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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Sarah Adams
This is a go-to recipe for me. I love that I can throw everything into one pot (including frozen meatballs!), set the timer and walk away. The only modification I have made is I use some red wine instead of water. It tastes best to me using ALL wine, but 2/3 of the liquid and the rest water makes the spaghetti a little less purple. Also, if you can find Boticelli pasta sauce, its THE BEST!
Donna
Spaghetti and meatballs doesn’t get any easier than this!!!
I made this “as is” with frozen meatballs *except* the pasta I used was whole wheat spaghettini. Because spaghettini is thinner than spaghetti I reduced the cook time to “0:00” (yes, zero minutes) with a quick release. The pasta was perfectly al dente. 😋
Sandy
High pressure.
Ann
This was my first attempt after reading several recipes. I followed this recipe and found it super easy! I did not use the tomatoes. Used 3 cups of beef broth and 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce, frozen meatballs and about 12 oz regular spaghetti. 9 minutes. Was so nervous but when I opened the lid….it was perfect!! Whole family raved about it! This is now our only way to make spaghetti!! Thank you!!
Jennifer
Great recipe! I followed the spaghetti and sauce measurements accurately, but did 2.5 cups of water, since I used frozen meatballs. 8 minutes, and it turned out perfectly – no need to sauté to thicken.
Pam
This is Pam again regarding how much water to use for 16ozs of spaghetti. I’ve read where some said that their attempt was too watery. It’s been a while since I’ve used this recipe but I remember it originally called for 8 ozs of spaghetti so I just halfed the spaghetti box amount. Has the recipe been changed recently from 8 ozs to 12 ozs? Thanks!
Sandy
Hi Pam, for 16 oz of pasta you want to use 4 cups of liquid. This recipe did change as there were some people having issues. But I think they didn’t measure their pasta correctly.
Linda Wondra
This is my go-to recipe when I want a shortcut spaghetti dinner. 😉 My regular IP version of spaghetti is a little more time consuming to make, but both are great! I modify by using my own home canned (put away) marinara sauce and I substitute water with low sodium V8 juice. I add in diced carrots, onion, sun dried tomatoes and diced pepperoni. All in all, this is a GREAT recipe, just as it is (without modifications)! Thx for sharing!!! Lunch will be served in short order!!!
Steve
Hi Sandy! This came out very well. I used Sorghum noodles and substituted 1/2 cup wine (for swishing the jar) for 1/2 cup water. YUM!
BTW, recognized you when I found the recipe… been making your Tuna Noodle Pot (Casserole) for quite a while.