Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta (Bolognese) cooks up in under 30 minutes in the pressure cooker. Homemade sauced tastes like you have been simmering all day.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta
We all love homemade spaghetti sauce that cooks all day on the stove.
With the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, you can have that same taste with just a 10 minute cook time.
Meat lovers, use some Italian Sausage and/or any other ground meat you would like in your sauce. I prefer a vegetarian sauce and this recipe is my favorite.
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Beef and Macaroni
My husband loves this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta with whole sausage and meatballs. I’ve never been a huge fan of meat sauce. I do, however, like to brown the sausage and meatballs and then remove them from the pot. Then continue with the rest of the ingredients. When we are ready to eat, I usually put the sausage and meatballs back into the pot to warm. The husband can take the meat with his meal and I grab some sauce. We both win.
However, sometimes I do just crumble up the sausage and/or ground beef/turkey and make this sauce.
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Special Ingredient for Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta
- Parmesan Rind
This makes all the difference. If you do not have a rind from a chunk of Parmesan cheese, no need to worry. You can always add in some cheese to your plate of spaghetti and sauce.
Break up the Meat, if Using
For cooking on the stove top, the sauce would simmer all day, but using an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, your sauce is done in under 30 minutes. I’d have to stay home and stir and check on the sauce. It’s so great to get an all day pasta sauce in less than 30 minutes.
If you want to cook your noodles or macaroni at the same time as your sauce, try my Pressure Cooker Quick Spaghetti Dinner or my Pressure Cooker Beef and Macaroni for an easy one pot meal.
How to Make Stainless Steel Pot Non Stick
Turn on your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker and allow the pot to get completely hot. Adding a fat to a hot pot, will make the stainless steel pot non stick. If you add fat to a cold pot, your food will stick.
After the pot is hot, add your oil and start to brown the meat.
Brown Meat and Crush Fennel Seeds
Fennel seeds add huge amounts of flavor to this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce. They are easy to crush with the back of a spoon. Just be careful so they don’t go flying across your kitchen.
You can also find fennel seeds in my Pressure Cooker Low Carb Margherita Meatballs, which are killer and perfect for a low carb diet. As a side dish, the Low Carb Brussels Sprouts Alfredo Sauce taste great in combination.
Roughly chop the onions and toss them into the pot. Continue to sauté for a few minutes.
Garlic is best when you only sauté for a very short time. So, add the garlic and sauté just one more minute.
Another very easy recipe to make is my Instant Pot Italian Chicken Marsala. It’s rich and is a great Italian entree.
Carefully add in the rest of the ingredients. Make sure you use a good wine. One that you would like to drink with your meal.
Never buy wine that is labeled for cooking. It is cheap and pretty nasty.
The wine adds a terrific depth of flavor and I suggest not skipping the wine.
Lock on the lid and you are ready to cook!
This makes a lot, so we freeze what we are not going to use for dinner and save for next time.
I love these Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers and Freezer Labels, so that I always know what is in my freezer.
Makes a Great Freezer Meal
We like to use the leftover Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for in my Instant Pot Rojo Fiesta Chicken recipe in place of the fiesta sauce and turn it into another Italian meal.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta
Easy, right? Home made pasta sauce in not much more time than it takes to open a jar of premade sauce.
If you want to have a one pot spaghetti dinner, try my Pressure Cooker Quick Spaghetti Dinner or my Pressure Cooker Beef and Macaroni (Bolognese), for a one pot meal.
More Instant Pot Italian Meals to Make:
- Pressure Cooker Low Carb Margherita Pizza Meatballs
- Instant Pot Italian Chicken Marsala {Pressure Cooker}
- Pressure Cooker Creamy Baked Ziti
- Pressure Cooker Bruschetta Chicken with Zoodles
What is your favorite way to each Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce?
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Cilio Olivewood Spatula
- Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- Bellemain Porcelain Ramekins
- OXO Good Grips Cutting Board
- Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers
- Freezer Labels
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Italian sausage mild or hot, (optional, casings removed)
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow/Brown Onion optional, chopped
- 3 - 4 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
- 28 ounces Diced Tomatoes w/Juice
- 6 ounces Tomato Paste
- 30 ounces Tomato Sauce
- 3 teaspoons Dried Basil
- 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley Flakes
- 2 teaspoons Light Brown Sugar or sugar substitute
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 cup Red Wine/Cabernet a good Cabernet!
- 1/2 cup Fresh Water
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds crushed
- 1 chunk Parmesan Rind optional
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Instructions
With Meat
- Turn your Pressure Cooker to Sauté or Browning mode and allow it to heat.
- Add a Tablespoon of olive oil to the Pressure Cooker cooking pot and then dump in the sausage/ground beef.
- Brown the sausage, breaking it up as you stir.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
- Lock on Lid and Close Pressure Valve.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When Beep sounds, allow a 15 minute natural release, then carefully do a quick release.
Without Meat
- All add ingredients, except for meat and mix together.
- Lock on Lid and Close Pressure Valve.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. When Beep sounds, allow a 15 minute natural release, then carefully do a quick release.
Notes
- Pressure Cooker Southern Style Green Beans
- Low Carb Avocado Chicken Salad [Instant Pot]
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup Low Carb Keto
- Instant Pot Italian Chicken Olive Garden
Nutrition
PIN this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta!
Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Sauce for Pasta
Have been experimenting with sauce recipes for years. This was one of our favorites (didn’t have fennel – substituted oregano). Will be making this one again.
Hi Kim. Thank you so much. I am thrilled you enjoyed my sauce recipe. Definitely try it with fennel as it brings it up a notch. Jill
best sauce yet! I used chicken broth instead of water and added green pepper. Also cooked my hot sausage whole and then slice into rings when I made the baked ziti…so delicious. I also used an imersable blender when done and the sauce was amazing.
Hi Mary. Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the sauce. Jill
How can I cook my pasta with this sauce? And can I saute chicken breast chunks the same way as the Italian sausage or ground beef since I have alpha gal?
How can I make the sauce thicker and less runny? Would you suggest I add cornstarch or any other suggestions? This is wonderful sauce. A friend made it for me after my Dad died and I am hooked but I would like to make it more dense.
Thank you!!
Try letting is simmer for a few minutes. Jill
Made it with ground turkey and cut up pieces of turkey sausage- added a little oregano to the spices- delicious,
Thank you, Claire! Jill
We don’t drink alcohol. What is a good brand of Cabernet to purchase?
Literally the cheapest one at the store works just fine. I’ve used $30 wines and $8 wines in this recipe and it’s a hit every time. This is my “hmm that label looks interesting but I don’t want to risk a whole bottle of something I may not like” recipe since 1/3 of the bottle goes to the sauce (I double the wine and skip the water for depth of flavour)
SO GOOD!! Thank you!!! It’s the kind of sauce that I want to drink with a straw! Didn’t have fennel seeds and used ground beef instead of sausage. My new favorite instant pot recipe!
Thank you, Heidi. Jill
I made this tonight almost as directed (just minus the fennel seeds) and it was DELICIOUS! I paired it with your garlic bread recipe, and finished it off with a Caesar salad. This recipe is a keeper, thank you so much!!
I am glad you enjoyed the sauce. I hope you will try it next time with the fennel as it adds wonderful flavor. JIll
Saw this and I have a question. How did you get it to not show burn on the display? I have tried to make sause several times and always get the burn notification
Hi Shawn. Thanks for your question. Please try my recipe and follow the directions as written on the recipe card and you will not get a burn notice. Let me know how you fare. Jill
Can I add already cooked meat balls at start?
Yes, Joe. Jill
This is as close to all day spaghetti sauce I have ever made. And it only takes 20 minutes start to finish. I never put in the sausage, because we prefer meatballs. We always freeze 1/2 of the sauce and each 1/2 is enough for two meals. 4 delicious meals in 20 minutes! Perfect!
Thank you so much, Diannia. I am glad you are enjoying my recipe. Jill
Sauce came out wonderful. It was flavorful and chunky just the way it should be.
Thank you, Stacey. How did you hear about this recipe? Jill
Found the recipe on Pinterest. Making it again today?
Awesome, Stacey. Enjoy. Jill
Love ? this recipe. It’s the closest to my mothers. I just find that 2t of sugar is too much. I used Equal and that was too much. JMHO.
Every time I make the sauce in my pot It beeps burn HEIP!
The pot must be deglazed completely. Jill
This is my husband’s favorite spaghetti sauce. He always eats thirds when I make this sauce.
Thanks, Teri. Jill
I have frozen sausage meet. Do I have to do anything special for frozen m
Can u freeze if u put the meat in it? Also how long can it be froze?
Good for family get togethers. There are 15 of us total and everyone loves it!
Thank you, Susie. Jill
Most like my moms own recipe!
Thanks, Jeanette. Jill
We used Ground Turkey and Turkey Sausage and it came out amazing!!! SO MUCH SAUCE!!! we ended up freezing a bunch and use it when we are lazy to cook that day 🙂
Thanks, Rahil. Jill