Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs brings you the taste and flavor of a homemade pasta dish all while being ready in under 10 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Homemade spaghetti and meatballs that is ready in under 20 minutes- what’s not to love!
- Full of flavor – Homemade meatballs like these ones are full of flavor! When meatballs are made this fast, you really can’t make a case for using the frozen.
- Loved by kids – Even the pickiest of eaters will fall in love with this delicious spaghetti recipe. Or as the kids in my life call it… pasta with red sauce.
- Ready in a flash – Using a pressure cooker significantly cuts down on the time it takes you to get dinner on the table with just as much flavor as simmered-all-day.
What You’ll Need
You can easily find all of these Instant Pot spaghetti and meatballs ingredients at your local grocery store.
Meatballs
- Egg – These are a binder to make it all stick together. Always assume a recipe is calling for a large egg.
- Italian breadcrumbs – You can make your own bread crumbs or easily buy some from the grocery store. If you have plain, just add dry Italian seasoning to make them “seasoned”.
- Salt and pepper – I use a simple blend of fine sea salt and white ground pepper. Keep in mind different salts measure differently, do not use a fine iodized salt for this one.
- Parmesan cheese – I always prefer to grate my own cheese. It melts smoother that way, as pre-shredded cheese tends to have a chalky additive. Shaker cheese is great for topping, but not for cooking.
- Garlic powder – A staple in almost every spice cabinet, this adds such delicious flavor to our meatballs.
- Evaporated milk – If you do not have evaporated milk, regular milk will do just fine. I would strongly discourage you from using skim or 1%. Whole milk would be best for the fat content and smooth consistency. Evaporated milk is condensed milk where the water has been evaporated out by at least 60%.
- Lean ground beef – I like to use a 90/10 blend. Leaner ground beef makes for a tender meatball and then you don’t have to drain the meatballs while cooking.
Tomato Sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil – This is used to sauté the onion and garlic. It helps to prevent them from sticking to the pan.
- Onion and garlic – I grate or pulse mine in a food processor to get more of a paste than a chop. Of course, you can finely mince as well, just don’t leave large chunks.
- Crushed tomatoes – You can either use canned or fresh tomatoes, but using canned makes this recipe much easier.
- Italian seasoning – You can make your own Italian seasoning blend or easily buy a jar at the store.
- Fennel seed – They have a powerful flavor that is both sweet and pungent. They add great flavor to this marinara sauce and a “I can’t quite put my finger on it” flavor. Fennel can also easily by omitted if you don’t have any on hand or don’t care for the flavor.
- Dry spaghetti noodles – You want your un-cooked spaghetti to be broken in half so that it fits into the Instant Pot easier. Check the section below for other pasta options. It is pretty important to use spaghetti and not another pasta shape due to the nature of cooking in the pot.
Variations
There are plenty of ways for you to make this Instant Pot spaghetti and meatballs your own. Here are a few ideas.
- Pasta – You don’t have to use spaghetti, but this specific recipe does call for it. If you use a smaller size pasta like cappellini (angel hair) or thicker like fettuccine, the cooking times may vary and this might alter the ability for your meatballs to cook.
- Meat – You can substitute ground pork or turkey for ground beef or any mix of the two. If you use bulk Italian sausage, your meatballs might take more like sausage. Not a bad thing, just different.
- Frozen meatballs – If you used cooked frozen meatballs, the cook time should be exactly the same. However, if you use pre cooked thawed meatballs, the cooking time will be off. Use either raw meatballs or frozen cooked for best results.
- Spice it up – If you like your spaghetti to be a little spice, add red pepper flakes for more heat.
- Fresh herbs – You can add things like fresh basil, parsley or oregano to either the tomatoes or sauce to take the flavor up a notch.
- Sauce – If you prefer to just buy a jar of spaghetti sauce at the store to save on time, be my guest!
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Follow these simple instructions for the most delicious (and easiest!) spaghetti you’ll ever make!
Meatballs
- Combine egg, breadcrumbs, seasonings, cheese and milk. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the egg, breadcrumbs, salt, white pepper, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and evaporated milk.
- Add ground beef. Crumble in the ground beef and toss to combine, but do not over mix.
- Form meatballs. Form the ground beef mixture into 8 large meatballs. Set aside.
- Sauté meatballs. Set the Instant Pot to the sauté function, add the olive oil and raw meatballs. Cook, turning every so often for 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and garlic, sauteing for 2 minutes.
Sauce
- Add water, tomato and seasonings. Pour in the water, crushed tomato, Italian seasoning and fennel seed, tossing to coat the meatballs.
- Add pasta. Break the spaghetti pieces in half and place over the meatballs and sauce, spoon sauce over the pasta to try and cover it.
- Lock lid and set pressure. Lock lid in place. Set to manual high pressure and set for 10 minutes.
- Use quick release method. If the sauce is too watery, change function to simmer for 3-4 minutes and leave it uncovered for the water to evaporate.
- Serve, garnish and enjoy. Serve and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
You can serve this one-pot meal with just about anything you’d would serve with other classic pasta dishes. Personally, I like to serve mine with some sort of crusty garlic bread.
Because this is also a carb heavy meal, I like to serve mine with a side salad. Caesar salad or just a side salad with Italian dressing are both great choices.
Storage and Freezing
How to Store Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
I store the pasta sauce separate from the pasta. There are plenty of people who like to mix the two, but I find that leftover pasta gets gummy and soggy, so I store them separately.
I also save some for lunches and just eat meatballs and sausage with sauce and no pasta. It will stay good in the fridge for about five days if in an airtight container and can be easily microwaved.
Can I Freeze Spaghetti and Meatballs?
By all, means yes! In fact, I try to make a double and triple batch of homemade sauce and then place it in the freezer in smaller batches. I will stay for up to four months.
More Instant Pot Recipes
I love using my Instant Pot when I want to get dinner on the table quickly. Here are some of my favorites.
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs is perfect for busy weeknights when you need dinner in a hurry. Delicious and one pot!
Servings:
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese , finely grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
Tomato Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup onion , chopped
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons fennel seed
- 10 ounces dry spaghetti , broken in half
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the egg, breadcrumbs, salt, white pepper, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and evaporated milk. Crumble in the ground beef and toss to combine, but do not over mix.
- Form the ground beef mixture into 8 large meatballs. Set aside.
- Set the Instant Pot to the saute function, add the olive oil and raw meatballs. Cook, turning every so often for 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and garlic, sauteing for 2 minutes.
- Add the water, crushed tomato, Italian seasoning and fennel seed, tossing to coat the meatballs.
- Break the spaghetti pieces in half and place over the meatballs and sauce, spoon sauce over the pasta to try and cover it.
- Lock lid in place. Set to manual high pressure and set for 10 minutes.
- Use quick release method. If the sauce is too watery, change function to simmer for 3-4 minutes and leave it uncovered for the water to evaporate.
- Serve and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
About 50% of the individuals who have made this received a “burn notice” for too little liquid. Crushed tomatoes can vary greatly by brand as to how much liquid versus whole tomato is in the can. If yours is more of a puree, add 1 cup of water. If yours has large chunks of tomato and is less liquidy or really thick, add an additional 1/2 cup (1 1/2 cups total) water.
Toss well when finished and allow to sit to let some of the water mix into the sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 642 kcal, Carbohydrates: 78 g, Protein: 39 g, Fat: 19 g, Saturated Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 118 mg, Sodium: 1090 mg, Potassium: 1234 mg, Fiber: 7 g, Sugar: 12 g, Vitamin A: 560 IU, Vitamin C: 20.4 mg, Calcium: 204 mg, Iron: 7.3 mg
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Well so far I’ve had 3 burn notices! I. Added more water so we will see in a few!
I’m sorry Rita! In the post we talk about this being an issue depending on the pressure cooker and liquid volumes in the canned tomatoes Did you get it to work?
The flavor is amazing and it’s easy to put together which I love but I had lots of stuck noodles and blackened onions on the bottom. I’m going to try adding more water to the tomatoes and water on top of the noodles. This is a keeper when I get the noodle situation figured out!
Thanks for letting us know, Nancy! I think the liquid is so dependant on what brand of tomatoes you use and what type/brand of pasta. It can vary greatly. But after you find your perfect match, the recipe is great!