This Instant Pot Spaghetti has perfectly cooked spaghetti noodles in marinara sauce with ground beef, simple seasonings, and cream cheese as an amazing secret ingredient. Your family will love this 30 minute meal!
Try my Eggplant Parmesan next! And don’t forget a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
Instant Pot Spaghetti
If you’re looking for an easy dinner idea that the whole family can actually agree on, this is it.
Not only is it super convenient to cook this entire meal in one pot, but the flavors blend so perfectly together, you’ll never make spaghetti any other way!
See below for my PRO tips for freezing, this makes a great freezer meal.
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Heat the olive oil and add the ground beef. Cook and crumble the beef, drain any grease.
- Stir in the seasonings. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and criss-cross them over the ground beef to prevent them from sticking together.
- Add the chicken broth and undrained diced tomatoes.
- Add marinara sauce and ensure spaghetti noodles are completely submerged.
- Pressure cook for 8 minutes.
- Flip the quick release valve. Stir in the cream cheese. Sauce will thicken upon standing. Serve!
Using a 6 Quart Instant Pot
- I us my trusty 6-quart Instant Pot for this recipe, which is what I recommend for most families, and is what most Instant Pot recipes are based on.
- It can cook enough food for a family of four and won’t take as long to come to pressure as an 8 quart will.
Burn Message Indicator
The burn indicator can sometimes trigger more easily with starchy foods, (i.e. – pasta). Rest assure, there is a sufficient amount of liquid in this recipe to avoid burning this pasta.
Even so, I commonly see this indicator when I am cooking but I just let it continue to come to pressure and eventually it goes away.
For more information you can check out these 7 Instant Pot Burn Mistakes you need to avoid.
Storing Leftovers
Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips for Freezing
- Cook the pasta to the Al Dente Point, but no more. That way the pasta won’t be overcooked when you reheat it. The quick release of the pressure valve helps to halt the cooking process.
- I make portion-sized foil packets for these and place them right from the freezer to a 350° oven for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the portion size.
- You can also freeze them in Ziploc bags and place in the fridge overnight to defrost.
More Instant Pot Meals:
- Creamy Chicken Stew
- Chicken and Stuffing
- Hamburger Helper
- Roasted Potatoes
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Split Pea Soup
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Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 pound ground beef, I use 85% lean
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasonings
- Salt/pepper, to taste
- ½ pound spaghetti
- 24 oz. marinara sauce
- 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 cups chicken broth, can sub water
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened (optional, but recommended!)
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to Sautee. Add the Olive oil and ground beef. Cook and crumble the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. Drain any excess grease if needed,
- Stir in the seasonings. Use a silicone spatula to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. (This helps prevent the burn indicator message.)
- Break the spaghetti noodles in half. Crisscross them over the meat so that they don't stick together.
- Add the chicken broth and undrained diced tomatoes over the noodles. Top with marinara and ensure the noodles are submerged.
- Cover/Seal the Instant Pot and set it to pressure cook for 8 minutes (Or, select the manual button and hit high pressure for 8 minutes). Note: It might sound like nothing is happening but if you put your ear up to the instant pot after a few minutes, you can hear it working.
- Turn the quick release valve to let all of the steam escape, and open the pot. (Do not let the pressure release naturally as this will overcook the pasta.)
- Stir in the cream cheese. The sauce will continue to thicken upon standing. Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions and additions:
- Ground Turkey or Chicken may also be used.
- Thin Spaghetti may also be used. Pressure cook for 6 minutes instead of 8.
- For a similar flavor to Bolognese, saute diced onions, celery, and carrots when browning the meat.
This was really an easy and tasty dish – thanks for the simple recipe. I LOVE my instant pot as it helps me whip dinner so quick and each dish has been a hit! Love the cream cheese secret recipe – really did make the pasta rich and delicious.
Thanks Tulima, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I love my instant pot too, It makes life so easy!!!😀 I’m happy to hear you found the secret cream cheese tip helful!😋
I have made this recipe several times. It is literally the easiest recipe I make. It’s perfect for last minute teenage visitors. It is so tasty (I use Rao’s or other high quality marinara). I did add an additional 3rd of everything last time because of how much ground beef I had and it turned out just fine. I stuck with 8 minutes. Also, it doesn’t need the cream cheese. THANK YOU for making my life a touch easier. Vicki
Thanks soooo much Vicki I’m so glad you all liked it!😀😀😀 I really like how easy this one is to make as well. It’s crazy you can cook such a great dinner by throwing stuff in an instant pot. It amazes me every time! Thanks for the reveiew!❤️
Hi Stephanie, I look forward to making this in an IP. Just wondering why we’re using so much liquid in this recipe in addition to all the tomato sauces? Since I’m making this in a 3 quart, can I reduce the liquid amount? My goal is to make a more chunkier sauce.
Thanks in advance,
Sadiya
Hi Sadiya! I’m very anti-dry spaghetti and it does absorb a surprising amount of liquid when it cooks, but you can use a little bit less chicken broth, I haven’t actually tested it this way, but using 1/2 cup less should be okay! And just make sure nothing goes beyond the max line in the 3 quart. Enjoy!! 🙂
Has anyone tried ricotta instead of cream cheese??
Hi Alyah, I haven’t tried that in this recipe, but I have a baked spaghetti recipe where I add ricotta and it is delicious, and I’m sure it would be great in this Instant Pot Spaghetti as well! Give it a go! 🙂 -Stephanie
Great recipe! This is the first time I make the perfect spaghetti with meat sauce meal in the instant pot. This recipe is VERY easy and it tastes delicious. I recommend not to skip the cream cheese! 🙂
I am so happy that you enjoyed it!! We absolutely love this one too, it’s the only way I’ll make spaghetti! 🙌🏻 Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a rating!
This was my first Instant Pot meal and it turned out perfectly. Thanks for the great recipe and instructions.
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and give your feedback, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Stephanie.I have never used my instant pot to saute before.If i saute the ground beef in a seprate pan will it make any difference? Thanks.
You can definitely sauté in a separate pan if you’d prefer!
This is a family favorite! One of my favorite things to make when we need something quick and to use up a lb. of ground beef. I did buy a jar of the pricey sauce once to use, but we like a jar of the cheap stuff from Aldi’s best! Whatever works, right? The little bit of cream cheese really adds something.
Hey Vicki!! I’m sooo happy that your family loves this recipe, (my family does too!)- Hey to be honest, I’m glad you like the cheap stuff better!! LOL. I wish I wasn’t hooked on the pricier version! (And yes!! I love the dab of cream cheese too!) Have a great weekend! -Stephanie
Hi there. New to IP life. I did get a mini because many said it was enough food for 2 adults and little toddlers. Less counter space and all that Jazz. So my question is, can I still do all this in my mini without cutting the recipe? I see where the max lines are inside and it seems to be enough room. Let me know, giving it a whirl tonight for our first IP meal! 😉
Hey Danielle!! I haven’t tried it in a mini before but as long as you don’t go over those lines, you’re golden!! ENJOY, you’re going to love this one! 🙂
Holy Moly! Five adults blew through the entire pot in one sitting! Fantastic meal! Gonna do it again this weekend for three adults and three 9-year-old boys. Can this recipe safely double in the same pot? Any changes in cooking times?
Hi Laura! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!! It’s definitely one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes, and definitely my favorite way to enjoy spaghetti and meat sauce! Unfortunately a 6-quart instant pot is too small to be able to double this recipe. The capacity of a 6 quart Instant Pot is 4 quarts or 16 cups and unfortunately the liquid alone for doubling this recipe would be 15.5 cups (between the marinara, diced tomatoes, and water), which doesn’t include the meat or the pasta. Darnit all!