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Home » Blog Recipe Posts » Dinner

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

July 30, 2018 by Sandy 148 Comments

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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.

Spaghetti and Meatballs on a white plate

 

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!

Top view of Spaghetti and Meatballs in a pressure cooker pot

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:
four process images showing the addition of meatballs, noodles, liquid, and sauce into a pressure cooker pot before setting the cook time

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.

Spaghetti and Meatballs o a white plate

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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4.9 from 59 votes
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
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Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
9 mins
Total Time
29 mins
 

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.

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: pressure cooker spaghetti and meatballs recipe
Servings: 4
Calories: 382 kcal
Author: Sandy Clifton
Ingredients
  • 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
Garnishes
  • Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • Parsley or Basil
Instructions
  1. Put meatballs in the bottom of the inner liner pot.

  2. 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.

  3. Pour the water/broth over the noodles.

  4. 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.

  5. Put on the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.

  6. 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.

  7. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure. Cook time begins when pot is at pressure.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. Serve with some bread, and garnish with parmesan cheese, mozzarella, or whatever you like!

Recipe Notes

You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart pot.


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  1. Lori

    November 12, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    This is the best recipe! My kids and husband love this recipe. I use chicken broth instead of water and I have used all sorts of noodles (spaghetti, angel hair, rigatoni) and all have turned out great. This is in my regular rotation!

    Reply
  2. ranchnumber51

    October 10, 2022 at 8:10 pm

    I love this recipe so much! I make it at least once a month. The only thing I do differently is add some red wine in place of some of the water! Thank you for posting this. I don’t think I’ll ever make it on a stovetop again!

    Reply
  3. Melissa

    August 25, 2022 at 2:56 pm

    Love this recipe with few few modifications. 1 lb wheat pasta, 1.5 lbs meatballs, 3 cups beef broth in lieu of water, no diced tomatoes (if decide to use reduce the amount of broth) and cook for 11 mins.

    Reply
  4. Jennifer

    July 26, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    Amazing!!! It's 100 degrees today so I was not cooking ground meat to put in spaghetti. This recipe is amazing. I'm glad it's a tiny bit soupy because I know it will make amazing leftovers. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kristin

      September 18, 2022 at 9:27 am

      Hello! This looks great! Just wondering if it makes a huge difference if the meatballs are frozen vs thawed...? If they're frozen, do they heat up completely?

      Reply
      • Sandy

        February 06, 2023 at 7:43 pm

        I almost always use frozen. Just takes longer to come to pressure.

      • Carie

        November 09, 2023 at 3:36 pm

        This turned out great! I was nervous since my pasta was all out of the liquid on my 8qt IP, but 9 minutes and she was perfect! I used frozen meatballs and stock/liquid from can of fire roasted tomatoes. Took about 45 mins total from starting the pot to all pressure releasing. Def a keeper recipe!

  5. Sarah Adams

    July 20, 2022 at 8:06 pm

    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!

    Reply
  6. Donna

    June 04, 2022 at 5:05 pm

    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. 😋

    Reply
    • Sandy

      August 14, 2022 at 12:48 pm

      High pressure.

      Reply
  7. Ann

    May 16, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    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!!

    Reply
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Hi there! I’m Sandy - foodie with a passion for cooking and sharing my tasty recipes. My hubby Paul, our Pug Gizmo, and I live in Washington.

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Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs