Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

This Instant Pot spaghetti sauce recipe is simple, delicious, convenient, and much faster than simmering it on the stove for hours!

I used to always keep a big batch of this spaghetti sauce in the freezer, but lately I’ve run out and not replenished the stock. I miss having it on hand, but it is a bit of a labor of love. It’s not a complex recipe, but it does take some time.

That’s how the idea for this Instant Pot Bolognese recipe came about. I wanted to see if I could produce a similar quantity of delicious meaty spaghetti sauce in my Instant Pot.

I’ll be 100% honest here. This recipe is tasty (or else I wouldn’t post it), but the stove top version does have a slight edge in flavor. It also has a few more ingredients and takes a heck of a lot longer to cook, though.

If you’re looking to make an easy Bolognese sauce in the Instant Pot, this is your recipe. I’ve only included everyday ingredients in here. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s one of those big batch stick-to-your-ribs recipes that freeze really well.

How do you make pasta sauce in an Instant Pot?

Sauté your aromatics (onion, carrot, celery) in a bit of oil right in your Instant Pot. Add in the meat, brown it, and then add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release for 15 minutes and then manual release the rest if you’re in a hurry.

Pretty easy, and you don’t have to worry about periodically stirring a large pot on the stove for a couple of hours.

A couple of notes on this easy Instant Pot meat sauce recipe:

When I first made this, I used 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and it tasted more herby than I like, so for the recipe I cut it down to 1/2 teaspoon. The Worcestershire sauce adds a bit of saltiness and a depth of flavor that makes sauces like these even better, so I would not leave it out. Be sure to season with salt & pepper at the end – it’s a large quantity of sauce, so don’t skimp or the flavor won’t be as good.

The Instant Pot is a wet, pressurized environment. If you want the sauce to be a bit thicker, you can continue to sauté it (with the lid off) after you’ve cooked it to reduce some of the liquid. With that said, I do prefer it to be a bit more liquidy for leftover purposes, because by the time you freeze it, thaw it, and reheat it, the extra liquid comes in handy.

Optional: I like to add a splash of cream to my Bolognese recipes. This isn’t necessary, but I love the texture/creaminess it provides.

Hope you give this easy electric pressure cooker pasta sauce recipe a try and that it saves you time! 🙂

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Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

This Instant Pot spaghetti sauce recipe is simple, delicious, convenient, and much faster than simmering it on the stove for hours!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Instant Pot pasta sauce, Instant Pot spaghetti sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 24 minutes

Inactive time 25 minutes

Total Time 59 minutes

Servings 10

Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 2 large carrots peeled & chopped or sliced
• 2 sticks celery chopped
• 1.5 pounds extra lean ground beef
• 1.5 pounds lean ground pork
• 7 ounces mushrooms (I used white ones) chopped
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (28 fluid ounce) can stewed or diced tomatoes with juices
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2-3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream (or to taste) optional

Instructions

1. Prep your ingredients. 
2. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery to your Instant Pot. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes.
3. Add the ground meat to your Instant Pot and give it a good stir so the veggies on the bottom don't get stuck on and burn. Continue to sauté, stirring often, until the meat is browned (it's a lot of meat and it's ok if it doesn't all brown). This will take about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the other ingredients except for the salt & pepper and cream. 
5. Make sure the valve is on "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. 
6. Once the countdown has finished, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes and then carefully quick release the rest of the pressure if you're in hurry. 
7. Season with salt & pepper as needed (I add a fair bit of salt because this is a large quantity of pasta sauce). Stir in cream if using. Serve it up with your favorite pasta and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I like to portion out the rest and freeze it right away. 

Recipe Notes

• Inactive time indicates the time it'll take the Instant Pot to get up to pressure and then release pressure. 
• Want to make this recipe on the stove? You definitely can. Use this spaghetti sauce recipe as a guideline. 
• I use this 6-quart Instant Pot.