Instant Pot Spaghetti

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This Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe will save your sanity at suppertime!  This is probably the best Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe out there, thanks to one or two not-that-secret ingredients! Read on to find out what they are and how to make spaghetti in your Instant Pot!

Making Spaghetti in your Instant Pot is a Lifesaver!

This Instant Pot spaghetti is so good with my favourite jarred sauce, I’ll admit it! I am going to be honest, there is nothing like homemade sauce however we don’t all have a) the time to make it or b) a stash of homemade bolgonese in the freezer. If you prefer homemade, try our sister sites, Homemade Meat Sauce.

I love to use a good store bought four cheese jarred sauce, it’s always the best sauce to buy. The flavour is really strong, so you don’t get a watered down product by the time you add the tomatoes.

 Instant Pot Spaghetti Tips and Tricks

• Choose a jarred spaghetti sauce that has a ton of flavour. If you put a bland sauce that is all tomatoes then the diced tomatoes are going to dilute the flavour in the sauce.
• If you don’t have a jarred sauce that is flavourful, add in another tsp of Italian seasoning. Remember that you are adding in a can of tomatoes that doesn’t have flavour, unless you but the petite diced tomatoes with seasoning. Even then it’s pretty mild seasoning.
• Cook the onions very thoroughly! If you don’t cook the onions until they are soft at the very beginning, the acids in the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes will seal them and stop the cooking process.
• Make sure that you pour a little water into the ground beef mixture first. Your Instant Pot NEEDS to have liquid on the bottom in order to seal and come to pressure!
• Read all about the Instant Pot Safety Mechanisms and learn them. It’s important to learn about your pressure cooker!
• SECRET INGREDIENT ALERT: it’s the beef broth! Yes, why use water when you can use a light beef broth instead? Using beef broth in your Instant Pot Spaghetti is going to make it ten times better than all the other recipes out there, I promise!
• Also a secret ingredient is white sugar! Yes! Any and all award winning tomato based recipes use a bit of white sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.

Which Instant Pot should I use for this Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe?

We recommend the following Instant Pots:

What Do I Need to Know About Making Instant Pot Spaghetti?

This recipe is pretty easy but here are some ways to make sure that your supper is a complete hit with the family!

1.  You need to learn how to release your Instant Pot pressure manually while being SAFE while you are doing it! Safety first!  You can’t let this recipe naturally release or the spaghetti will overcook so you are going to have to learn how to manually release your Instant Pot pressure. Read about Manually and Naturally Releasing Your Instant Pot .
2. The spaghetti noodles will probably stick together somewhat. . If the noodles are clumped simply stir them into the mixture once you open your Instant Pot. Make sure to be careful while stirring the hot spaghetti and sauce.
3. MAKE SURE YOUR INSTANT POT SEALS!  I have had my Instant Pot go on and on forever without sealing and I ended up with burnt food on the bottom. The steam will whistle out and then suddenly stop. If you don’t hear this and it doesn’t seal, the element will simply keep heating the bottom of the Instant Pot and the top won’t seal…and you end up with a terrible mess.
4. IF you don’t hear your Instant Pot seal within 5-6 minutes ( It should seal fast as all of your ingredients are pretty warm from cooking the beef etc.) then press the Cancel button. Open it carefully and wipe off the top tracks where it seals. Check your inner seal and see if it’s on correctly. When my Instant Pot fails to seal it’s always because there is something dirty on the track or the sealing ring isn’t on properly. Start the process all over again.
5. READ this article on Pressure Cooking at Different Altitudes! This will help you learn how to adjust times! I am at 2100 feet above sea level for this recipe.

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Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe

This Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe is a crowd pleaser! Kids and adults alike will love this easy spaghetti dinner!

4.80 from 5 votes

Review Save Saved!Print

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

7 minutes

Total Time

17 minutes

Course

Main Course

Cuisine

American

Servings

4

Calories

734

Equipment

Instant Pot

Author

Fast & Slow Cooking

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 1 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 cup white onion diced
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
• ▢ 1 lb lean ground beef
• ▢ 2 tsp Italian seasoning mix
• ▢ 1 16 oz. package uncooked white flour spaghetti noodles cooking time for al dente needs to be 9-10 minutes!
• ▢ 1 750 ml jar of 4 cheese spaghetti sauce
• ▢ 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• ▢ 3 cups weak beef broth divided
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt to taste
• ▢ 1/2 tsp black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 tsp white sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes

Instructions

 

• Press the “saute” button on your Instant Pot. Add in the olive oil and heat. Once it’s heated, add in the white onion. Saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add in the garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the ground beef and fry , stirring constantly, until it’s no longer pink. Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot heating element. Drain the fat (keeping some for flavour if wanted).
• Add in 1 cup of the beef broth, mixing it in with the ground beef on the bottom.
• Break the spaghetti noodles in half. Place in random, different criss-cross patterns on top of the beef/ beef broth mixture. You are trying to created space between the noodles to try and prevent sticking.
• In a large bowl or large glass spouted measuring glass, combine the remaining beef broth, tomatoes, 4 cheese sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and dash of white sugar.
• Pout the liquid mixture on top of the pasta, around the sides, making sure you coat everything. Take a wooden spoon and gently push down on the spaghetti noodles, making sure that they are all underneath the liquid.
• Press the Manual Button ( you are going to use high pressure) and set for 7 minutes. Listen to make sure that it seals.
• When it’s done, release the valve manually ( see the link in my suggestions in the post above). Stir the spaghetti, breaking up any noodles that stuck together. Let it sit for a few minutes, soaking up the extra liquid.

Recipe Notes

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods etc.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 734kcal, Carbohydrates: 110g, Protein: 46g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 2039mg, Potassium: 1662mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 960IU, Vitamin C: 27.3mg, Calcium: 133mg, Iron: 8mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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