Instant Pot Spaghetti is the best pasta with ground beef, cooked in the pressure cooker. It won't burn and is ready in 20 minutes, from start to finish.
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Why This Recipe Works
One of the most requested recipes to make in the Instant Pot is an easy pasta dish. I am excited to share my recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti that won't burn and is perfectly flavorful. It's easy to make and ready in just under 20 minutes (including the IP coming to pressure).
This spaghetti is officially my family's favorite IP dinner and is requested every week! This Instant Pot Spaghetti is a perfect dish to have in your go-to pressure cooker recipes for busy weeknights or any day you want a big bowl of pasta.
Ingredients:
- beef: go for the lean kind but if your beef has more fat, spoon it out during cooking
- spaghetti: dry noodles, break them in half to fit
- water: necessary for pressure cooking
- canned tomatoes: diced and crushed to make a better-tasting spaghetti sauce from scratch instead of using a store-bought kind
- seasoning: garlic, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper
Check out the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe box below.
I used the 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 and love it. (This is an affiliate link.)
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti?
- Start by sauteing garlic. Add onion powder and Italian seasoning and stir.
- Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add ½ cup of water and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break them in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern on top of the meat. (see photo nr. 2 for visual reference). Add remaining water to the pot.
- Add diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing.
- Set timer to 7 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will start the countdown. Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to venting to release pressure.
- The dish will look like it has too much liquid, but all you need to do is stir well several times and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. It will thicken up.
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The amount of liquid prevented the burn and made sure the pasta is perfectly cooked. The spaghetti will look like in the image below.
All you need to do now is stir it well and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Perfect time to set up the table and whip up a simple salad or breadsticks. After that, when the excess liquid evaporates and some absorbs into the dish, you will have spaghetti that looks like the image below, simply perfect!
What to serve with spaghetti?
- bread: My family loves my skillet focaccia that takes only 1 hour to make.
- salad: you can't go wrong with Caesar salad or creamy cucumber tomato salad.
- sides: choose steamed broccoli, sauteed green beans or roasted asparagus.
Recipe FAQs:
This Instant Pot Spaghetti cooks in 7 minutes. Since the meat is browned, all you need to do is cook the pasta. That's why the time is so short. You should also note that it takes about 10 to 12 minutes for the IP to come to pressure.
If you have a frozen block of beef (or turkey meat), you can quickly thaw it out in the Instant Pot before you set out to make the spaghetti. You need 1.5 cups of water in the insert, then set frozen beef on a trivet. Set for 7 minutes on HIGH pressure. Quickly release the pressure. The meat won't be cooked through but thawed so you can now brown it to make the spaghetti. Discard the liquid and remove trivet. Rinse and wipe the insert clean, if needed. Heat up oil and begin browning the beef.
If you have been cooking in your Instant Pot for a while, you may know that some dishes tend to be bland. It is almost a rule that you should overseason a dish cooked in the IP. My secret that I use often in a variety of dishes, is to heat up the spices in oil with garlic and onions, if using. It will activate dried spices. In this case, to make a flavorful spaghetti, I add Italian seasoning mix to the oil when sauteeing garlic. It becomes very fragrant. Then you add the beef and let the spices infuse the meat. This also works when making soups and dishes that start with sauteing garlic, onions, celery, carrots and even potatoes.
Yes! Chicken stock or broth can be used in this recipe. I recommend a low-sodium kind and adjusting the amount of salt to your preferences.
Absolutely. If you are using Italian sausage, you won't need as much spice. The sausage is usually pretty flavorful.
If you see a "burn" message displaying on your Instant Pot, the reason most likely is that you didn't deglaze the bottom of the pot and some food stuck. Always make sure to add a little bit of water after browning the meat and use a wooden spoon to scrape off any cooked on bits from the bottom. Another reason could be that you mixed the crushed tomatoes in with pasta and meat. Follow my recipe and add the tomatoes on top of pasta, away from sides of the pot and do not stir.
To double this recipe, you will need a bigger pot. I recommend 8 quart Instant Pot. The cook time stays the same, even if you double the ingredients.
To learn more about the Instant Pot, check out my Guide for Beginners. If you experienced the “burn” message while using your IP, check out my Instant Pot Burn Message post to learn how to fix the issue and prevent it in the first place.
More Instant Pot dinners:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Instant Pot Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 lb ground beef I used lean
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 oz. spaghetti noodles
- 3.5 cups water
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 24 oz. crushed tomatoes or pasta sauce
Instructions
- Start by heating up oil on the saute setting. Add garlic and stir. Add onion powder and Italian seasoning. Stir and saute for 1 minute.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon out and discard any grease (this depends on the type of beef you use).
- Add ½ cup of water and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pot. This step is important as it will prevent the dish from burning during pressure cooking.
- Grab a handful of spaghetti noodles at a time, break in half and arrange in a criss-cross pattern on top of the meat. (see photo in post for visual reference). Add remaining water to the pot.
- Pour diced tomatoes (with liquid) and crushed tomatoes (or pasta sauce) over noodles. Do your best to keep it in the center, away from the edges of the pot. Close the lid, set the valve to sealing.
- Set timer to 7 minutes and make sure the IP is set to cook on HIGH pressure. It will take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then it will start the countdown.
- Once the timer is done, wait 1 minute, then switch the valve to venting to release pressure.
- Open the lid away from your face, as there will be leftover steam in the pot. The dish will look like it has too much liquid, but all you need to do is stir well several time and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. It will thicken up.
Amy says
It says 3 1/2 C of water but then the recipe only says to add 1/2 C. Where did the other 3 C go?
Anna says
Hi Amy! In step 4, it says to add the remaining water. I hope this helps!
Jola says
Very readable recipe. This is very important to me. I also enjoyed watching the video with the recipe. Thank you Anna!