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.

The best Instant Pot Spaghetti has a homemade meat sauce and cooks the noodles perfectly! It's the easiest weeknight meal ready in under 30 minutes!

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.

Instant Pot Spaghetti is the easiest homemade meal you can make! It's all made in one pot, hearty and delicious, and on the table in under 30 minutes!

Follow me for more great recipes

Recipe

The best Instant Pot Spaghetti has a homemade meat sauce and cooks the noodles perfectly! It's the easiest weeknight meal ready in under 30 minutes!
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 25 minutes
Save Recipe

Ingredients
 
 

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

Make Ahead Instructions: The meat can be browned up to 2 days in advance.
Freezing Instructions: Remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Store in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. For best results, cook the spaghetti for only 3 minutes at high pressure, so the noodles don't over cook when reheated, after freezing.
Try my other Instant Pot Recipes!
Variations:
  • 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

Calories: 380kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 21gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 523mgPotassium: 779mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 420IUVitamin C: 15.9mgCalcium: 78mgIron: 3.9mg

Follow Me

Get recipe ideas weekly!

I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated May 2021 and August 2025.

This post contains affiliate links.

Related Posts

Share Recipe

About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

0 0 votes
Recipe Rating
4.75 from 54 votes (26 ratings without comment)
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

62 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Marlo Link
3 years ago

5 stars
I thought this recipe was very easy and delicious! I made it exactly as it was! I love how easily I can adapt it next time although I probably won’t be making any changes. Thanks for another excellent recipe!!!

kenzie m
4 years ago

Can you adapt this to not be in the instapot?

Borkum
4 years ago

4 stars
Great recipe. I felt it was a little light on the seasonings. I will double them next time. I am a little perplexed about you calorie counts. Did you forget the decimal or did you not mean kcal?

Brenda
4 years ago

I’m wondering how I could do this with the meat, then add jar of spaghetti sauce..I’m assuming I would still have to add 1 cup of water so the noodles would cook.

Sharon
5 years ago

5 stars
Please mention adding the basil in step 5. I used ground turkey and turkey Italian sausage instead of the meats mentioned. Also used fresh basil in place of parsley for the garnish. We only got about 4 servings out of this.

Jackie McDaniel
5 years ago

Could it be made this way without meat?

Heidi
5 years ago

5 stars
This is a GREAT recipe and so easy to make!! My family loves it!! Thanks so much for sharing!! 🙂

Helen
5 years ago

5 stars
This was an excellent spaghetti recipe, which I followed exactly. My husband, who doesn’t like spaghetti, said it was the best ever and could I make it again the same way! I tried another recipe last night, and he said that’s not the same as the last time you made it, and he doesn’t want any other recipe again!

Audrey
5 years ago

4 stars
Overall it ended up good but my spaghetti did not cook through for some reason. I actually thought 5 minutes was going to be too much! I ended up putting the IP in sauté and sort of boiled the noodles for a few more minutes. Other than that, the recipe had great flavor.

Deborah Dunnaway
5 years ago

Tried the meatloaf … great cooking time! When adding sea seasoning do i need to add more of each!! Everything i cook taste blane