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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Instant Pot Pasta

    Instant Pot Spaghetti with Jar Sauce

    Published: Mar 17, 2021 · Modified: Feb 24, 2022 by Susie Weinrich · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    a big bowl of spaghetti with marinara
    pinterest image with text for Instant Pot Spaghetti

    One dinner that will satisfy everyone in your house is Instant Pot Spaghetti with your favorite Jar Sauce! Pop it all in your Electric Pressure Cooker, no boiling, draining, or multiple pots. Just a 2 minute cook time with a 5 minute natural release and your spaghetti dinner is ready!

    a big bowl of spaghetti with marinara

    Some other great pasta dinner recipes are Instant Pot Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, and Tomato Cream Sauce.

    Ingredients

    Here are the things you need to make this Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe:

    spaghetti with marinara ingredients on a table with text

    Chicken Broth – I use chicken broth because it adds another layer of flavor to your spaghetti. However, you can absolutely use water instead.

    Store Bought Marinara – I happen to have Prego sauce in my pantry the day that I made this, but use whatever sauce your family loves!

    You can even use homemade marinara sauce if you like.

    How to Make Spaghetti in Your Instant Pot

    Start with your Instant Pot on sauté mode and add the olive oil. Once it is hot add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir often making sure they don’t burn.

    onions and garlic in the instant pot

    Turn off the sauté mode and stir in the kosher salt. Then pour in the chicken broth (or water) and scrape up and browned bits from the bottom.

    Pro Tip: never skip scraping up the browned bits (called deglazing) when using the Instant Pot. It helps prevent the burn notice.

    Grab the spaghetti and break in half. Place the spaghetti in the pot in a crisscross pattern. This prevents the pasta from cooking in one large clump.

    three pictures of spaghetti being crisscrossed in the instant pot

    Do not stir the pasta at this point, just give it a light press to make sure that it is all touching the liquid.

    Pour half the jar of sauce over the pasta, then sprinkle on the seasonings.

    marinara sauce on top of spaghetti in the instant pot

    Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to seal. Set to cook for 2 minutes.

    At the end do a 5 minute natural release. Finish with a quick release.

    PRO TIP: It will look a little watery when you open the pot, don’t worry, the starches from the cooked pasta will thicken it up while it cools!

    cooked spaghetti in the instant pot

    Stir in the rest of the jar of sauce and toss the pasta. Let the pasta rest for about 5 minutes so it can thicken a little while it cools.

    Taste for additional seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder), then serve warm topped with parmesan cheese.

    Tips to Make it Perfect!

    Follow these few tips to make sure your Instant Pot Spaghetti turns out perfect:

    1. Salt your water/broth! By salting the liquid you in turn are seasoning your pasta.
    2. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and then crisscross them in the pot. This will prevent your noodles from cooking into one big clump.
    3. Make sure the noodles are all touching the liquid.
    4. Put the broth/water on the bottom and the sauce on top to avoid the burn notice.
    5. 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.
    spaghetti with marinara in a bowl twirled on a fork, instant pot in the background

    Recipe FAQ’s

    Does sauce count as cooking liquid in the Instant Pot?

    The cooking liquid you use needs to be able to build a good amount of steam, like water or broth, in turn building pressure. Therefore a thick tomato sauce or thickened cream sauce are not considered good cooking liquids for the Instant Pot, unless diluted with water or broth.

    Can I use dry pasta in the Instant Pot?

    Absolutely! It is recommended that you use dry pasta, not fresh, in the Instant Pot. You can find the cooking time on the package by finding the average stovetop boil time, divide that time in half and then substract 2 minutes. Make sure you add a 5 minute natural release at the end.

    Why does tomato sauce burn in the Instant Pot?

    If you do not have ample thin liquid added to your thick tomato sauce it will burn. It is essentially cooking to the bottom of the Instant Pot, where the heating element is. If you have enough broth or water added to the tomato sauce then it will boil/steam, which is what you want.

    Related Recipes

    • Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Alfredo
    • Instant Pot Beef Ragu
    • 30 minute Easy Skillet Lasagna

    Susie Weinrich washing produce

    Did you make this recipe?!

    If you make this recipe I would love to hear your review. Pop down to the comment section and connect with me.

    Then sign up for our Weekly Newsletter so you never miss a new recipe!

    Rate This Recipe
    spaghetti with red sauce in a bowl

    Instant Pot Spaghetti with Jar Sauce

    A foolproof recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti made with your favorite store-bought marinara sauce (no meat). Perfect family friendly dinner that is easy to make!
    4.43 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 8 minutes
    Pressure and Release Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 23 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 314kcal
    Author: Susie Weinrich

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • ½ onion minced/diced
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 3 cups chicken broth (or water)
    • 1 lb. dry spaghetti noodles
    • 24 oz favorite jarred marinara sauce divided
    • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
    • ½ teaspoon dried basil
    • ¼ tsp garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    Instructions

    • Start with your Instant Pot on sauté mode and add the olive oil. Once it is hot add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir often, making sure they don't burn.
    • Turn off the sauté mode and stir in the kosher salt. Then pour in the chicken broth (or water) and scrape up and browned bits from the bottom.
    • Break your spaghetti noodles in half and layer them in a crisscross pattern in the liquid.
      Pro Tip: Do not stir the noodles at this point. You can nudge them down into the liquid, but don't stir.
    • Pour HALF OF THE 24 oz jar of marinara over the noodles. Sprinkle the basil, oregano, garlic powder and onion powder over the top.
    • Pop the lid on, turn the pressure valve to seal, and set to cook for 2 minutes on high pressure. Do a 5 minute natural release and the finish with a quick release.
    • Open the pot and pour in the other half of the spaghetti sauce. Do not be alarmed if your pasta looks watery when you open the pot it will thicken as it cools.
      Give it all a good toss.
      Let it sit for about 5 minutes to cool and thicken.
    • Taste for additional seasonings (salt and pepper).
    • Serve warm topped with grated parmesan cheese!

    Notes:

    RECIPE TIPS: 
    1. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and then crisscross them in the pot. This will prevent your noodles from cooking into one big clump.
    2. Make sure the noodles are all touching the liquid.
    3. Put the broth/water on the bottom and the sauce on top to avoid the burn notice.
    4. 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.
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
    Jump to Comments
    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1223mg | Potassium: 638mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 493IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg

    If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.

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    About Susie Weinrich

    Susie Weinrich is the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind Mom's Dinner. She has over 20 years experience in the food industry. Currently, Susie shares all her recipes and food knowledge on Mom's Dinner. You will find her recipes are easy to follow and full of tips and tricks to make sure the recipe you are making turns out perfect!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Parissa

      February 06, 2022 at 6:17 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this dish and it came out delicious. Did double the amount of garlic as we love garlic. Overall recipe was easy to follow and didn’t get a burn notice.

      Reply
    2. BusyMom

      December 27, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      1 star
      Put 3 1/4 cups water just to be sure it wouldn’t burn and followed the rest of the directions exactly. The instant pot still came up saying burn and I had to salvage what I could.

      Reply
    3. Carol

      November 01, 2021 at 10:32 am

      I have made this and the sauce is to thin can I cut the water down to 1 1/2 cups

      Reply
      • Susie Weinrich

        November 01, 2021 at 2:52 pm

        I would go down to 1 3/4 cups or 2 cups, just to make sure you have enough liquid and you don’t get the “burn” warning.

        Reply
    4. Stephanie

      October 08, 2021 at 5:53 am

      5 stars
      I was skeptical but this is really good. Just enough “doctoring up” to make it taste homemade

      Reply
    5. Sam

      August 16, 2021 at 4:41 pm

      I cris crossed the noodles but they still came out in a clump. Is there anything i can do to fix it?

      Reply
      • Lexi Evans

        December 28, 2021 at 6:26 pm

        I added a little oil on top of the noddles and they didn’t stick.

        Reply

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