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
Recommended Products
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
I’m hoping to make this, but I’m concerned about the 1/2 cup of wine in it. I have a 7 year old who will be eating this as well. My Google search said that it would not cook off enough alcohol to make it safe for my 7 year old to eat. Please let me know what I could substitute in there instead of the red wine, because as of right now, I may end up skipping this recipe and finding a different one.
You could add broth, but the alcohol will cook out. Many restaurants use wine in their sauces. Jill
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
I get this regularly too. I’ve noticed it depends on the type of tomato products I use. The higher quality San marzano tend to be thicker than store brands, so they’re way more likely to burn on the bottom.
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
This is the recipe I use the most with slight modifications. Can’t beat it!! My Italian mother would be so proud of me!! LOL!
Thank you, Jeanette. I am so glad you enjoy my recipe. Jill
This recipe is delicious!! My family loves it! I use 1 pound of ground beef and one pound of Italian Sausage. I also use this recipe when making lasagna. Jill, I always tell people that “you cook like I like to eat!!” ?
SORRY, almost forgot to tell you. I made this today for my Public Safety Guys on the road. They loved it as well. The wine made the difference! Soon as I brought that out the guys said “now you’re talking spaghetti sauce”! I actually 1 1/2’d the recipe and it turned out great. I also added a squash chopped I had in the fridge and a bell pepper. NEVER TOO MUCH FLAVOR!
Awesome, thank you. I am thrilled you enjoyed my recipe. Jill
I LOVED IT! I added ground beef… however it was just a tad but too thin for me. How can I thicken it up just a touch?
Thank you, Cathy. You could let is simmer a bit. Jill
Is the cook time the same if doubled?
Ann,
I made 1 1/2 today…. I only added a couple of min which really wasn’t necessary but I had added bell peppers. Actually it would have prob been better not to add any at all. NOTE TO SELF FOR NEXT TIME!
My husband declared this the best spaghetti sauce ever. Love the fennel seed.
Thank you, Mary. Jill
This sounds amazing.I have an 8 qt instant pot. Can this be doubled and what would the cook time be?
Yes, it can be doubled. Jill
I wanted to point out that the recipe at the end is not as detailed & is different than the directions in the rest of the blog. Since I often jump right to the recipe, I was wondering if you could update it.
Is the 405 calories for the whole pot of sauce?
Really?????? Come on. Think…….
Jill….this recipe is a winner in our house! “This is sooo good” is what I kept hearing. Thank you again for another fantastic meal! Patty
Thank you, Patricia. Jill
have made this sauce a couple of times, sooooooo good. Thank heaven for you Jill. You gave me confidence.
Thank you, Ginny. That is so sweet of you to say. I am so glad you feel better about cooking. Jill
I made meat sauce this afternoon. 10 minutes cook time and it tastes amazing–as good as the sauce I used to simmer on the stove all afternoon! I used 1 lb. lean ground beef and 1 lb. Hot Italian sausage meat. I omitted the fennel seeds and the dried hot peppers because the sausage meat contained enough of both for our taste. I would recommend waiting to add salt until after the sauce is done because the sausage already has some salt. And don’t hesitate to add that 1/2 c. of wine. It adds something special to the overall flavor. I added it to the browned meat and onions on saute so the alcohol could burn off, then added all the tomato stuff. This one’s a keeper for me!
Thank you, Susan. Jill
What kind of wine?
I’ve never made my own sauce before and too be honest, I wasn’t planning to this time either. I had a hankering for spaghetti and no sauce in the cupboard. Almost threw in the towel but decided what the heck, I’ve got all the ingredients let’s give this a whirl. Outcome? I am never buying my sauce again! This is amazing! I am low on tomato sauce ( someone around here REALLY needs to hit the grocery store!) but I’m going to make a run so I can make more and freeze it. So thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Jennie. It really is amazing how fast this comes together, yet tastes like it was simmering all day. Jill
Hello! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and loved them, going to make this tonight. Going for the meatless version and my cousin is visiting and hates onion so I’ll use onion powder. But I despise fennel- obviously I can leave it out but is there a trick to fishing it out or cooking in a cheese cloth for flavor only? Should I substitute anything for it? Thank you!
This recipe is excellent! I pull it out to impress dinner guest! It’s one of those recipes where you can hardly believe you made something so delicious. Thanks!
Thank you, Maxine. I am glad you enjoyed the sauce. Jill
Tried this tonight. It was really great. Thanks for the recipe!
Please tell me how this does not burn in the IP? It’s mainly tomatoes!! They burn in the IP. I’m dying to try this, but I don’t want to ruin my pot either. Have you had any experiences like this with your sauce?
The recipe says 30 ounces of tomato sauce then it says right next to it 15? Which is it?
I made this but substituted dried basil for fresh basil about 1 cup, put them after pressure release and closing the lid again and leaving it for about half an hour. Just because I had fresh ones. I’m a bit confused about the tomato sauce, put in about 6oz. Thank you so much Jill, we had the best pasta ever. Hubs never liked bolognese until I found this!
I have made this quite a few times now, yum! But making today for the first time without meat, as I have home made meatballs in the freezer (yay me). So yummy with or without the meat. My kids don’t like meaty sauce so meatballs may be the way to go! Thanks!
Hi Squeaky. Thanks for your comments. I prefer it without the meat as well. Jill
We always have this (like, once a week) now with the meatballs which can be frozen after baking then reheated in sauce! Big batch cook ahead meal and very very good!
Hi Jill, I am new to IP but am loving it and your recipes and clear instructions. I have a question though about using any type of tomato products. Some have said the sugars cause it to burn and then won’t come to pressure. When I made Wendy’s copycat chilli everything was stirred and then you added tomatoes on top with no stir. You say to stir everything in this recipe. I have an awesome pasta fajole recipe I want to make in the IP but I am concerned about the tomato juice the recipe calls for. Thanks so much. Karen
My husband likes his spaghetti sauce pretty thick – is this fairly thick? I know when my mom made the stove version of this it was rather runny, so if it’s runny do you have suggestions to thicken it up? Thanks
The first time I made this it came out perfect but the next two times I tried this for some reason never had enough pressure to pop up the float valve so my sauce ended up just burning, any ideas or suggestions…
Hi Debby~
Was the silicone seal set all the way? Jill
Instead of putting it on high, put it on medium or low
I have the 8 qt,I love it but for some reason my pressure valve would not seal. I turned it off and tried it again and it still wouldn’t seal all the way, any suggestions for next time to get the valve to seal? I still let it go the full time then cooked it on low statue for thirty mins and leaving it on keep warm the rest of the day PS. You Don’t look like an OLD GAL to me ????????????
I had the same issue – the sauce is too thick to build up the steam for the pressure to seal. I added another cup, cup and a half of water and it worked like a charm
This is cooking as we speak. Cannot wait to taste. All of your recipes have been a hit so far! Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe! I add frozen homemade meatballs. Both times I made this, the IP did not reach pressure the first time before counting down. I hit cancel, opened the lid and scraped the bottom (seemed to be a few scorched areas) and then tried again. Both times, after doing this, it worked the second time around. Is there something I am doing wrong that this keeps happening? Other than having that minor issue both times, I love this recipe and will keep using it. Thank you!
Hi Monika~
It is important to deglaze the pot after sautéing the onions. Jill
This was so darn delicious. My first attempt at spaghetti in the IP was a few weeks ago and a big failure. My husband asked why i would use the ip for such an easy meal and then it was so inedible. It was from a different website and glad i came across this one. Such delicious sauce!!! I did add meat, and carrots and used barilla spaghetti and the timing was perfect. I also threw in a few frozen meatballs on top of this. Wow…..this is my go to sauce now. So. Very. Good. Thank you Jill!!
Hi Jill~
I am so glad you had a nice success. Thank you so much for sharing your story. 🙂
Jill
Thanks so much! I just bought an instant pot and was ttying out new recipes to use in it. I didn’t have the fennel seed,but it was still amazing!
I really love the taste of this, had a DUH moment last week- why have I never made sauce in the pressure cooker? I LOVE my pressure cooker.
I had never put fennel in before, and wasn’t so sure about it tasting it off the spoon, but was so yummy once it was on the pasta, and was even better the next day.
I didn’t really follow the recipe exactly, was just looking on the internet for a general idea, I’ll follow it more closely this time. 😀
You rock! I love my instapot but have had trouble finding good family meal recipes. Thank you!
Just love this recipe. It is now my second time making a double batch so I can freeze in smaller portions for the hubby and I. Between it being convenient, very cost effective, and the ability to tweek the recipe to meet my dietary restrictions it is a true keeper! I will be coming back to this post again and again. Thank you for taking the time to write up such a wonderful recipe and description!
Hi Patty~
Thank you so much for your compliments I am thrilled that you enjoy this sauce.
Jill
This is the second time I’ve made this sauce (using half sausage and half ground beef), and I’ll never use another recipe! Thank you so much!!
Hi Marilyn~
Thank you so much for the compliment. I am thrilled that this will be your go-to sauce. It is ours as well, since 2005. I won’t change a thing, either.
Jill
Hi Jill:
I realize you say that you can leave the meat out – and as a vegetarian, I will do so. I was wondering though, have you ever used mushrooms instead of the meat – so as to give it a “meaty” texture? Or do you think this would muddy up the sauce? Thanks so much… can’t wait to try it!
Hi Paul~
When I make this for myself, I leave out the meat. Mushrooms are great to use. I would use the crimini as they give a lot of flavor.
Jill
I am just recently starting my pressure cooker experience with an Instant Pot. I remember my grandmother using her old pressure cooker in the 1960s- with warnings like “stay back” and “don’t go near it” . Boy, did some amazing meals come out of that scary pot. The Instant is much less scary and I was searching for a good recipe for red sauce and found yours. I liked the ingredients -much like my grandmother’s ingredients so I gave it a try. YUMMMM! Did I mention that the grandmother was Italian? The only change i made was to cook meatballs in the oven and then add to the sauce and pressure cook the whole thing together. Nonna used to put the half cooked meatballs into the sauce, but that tends to get a little greasy. This recipe was perfect! Thanks so much for it- this will be a go-to for me!
Hello IPF~
Thanks so much for the story and your compliments. I too like to first cook meatballs and then make the sauce. It adds great flavor. I used to do that on the stove and then pull out the meat for whomever wanted the meat.
Welcome to pressure cooking!
Jill
Hi Jill, is the Basil dried or fresh? and if dried how much should I use, thanks!
Looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it! Any suggestions on what I could use in place of the red wine?
Hi Ashley~
The red wine gives this sauce a depth of flavor. If you really don’t want to use it, try some beef broth instead.
Jill
Wow! Thank you so much.
Hi Renee~
Thanks. Enjoy!
Jill
Trying your sauce for the first time. If it tastes s good as it did from the mixing spoon, it’s on it way to being my new favourite way to make sauces.
Thanks, Rob F
Hi Rob~
Hehehehehehehe, what a nice thing to say. Thank you so much. Will you be making pasta or a lasagna for the sauce?
Jill
I used one pound of sausage removed from the casings and one pound of chop meat and followed the rest of the recipe. I used half of the sauce to try a small pan of lasagna and it was excellent. The lasagna did not suffer any quality problems at all and saved about a day’s work. This meal will be enjoyed on more occasions than holidays in the future, so thank you. I highly recommend your sauce be put to this purpose. Of course non-cook lasagna noodles are the way to go.
Hi Lyn~
Wow, thank you for your wonderful comments. I am so glad you enjoyed the sauce so much. 🙂 The lasagna sounds wonderful with the sauce and your choice of meat!
Jill
I used to make my own red sauce on the stove top and then let it simmer all day on low in my slow cooker. This sauce was so rich and satisfying and it truly tasted like it had simmered all day long. It made enough for me to freeze for another family size dinner. I’ll probably never go back to my old way of making red sauce again. Yum!
Hi Heather~
Making sauce all day was such a tiring procedure, but does hold memories. I was taught the all day method by the mother of an ex boyfriend whose father is Italian. When I first decided to use the pressure cooker, my husband said, no, you have to cook the sauce all day, that is the only way it will taste so good. He has been known to make the sauce in the PC too.
Jill