Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs is a one-pot meal that is so easy to make! If you have some frozen meatballs and sauce on hand, this pressure cooker spaghetti and meatballs recipe will be ready in under an hour! It is delicious, easy, and no need to boil the pasta separately.
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Making pasta dishes in the Instant Pot is not something most people would think of doing, but it's really great! No pot of boiling water or draining to deal with. The noodles get a chance to soak up the flavors of the sauce. Dinner ready in under an hour!
When making Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs, just remember to layer the ingredients in the pot and don't stir it until after pressure cooking. This helps keep things from sticking, and ensures that the noodles get cooked.
Here is how to make Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs:
If you prefer your spaghetti with meat sauce, check out my recipe here. You cook the meat in the pot and add the rest of the ingredients in layers like this recipe, before pressure cooking.
You don't have to use spaghetti noodles in this recipe. If you prefer penne, macaroni, or even shells, that's fine. You may need to adjust the pressure cook time for the type of noodles you choose.
The rule of thumb for pressure cooking pasta is half of the recommended time on the package. So if the package directions calls for 9 minutes, you will cook for 4 or 5 minutes in the pressure cooker.
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Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs is a delicious one-pot meal. This pressure cooker spaghetti and meatballs is easy to make and is ready in under an hour.
- 1 lb Meatballs, raw, cooked, or frozen
- 12 oz Spaghetti Noodles
- 1 (14 oz) can Diced Tomatoes (optional), drained
- 1 (24 oz) jar Spaghetti Sauce (or marinara sauce plus Italian seasoning)
- 3 cups Water (fill the 24 oz jar once) or use broth
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Parsley or Basil
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Put meatballs in the bottom of the inner liner pot.
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Break the spaghetti in half and sprinkle over meatballs in a random pattern, so not too many are side by side. This helps prevent them sticking together.
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Pour the water/broth over the noodles.
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Pour the diced tomatoes, if using over the noodles, and then the spaghetti sauce over the noodles, and cover as much of them as you can with the sauce. This helps them all get cooked.
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Put on the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook (Manual) button or dial and then the +/- button or dial to select 9 minutes (7 minutes for al dente). High pressure.
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The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure. Cook time begins when pot is at pressure.
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After cook time has finished, turn off the pot and turn the steam release knob to the Venting position, and do a Quick Release of the steam so the pasta doesn't overcook.
Watch it closely, and if sauce starts to spew out with the steam, close the vent and release the steam in bursts until it looks like no more sauce will be spewing out.
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After the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and give the spaghetti a stir. If any noodles stuck together, just use a fork to separate them.
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Serve with some bread, and garnish with parmesan cheese, mozzarella, or whatever you like!
You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart pot.
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Jillian
Love love love this recipe. It’s so fantastic for a quick weeknight meal. I cut the recipe in half and used one cup of water. 9 min was great! I added Parmesan and mozzarella after it was done. So easy and delicious. Thanks!
Kari
Being gluten free and vegan, which can be a challenging combination, I'm used to my adaptations and swaps making a recipe not work out, but I am happy to report that this recipe worked perfectly with Impossible Meatballs and Barilla GF Spaghetti. (I doubt the sauce would matter much but I used LaRosa's.) Thanks for this! We enjoyed it and it turned out even better than doing it in the slow cooker ever has. Less planning ahead too.
Celine
Very simple to make and delicious…may grand daughter has a metabolic condition called MCAD…we have to watch for the fats…I made my own meatballs…thank you !
Jo Cooper
Lovely recipe, used Swedish meatballs, wholewheat pasta, needed 10 mins and I would use a bit of chilli next time. Overall a great mid week go to . Thank you.
Momof5
It's not a bad recipe but I found it bland for my liking. I used chicken broth instead of water and added Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder for flavour. I love that the pasta doesn't stick and the sauce doesn't burn to the bottom like other recipes I've tried.
Sandy
Maybe your pasta sauce isn't very flavorful? Start with that. Add more seasoning.
KC
Just received my IP. Made this, 1st recipe. Very good and easy. Added the drained can tomatoes, 8 oz can garlic flavored tomato sauce, dried onion flakes. After it was cooked added 1 Tbls brown sugar and stirred. Really liked recipe. Husband enjoyed it. Said the only thing missing was garlic bread!