Spaghetti Sauce is super easy, meaty and hearty when made in an Instant Pot. Using a pressure cooker to cook pasta sauce makes it flavorful and quick to prepare, but tastes like is has simmered on the stove all day. Pour this delicious savory sauce over a pile of cooked pasta!
Why This Recipe Works
One of my favorite comfort food recipes that my mom makes is her famous pasta sauce. When I was growing up we usually topped spaghetti noodles with it, but it is the perfect sauce for any pasta meal.
My mom would sometimes add a handful of veggies to the sauce to give it extra flavor and texture. Since becoming obsessed with my Instant Pot Duo, I decided to attempt a pressure-cooked version of her amazing spaghetti sauce recipe.
One of the things about her original recipe that always makes it taste so good is the long time it sat on the stove top simmering, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to achieve the same level of flavor in an Instant Pot.
Well guess what?! It turned out AMAZING! Don’t tell my mom, but it rivals her original recipe. This Instant Pot Pasta Sauce is jam-packed with bold and delicious flavor. It tastes like it has been simmering on the stove all day long and it is done in a fraction of the time!
My family loved this recipe and we hope you do, as well!
How To Make Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Step 1
Set your Instant Pot to the saute function. Add the ground beef, ground sausage, garlic and onion and cook until meat is no longer pink; drain, if needed.
Step 2
Add the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, fennel seed, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper to the pot; mix well. Deglaze the pot (remove bits from the bottom with a spoon).
Step 3
Place the cover on the pot and set the timer to 10 minutes on high pressure (pressure cook setting). It will take the pressure cooker around 10 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
Step 4
When cook time is done, do a natural release for 10 minutes then do a quick release.
Step 5
Remove the lid, stir and remove/discard bay leaves. Serve this delicious meat sauce with your favorite pasta and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge!
Recipe Notes
- I love the combination of Italian sausage and ground beef in this sauce, but feel free to use one of the two instead. Or swap out both for ground chicken or turkey!
- The marinara sauce in the recipe adds a boldness that I absolutely adore. Feel free to replace it with two cans of tomato sauce, if desired.
- If you are searching for a sauce with even more flavor, try adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine!
- In place of the crushed tomatoes, you can use 6-8 cups fresh tomatoes or frozen tomatoes, thawed and chopped (juices included) – this equals about 30-40 Roma tomatoes.
- I have doubled this recipe minus the amount of meat used. If you double the recipe, use 3 pounds of meat and make sure the contents of the Instant Pot stay below the max fill line.
How To Make Spaghetti In An Instant Pot
Instant Pot Spaghetti is one of my new favorite recipes of ALL TIME. The noodles cook so perfectly and it has the best combination of flavors, you guys. If you haven’t tried it, go check it out!
How to Make Stovetop Spaghetti Sauce
If you are looking for a stovetop version of pasta sauce, consider making this delicious homemade pasta sauce recipe!
Spaghetti Sauce Made Using Tomato Sauce
Transform 2 cans of tomato sauce into a batch of super easy pasta sauce! If you have tomato sauce on hand instead of tomato paste, this is a great option for you.
Make Pasta Sauce Using a Can of Tomato Paste
And if you have paste on hand instead of sauce, try this super easy way to transform tomato paste into a batch of pasta sauce!
How To Thicken Pasta Sauce
If you make or purchase a batch of pasta sauce and find that is thin and lacks substance, there are ways to fix it! Read on for tips about how to thicken spaghetti sauce.
If you do not have paste on hand, check out this guide for ways to thicken without using tomato paste.
Marinara vs Spaghetti Sauce
So close in texture, color and flavor that you could call them cousins! Let’s get to the heart of the issue and explore marinara vs spaghetti sauce. What are the differences?!
If you find yourself with a weak batch of marinara, learn how to thicken marinara sauce easily!
Recipes To Make Using Pasta Sauce
Aside from the obvious reason (the amazing FLAVOR!), my favorite thing about pasta sauce is that it is so versatile. Here are a few ideas for ways to enjoy it! First, check out this guide to learn how long spaghetti sauce lasts in the fridge.
- Pour it over the top of cooked noodles of any kind.
- This roundup will provide you with recipes you can make using leftover spaghetti sauce so nothing ever goes to waste.
- Use it in place of store-bought sauce in your next pan of Baked Spaghetti or Baked Ziti!
- Crockpot Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Lasagna and Cheesy Manicotti are both sooo good when made with Instant Pot spaghetti sauce!
- Use it as an ingredient to stuffed spaghetti squash with!
- Add it to your morning eggs because everything tastes great with eggs.
Instant Pot Recipes
The list of recipes you can make in an Instant Pot is endless! It can act as a slow cooker, sauté pan, steamer, rice maker, yogurt maker and pressure cooker. It can cook soup, chili, pasta, meat, potatoes, veggies, cake, beans and so much more. Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot recipes:
- This Instant Pot Goulash can be ready in 30 minutes and cooks perfectly every time!
- You are guaranteed a juicy, hearty, easy meal with this Instant Pot Ham.
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup will be devoured by the family when you serve this for dinner!
- I promise using a box mix will produce a less porous cake and remain so moist when you follow this Instant Pot Cake recipe!
Storing And Freezing Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Store homemade pasta sauce in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If there are visible signs of mold, discard the sauce. To extend the shelf life, freeze it! Allow the sauce to cool completely and pour it into an airtight container.
Place in the freezer for up to 4 months. When you are ready to use the sauce, remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw completely. Pour it into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes before serving.
Instant Pot Burn Notice
If you see that dreaded burn notice flash on your Instant Pot, do not fret! Know that your pressure cooker is keeping a good eye on your food. It has sensed that the temperature toward the bottom of the pot is too high and has therefore turned it off temporarily.
It is giving you a chance to fix the problem! This can happen especially with thick sauces or chilis because of the heaviness of the contents inside the pot. It can also happen if there is not enough liquid inside the pot.
If you see the burn notice, press CANCEL as soon as possible. Do an immediate quick release and wait for the silver float valve to drop. Transfer the inner pot to a hot pad holder. Scrape any bits of food that may have adhered to the bottom of the pot using a spoon.
If there are no burned bits:
- Add 1/2 cup of liquid to the recipe that will thin out the consistency. If the recipe contains beef or chicken broth, add more of the same. If no broth is used in the recipe, add water.
- Stir the contents of the pot thoroughly and resume cooking.
If you see burned pieces in the mixture:
- Pour the contents into a saucepan and clean out the pot using soap and water, making sure any charred pieces of food are removed from the bottom of the pan. Remove visible pieces of burnt food and pour it back into the pot.
- Add 1/2 cup of liquid to the recipe, stir the contents thoroughly and resume cooking.
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Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute. Add the ground beef, sausage, garlic and onion and cook until meat is no longer pink; drain, if needed.
- Add the tomatoes, marinara sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, fennel seed, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper to the pot; mix well. Deglaze the pot (remove bits from the bottom with a spoon).
- Place the cover on the pot and set timer to 10 minutes on high pressure (pressure cook setting). It will take the IP around 10 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
- When cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes; do a quick release.
- Remove cover, stir and remove/discard bay leaves. Serve with your favorite pasta and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge!
Notes
- I love the combination of Italian sausage and ground beef in this sauce, but feel free to use one of the two instead. Or swap out both for ground chicken or turkey!
- The marinara sauce in the recipe adds a boldness that I absolutely adore. Feel free to replace it with two cans of tomato sauce, if desired.
- If you are searching for a sauce with even more flavor, try adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine!
- In place of the crushed tomatoes, you can use 6-8 cups fresh tomatoes or frozen tomatoes, thawed and chopped (juices included) – this equals about 30-40 Roma tomatoes.
- I have doubled this recipe minus the amount of meat used. If you double the recipe, use 3 pounds of meat and make sure the contents of the Instant Pot stay below the max fill line.
Every time I make this in the instant pot I get a burn notice. What am I doing wrong??
I’m sorry, Debby that is frustrating. There are usually 2 reasons for it – one if you sauteed meat in it prior to using the pressure cooker, then just be sure that you scraped any remnants off the bottom. It’s easiest to do this once you add some of the sauce. Take your wooden spoon and just run it along the bottom where the meat may have left some pieces for the IP to throw that up. 2nd, is if noodles are cooked along the bottom of the pot. That’s why I layer the sauce and liquid in any recipe at the bottom and the noodles at the top. Usually if you catch the burn notice right away, it’s still cooking in there, so just reset the pot and you’re good to go. Even while it’s building pressure, it’s cooking!
This sounds really great and can’t wait to try it. However, can you recommend a slight mod using only whole San Marzano tomatoes (blitzed, of course) and tomato paste? Without compromising the flavor. I would like to be able to just stock those items but not marinara sauce. Thanks
Hi Cortada, if you don’t want to buy marinara, it’s easy to make with your tomatoes. Here’s a link to my recipe. But I think you could just cook it in and play with it too! https://pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/homemade-marinara-sauce/
Thanks for the quick reply. I think out of respect for your recipe I’ll do it first as presented here, then with your homemade marinara, and after that start playing around with the direct San Marzano approach. Meanwhile, let’s check out your other offerings.
Excellent! I thought I had a good spaghetti sauce recipe; which would take me a very long time to make on the stove and wanted to find out how I could make it in my Instapot instead. Made this last night and WOW, this was fantastic! My husband raved and raved about it with every bite and thanked me all night for making this. He said he could eat it three-times a week. He even wanted to know if this could be used as a sauce to put over other foods, like Mexican and pork chops!! ha ha I told him it cannot be used for those. I changed it a bit. I just added: 1 1/2 Tb. basil (instead of Italian seasoning, 4-oz. can sliced mushrooms, 1/2 onion vs. 1-whole, 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, 2 tsp. dried parsley, 1/4 cup Marsala wine and one small can black, sliced olives. Thank the Lord I found how to make this in my Instapot! Now I will not dread making spaghetti sauce any more. Thank you so much!
Ramona, I love the comments. Thank you for sharing your tips and how you enjoyed it. I love this!