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4.99 from 121 votes

Instant Pot Spaghetti

How to cook Instant Pot Spaghetti. Delicious al dente pasta with flavorful meat sauce. Minimal ingredients, prep, and clean up with dump and go option. Enjoy this kid-friendly, healthy, quick and easy one pot spaghetti!
Servings 4 - 6
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Simple Marinara Sauce

Instructions

  • *For Dump-and-Go-Meal: Skip the browning, sauteing, and deglazing steps below. Make sure to break the ground beef into smaller chunks. Then layer the seasoned ground beef chunks, onions, garlic, dried herbs at the bottom of the pot.
  • Optional Flavor Booster - Brown Ground Beef in Instant Pot: Heat up Instant Pot using "Sauté More" function. Wait until it says "HOT" (~8 mins). Add 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil in Instant Pot. Make sure the oil is coated over the whole bottom.
    Add in 1lb (454g) ground beef, then season generously with salt & ground black pepper. After browning for 5 minutes, discard the ground beef juice. With a wooden spoon, break the ground beef apart into smaller chunks. Allow the ground beef to brown. Stir occasionally until they are slightly crisped (~5 – 7 mins). Taste then adjust with more salt & ground black pepper.
  • Saute Onion & Herbs: Add in diced onions, minced garlic, 1½ tsp (1.8g) dried basil, and 1½ tsp (1.2g) dried oregano, then saute for another 2 minutes.
  • Deglaze Instant Pot: Pour 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Then fully deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.
  • Pressure Cook Spaghetti: Add in 3 tbsp (45ml) regular soy sauce, remaining 3 cups (750ml) unsalted chicken stock. Break 1 lb (454g) spaghetti in half, then add spaghetti in Instant Pot.
    Amy + Jacky's Pro Tip: Ensure spaghetti are not clumped together and all soaked in the liquid.
    Layer 1 large can (28oz) whole peeled tomatoes or Marinara sauce on top. Do not mix.
    With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes, then Natural Release for 5 minutes. Release remaining pressure, then open the lid.
  • Thicken & Season: The spaghetti sauce will look liquidy at first, and the spaghetti is about 85% - 90% cooked.
    Use the "Saute More" function (press "Cancel" and "Saute") to bring the content back to a simmer. With a wooden spoon, break down the tomatoes, then stir a few minutes to fully cook the spaghetti and thicken the sauce.
    Taste and season with roughly 3 - 4 large pinches of salt. Turn off the Instant Pot.
  • Serve: Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, then serve this tasty spaghetti. Enjoy!~

Notes

1. Ground Beef: We developed the recipe with regular ground beef because it has more fat. If you like, you can use lean ground beef.
2. Unsalted Chicken Stock: We develop recipes with unsalted ingredients so we can better control the flavors. If you’re substituting with salted ingredients, adjust accordingly. For convenience, you can substitute it with cold water.
3. Canned Tomatoes vs. Jar Marinara Sauce: You can substitute the Simple Marinara Sauce with your favorite Marinara Jar Sauce.
4. Regular Soy Sauce: It’ll add a boost of umami flavor to the spaghetti. 
5. Prevent "Burn" Error:
  • Fully Deglaze Instant Pot: It's very important to scrub off all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon after browning or sauteing ingredients in Instant Pot. These are not burnt food debris. They'll add flavor to your spaghetti.
  • Layer Ingredients as Directed in Recipe: Ground Beef + Onion + Garlic at the bottom → Chicken Stock → Spaghetti → Canned Tomatoes or Marinara Sauce on top.
  • Don't Mix Ingredients Before Pressure Cooking
6. Sauce Consistency: Don't panic when you open the lid to a liquidy spaghetti sauce right after pressure cooking. That's normal! We'll use the "Saute More" function to thicken the sauce. These extra few minutes (plus extra few pinches of salt) will make a big difference to the spaghetti's flavor & texture.
7. Spaghetti Texture: We like al dente spaghetti. So the cooking time is intended to cook the spaghetti till approximately 85% - 90% cooked. The spaghetti will continue to cook during the "sauce thickening" step, as well as by the residual heat. Keep tasting and cooking (with the lid open) until the spaghetti reaches your preferred texture.
Rate Amy + Jacky's Recipe: If you've tried our recipe, rate the recipe in the Comments section. Thank you!
Author: Amy + Jacky
Calories: 542kcal

Nutrition

Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 614mg | Potassium: 603mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 3.5mg