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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Loved this, followed recipe exactly, easy, delicious. Freezes and reheats well.
Instant pot spaghetti was delicious!!!!!
I added sautéed onion, peppers, & mushrooms, followed the recipe otherwise.
Easy and very good!
Thanks
Definitely going to try! Looks easy and delicious
Delicious recipe! First time using my IP and this was a great recipe to start with! Family devoured it! Might add 1 more minute to time to have the pasta just slightly more cooked. Will definitely make again! Thank you!
This was a great recipe, made by a guy whose not much of a cook, but not afraid to try! Even my toughest critic, my wife (who’s an AMAZING cook) really like the Spaghetti and meatballs! I will add it to my recipe resume : ) Thanks! – RW
Am about to make your recipe. I have a suggestion. On the copy that is made available for printing, please add your name or site name so I can readily find you and your writings. My copy did not have that and I had to do some searching for you.
Hi Jim! In the printer-friendly version of the recipe, it states (at the very bottom): This delicious recipe brought to you by DAMN DELICIOUS along with the specific link to the recipe. Please let us know if you need any further assistance! 🙂
Delicious recipe! Made this for my husband and myself and we loved it! Will definitely make it again with a few adjustments. (1) Some of the pasta was al dente as I don’t think it was fully submerged in the broth and sauce…I would recommend putting it in before the meatballs actually to make sure that it’s totally covered. (2) Definitely let it sit for a few minutes so the sauce can thicken up…it’s pretty watery at first. (3) Add salt and pepper at the end…it really brought out the flavors and made the dish that much better! There’s definitely a ton of sauce in the dish so will probably make some extra pasta when we heat up leftovers. Overall a winner and so easy in the InstantPot!
I’ve made this recipe about 5 times now and EVERY time it’s a winner! No one in the family will ever let me make stove top pasta again lol! I add a couple more spices to the meatballs and bc I don’t eat pork I omit that and just modify but damn is this delicious! We have a 13 yr old girl and 2.5 yr old boy and they both devour it! Thank you for the excellent recipe that makes the entire family happy!
I made this tonight and it was so good.
I don’t think I will ever use any other method.
Thank you so much for printing this!!!
Turned our perfect in so little time! Thanks for a winner.
Don’t forget to add oil to the instant pot before browning the meatballs! The first time I made this I didn’t because I figured the meatballs would add enough of their own grease. The instant pot never came to pressure and I got an error on the display that said burn.
This time I followed the directions (what a concept!) and it was perfect! Although if your beef broth is salty you might want to do half broth, half water. Mine was a broth from concentrate and it was overly salty. But this is a super kid friendly recipe that’s comfort food at its best. Everyone loved it!
I was able to get this going 15 min before a conference call! One great shortcut is to buy raw meatballs…not frozen. Krogers are really good and are found in the fresh meat section. Follow the steps after brown the meatballs and dinner is ready in 20 min including decompressing time.
The best spaghetti & meatball recipe ever, honestly! Thanks so much!
Your one-pot recipes are the best. This was incredibly good and EASY. The family devoured it. Definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Amazing recipe, perfect meatballs, creamy sauce, and spaghetti cooked perfectly. I kept the meatballs off the pan to properly deglaze with the broth before adding it back in. And I didn’t have sausage so my meatballs were all ground beef. Thank you for the recipe.
Do you have a recommend substitute for the egg?
Where’s the recipe?
Hi Linda! There was a system glitch last night but all recipes have been restored. I recommend clearing your cache to view the recipe. SO SORRY for the inconvenience!
I’m so impressed with how well this came out for an impromptu friend dinner. I made a few adjustments by using a 32oz jar of premade sauce, 16oz of penne noodles and an extra 1/4 cup of broth. *Next time, I’d either drain the grease or omit the extra water since it was a little juicy this time around. I sauteed the meats in crumbles instead of making the meatballs since I was pressed for time. I will definitely be making this recipe again for our family.
Just made this recipe in my new instant pot. I went strictly by the recipe and it was a WINNER! No problem with pasta sticking together . I did use whole wheat spaghetti. I did use pre made Italian fresh meatballs and that was a time saver. To me the best part was not having to use a separate pot to cook the pasta. Thanks for a real delicious time saver!
I made this for dinner tonight with your crescent rolls. Yes and yes. Thank you for sharing both recipes. My son must have eaten 10 meatballs. We will definitely be having both again. Do you think one could freeze the meatballs to cook later?
Absolutely!
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/
Not a review yet — but I do have a question. I do not own an instant pot but I do have a multi cooker made by Breville that cooks rice, slow cooker, and all kinds of other functions. I want to know if I could make this recipe in the slow cooker, either high setting or low setting. I do have the browning feature so I can sauté and browned the meat balls first. What do you think,
Absolutely! You can try this slow cooker version instead: https://damndelicious.net/2018/10/22/slow-cooker-spaghetti-and-meatballs/. 🙂
This post is just life screaming at me to get an instant pot once and for all!
DAMNED DELICIOUS:::::: GREAT RECIPE, AND I ALSO HAVE TO SAY YOU ARE SO DAMNED CUTE.