This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Instant Pot Meatball Pasta Dinner
Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli
Instant Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole
Pin This Recipe
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
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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.
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!
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.
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!!!
Hi Sandy, this is my go-to Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meatball recipe. I’ve been using it for over a year, and it as been delicious each time. I saw someone mention a Tuna Casserole recipe, I’m going to try & find when I’m done here. Thanks for all you do.
That’s great! Here’s the Tuna Casserole recipe: Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
Round 2 tonight. 1.5 lb pkg meatballs. 1 lb Penne, chopped and sautéed an onion for more chunkiness. Vodka Sauce. Smells soooo good. Thank you!
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.
Turned out perfectly! Followed your recipe as written. The spaghetti looked a tiny bit watery initially but it turned into a nice sauce in the next few minutes after stirring. So easy and delicious – will definitely be making again! Huge time saver. Thank you!
The sauce is incredibly watery.
I weighed out the pasta, drained the tomatoes, and added precisely 24oz of water. Straight to the trash…
Did you even give it time to thicken? Sounds like you were too impatient.
I haven’t even finished eating yet and I had to write this review! Fantastic! We have tried the “orange book” recipe and it was so hard after 5 minutes.. I was so discouraged about cooking spaghetti and meatballs in the IP until I found your recipe. I can say we don’t like our spaghetti al dente so 9 minutes was perfect! Very few noodles stuck together and my kids loved it. Thank you for sharing!
This was interesting. One thing you might want to consider, use Spaghetti noodles. I didn’t have any so figured that Fettucini noodles would work fine. Nope. Bad sticking together, I think because there weren’t enough spaces between them.
And it was a bit runny. So I was disappointed a bit.
But the next day after spending the night in the fridge, WOW. It kicked buds! Taste buds. Can’t wait to try with actual spaghetti.
Yeah, different pastas cook differently. I’m glad you liked it!
Delicious! I used 2c water and didn’t drain the can of tomatoes. 9 minutes was perfect. I have tried a couple IP spaghetti recipes and this is now my favorite. I love that this can be done in the time it would take me to boil water. Thank you for sharing this!