Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
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A ONE POT meal made in your pressure cooker with homemade meatballs (not frozen!). Still so quick and easy to whip up!
There’s something so cozy and homey about spaghetti and meatballs. It’s just one of those dishes that screams comfort food like mom used to make.
Except I almost never make it at home. Mainly because it seems like there are 8 thousands steps involved and another 7 thousand dishes to clean.
But not to worry.
We now have an IP version that keeps it to a one pot wonder.
The meatballs get seared right in the Instant Pot, and the uncooked spaghetti noodles will cook right along with everything else.
It’s genius, I know, as everything just soaks and cooks right in the pasta sauce!
Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups beef stock
- 12 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
- 1 (24-ounce) jar tomato basil pasta sauce
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
for the meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- ½ cup Panko
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, Panko, milk, egg, Italian seasoning and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-to-1-1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Heat olive oil; working in batches, add meatballs, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Return all meatballs to the Instant Pot®.
- Stir in beef stock, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add spaghetti; stir in pasta sauce until evenly coated. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 8 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Gently stir mixture until spaghetti is completely separated, about 1 minute. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with basil and Parmesan, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Super yummy!! Had some issues with my Instant Pot, though—went through 3 preheating cycles with a “burn” notification at the end of each one. But, on the plus side, by the time those three cycles were over, it was cooked!! Going to try this again soon after hopefully troubleshooting whatever issue my pot is having.
This is the first time I’m leaving a review on any site! Tried this tonight for dinner. It was amazing! The family loved it! Followed the recipe besides adding extra garlic and pepper, as I always do. Really happy to have more Instant Pot recipes to help save time! I’ve tried multiple recipes from your site and they have all been amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your passion. ❤️
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Diana! We are so happy to hear this was a winner for you! 🙂
I shared this recipe with my family. They came to visit us and I made them lunch. My husband wanted meatball subs so I used this recipe for the base. I ended up with 34 meatballs. I wasn’t sure if there would be enough liquid to cook the noodles so I added an extra half cup of broth. The recipe was a success once again and proven to be versatile!
Oh and the Zuppa Toscana IP soup is not just a cold weather soup! We love it so much we ate it on a 100 degree day here in So Cal!
This was yummy. I’m new to the instant pot so I’m still a bit unsure on what function does what. However made this last night. How do you stop the noodles from clumping together? I chose w thick spaghetti noodle as I read more texture is better. What should I done t time?
I recommend using the standard spaghetti noodles to avoid any kind of clumping. Hope that helps, Shannon! 🙂
I usually donot like meatballs, but these were really good. I changed a few things. I like Johnson’s hot Italian sausage links. So I baked them and used 1 link chopped up small in the meat balls and added 2 links cut up to the sauce. I used regular bread crumbs and no milk. For the garlic I used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic in the jar. It was my first time for cooking pasta in the instant pot and was pleased it didn’t turn to mush and was done. I also did 9 minutes with a quick release.
Your modifications sound amazing, Frankie!
We absolutely love this recipe! I use chicken sausage with the ground beef, and the meatballs come out very tasty!
Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Tanya!
Came out great! The key step is to let it sit for that five minutes to soak up remaining liquids.
I add a dollop of butter at the end for creamier taste, plus salt and pepper. Oh, and Tobasco sauce, but that’s my own problem…
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6ysErkkPhsaHUqz5A
Thanks for sharing, Andrew! The addition of Tabasco sounds amazing!
Can you use this recipe with frozen meatballs?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I tried the recipe using frozen meatballs (yummy ones from Costco) and they worked great! Speeds up this already fast and great Instant Pot dinner! Thanks for all the fun recipes, my husband and I have loved the ones we’ve tried! 🙂
I love a good shortcut! Thanks for sharing, Nikki! I’ll have to try this next time when I’m super short on time. 🙂
Did you still brown them first or just the 8 minutes?? Thanks!!
amazing! I had to use penne noodles as I didn’t have spaghetti noodles and used same cooking time and it turned out perfect.
Thank you!
That’s so great! Thanks for sharing, Jasmine!
Could I make in 4 qt?
Hi Karen! I didn’t know there was a 4qt IP! But the general rule of thumb (when using a 3qt or “mini” Instant Pot) is to divide the recipe in half with the same cook time. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Question…I’m making this tomorrow but a little confused on the directions. From the way I read it, I put the broth & meatballs in, top with pasta and sauce then set the iP???
Yes, that’s exactly right, Heather. You want to stir in the pasta sauce until evenly coated.
This was so easy and so flavorful! The pasta really absorbed the flavors so well, almost infused with the broth and sauce , so much so my kids couldn’t get enough of it ! Would I be able to cook just spaghetti with the sauce and broth as described in recipe (without meatballs) or do Times need altering ?
I love hearing that everyone enjoyed it so much, Divya! 🙂
If you do try to make this again without the meatballs, the times may need altering.
Super simple with really good flavor! My husband loved it (as did I) and it will be our go to spaghetti/meatball dinner!
We love that, Kristine! Thank you for sharing!
Can I double this recipe without changing any of the liquid amounts?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I have done this recipe about 4 times now. It is easy and delicious. Can I substitute chicken broth for beef? I love your many recipes.
Yes, of course, but the dish will have a slightly different flavor.
Great recipe! Absolutely delicious!!!
As always, this was excellent!!
Worked perfectly and was super yummy.
We love it!
Wow! This look soo delicious. I definitively need to make it in my Instant Pot.
Any substitute with the whole milk in meatball?
You can substitute 2% or low fat milk.
Looks so good! Do you have a recipe for the garlic bread shown on the side too?
We sure do!
https://damndelicious.net/2016/12/13/cheesy-garlic-bread/