Name: Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp oil; 1 lb ground beef (85/15); 1 medium yellow onion (diced); 3-4 large garlic cloves (minced); 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp Italian season; 1/2 tsp kosher salt (add more after tasting); 3 cups chicken broth; 1 lb spaghetti; 1/2 cup water; 24 oz marinara sauce (store bought )

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Pasta night is a weekly occurrence at our dinner table, I bet it’s the same at your house! As the family cook, I find pasta to be an easy dinner that everyone eats without complaints, not to mention it’s economical. This Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is high on the request list! For good reason. When you cook the spaghetti in the instant pot, all the flavors of the beef, chicken broth, marinara and seasonings infuse the pasta noodles. You end up with the most flavorful spaghetti and meat sauce you have ever had. Give a try, you WON’T be disappointed. Promise!

Large bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce ready to serve topped with parmesan cheese.

One of our recipe pillars at Mom’s Dinner is that “recipes don’t need to be complicated to be good”. This Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce recipe proves this over and over again. It is made with simple spaghetti noodles and your favorite store bought marinara sauce, yet the flavor pay out is huge.

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Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Spaghetti & meat Sauce
The Instant Pot I Love
Ingredients
How To Make Spaghetti with Meat Sauce in the Instant Pot
Serving
Storing
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Tips
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Have More questions?
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
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Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Spaghetti & meat Sauce

It all cooks together in one pot = less dishes to do.
If you’ve got kids.. they are going to LOVE it!
The spaghetti cooks in chicken broth and marinara, which is big flavor.
The recipe uses your favorite store-bought marinara.
Made with super simple ingredients.
Makes a big batch, great for family dinner + leftovers!

The Instant Pot I Love

I actually have 2 Instant Pots in my house:

The main thing I love about these electric pressure cookers is that they are 6 quart in size. That is big enough to make food for 4-6 people, but small enough that it still fits in my kitchen cabinets.

To be totally honest I don’t think I will ever use all 9 functions on the 9 in 1, so if I had to choose one to keep I would probably choose the 7 in 1.

Ingredients

Ground Beef – I recommend using an 85/15 ground beef for this recipe. It has enough fat to be flavorful but not so much fat that it will make your spaghetti greasy.

Onion and Garlic – These two help to season the ground beef. They also help enhance the store bought marinara.

Pasta – You will need to break the spaghetti noodles in half to fit in the Instant Pot… I know this goes against tradition! Also make sure you divide the spaghetti into sections and criss cross it in the pot so it doesn’t stick together when cooking. This recipe was written and tested with spaghetti. If you use a different sized noodle the cook time may vary.

Ingredients shown are used to prepare instant pot spaghetti with meat sauce.

Tomato Paste – A little tomato paste added to the ground beef helps enhance the sauce AND mixes with the chicken broth to infuse the spaghetti with a little extra tomato flavor.

Chicken Broth – This is the main cooking liquid. It infuses the spaghetti with amazing flavor! You can use water, but it won’t be quite as flavorful.

Marinara Sauce – Just use your family’s favorite store bought Marinara. We love Rao’s Marinara or Rao’s Tomato Basil.

Seasonings – A mix of onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and kosher salt is all you need to make this spaghetti absolutely delicious. The recipe only calls for ½ teaspoon kosher salt which accounts for the varying saltiness in chicken broth and marinara. You may need to add more salt before serving – as always taste before serving.

How To Make Spaghetti with Meat Sauce in the Instant Pot

Hamburger and onions sauteed in the instant pot.

Step 1

Saute the ground beef and onion together. Drain excess grease. Add the garlic for another minute.

Tomato paste and garlic combined with the ground beef.

Step 2

Stir in the tomato paste and seasonings.

Chicken broth added to the instant pot with spaghetti noodles added to the top of the mixture.

Step 3

Pour in the chicken broth and scrape all the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot… this helps prevent the burn notice.

Dry spaghetti noodles added in a criss cross pattern so it cooks evenly.

Step 4

Break the spaghetti noodles in half and criss cross them in the pot. Pour ½ cup water over top.

Spaghetti sauce added to the top of the pasta inside the instant pot.

Step 5

Pour HALF the jar of marinara over the spaghetti. Close the lid and set to cook for 2 minutes. Do a 5 min natural release.

Meat sauce ready to serve inside the instant pot with tongs resting in the mixture.

Step 5

Toss the spaghetti in the sauce and get the meat from the bottom of the pot. Add the remaining marinara sauce and toss.

Serving

To make this a meal, choose a couple side dishes that pair well with spaghetti and meat sauce.

Storing

Keep your leftover Spaghetti with Meat Sauce in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for a minute. To reheat on the stove top turn the heat to low, add a little water or chicken broth and cover the pan. Let heat through, tossing occasionally.

The noodles will absorb more of the sauce as it sits in the fridge, you may need to add extra sauce when reheating.

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Tips

Use an 85/15 ground beef, it will have the most flavor without being overly greasy.
Break the spaghetti noodles in half and then crisscross them in the pot. This will prevent your noodles from cooking into one big clump.
Make sure the noodles are all touching the liquid.
Put the broth/water on the bottom and the sauce on top to avoid the burn notice.
Use regular spaghetti noodles… not fettuccine, angel hair, gluten free etc… this recipe is written for straight up spaghetti noodles. You can use the other pastas, it will just change the cook time and possibly liquid quantities.
Use chicken broth as cooking liquid for the most flavor.
Completely deglaze the bottom of the pot to prevent the burn warning.
Don’t over salt in the beginning. The ½ teaspoon kosher salt accounts for the varying saltiness of chicken broth and marinara. Taste before serving and add more salt at that point.