This Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe is the easiest one-pot meal ready in less than 30 minutes! Add everything to the pot and the pasta cooks right in the homemade flavorful meat sauce.
Our Instant Pot Spaghetti practically cooks itself.
Our Instant Pot Spaghetti practically cooks itself.I love this Instant Pot Spaghetti because everything cooks together in just one pot, which means minimal mess and easy cleanup. It joins the ranks of our other favorite 30 minute meals, and the Instant Pot perfectly cooks the noodles, browns the meat, and blends it all together with a rich, flavorful homemade sauce. And, who doesn't love spaghetti for dinner?
Don't miss my other instant pot recipes like Beef Gyros, Instant Pot Short Ribs, Instant Pot Pasta and Meatballs, and Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
How to make Instant Pot Spaghetti:
Cook Meat & Assemble: Brown the meat in the Instant Pot on sauté, drain grease, and stir in onions and spices. Break pasta in half and place on top. Make sauce by mixing crushed tomatoes and tomato paste together then pour over noodles. Add water.
Cook & Serve: Pressure cook on Manual for 5 minutes, allow a 5-minute natural release, then turn valve for a quick release. Toss and serve with fresh parmesan, red pepper flakes (optional), and parsley. I love to serve this with homemade breadsticks or garlic knots and a wedge salad.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
- salt , pepper,
- 1 small yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese , for topping
- fresh chopped parsley , chopped, for garnish
- crushed red pepper flakes , optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown meat: Set the Instant Pot to saute. Add the ground beef and sausage, and season well with salt and pepper. Cook the meat, breaking the meat up into pieces until it’s browned. Drain grease.½ pound lean ground beef, ½ pound ground Italian sausage, salt
- (Optional: I like to put the meat in my food processor and pulse it 2-3 times to break it up into very small pieces. I think it makes the sauce smoother and yummier. Then add it back to the IP).
- Add onion to the pot and cook until tender, 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, garlic powder, sugar, basil, Italian seasonings, and red wine vinegar. Turn the Instant Pot off.1 small yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, 3 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and sugar, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Add pasta and finish sauce: Break the spaghetti noodles in half and place on top of meat mixture. Stir together the crushed tomato and tomato paste and pour over the noodles. Add water.8 ounces spaghetti noodles, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 cup water
- Pressure Cook: Push the spaghetti down with a spoon if necessary to make they are submerged. Seal the instant pot and set it to manual mode, high pressure, 5 minutes cooking time.
- When the time is up, allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes, and then do a quick release. Open IP and gently toss everything together.
- Serve warm topped with fresh parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, and fresh chopped parsley.⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh chopped parsley
Notes
- Instant Pot Bolognese: Add ½ pound diced pancetta, 1 diced carrot, and 1 diced celery rib when you brown the meat. Pour in ½ cup of red wine to deglaze the pot. Continue with the seasonings, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Only add ½ cup of water. Pressure cook for 20 minutes with a natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release. Add more tomato paste and seasonings, if desired. Stir in ¼ cup heavy cream with fresh parmesan cheese. Boil noodles separately in pot on stove.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs: Instead of browning the meat, add cooked, frozen meatballs to the bottom of the pot first, then continue layering the ingredients as the recipe instructs. Or try my Instant Pot Penne and Meatballs.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti without Meat: Skip the meat, and add the dry noodles in the bottom of the pot. Mix tomatoes and tomato paste together and pour over noodles. Add seasonings and water on top, then cook as directed in recipe.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated May 2021 and August 2025.
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This was amazing! Thank you for this. I used two smaller cans of unsalted diced tomatoes that I whirred in my blender a bit with the tomato paste and had to guess at the amount of pasta since my boxes of Smart Taste spaghetti are 12 oz but ti came out really good. I added salt to taste afterwards. Will be making spaghetti this way from now on.
My first time making spaghetti in the Instant Pot Vive. I used some of the ingredients in your recipe, but I also put in fresh mushrooms & green pepper in to it. I also used a can of Hunts Spaghetti Sauce, I used one cup of water and some of the noodles came out ok & a little hard. So I think I’m gonna us 2 cups of water next time and plus I used a 12oz. of Veggie Pasta (which was Tomato & Carrot). Or next time I’ll make it with all of your ingredients instead of the can of pasta sauce. I’m gonna try your other recipes, which they sounds really good. Thanks!!
Hello! I just want to verify that I should only use 8oz of pasta and not a full pound.
Thanks!
That’s right. If you want to use a pound, double the ingredients 🙂
I made this the other night. I didn’t have sausage so used all ground beef. After I browned the meat, I used an old fashion potato masher to break it up vs the food processor. The taste was really good; however, it was too dry. Next time I’ll doubke the sauce part.
Used Dell Grosso pasta sauce and a splash of beer and it was delicious but a little dry, might add diced tomatoes next time.
I made your recipe last night and it was absolutely delicious! The only thing I added was some cream cheese, about 3 tablespoons, at the very end TDF!! Thank you!
Thanks so much Noreen!
I made this with about 7-8 oz. elbow macaroni, a 24 oz. can of Hunt’s spaghetti sauce and 1 1/4 cups water. I cooked it 9 minutes in the instant pot with a five minute rest before releasing pressure. It was very good. The pasta was al dente. If you prefer mushier noodles, I would increase water to 1 1/2 cups and increase cooking time to 11 minutes. Also, I used only about half a pound of cooked sausage, and I sauteed about two cups of chopped veggies ( combination of onions, green pepper, and fresh mushrooms) before adding the remaining ingredients (meat, sauce, pasta, water). My hisband loved it! We served it with shredded mozzarella and a green salad.
It was an easy kid friendly recipe. The noodles where not over cooked. I made it with hot Italian sausage, extra seasoning and cheese. Found it rather bland.
I’ll try the recipe again. I was afraid that I wouldn’t like the sauce cooked with the pasta but that was good quick and less clean up.
Any body just make it with regular pasta sauce with added water?
Yes! I made this recipe with a can of Hunt’s pasta sauce and some water. See my review below.
This was my first time using the Instant Pot. The recipe was perfect for an “Instant Pot” beginner and was absolutely delicious! I did increase the time by three minutes based on reviews, used only ground beef, a sugar substitute and added shredded carrots. Thanks for a wonderful one-pot recipe! I will definitely check out your other recipes.
I was really surprised on how much I liked this as I don’t like my pasta soaked in sauce. The only thing I changed was I used all ground beef as I didn’t have pork and I added a chopped carrot and omitted the sugar. It turned out awesome. Ohhh and I did do it for 8 minutes becuae the pasta wasn’t cooked in 5 min.