Instant Pot Spaghetti – The easiest spaghetti recipe ever! A quick recipe for spaghetti made right in the instant pot. Get a family favorite meal on the table even faster on busy nights!
Ok, you guys. I resisted as long as I could.
It was definitely time for me to get myself an Instant Pot, and see what all the fuss is about!
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll already know I bought one.
You may have been waiting and wondering what kind of dinner concoction was going to come out first.
Well, spaghetti it is!
It might SEEM boring, and unoriginal, but….c’mon, spaghetti is a total crowd pleasing, family favorite, classic.
Why not start there?
I was sitting around reading the manual for said Instant Pot and contemplating what to try first, when my son suggested spaghetti.
He loves spaghetti. Could eat it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, and dinner. Not kidding.
Do any of you have an Instant Pot already? Thinking about getting one? I’d love to hear what you think!
For now, here are my first impressions.
Before I even used the thing my initial reaction was that this thing is BIG. Way bigger than my crockpot, and much heavier.
I got the 8 quart, which I’m happy about. Just saying, if you’re going to get one, make sure you have the room for it!
Definitely read the manual. If you don’t, you’ll probably feel stressed out and confused at all of the different buttons and parts.
My impression during and after making the spaghetti (which I did a few times to make sure cooking time would be accurate for you).
It was strange at first not being able to peek in the top like you can with a slow cooker. Ummmm, is this thing on?
But, you can definitely hear that there is some boiling going on inside.
It really did cook the spaghetti just perfectly!
The noodles weren’t “gummy” being cooked all together with the meat/sauce/water, which was something I was worried about.
I may actually like spaghetti cooked in the Instant Pot now, more than the typical boiling the noodles and putting it all together after!
My last but not least favorite thing is that this is a true one pot recipe. Spaghetti is always easy to make, but it also usually requires a pan for the meat, a pot for noodles, a pot for sauce, and a colander for draining.
One pot, and no colander needed here.
The meat cooks (I get super lean meat so I don’t even need to drain grease) then you toss in your pasta, sauce, water, and seasonings.
Dinner served in about 8 minutes!
How cool is that?!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
- 1 Pound Lean Ground Beef
- 1/2 Teaspoon EACH Salt, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian Seasoning
- 1 Pound Spaghetti Noodles
- 1 (24 Ounce) Jar Spaghetti Sauce
- 36 Ounces Water, 1 1/2 Jars
- 1 (14.5 Ounce) Can Diced Tomatoes
-
Set the Instant Pot to saute' and add the ground beef. Add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasonings. Cook the meat and seasonings, breaking the meat up until it's completely browned. Turn the Instant Pot off. Drain any excess grease from meat if necessary.
-
Break the spaghetti in half and place on top of meat in the Instant Pot. Pour over the spaghetti sauce, diced tomato, and water. Push the spaghetti down with a spoon if necessary to make sure it is completely covered in liquid.
-
Seal the instant pot and set it to manual mode, high pressure, 8 minutes cooking time. When the time is up, use manual quick release to open the Instant Pot. Stir the spaghetti well. Serve immediately.
Note: I use the 8 quart Instant Pot which you can find by clicking the link (affiliate) below.
Instant Pot Spaghetti is a great easy weeknight dinner for families! The ground beef, sauce, and noodles are cooked together right in the instant pot pressure cooker for a quick and budget friendly dinner recipe.
**This post may contain affiliate links, all opinions stated here are my own**
The Instant Pot is amazing! I’m always amazed at what it can do!
So far, I’m amazed as well! 🙂
The instant pot is truly amazing. Try corned beef and cabbage. Also do hard boiled eggs. After they cool, they peel so easy.
This is in my pressure cooker right now, I can’t wait to try it. I love spaghetti and this looked delicious.
Just made this and it is delicious! It’s a keeper. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Thanks Karen! 🙂
I only have a 6 quart….does same recipe apply
Hi Amy! Yes, it should work just fine in your 6 quart Instant Pot. The only thing you may need to do is reduce the water slightly. Just make sure all of the noodles are covered with liquid, and you’re good to go!
This is in my 6 qt now. Nervous because I just saw the comment about reducing liquid. Hope it turns out well!
Tamara, it should still work out just fine! 🙂
I made this last night for supper will definitely make it again, but with less water. Was a little soup, but still delicious!
I have an instapot 6 quart; but prefer to slow cook. Would this recipe work? How long should I cook it?
A 6 quart instant pot will work fine for this recipe. However, I have not tried it using the slow cook function. Without further recipe testing, it is hard for me to give an accurate response.
Is the tomato sauce puréed tomatoes or prepared spaghetti sauce? Thanks
The recipe calls for a 24 ounce jar of prepared spaghetti sauce, and a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Hope that helps.
My girls won’t do the diced tomatoes – could I just leave them out and use more sauce? Would the water stay the same? I have an 8qt. thanks so much!!!
Carrie, I think using a can of sauce instead of the diced tomatoes would be fine. In that case, I would just add water until all of the noodles can be covered, you may not need the full amount.
Made this tonight with gluten free penne pasta and had to leave out the tomatoes because I didn’t have any. It was DELICOUS! Thanks for much for posting this recipe!!!
Hi just wondering how long you cooked your gluten free noodles for if you had to adjust time for them? Thanks!
My noodles weren’t done. Just wondering if people used thin noodles?
My noodles weren’t done either. I turned it back on for another 3 minutes, we will see if they’re done after that.
Hi, Elizabeth & Jade! Sorry that your noodles weren’t finished. I have made this recipe several times to make sure it was the correct cooking time, and haven’t had an issue. I would say remember that it takes a couple of minutes for the Instant Pot to heat up. Maybe give it a minute or two to heat up all the way, then start timing at 8 minutes. Hopefully that helps! 🙂
Has anyone tried using chicken broth in place of the water? Just wondering how it would taste. It seems like adding that much water would make the spaghetti sauce bland?
Hey, Tiffany! I’ve never made this using broth, but if I was going to do that I think I’d go for beef broth. The sauce isn’t bland at all, I’d say this is because it’s all cooked together. It has great flavor 🙂
Hi Nichole! I’m planning to make this recipe this weekend but was hoping to double it. I have a 6 qt pot and was wondering if you knew what adjustments I would need to make. 72 oz of water seems like a lot if I double the recipe and I’m also thinking I might run out of room. Thanks!
Hi Christie! That’s a great question, and I actually never have doubled this recipe. I would personally get everything in the instant pot first, then just make sure you have enough water that you can push the noodles down to be completely covered. As long as the noodles are fully submerged, you should be just fine.