This Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe is a delicious traditional pasta dish, revolutionized by the convenience of the Instant Pot!
Instant pot spaghetti is amazing with these quick and easy 2 Ingredient Dough Garlic Breadsticks or a green salad with Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing.
I’ve made One Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs, but of course, I had to make it in my Instant Pot too. Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meatballs is a quick and convenient twist on a classic Italian favorite.
Instant Pot Spaghetti
This dish brings together the timeless combination of tender meatballs, perfectly cooked spaghetti, and a flavorful tomato sauce, all effortlessly prepared in the versatile Instant Pot. This is a fuss-free cooking method for spaghetti and meatballs and is sure to satisfy your cravings for pasta, all while reducing cooking time and infusing delicious flavor into the noodles as they cook!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make spaghetti in a pressure cooker. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Meatballs – fresh or frozen, or you can use my Homemade Meatball Recipe.
- Pasta Sauce – Jarred, any variety.
- Uncooked Spaghetti – can use other varieties of pasta.
- Water
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan Cheese
- Basil – fresh, for garnish.
How To Make Pressure Cooker Spaghetti
I’ll walk you through the process of how to make spaghetti in an instant pot, and how to layer it correctly so you don’t get that dreaded burn notice!
Layer Meatballs
Arrange the meatballs in one layer on the bottom of the Instant Pot.
Add the noodles in a layer to the pot, then drizzle the olive oil over the spaghetti.
PRO TIP: Olive oil helps prevent the noodles from sticking together as they cook!
Pour in the pasta sauce and water making sure the spaghetti is completely covered. DO NOT STIR.
Cover and set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 10 minutes. When cooking is done, quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid.
PRO TIP: Setting the instant pot to 10 minutes does not mean it will be on the table in 10 minutes! It needs to come to the correct temperature and seal the vent before it begins counting down. Don’t worry though, your pasta will be ready in no time!
After opening the lid, stir pasta and meatballs together in the sauce, then top with parmesan cheese and enjoy right away with fresh basil on top for garnish if desired.
Don’t stress if your pasta looks “watery” after you’ve opened it up. Give it a stir and let it sit for a few minutes and the liquid should absorb into a delicious sauce.
Do I Stir Before Turning On Instant Pot?
NO! You’ll want to make sure you layer your ingredients exactly as described in the recipe below. If you try to stir the ingredients together you’ll end up with pasta noodles on the bottom, giving you a higher chance of having them stick and getting a burn notice.
Quick Release Or Natural Release of Pressure?
For this pressure cooker spaghetti recipe, you’ll want to do a quick release of pressure. This will prevent your noodles from getting overcooked. Once cooking time is finished, just flip open the steam valve and wait until all the pressure is released before opening. Give the ingredients inside a good stir and top with any parmesan cheese or fresh basil if desired!
Can I Double Instant Pot Spaghetti Recipe?
Yes, you can definitely double the recipe! Just make sure you layer the ingredients properly, and you’ll want to make sure you’re using at least an 8 quart size pressure cooker to avoid over-filling. The pot may take a little longer to reach pressure, but still go with the 10-minute HIGH pressure and you should be golden!
Tips and Variations
- Resist the urge to stir the ingredients together after adding them to the instant pot before cooking.
- Add more flavor to the dish by using a more flavorful pasta sauce, extra Italian seasoning, or freshly minced garlic.
- Want it spicy? Add up to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes for a spicy kick!
More Easy Instant Pot Dinners
Need a few more easy dinners in the instant pot? I have a few for you to try!
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Rice
- Best Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe
- Instant Pot Meatloaf Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Shrimp Boil Recipe
This super easy instant pot spaghetti with meatballs is sure to become a family favorite!
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen meatballs, I use homemade frozen meatballs, but frozen cooked meatballs will work too.
- 8 oz uncooked spaghetti
- 24 oz pasta sauce
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Arrange the meatballs in Instant Pot in one layer. Break the spaghetti in half and arrange them over the meatballs.
- Drizzle the olive oil over spaghetti. Pour in the pasta sauce and water, making sure spaghetti is completely covered.
- Cover and set the Instant Pot to High pressure for 10 minutes. When cooking is done, quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid.
- Stir pasta and meatballs together in sauce, then top with parmesan cheese and enjoy right away with fresh basil on top for garnish if desired.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
deborah L
I really liked the ease of this! I used beef broth instead of water, and it was still a little soupy. Did fine though, when I used the saute feature to reduce it a bit. With the beef broth and extra seasonings, the flavor was nice. Can’t beat the ease of preparation!
Amber
I used two different styles of frozen meatballs and you couldn’t even tell they were frozen prior. Like other reviewers have said I cut back my water to two cups and I was using fettuccine noodles I bumped the cooking up to 12 minutes everything came out very tasty sauce was a little bit watery but it wasn’t a meal breaker.
Lee Womack
Way too much water, maybe 2 cups at the most. Also increase cook time to 12 mins. Noodles were not cooked thoroughly at 10 mins.
Brandon
Pretty good..way too watery for me though. I would use less water, more sauce..maybe a lil of both?
Elle
Had IKEA frozen meatballs, a can of chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and Italian spaghetti pasta. Followed similar steps but threw in a chicken stock cube and just 3 cups of water. It did come out a little bit more watery than I’d like but I pour in a bit of cooking cream as we like ours a bit more creamy and voila, such a delight. Thank you for this recipe.
Susan Lodato
I plan on making this for 9 people, the recipe only calls for only 12oz of pasta, that does seem like enough pasta. Can you confirm? Thx
Shawn
You could use 16 ounces of pasta for 9 people.
Patti
1 lb of past is only meant to serve 4. You can make it serve 6 if served with a nice salad.
Tina Lehr
This is my go to recipe for spaghetti. I make my own recipe for meatballs and keep them in the freezer so they’re always ready to go. This recipe is so easy and turns out perfectly every time. My family loves it!
Bonnie Schuljak
If I want to double the pasta do I double all the ingredients?
RC
Double everything except the water. The water is -way- too much as-is. Use the same amount of water as the recipe and double everything else. You should be fine. Do not change the cooking time.
hls
3 cups way too much water. you only need 1 and 1/2 cups liquid for every 8 oz. Bonus: use broth instead of water. You need to cook only 4 mins. it will finish cooking as you stir and let it sit
Bonnie Schuljak
If I want to double the noodles do I double all the ingredients?
Cin
We are VERY impressed with this recipe. It came out literally perfect and it was SO easy. My husband was surprised that it was all done in a single pot! We made it exactly as written, minus the optional diced tomatoes and doubled the spaghetti amount as we love noodles; 12 oz would’ve been fine too. Used a 6 Quart Instant Pot. I made the meatballs from scratch (raw) and they turned out juicy and flavorful. A good tip is to use a napkin to spread some oil inside the Instant Pot PRIOR to use, this gave the meatballs great searing marks without sticking. Also a must is to toss the uncooked spaghetti in oil so that the noodles don’t stick together. The sauce consistency was ideal, made sure that the sauce was poured at the very top, over the spaghetti so that the noodles would cook well. NO STIRRING upfront, stir at the very end only. And poured the water from the sides so that it landed at the bottom for the meatballs. We had so much leftover for freezing, for future use. We will never make spaghetti any other way!!!!
Shawn
Fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the great comment.
Katherine
I’ve made this many times! I use frozen meatballs, and even added frozen veggies between the pasta and sauce layers. Sometimes it is a little soupy after I take the lid off. Adding the parmesean then, and stirring usually thickens it up. If not, turn on Saute, like others have mentioned. I’ve knly made spaghetti and meatballs this way since the first time I tried it.
Amanda
Super watery end result for me—very unhappy.
Shawn
I’m sorry you ended up with a watery result. The pasta should absorb most of the liquid while cooking and after you open the instant pot it’ll still be a little liquidy, then it will absorb some more. Is it possible you added too much water to begin with? Or maybe not enough pasta?
Joshua
I followed the instructions and it was amazing. Extremely happy with this recipe.
Shana
Worked perfectly and a great, quick and delicious meal for my family. Thank you!
Papi
Too much advertising in this post. I don’t have the time to scroll all day
Linda
Free recipes come with advertisements. If you don’t want to scroll through ads, pay for a subscription service♀️
Ieatall
Been using this recipe for a year or so. Dont know what you guys have done to this site but it has way too many ads. Some ads are not even loading, some ads are blocking writing in the recipe too. There also used to be a video but im not even sure if its still here because of that many ads trying to load. Shame as this is a good site
Deanna
I have not made this yet, but in regards to the mix of people that say it was too much water to those that say the recipe was perfect as is, I wonder if it has to do with the quality (as a thought) of your chosen pasta sauce. If your sauce is thin, use less water. If your sauce is thick, follow the recipe as is. Makes sense to me anyway.
craif
There is NO manual on my Instant pot! What setting should I use?
Fran
I will continue to make it the old fashion way. It was quick and easy but not the taste I was expecting.
Jen IP
Just thought I’d mention it’s easy to fix if it’s too watery, just put the Saute on for a few minutes and stir until it’s reduced enough.
Julie Peterson
I made this is my 8 qt IP Duo Evo Plus with Barilla spaghetti noodles. I wish others commenting here would say which size and IP they are using since maybe that makes a difference in whether it’s watery or not? This recipe would be perfect if it didn’t use so much water. I made it per the instructions and it was soup. Even after letting it sit for 20 minutes, it was just so much water. I added another jar of sauce to thicken it a bit, but even with that it was still so watery but I was able to serve it. I’m so curious why it comes out watery for some and others it’s fine. I wonder if it depends on what pasta or IP they are using?
The general rule in the IP is 2 cups water/broth to 8 oz pasta. I wonder if you added more water because the meatballs are tall and you weren’t sure if 2 cups would be able to reach the pasta? When the pot comes to pressure, the liquid rises, so even at 2 cups it would still be able to reach the pasta. Anyway, I will make this with 2 cups liquid next time and I think it would be perfect! With that adjustment, this recipe would be 5 stars for sure! Thank you for the recipe!
Karl
Julie,
Try using 2 cups of chicken broth and no water. I also sauté a thawed hamburger or some ground chopped meat, it adds to the sauce.
Karl
Dawn
I used the recommended 24oz of water and it came out perfect. Thank you for such a great, easy recipe!
Karl Balk
Recommend crisscrossing the spaghetti to prevent sticking. I also used 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water.
We made this several times and it comes out perfect every time.
We won’t make spaghetti any other way.
We sometimes break up a thawed frozen hamburger and sauté it and then add the frozen meatballs. It adds a little to the sauce, give it a try.
Karl
Just made this last night and it was too soupy. I then remembered that the last time I made it I reduced the chicken broth to 2 cups.
Pearl
This was so easy – thank you after a busy night. I used recommended 3 cups of water and wasn’t soupy. I was impressed the pasta was just right and not mushy. I also added a bag of frozen kale right after pressure release to add vegetables too. Thank you – I loved it
Ayita
The easiest meal prep! Right now waiting to cool down…looks like water is a bit too much. I agree with other people, will try with less water next time. Thank you so much for this recipe! My kid loves spaghetti and this cuts my work in the kitchen by 70% for sure! I love that I don’t have to deal with taking something that already cooked out and then cook something else…can’t stand when I see Instant Pot recipe that requires so much that I wonder…why bother? Keep cooking on the stove…it might be faster.
This is my favorite recipe!
BH
By far, easiest entree of this size I’ve ever made (used frozen meatballs). I doubled recipe, but used 4 cups water. Worked great. Like grown up spaghettios. Might use only 3 cups water next time.
BH
Tried the 3 cups. 4 cups was better.
Carol
Do you have to thaw the meat balls first
Julie
No, you can use frozen meatballs and it’s the same time, it just takes slightly longer for it to cone to pressure. In my 8 qt pot, this was too watery, even after letting g it sit for some time. I’m going to reduce the liquid next time.
kim
just wanting to know if this will work with gluten free pasta
Shawn
I’m thinking that should be just fine. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out.
Valerie Jensen
Hi Kim,
This is a late reply, but I am gluten free and have used this recipe countless times. I use a lentil pasta which takes forever to cook on the stove top. I increased the time in the instant pot to 15 minutes ONLY because the noodles stay very tough otherwise. I’m sure if you use Barilla gf pasta or another one that cooks for a normal amount of time, it would be fine for 10 minutes. I use the suggested 3 cups of water, too. Always comes out great and so nice to use just one pot! I’m trying this tonight with Banza gf chickpea rotini pasta. Got my fingers crossed!!
Alexa L Carroll
Could I make it, open and stur,then close and set I to keep warm for about an hour?
Anne Barrett
One of my go to favorite recipes. So good!
Erik
Tons of water in this…very soupy. I wouldnt call the tomato sauce liquid that was in the pot sauce at all. Recepie should definitely not use so much water, or it should use more pasta. After 10 mins of stirring after i was done making it i had to use a strainer to get out all the liquid so i could put it on a plate
Mary
Came out soupy. I would only used 1.5 cups water next time
Shawn
This recipe is a little more soupy than your average spaghetti and meatballs, but I find that the overall consistency thickens up after a few minutes of being cooked.
Erik
Mine had about an inch of sitting water that never just disappeared…little excessive. I agree that 1.5 cups would be much better