let it rest for 3-5 minutes and it will be perfect!
What to Serve with Spaghetti
We love topping our servings of spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese. You can also add a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat and some chopped fresh basil for a pop of fresh flavor. These side dishes pair perfectly with this Instant Pot spaghetti:
- Bread: We love serving warm, buttery Garlic Bread alongside spaghetti. These Garlic Knots are another delicious option, or just slice up a loaf of crusty bread.
- Salad: Go with a simple Green Salad or an Italian Salad.
- Vegetables: Roasted Broccoli and Roasted Green Beans are easy and so delicious.
More Easy Instant Pot Recipes
If you love this Instant Pot spaghetti, try one of these delicious Instant Pot Recipes next:
This Instant Pot spaghetti is a quick and easy dinner idea that you’ll want to add to your meal plan rotation. The leftovers reheat wonderfully for an easy lunch or dinner the next day.
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups water
- 16 ounces uncooked spaghetti (white or whole wheat)
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 25 ounce jar marinara sauce (see note below)
Instructions
- Turn on the Instant Pot sauté function and add the ground beef. Cook, crumbling with a spoon or spatula, until browned. Turn the Instant Pot off. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper and water. Stir until well combined, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Take small handfuls of the spaghetti noodles, break them in half, and lay them in the pot arranged in different directions (to prevent the spaghetti from sticking together). Do not stir.
- Pour the tomato sauce and marinara sauce over the spaghetti. Do not stir.
- Close Instant Pot lid and move the steam valve to the sealing position.
- Pressure cook at high pressure for 7 minutes if using regular white spaghetti with a package cook time of 9-11 minutes. Pressure cook at high pressure for 5 minutes if using whole wheat spaghetti with a package cook time of 7-9 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 15-20 minutes to come to pressure and then the cook time will start counting down.
- As soon as the cook time ends, do a quick release (carefully move the steam release valve to the venting position. Then wait for all of the steam to escape and the pin to drop down).
- Remove the lid, stir. You will see some liquid in the pot. This will absorb after just a few minutes. Let the pasta rest for 3-5 minutes and then serve.
Notes
- Use a good quality marinara sauce that you love the flavor of, as that will impact the flavor of the finished dish.
- If you want vegetarian spaghetti, leave out the meat and skip the sauté step (or sauté some vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers and carrots in a bit of olive oil). Put the water in the pot, followed by the seasonings. Then add the spaghetti as directed in the recipe. Pour the sauce over the top of the spaghetti and do not stir. Pressure cook as directed in the recipe.
- I first shared this recipe in 2018 and have since updated it to use a full 16 ounce box of spaghetti, rather than half a box. If you wish to halve the recipe, omit the can of tomato sauce, use a full 25 ounce jar of marinara sauce and halve all of the other ingredients (including the water).
Nutrition
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I have been following your blog for a while now. I think you help a lot of moms get the stress out of cooking and instead make it fun and simple to prepare healthy meals for their families. I am a mom of 2 little ones… a 2 year old and a 1 year old. And believe me sometimes I don’t even remember if I brushed my teeth. It’s a marathon at my home everyday. I wanted to ask you what’s the model and brand of your slow cooker snd Instant pot? I don’t want to get something that malfunctions… so if you could just guide me as to how to choose a few of those, it would be a great help. Thank you.
Hi Ziya, your comment made me smile! I can relate to having days so busy that I don’t remember if I’ve brushed my teeth. 🙂 I have been really happy with both my slow cooker and Instant Pot. I’ve linked to them both here. I have both a 6 quart and 8 quart Instant Pot. For your family size I would recommend the 6 quart.
Suggestions on cook times for different pasta? I plan in using twist pasta, will this effect cooking?
What is the stove top cook time listed on your package of pasta? I usually recommend taking the cook time on the package, dividing it in half, and then subtracting a minute to get your Instant Pot cook time. Be sure to do a quick release as soon as the cook cycle ends.
Recipe looks good and will try it soon. I am a bit confused with your time calculations above. “Cook at high pressure/manual for 5 minutes if using whole wheat spaghetti with a package cook time of 7-9 minutes. Cook at high pressure/manual for 7 minutes if using regular white spaghetti with a package cook time of 9-11 minutes.”
I am looking at a package of whole grain Linguine with a cook time 11-13 minutes. If I go by your calculation and divide the average of 10 minutes in half and subtracting a minute I would get a cooking time of 6-1 or 5 minutes. This is the same time as your recommended time of 5 minutes for 7-9 minute whole wheat. If I use white spaghetti with a cook time of 10 minutes it would come out at 4 minutes not the 7 minutes you suggest.
Could you clarify for me please? Thanks
I make this recipe about twice a month and the cook times given in the recipe always work well for me. If your pasta package lists a cook time of 11-13 minutes, I would suggest setting the pressure cook time to 8 minutes. If you prefer your pasta more al dente, you may want to cook it a few minutes less. I haven’t tested this recipe with linguine, however. I would be careful to really separate the noodles into small amounts when you arrange them in the crisscross pattern, as I worry that linguine pasta would be more likely to stick or clump together since it’s thicker than spaghetti. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
This was soooooo delicious and so easy. I am gluten intolerant and used Barilla gluten free pasta and it turned out perfect!!! Thanks so much
Thanks for sharing that the gluten free pasta worked! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this!
When do I add the water. I can’t see where that is.
You add it in Step 2, with the seasonings.
Hello, do you think you can put in frozen meatballs instead?
Hi Tracy,
Yes, you can use frozen meatballs instead of the ground beef and seasonings. Put the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the Instant Pot, then add the water, followed by the spaghetti, tomato sauce and marinara. Do not stir and pressure cook as directed in the recipe. I hope you enjoy!
Hi! Do you drain the meat after you brown it?
I don’t. I use 93% lean ground beef or lean ground turkey and there isn’t much grease after browning. You could, if there is a lot of grease after you brown the meat.
Hi! I’m curious have you tried adding additional sauce? My family loves saucy spaghetti, but it looks of looks like the instant pot dried up some of the sauce in your pics. I’m wondering if extra sauce would mess up the processes at all. Thanks!
You can add extra sauce and I would recommend doing so if you like saucy spaghetti. Enjoy!
This came out great and was fun to make in 1 pot! It’s been added to our regular dinner rotation.
I am so happy to hear that!
Delicious!! I doubled the recipe and it worked great.
You are my hero!!! I have made so many “tried and true” instant pot spaghetti recipes and no matter what I do or how closely I follow the recipe instructions, I always get a burn notice – and I even have the nonstick insert!
I made this last night and it was so quick and easy. I followed your instructions exactly and for the first time ever, an IP spaghetti recipe did exactly what it was supposed to.
Thank you so much!!! My boys also thank you! I will be making this recipe again and again.
I am so happy that you loved this recipe! It’s a favorite in my house too! 🙂
Cam I double this recipe?
Yes, you can. I would recommend using 3 1/2 cups of water instead of 4 in a double recipe. If you like a lot of meat in your pasta you can double the meat or just use 1 pound of meat in a double recipe for less meat.
I was wondering how much water to use in your recipe, glad you posted this. Thanks
Okay so I’m going to double this tonight but my question is how long would you cook it for with regular spaghetti noodles? Sorry if I sound clueless. This is my first time using my instant pot.
As noted in step 6 of the recipe, if you’re using regular white spaghetti you will cook it for 7 minutes. The cook time stays the same for a double recipe. When I double this recipe, I don’t double the amount of meat but double the rest of the ingredients. I’m making this tonight, too! Enjoy! 🙂
Ok, I have a couple of questions. I just got my instant pot for Christmas. I was wanting to make this for supper tonight. First, can you use spaghetti sauce instead of marinara sauce? Also, it seems like if you have 2 cups of water in it that it would dilute the spaghetti sauce too much. Does the water evaporate or what? I know it sounds like a stupid question, but I’m new to this. I usually use spaghetti sauce that I canned myself and it’s not a real thick sauce.
Hi Janet! Yes, you can use spaghetti sauce and marinara sauce interchangeably. Since you start with dry spaghetti and it cooks right in the pot, most of the water is absorbed by the spaghetti. If your sauce is very thin you can reduce the amount of water a little bit. As I noted in the recipe, the sauce will seem a bit watery when you first open the pot after cooking but will be absorbed after a few minutes. Congrats on your new Instant Pot! I think you’re going to love it once you get use to it!
I have made this 4 times. The first 2 were 1/2 recipes and they turned out perfectly. The second 2 gave me a “burn” reading and didn’t come up to pressure. They tasted ok and the pasta was cooked but why am I getting this reading and it being stuck on the bottom?
Hi Shelly, I’m sorry this didn’t work for you the second two times. I’ve never had an issue with a burn warning or the pot not coming to pressure for this recipe. What size Instant Pot are you using? Did you add the ingredients in the order directed and not stir after adding the pasta and sauce? It’s important to stir well after adding the water and spices and then not stir again after adding the pasta and sauce.
Hi, I hope you don’t mind me commenting in regard to the “BURN” notice. The little black bits that are left and stick to the bottom of the pot are called fonds. If the aren’t removed the IP will make those little black bits more hot and will be recognized as a burn. If you deglaze with broth, stock or any acid (wine, vinegar) and scrape the bits off the bottom and incorporate them you won’t get the “BURN” notice, promise. I hope this will help.
I have also found that some people forget to cancel the sauté process before pressing the pressure button, and that will also cause a BURN notice. The instructions in this recipe include scraping up the brown bits and turning off the pot, so thanks Kristine.
Thank you.
SO GOOD!!! My fiancé and I were so excited to find your recipe. It was quick and easy with very little clean up! Thank you for posting such an easy and delicious recipe.
( The fiancé loves garlic so we added a few minced cloves)
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the spaghetti! Fresh garlic sounds like a delicious addition.
My first actual entree done in the instant pot, and this recipe makes it so easy! It was also very delicious. I did swap out the black pepper with crushed red pepper, but i might do both next time, or add in some cayenne pepper. I do like a peppy spaghetti! Has anyone added a half can of crushed tomatoes or spicy rotel, or would they turn to mush after 7 minutes of pressure cooking?
Those modifications sound perfect if you like some heat in your spaghetti. Rotel or crushed tomatoes would work well in this recipe.
I’ll let u know how it goes. We are in progress. 9 mins to go
Hi there!
I’m starting to cook more meals with my instant pot and I LOVE your blog.
I do have a question though, when cooking the meat at the first part do you add any water? So you put in the meat in the instant pot but do you add any water to the meat for the instant pot to use when putting out the pressure?
Other then that it looks and sounds delicious!
Hi Savannah, I’m so glad you are enjoying my Instant Pot recipes! I have many more IP recipes coming so I hope you’ll keep following along. 🙂 For the spaghetti recipe, you first brown the meat using the saute mode (which does not require pressure or water). After the meat is browned you’ll add water along with the seasonings (see step 2 in the recipe). I hope that helps!
Just got my first IP yesterday so this was my first meal! It’s absolutely perfect and I’m so excited for how this will change my life. I haaaaate cooking and my toddler is going through a rough patch with eating. Combine those issues, and meal time quickly becomes the worst part of my day. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I used the Brilla GF spaghetti noodles, too. I set it to 4 minutes, just because GF noodles can be a little gummy, and they came out al dente. I like my noodles a little softer, so I’ll probably do 5 minutes next time.
Hi Jessica, I am so glad that you found my website because I love to help busy parents cook for their families! Thanks for sharing how this recipe worked with the gluten-free noodles. I’m sure others will appreciate the tip! You are going to love cooking with your Instant Pot!! Be sure to check out my IP category if you haven’t already. 🙂
I made this tonight!! It was great. I did a pound of turkey. 16 oz wheat pasta.. used about 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth instead of water. A 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and 14oz can of fire roasted tomato salsa… and used the same spices as listed in the recipe. Cooked for 5 min and then let mine sit for about 4 min before realeasing the pressure.. came out amazing … family loved it!
I’m so glad your family loved this spaghetti! Thank you for sharing how you made the recipe. 🙂
So I am brand new to this instapot. In sauté mode do I put the lid?? It says 30 minutes?
Hi Katherine! No lid for saute mode. In saute mode you use the Instant Pot the same way you would use a pan on the stove. The time will default to 30 minutes when you turn on saute mode, but you can turn it off at any time by pressing the cancel button. These are great questions and I love to help! I also have an Instant Pot guide that might be helpful.
I’ve used my IP a lot to make different dishes. I was worried about spaghetti though, because I didn’t want to overcook it. So I took the plunge and used your recipe. It was absolutely perfect. And so easy and quick. I love that I only used one pot and didn’t have to babysit the pasta and sauce while it cooked. Thank you so much!
Don’t you love the ease of the one pot for cooking and clean up?! I am thrilled to hear that you loved this recipe! Thanks for trying it! 🙂
I’ve never made this and looking to make it soon. I don’t see when you add the 2 cups water to the recipe… but it seems like that is important for the noodles. Let me know.
Thanks!
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix, You add the water in step 2, along with the seasonings. You’re right, the water is very important! It cooks the noodles and allows the Instant Pot to reach cooking pressure.
Just got my instapot, looking forward to using your recipes
I have a 4 quart IP (cooking for one). Can you help me adapt the recipe for the smaller IP?
I don’t have experience using the mini instant pot. A half recipe will probably work, but I can’t say for sure without testing it out myself.
I have a 2-1/2 quart (10 cup) IP and I followed the recipe as stated and it was great. Also did it with extra ground turkey since I had in on hand and same cooking times.
Hi! I’m so glad I found your website. First time using instant pot. Will this recipe work for DUO mini (3 quart)? I’m reading while unboxing it! Wish me luck in cooking the spaghetti 🙂
Yes, this recipe should work in a 3 quart pot. Good luck and enjoy the spaghetti!
I followed the recipe but used 12 oz of spaghetti and 2 and half cups of water. It turned out perfect. Awesome recipe and only one pot to clean. I used the Crock Pot brand Instant Pot. It has a non stick coating and worked great.
The one pot clean up at the end is one of my favorite parts of this recipe! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Looking forward to trying this out. Would there be any difference in time if using Angel Hair noodles instead of Spaghetti noodles?
There could be. The general rule for pasta in the Instant Pot is to cook it in the Instant Pot for half of the cook time listed on the pasta package. If the package cook time is an odd number so you don’t get a whole number when you halve it, round down. If you prefer your pasta al dente (firmer), subtract one more minute from the cook time after cutting it in half.
Perfect – thanks!
If the pasta box said cook for three minutes, would you go as short as two minutes. Our pasta box said three and we used your recipe before seeing this comment. Very good but got a little burn/stuck pasta on bottom.
If your pasta box says to boil the pasta for 3 minutes I would definitely cook it for only 1 or 2 minutes in the Instant Pot.
We like to add some vinegar to our sauce because a lot of times it is too sweet. Is it fine to add vinegar to the water/spice step?
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. I hope you enjoy the spaghetti!
What a surprise! After I decided to make spaghetti for supper, I got to wondering if I could make the noodles in the IP without overcooking them – I’d never tried. I did a Google search and found your recipe for doing the entire dish in the IP. I was a bit uncertain about it, but decided to try it. It turned out perfect! And in far less time. Wow – this is going to be my spaghetti recipe from now on. Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that this recipe worked so well for you! Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
My speghetti was not done after cooking time. Not sure what I did wrong 🙁
Pasta was a bit too al dente (some of the spaghetti was still kind of crunchy lol). Will make again with extra minute cook time and maybe 3 minutes natural release. Thanks!!!
I’ve never had my pasta turn out crunchy – was it all covered by the sauce? I hope it turns out perfect for you with the extra minute of cook time. 🙂
The best!!! This has become a weekly staple in my house. Everyone loves it, the only thing that I did different was add more meat (per my husband’s request). But other then that it was perfect and creamy. So happy I found this recipe. It sure does make cooking dinner on a busy weeknight EASY! Thank you!!!
Yay! This is one of my family’s very favorites, too. I’m so glad your family is enjoying it!
WOW! Is pretty much all I can say. My husband and I eat spaghetti on a weekly basis and I normally take about 30 minutes for the sauce to simmer. And I usually cook the pasta separately and my husband complains of the bland flavor. This takes care of both a quick dinner and flavorful since the pasta cooks in the sauce. Will definitely be making this a regular in my household!
I’m so happy you loved this! It’s one of our favorite dinners. 🙂
I made this last night for my fam. It was SO GOOD! 🙂
Thank you!
Would adding fresh red pepper and mushrooms in during sauté mode yield decent results do you think?
Yes! That will work perfect, and is a great way to sneak in some extra veggies.
I’ve done this recipe once before and absolutely LOVED it! My question this time around is is it okay to double this recipe? And with that, do I also need to double the cooking time? I’m still fairly new to using my IP, and I’ve had troubles in the past with undercooking things like noodles and rice!
Hi Carly, This recipe is perfect for doubling. Just double the ingredients, but keep the cook time the same. Depending on how much meat you like in your pasta, you may find that you don’t need to double the amount of ground turkey or beef, just the other ingredients. 🙂
I’m making the spaghetti recipe as we speak, fingers crossed!?? I’m super new to the whole IP movement! So it may be naive of me, but when I’m setting the timer I didn’t realize it only does minutes, not seconds so when I was trying to do 7 min, It would go up to 4:00 only and I was getting pretty frustrated until I googled this, and find out that it’s actually 4 hours! So to all new IP users 00:04 is actually 4 minutes! No wonder my water test did not work!
I’m glad you figured it out! Thank goodness for Google. 🙂 I hope the spaghetti turned out great!
My husband hates traditional spaghetti, but he’ll eat it as a side with chicken. Have you ever tried this starting out with chicken breasts/tenderloins instead of ground beef? I want to try it but just wondering if you think the settings should be any different. Thanks!
Hi Jodi, I have not tried this with chicken but I think you could make it work. My guess is that chicken tenders will cook perfectly in 5 minutes with a quick release, so I would try that as a starting point. I’d skip the step of browning the meat, put the chicken in the bottom of the pot followed by the other ingredients as directed in the recipe. If you decide to give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out! 🙂
I used chicken. I just followed what she said in her reply. I dumped everything in the instant pot and did pressure cook for 7 minutes. Came out amazing and chicken cooked. Only thing is I cut my chicken breast in square pieces when its raw and then stick everything in the instant pot.
I’m not sure what I did. I had to cook mine longer than said. It wasn’t done yet.
Hi Crystal, Without being there in your kitchen with you or having more information about how you prepared the recipe, it’s hard for me to troubleshoot. If you layered the ingredients as described in the recipe and arranged your pasta in a criss cross shape, it should be done in the cook times given in the recipe. The other thing to consider is the stove top cook time listed on the package for the type of pasta you used. See my notes in the recipe for cook time guidance. One last thought – did you pressure cook on high pressure? And was the steam release valve set to the sealing position? With more information about your process and the type of pasta you used I might be able to help.
Can I use gluten free pasta and if so Is the cooking time the same?
Hi Jennifer, Good question! Read through the comments, as a few other readers have tried this recipe with gluten free pasta with good success. They left their tips in the comments after this recipe. 🙂
This recipe was the first one I made in my first Instant Pot (Duo Eve Plus) that I bought today! Neither my husband or I could believe how amazing this spaghetti was! He said it was better than his favorite spaghetti from a restaurant and I could make it every day for the rest of his life. (Um, no thank you.) Simple, with terrific flavors. )I used Rao’s Homemade Marinara and Rao’s spaghetti and lean ground beef. Spaghetti in 7 minutes – who knew?!?! Thank you!
How can I incorporate frozen meatballs (already cooked) into this recipe?
I followed this recipe to a T last week and loved, loved, loved it!!!
I made enough to share with my son and his family, but it never made it to them. My taste buds over rode their wants.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! You would put the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the pot, followed by the water and seasonings. Then layer the spaghetti on top and pour on the sauce. Cook time will be the same. Enjoy!
Spaghetti came out basically uncooked with the listed ingredients. Very disappointed
I’m sorry that happened. I know it’s disappointing when a recipe doesn’t turn out. I’ve made this recipe as written at least a dozen times so I’d like to help you troubleshoot if you can give me more information. Did you turn the steam release valve to the sealing position? If not, the pot won’t reach pressure so the food won’t cook properly. What was the cook time listed on your package of pasta and how long did you set the cook time for?
Third time making this (see my first comment 10/27), first with beef, second time and today with turkey (it’s cooking now). I don’t have Italian seasoning so just mixed some up based on an on-line recipe, light on the oregano since it’s not my fave.
Question: do you let the IP heat up before sautéing or just dump the ground beef or turkey in? I haven’t waited, and while both are thoroughly cooked before I turn off the IP to add the other ingredients, they never actually brown or leave any browned bits. Sauté is at the highest setting (6 on a Duo Evo Plus). Do you think that’s because I haven’t waited? It’s not a big deal; we love it anyway, but am curious. Thanks again for a great recipe.
I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying this recipe, Beth! I do let the IP heat up for a few minutes on saute before adding the meat, but it still doesn’t brown as well as it would in a skillet. Like you said, it cooks fine but just doesn’t get much brown color. In my experience that’s just one small drawback of the Instant Pot, compared to a skillet.
This came out perfect! I couldn’t believe it. Thank you!
So easy but so delicious! I used a full pound of meat and thought it was the perfect amount of meat.
Made this for the 5th (?) time. On a regular rotation, so fast, easy, delicious. We use Rao’s Homemade Marinara sauce and ground turkey. Rao’s also makes a “sensitive” marinara for those who can’t tolerate garlic or onion. I was told the co-owner of Rao’s can’t eat onions or garlic, which is how that sauce came about.
I stumbled across this recipe when searching for an instapot spaghetti recipe and wanted to let you know it turned out amazing! I am usually hesitant about following instapot recipes as the cooking times never quite work out for me, things are either undercooked or too mushy but I followed this recipe to the T and loved your detailed instructions including the various cooking times for different package cook times. This was hubby and toddler approved and will be part of the regular rotation, thank you again and can’t wait to try your other recipes!
I’m so happy that your family enjoyed this! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. I hope you enjoy my other instant pot recipes!
we made spaghetti for first dish in our IP turned out perfectly. only change we made was our choice of meat was Elk burger. was delicious. thank you so much
First dish in the Instant Pot and it turned out perfectly!! I added an extra minute for my whole wheat spaghetti because the normal cook time was 10-12 (did 6 minutes instead of 5). Also used turkey instead of beef. So good!!
Made the instant pot spaghetti. It was delicious. It cooked perfectly. Flavors blended very well. Spaghetti still had a little bite. I did saute some onions along with the ground beef and see in my future adding even more vegetables.
I am a new instant pot owner and am having a great time trying new recipes.
I really enjoy your blog.
I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying my recipes! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 🙂
Well! I was skeptical of the two cups of water, but as you said, just wait a few minutes. And, I used ground chicken and Great Value brand “half spaghetti” (I normally use thin spaghetti). It is perfect! I work seven days on and seven days off (12-hour shifts), so I’m always looking for “batch” recipes so I can have seven breakfasts, lunches, and suppers prepared before I start work. My pressure cooker (not name-brand) has become my new best friend.
I’ve bookmarked your site. Not only do your recipes look amazing, but it is also so well organized and user-friendly! Thank you for your passion and hard work.
Thank you Melissa!
Can this recipe be doubled in the instant pot?
Yes, I’ve doubled this recipe in my 6 quart instant pot. Depending on how much meat you like in your spaghetti, you may not need to double the amount of ground beef. Enjoy!
Easy and Delicious!
Yum! This turned out great! I used 16 oz of spaghetti because we wanted leftovers. To maintain ratios, we doubled the pasta sauce, but I only used 3 total cups of water because I was afraid of watering down the flavor. (I used very thin — Whole Wheat angel hair pasta.) I also used 98% lean ground turkey. The flavor was impressive throughout and the kids cleaned their plates. We will definitely make this again. Thanks!
Incredibly easy and incredible tasting! I can’t believe something so Easy was so good! Thanks so much. I had thin spaghetti with a cook time of 6-7 minutes so I did 6 minutes perfect!
Question: I have a couple of club size jars of marinara that are 40 ounces. What would happen if I poured all that sauce on top of the pasta?
I have those same size jars of pasta sauce. It would turn out fine, the pasta would just be extra saucy. 🙂
What is the approximate size of a serving, as prepared, in cups or fractions of cups.
I’m doing meal prep and this is one of my favourite recipes but am wanting to watch my portions so I need to know the approximate size of a serving in cups/fractions of cups. Need to know by 8/26/22 if at all possible.
Thanks!
Jess.
Hi Jess,
The nutrition information listed under the recipe is an estimate, and can vary based on the exact ingredients you use. It is calculated based on the recipe being 8 servings, so it would be 1/8 of the recipe. I have not measured out the serving size in cups.
So simple and delicious!! Can’t be any easier!
Kristine has turned me into a boomerang. I just keeping coming back and back and back to this recipe using Rao’s Marinara. My husband adores it, and I adore the incredibly quick prep. Thank you again. And again.
Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods and this didn’t disappoint. My picky husband loved it. It was my 1st try other than the water test using my instapot and gave me the courage to use this new favorite appliance. Simple and tasty. (I ate 3 helpings???)
Best Spaghetti I had in a long time! I use half Ground Beef and half Sweet Italian Sausage. Thank you for sharing something so delicious
Followed recipe as written and only used 1/2 lb of ground beef because, as pointed out in the tips, a full pound makes it really heavy with meat and I don’t particularly care for that. Dinner was on the table in no time; this was very easy and clean up was a breeze. I did notice flavors were there but, unlike traditional preparation, certain tastes can’t be replicated in an IP. For example, despite the spices and salt added per the recipe, the meat and pasta seemed to taste “flat”. The meat lacked that seasoned meaty flavor and the pasta, though cooked perfectly, seem under seasoned. Think next time I’ll add additional salt while browning the ground beef. As for the pasta, I’ll admit I’m “snobby” in that regard as the true secret to a great pasta dish is boiling pasta in water salted to taste like the sea. It’s these subtle nuances that make a good pasta dish a great pasta dish. Though the ingredients were perfectly layered the flavors weren’t. But will definitely make this again and will probably experiment with some veggie add-ins like fresh garlic, onion or chopped carrot in the saute. Maybe some grated cheese and splash of milk at end like a bolognese, etc. Thanks for the recipe.
I used this recipe as a template for converting my mom’s spaghetti meat sauce recipe to the insta-pot. Mom’s recipe calls for tomato paste, water, spices, fresh cloves of garlic chopped and a medium sized yellow onion chopped. This all turned out to be just about 25 ounces.
So I decided to give it a try. I added olive oil to the ground beef before browning along with salt and pepper. I also normally use a 16 oz box of paste. So I add 3 1/2 cups water and cooked for six minutes instead of five.
It turned out very good. I will use this during the warm summer months to keep the kitchen cooler.
So I totally messed up. But I hope it taste good in the end. I didn’t see anywhere on the recipe went to add water. So I didn’t add it. I wasn’t even thinking. I hope it turns out good though. I went ahead and put the water in and turned it on for another for five minutes
Hi Tiffany,
I hope your recipe turns out. The water is included in Step 2 of the Instructions.
I make my own sauce in my crockpot. I have a 3 qt instant pot. I put 2-1/2-3 cups water in the instant pot, Added 10-12 oz of spaghetti noodles, broken in half, in after the water. On top of the noodles, I added my sauce to the fill line inside my instant pot, 3-4 large ladles full. I set the instant pot for 3 minutes with quick release. After I opened the lid and stirred it all together, I added a bit more sauce. Turned out perfect. My past directions said cook 8 minute on stove top. I divided in half and subtracted 1..giving me the 3 minute cook time.
I received an insant pot on my 77th birthday back in September and I love it. I love it but I’m still learning how to use all its features. The one thing I would never have thought of making with it was spaghetti, but I tried a slightly altered version of this recipe this afternoon and it turned out perfect. I substituted spicy pork sausage for the ground beef, 4-cheeses[aghetti sauce for the Maranaura sauce, a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes and four large Jalopena pepper. I really love spicey foods.
I will be dlin g more of your recipes. I’m already getting your newsletters and have liked you FB Page.
Just made spaghetti using the CPE for the first time. I mostly followed this recipe but used 12 oz of spaghetti noodles, a quart of home canned Tomato Basil Simmer Sauce and a 24 oz can of store bought spaghetti sauce. It was very saucy but tasted great. I will continue to make this in the future. Thank you for the recipe.
We have made this recipe several times. In fact, this is the only way we cook our spaghetti now. Most of the time I use the recipe exactly as written. With the exception that the pasta sauce I buy doesn’t come in 25 oz. I have never had any issues. We have always used your tips to be sure NOT to stir before covering, as well as stirring well once opened & letting rest a few minutes before serving. Perfect EVERY TIME! We have occasionally added mushrooms or red pepper flakes & once I added a can of Italian style diced tomatoes & an extra cup of water when I accidentally used nearly all 16 oz spaghetti. All were good additions, but no changes necessary. The recipe is perfect as written!
I have not made this recipe as yet. I was going to make it with ground turkey, but I picked up ground chicken by mistake. Can I make it with ground chicken? Should I add any oil? Will all other ingredients and cook times be the same? THANKS!!
While ground chicken would not be my first choice for this recipe because it is so lean, it will work fine. I would add a tablespoon of oil to the Instant Pot to saute the ground chicken in. You can keep the other ingredients and cook time the same.
My husband and I LOVED this recipe! The chicken worked out fine with a tablespoon of oil, but I think ground turkey is more flavorful. I will definitely do it with turkey next time since I don’t eat beef. The recipe is so easy and flavorful. I was wondering if you can substitute some red wine for any of the water?
THANKS AGAIN!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I wouldn’t recommend using wine in this recipe because the alcohol flavor may not cook off during pressure cooking and may be flammable when you release the pot.
THANK YOU!
When I told my wife about this recipe she was kind of reluctant. She didn’t believe that we could cook even the noodles in the same pot at the same time. We both loved it.
Easy and delicious! Thanks for a great mid-week dinner recipe!
I have made this recipe a few times and it has never failed me! It’s such an easy and basic recipe that I can easily adjust according to what else I want to add to my pasta. I know I can whip this up in a pinch after a long day at work and it’s absolutely delicious. The spaghetti comes out perfectly cooked! Thank you!
I make this recipe often and it is absolutely delish every time. I wanted to make for guest coming tomorrow and read the comments on doubling the recipe. I will be using 16oz of pasta, should I also double the sauce and do the 3 1/2 cups of water?
I double this recipe all the time and it works wonderfully. I use 1 pound of meat, double the seasonings, 4 cups of water, 16 ounces of spaghetti, 25 ounce jar marinara sauce and 15 ounce can tomato sauce. The cook time stays the same. 🙂
Just made this for the 1st time. My hubz and I really liked it. I was happy that the spaghetti did not get mushy. The texture was great. I added chopped onion and minced garlic to the meat while cooking it. I also threw in a handful of mozzarella pearls after I released the pressure as well as a couple of TBSP. of parmasean cheese. Very good, I will make this again. Thank you.
Tried this tonight and couldn’t believe how fast and how much better this was then using a pot to boil spaghetti. Everything was perfectly cooked and hot when served. I will be checking out more of your recipes! Thanks!
Can this be made with plant based ground meat?
I haven’t tried using plant based ground meat in the pressure cooker, but if you decide to try it let me know how it turns out.
Quick, easy, and delicious. Like so many others, I was skeptical, but the results were great. Even my wife likes it. And she hates change and rejects all things instant pot (except everything I cook!)
I used Kroger Marinara Sauce, Anthony’s Spaghetti, and 80% organic grass fed ground beef. It was yummy!! However, I felt like the whole 16 ounce package of spaghetti could have been used since there was enough sauce. Can I just add 2 more cups of water if I want to add 8 more ounces of spaghetti?
I’m glad you enjoyed this! I often make this recipe with a full 16 ounces of spaghetti. I double the water and seasonings and add in one 15 ounce can of tomato sauce in addition to the jar of marinara sauce. I use one pound of meat and keep the cook time the same. I hope that helps.
Yea, that definitely helps! Thanks for the suggestions!
Maybe this was answered already and if so I apologize. My husband is weird and doesn’t like any kind of pasta in his spaghetti sauce. He puts the sauce over cornbread or Fritos. So can you tell me how long to cook the sauce without spaghetti in it. I’m cooking it right now for 10 minutes. It may be too long. I cook the pasta separate on the stove for myself and that’s how we eat our sauce. LOL.
I have not tried cooking just this meat sauce in the Instant Pot. Without the spaghetti (and water) you might get a burn notice. You could either use my Instant Pot Meatballs recipe (which calls for cooking the meatballs in marinara sauce plus some water) as a guide, or you could cook the sauce on the stove instead of using the Instant Pot. Good luck!
Made this and double it. It came out perfect. I’m staying in a hotel till my house is ready and brought my EPC & Airfryer so I can cook and not eat out. This is the 1st time cooking spaghetti and electric pressure cooker. I think I will do it this way for now on out. Super easy and delicious!
WOW, Recipes! Thanks for supercharging tips for that to make it more delicious spaghetti…
This is my go to spaghetti. I don’t fix it any other way anymore. Hubby loves it, grandchildren love it and I love it. So fast and easy. Thank you Kristine.
So easy, simple, and only one pot to clean! This will be my go to recipe for old fashioned spaghetti.
I am sure it would also be good with frozen meatballs. Thanks.
Delicious! I sauteed zucchini and onion in a separate pan, added another can of marinara sauce to that, and then added it in after the main dish was done. I also forgot to add the water….whoops! I completely missed it in Step 2. But the pasta still came out great with just cooking it in sauce haha.
Hi Alice, I’m really surprised the pot came to pressure and didn’t give you a burn message without the water, but glad it worked out!