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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.
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
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
- Put meatballs in the bottom of the inner liner pot.
- 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.
- Pour the water/broth over the noodles.
- 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.
- Put on the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- 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.
- The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure. Cook time begins when pot is at pressure.
- 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.
- 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.
- Serve with some bread, and garnish with parmesan cheese, mozzarella, or whatever you like!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to make Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe and more
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Thank you for this easy, delicious recipe. I can’t tell you how nice it is to eat a meal that feels “real” after a hard day’s work. Just wanted you to know how much your work and instructions are appreciated.
Thanks, Jim! It means a lot to me that my recipe gives you comfort after a hard day.
Your spaghetti with meatballs is awesome!!! My kids loves it!!! It’s a keeper
Amazing recipe!! Used angel hair pasta and frozen meatballs! Pressure cooked for 4 minutes!! Absolutely perfect! Thank you for sharing!
Made this for dinner tonight. Turned out great! I was amazed at how the sauce thickened up and cooked into the noodles!
Made your marinara sauce last night and today I made this for supper. So delicious. I added fresh basil and mushrooms. Skipped the extra spices. and used some homemade picante sauce instead of canned tomatoes Did the parmesan cheese only and accompanied it with a glass of red wine. Couldn’t be easier.
This was delicious and easy as ever! We moved and our remodeling our kitchen. Trying to find the easiest recipes possible with the least amount of prep. It doesn’t get better than this! Thanks so much!!!
So easy to make and tasty. I used frozen meatballs and Rotini. It seems to infuse the sauce into the pasta.
What kind of broth is best? Chicken or Beef?
Also, can I use Penne pasta instead of spaghetti?
Yes you can! I think 5 minutes is a good cook time for penne.
Either is good. I like the flavor of chicken, but beef is perfectly fine.
Meatballs came out awesome but the sauce was like water. Not sure what I did wrong.
The only thing I can think of is that the pasta to water ratio was off. It helps if you can weigh the pasta to be sure it is the right amount.
Hi there! I’m new to using an instant pot. What can I do, if I want to double this recipe? I have three teenage boys that eat a LOT. Thanks in advance for your help.
You can double the ingredients and keep the cook time the same. Be sure to cover the pasta with sauce and don’t stir before pressure cooking!