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.
Jump to:
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.
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.
Amanda says
Thank you SO much for not only your guidance for newbies but for this great recipe as well! Just got my Instant Pot today—a gift to me from my stim check and replacing my crockpot which died a week ago. NGL I was super intimidated but your instructions & step by step explanations helped so much.
My husband couldn’t believe that I made spaghetti in ONE pot, he was skeptical...until he dug in & then had seconds.
I followed your recipe pretty much to a T, other than my addition of white sugar (to cut the tomato acidity) & shredded mozzarella.
I’ll be back again to try another recipe tomorrow! 🙂 Thanks again!
Anna says
Hi Amanda! Yay! Welcome to the Instant Pot club! I am so happy to know you enjoyed the spaghetti and that it was a hit with you and your husband. That's fantastic! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I hope you will find more to enjoy!
Sarina Clark says
I love this recipe. I am wondering how would I substitute spaghetti noodles for zucchini noodles?
Ariane says
Great recipe! I made it tonight and my family loved it. I used ground turkey and chicken broth instead of water. Thank you!
Jill says
Very easy and good. Will make again. I sautéed onions and wanted to add mushrooms too. Thanks.
Anna says
Thank you, Jill!
Denise Hill says
I've made this several times and it's always good! My husband said, "this is better than that old Ragu stuff!" Thanks for posting!
Anna says
Hi Denise! Wow! That's the best! Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I am so glad you both love the spaghetti.
Denise M Hill says
Still my "go to" spaghetti recipe a year later!
Alexa says
Would this work with other pasta, like penne or rigatoni? Also, if meat is omitted, does the amount of water still stay the same? I saw one commenter mentioned that she forgot the water but it turned out perfect..so just a little curious.
Mayra Osmundson says
If I double the recipe does it still work in the 6qt IP? (Newbie with a family of 8)
Amy says
This is a great starting base recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti . This was my first time ever attempting this in an instant pot. Instructions are perfect (thank you). I did use thin spaghetti pasta and used the same amount of liquid and time as stated in this recipe. I did use 1/2 cup red wine as part of the 3 cups water. I used 1/2 lb lean ground beef and 1/2 lb mild sausage as this is what I had in the freezer. I was skeptical that the seasoning in the recipe would not be enough for me but did follow the steps and amounts listed. I used the diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes as my sauce. Once the pot was completely done (where it looked like liquid Spaghetti 🙂 I tasted and was too bland for me. I proceeded to add 1 can tomato paste, 3 big shakes of crushed red pepper, a ton more salt, a tsp of sugar and 1/2 cup of shredded Swiss cheese (crazy but a secret of a friends pasta sauce recipe). Let is sit (as recommended so it will thicken), stirring occasionally. It was then da bomb! Everyone loved it and will be making again. So nice not to have to use two pots!
Summer A says
Thank you for this awesome easy recipe! I will never make spaghetti on the stove top again. Followed your instructions to the T except I also added mushrooms while browning the meat. Super 😋 added some garlic bread I also made in my instant vortex.
Anna says
Hi Summer! That's fantastic! I love that you added mushrooms! Thank you for trying my recipe!
MELISSA Ward says
Can I do this without meat? If so do you follow the same layering technique??
MELISSA Ward says
Well I did it without meat and only about 3 cups of water and 1 jar of sauce and it looks good ! Now for the taste test.
Anna says
That's fantastic! Thanks for letting me know. I hope you love the taste as well!
Anna says
Hi Melissa! Yep, that should work.
Deborah says
So, I have to start by saying that half way through the 7 minute cooking time I realized, because I was in a hurry, I didn't add the 3 cups of water! I added everything else though. I was waiting for the "Burn" alert which never happened thankfully, but I was wondering what I would find in the pot when I opened it without having added the water. However, when I opened the pot and stirred what was there, to my surprise, IT WAS PERFECT! It was the perfect consistency, the perfect flavor, just perfect all around!!! I guess the canned tomatoes and jar of pasta sauce was enough liquid to cook the noodles, or maybe I just got lucky? Anyway, great recipe! Thank you!
dick plumley says
I used extra spices and a whole pack of noodles with enough additional water to rinse the can and jar. The noodles were great. I like sauce, so I will add some next time. I still needed more spices. Overall good.
dick plumley says
I also used whole wheat noodles.
Anna says
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and sharing your subs!
Gail Swearngin says
This recipe is amazing!!! The best recipe I've used by far. Better than the one I've used for years hands down. I have 3 teenagers and whenever I make spaghetti I make alot. For leftovers, lunches etc. I took a chance and doubled the recipe in my 8 qt instant pot and it turned out perfect. I used ground turkey minced garlic and chopped onions instead. I had zero problems with the noodles clumping together. I was a little worried when I first opened it up despite your warning that it needs to sit for 5 to 10 mins for the sauce to thicken up. Just a few stirs and some patience and it came out almost identical to your picture. Thank you!!!😊
karina vera says
Did you doubled the amount of water also? Want to try it.
Pamela says
I need to know if the water was doubled. I’m cooking tonight.
Anna says
Hi Pamela! Some of our readers made it in 8 quart IP and doubled all of the ingredients. Cooking time stays the same. I hope this helps!
Eve says
How in the world do you seperate a 16 oz box of pasta to make this with 12 oz??
I don't have a kitchen scale, and can't measure speghetti noodles in cups??
Anyone??
Anna says
I use my kitchen scale.
Kay says
I split the 16oz in half. Then split the 8oz and use the 8oz and 4oz to equal 12 oz. Has worked for me
McKayla Gautreau says
I put the whole 16oz and it came out great!!!
Anna says
Awesome! Thank you, McKayla!
Kathy D D Specht says
I use my hands and eyeball it.
Carol says
Invest in a cheap kitchen scale. I use mine regularly, Esp for recipes written in grams.
Monica K says
Hi, sounds great! I want to make a double recipe, how much water would I use?
Shirley says
Hi, This is my second time making this! The first time was so delicious, my husband and I just couldn’t believe it! It is cooking now, can wait to eat!
Thanks for sharing!
Anna says
Yay! That's wonderful, Shirley! Thank you for making my recipe! I am so glad it is such a hit!