You don't even have to boil the pasta! Just add all of the ingredients to your pressure cooker, set it, and go! This Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs is an easy dinner recipe with just 10 minutes of prep.
You know those nights that you get home late from work and you haven't planned anything for supper? Your family is starving, you're exhausted, and cooking an elaborate dinner is about the last thing that you feel like doing. That's when this Instant Pot spaghetti recipe comes to the rescue!
The entire meal is made with pantry (or freezer) staples, so you can keep the ingredients on hand for all of your last-minute emergencies. There's very little hands-on work, there's no need to make an extra trip to the grocery store, and the family-friendly dinner is ready from start to finish in less than 30 minutes!
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs:
To prepare this easy dinner, let's start with the meatballs! I used these frozen Italian Style meatballs, but you can substitute with just about any meatballs that you prefer -- turkey meatballs, bite-size meatballs, or even healthy homemade meatballs.
Sauté the thawed meatballs in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your pressure cooker, just until browned and heated through (this will take about 5-7 minutes). Then remove the meatballs to a plate and cover them to keep them warm.
Next, it's time for the spaghetti and sauce! You'll need the following ingredients:
- Uncooked spaghetti noodles
- Canned petite diced tomatoes
- Minced garlic
- Chicken broth
- A jar of your favorite marinara, spaghetti, or tomato basil sauce
Combine all of the sauce ingredients with the uncooked spaghetti in the Instant Pot.
How long does it take to cook pasta in the pressure cooker?
Every pressure cooker runs slightly different, but I find that white spaghetti noodles require about 8-10 minutes on the HIGH PRESSURE setting. If you prefer to substitute with whole wheat spaghetti, those noodles usually have a shorter cooking time indicated on the box -- so you'll want to decrease the time in the pressure cooker to about 5-7 minutes.
When the timer goes off, quickly release the pressure so that the noodles do not get overcooked. Then give everything a good stir and allow the spaghetti to rest in the pot for about 3-5 minutes before serving (this will allow the sauce to thicken nicely).
What to serve with Instant Pot Spaghetti:
This Italian-inspired dinner goes well with:
- a simple green salad dressed in Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette
- garlic bread or 3-Ingredient Breadsticks
- steamed broccoli or Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- Fresh Tomato Bruschetta
Cook's Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Use frozen turkey meatballs or bite-sized smaller meatballs instead of the large dinner-size meatballs shown here.
- If you prefer to use whole wheat spaghetti, you'll likely need to decrease the cooking time to about 5-7 minutes.
- Don't forget that the Instant Pot requires about 10 minutes to build up to high pressure before it starts the cooking timer. I've included this additional waiting period in the "prep time" calculation.
- For a shortcut, try using a jar (or bottle) of pre-minced garlic that you can find in the produce section at just about any grocery store.
- Make this Instant Pot Spaghetti with noodles only! You can just use the jar of sauce and no meat by skipping the meatballs and jumping right to step #3 in the recipe.
- Instead of using meatballs, prepare Instant Pot Spaghetti and Sausage. To do so, sauté 1 lb. of ground Italian sausage or even just ground beef in the Instant Pot. Drain off any fat, and set aside the cooked sausage while you prepare the spaghetti according to package instructions. At the end of the cooking time, combine the sausage (or beef) with the pasta, just as you would the meatballs.
- Make Instant Pot Spaghetti from scratch by using your favorite homemade meatballs and about 2.5 cups of homemade marinara sauce.
More easy Instant Pot recipes that you might enjoy:
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken
- Instant Pot Root Beer Barbecue Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
- Instant Pot Amish Chuck Roast
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. frozen fully-cooked Italian style meatballs, thawed (I used 16 large meatballs from a 26-ounce bag)
- ¾ lb. (12 ounces) spaghetti, uncooked, broken in half
- 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce (about 2 ½ cups total)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, NOT drained
- 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- For serving: chopped fresh herbs; grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat oil in an electric pressure cooker using the SAUTE setting. Add meatballs and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until meatballs are browned and heated through.
- Remove meatballs from pressure cooker and set aside on a plate. Cover loosely to keep warm.
- Add spaghetti, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and garlic to the pressure cooker; stir. Close and lock the lid. Turn the pressure release valve to sealing position.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes using the HIGH PRESSURE COOK setting (it will take about 10 additional minutes for your pressure cooker to build pressure and start the cooking process). When the timer goes off, use the Quick Pressure Release to release the pressure right away. Turn the pressure cooker off. Carefully remove the lid.
- Stir the meatballs into the spaghetti. Allow to rest in the pot for about 3-5 minutes. Divide spaghetti and meatballs evenly among serving bowls. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
- Use frozen turkey meatballs or bite-sized smaller meatballs instead of the large dinner-size meatballs shown here.
- If you prefer to use whole wheat spaghetti, you'll likely need to decrease the cooking time to about 5-7 minutes.
- Don't forget that the Instant Pot requires about 10 minutes to build up to high pressure before it starts the cooking timer. I've included this additional waiting period in the "prep time" calculation.
- For a shortcut, try using a jar (or bottle) of pre-minced garlic that you can find in the produce section at just about any grocery store.
- Make this Instant Pot Spaghetti with noodles only! You can just use the jar of sauce and no meat by skipping the meatballs and jumping right to step #3 in the recipe.
- Instead of using meatballs, prepare Instant Pot Spaghetti and Sausage. To do so, sauté 1 lb. of ground Italian sausage or even just ground beef in the Instant Pot. Drain off any fat, and set aside the cooked sausage while you prepare the spaghetti according to package instructions. At the end of the cooking time, combine the sausage (or beef) with the pasta, just as you would the meatballs.
- Make Instant Pot Spaghetti from scratch by using your favorite homemade meatballs and about 2.5 cups of homemade marinara sauce.
Katelyn
I've been thinking about getting an instant pot for a while what kind do you use and do you recommend it?
Blair
Hi, Katelyn! Great question! The brand that I have is Nuwave, which works really well. However, if I were to buy another one, I would probably go with the Instant Pot brand -- just because so many recipes are written for the Instant Pot brand, which means that the settings and buttons are slightly different on my pot. It's easy enough to figure out, but would probably be slightly more convenient if I just had the same exact pot as called for in the recipes. 🙂
I know that some folks LOVE their Instant Pots. Personally, I still prefer my slow cooker in most instances. I just love being able to dump stuff into the slow cooker in the morning and then not have to worry about dinner again. The IP is great if you tend to wait until later in the day to make dinner, but you have to remember that it still takes time to come up to pressure -- which can add up to 20 minutes to the total cooking time. Sometimes it's not that much of a time saver, and it still requires you to be home and waiting on the IP. That's just my preference, but worth thinking about before you purchase. 🙂
Kopior Asnersky
This does sound truly delicious, I'll try to make it myself although I'm not a great cook at al. Cheers
Karen Benitez
Blair - my husband is gluten free and I know that gluten free spaghetti cooks faster or gets mushy. Would you happen to know the cooking time for it? Thanks, Karen
Blair
Hi, Karen! Unfortunately, I have ZERO experience cooking with gluten free pasta. My suggestion would be to look at the cooking time on the box. I bet it's similar to the quicker cooking time for whole wheat spaghetti, so I would use that shorter cooking time of 5-7 minutes in the Instant Pot as a starting point. Hope that helps!
Karen Benitez
Thanks so much!!