Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Posted: 11/29/22
Updated: 12/05/22
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The most delicious spaghetti sauce that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours… but made quick and easy in the Instant Pot! Made with a mixture of ground beef and sausage for the perfectly savory, flavorful taste, the whole family will love this spaghetti sauce. Freezes beautifully, too.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- If you’ve ever had spaghetti sauce that’s simmered on the stove for hours, you know just how rich and deep and incredible those flavors are. No matter how good that sauce is, though, you don’t always have hours to wait on spaghetti sauce to cook. The Instant Pot solves the problem, giving you a sauce that tastes like it’s been on the stove all day, but that actually came together in about 30 minutes.
- Instant Pot spaghetti sauce is a great option for stocking your freezer! If stored properly, it’ll keep up to 4 months. Just let the sauce cool completely, then transfer it to airtight glass jars, freezer-safe sealable plastic bags, or freezer-safe airtight containers. If you store it in bags, press out as much air as possible, seal the bag completely, and lay the bag flat in the freezer until the sauce is frozen. After that you can stand it up how you need to and save a ton of space.
Chef’s Tips
- Do you typically keep your pasta and pasta sauce separate until everything’s plated? Try this instead. Cook the pasta at the same time as you cook the sauce. Try to time it so the pasta is just slightly underdone when the sauce is done cooking. Take the cooked pasta out of the water without draining it and drop it straight into the Instant Pot with your spaghetti sauce. Toss the pasta in the sauce and then let them cook together for a minute or two. The pasta will absorb some of the sauce as it finishes cooking, giving you a richer, more flavorful spaghetti with an amazing texture.
- If your sauce is thinner than you prefer, add in a little of the water you used to cook the pasta. The pasta starch left behind in that water will help thicken your sauce, plus it’ll make the sauce creamier.
- You can make a meatless version of this Instant Pot spaghetti sauce SUPER easily. Just leave out the ground beef and Italian sausage! Sauté the onion and green bell pepper in avocado oil in the Instant Pot, then continue with the recipe as written. No need to adjust the cook time.
Check Out These Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens
- Instant Pot Pork Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Gravy
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Lobster Tails
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
This sauce tastes like it's simmered on the stovetop for hours – no one has to know it was cooked right in the Instant Pot in a fraction of the time!
servings
Ingredients
For the Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or canola oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small green bell pepper diced
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes San Marzano preferred
- 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
- ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan
To Serve
- spaghetti noodles or preferred noodles, cooked simultaneously until al dente
- additional grated parmesan
Equipment
- Instant Pot or similar pressure cooker
- Large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Once pot is warm, add avocado oil. Warm oil until hot and shimmery, then add ground beef, Italian sausage, chopped onion, minced garlic, and green bell pepper.
- Cook, stirring periodically, until meat is browned and crumbled and vegetables are tender, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain grease from Instant Pot insert and return insert to Instant Pot. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate, making sure to scrape up any browned bits that may be stuck to bottom of Instant Pot.
- Add bay leaf, dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and pepper to Instant Pot. Stir well to incorporate spices.
- Secure lid on Instant Pot and set valve to sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure for 7 minutes. Instant Pot will pressurize and then cook time will begin.
- When cook time ends, immediately (and carefully) Quick Release pressure. Once steam is completely released, carefully remove lid.
- Remove bay leaf and discard. Stir in grated parmesan, then taste sauce and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
- Once pasta is cooked, immediately transfer spaghetti noodles from pot of water (without draining) and into Instant Pot. Stir well to toss pasta with sauce, then let pasta and sauce cook together 1 to 2 minutes.
- Divide pasta and sauce into serving bowls or onto plates. Top with additional grated parmesan if desired and serve warm.
Notes
- Pasta: Cook your pasta at the same time as your spaghetti sauce, so the pasta isn’t sitting around or cooling off. Undercook the pasta just slightly so it doesn’t overcook when it’s added to the sauce in the Instant Pot. Adding the cooked pasta to the sauce this way allows the noodles to absorb some of the sauce, giving them more flavor.
- Burn Notice: There should be enough liquid in this sauce to prevent the burn notice on your Instant Pot – I didn’t have any trouble with mine. Every unit behave differently, though, so if your Instant Pot is particularly sensitive, you may want to add just a touch of water.
- Make it Meatless: Omit the ground beef and Italian sausage. Sauté the onion and bell pepper in the avocado oil, then proceed with the recipe as written. No need to change the cook time.
- Freezer Option: Let sauce cool completely. Transfer cooled sauce to freezer-safe airtight containers (glass jars, sealable bags, or plastic containers). If using sealable bags, remove as much air as possible before sealing bag completely. Freeze sauce up to 4 months. To reheat, defrost in fridge overnight then reheat on the stove until sauce is just warmed through.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 443kcal, Protein: 22g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 1218mg, Potassium: 824mg, Total Carbs: 17g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 8g, Net Carbs: 15g, Vitamin A: 395IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 95mg, Iron: 4mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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