1-Step 1: Brown the Meat Set your pressure cooker to the sauté function and add the ground beef or Italian sausage. Add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning right on top of the meat. This allows the seasonings to bloom in the heat and infuse the meat with flavor from the start. Cook the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. You want to crumble it into small, even pieces so it distributes throughout the spaghetti nicely. Continue cooking until the meat is fully browned and cooked through, which typically takes about 5-7 minutes depending on your Instant Pot model. Once the meat is browned, turn off the pressure cooker’s sauté function. If you’re using higher fat ground beef (like 80/20) or Italian sausage, you may want to drain the excess grease at this point. For leaner meats like ground turkey or 90/10 beef, you can skip this step as there won’t be much grease to drain.

2-Step 2: Layer the Spaghetti Now for a crucial step that many people overlook. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and place them over the browned meat in the pot. Here’s a little trick I learned: instead of dumping all the noodles in a pile, crisscross them in a layered pattern over the meat. This helps prevent the noodles from clumping together as they cook. Don’t worry if some noodles aren’t fully covered yet, the next step takes care of that. Just make sure you spread the noodles out somewhat evenly across the top of the meat mixture.

3-Step 3: Add Liquids and Sauce Pour the jar of spaghetti sauce over the spaghetti noodles. Then add the can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce on top. Finally, measure out 36 ounces of water (that’s 1 1/2 jars if you want to use the sauce jar for easy measuring) and pour it over everything. Here’s where technique matters: use a spoon to gently press down on the noodles to submerge them completely in the liquid. Every noodle needs to be under the liquid level for even cooking. The liquid might seem like a lot, but the pasta will absorb it during cooking, and stirring at the end creates a perfectly thickened sauce.

4-Step 4: Pressure Cook Seal the pressure cooker with the lid, making sure the venting knob is set to the sealed position. Set the Instant Pot to manual, high pressure, for exactly 8 minutes. This timing is perfect for al dente spaghetti that still has a nice bite to it. While the Instant Pot comes to pressure and cooks, you can set the table, make a simple side salad, or just relax for a few minutes. The pressure building process typically takes 10-15 minutes depending on how full your pot is.

5-Step 5: Quick Release and Serve When the cooking cycle is complete, use manual quick release to release the pressure. Carefully turn the venting knob to release the steam, keeping your hands and face away from the steam vent. Once all the pressure has been released and the float valve has dropped, carefully open the lid. You might notice the spaghetti looks a bit liquidy at first, but that’s completely normal. The magic happens when you stir everything together. Use a large spoon to stir the spaghetti thoroughly for about a minute. As you stir, the pasta starch releases into the liquid, and the noodles absorb the excess moisture, creating a perfectly thickened sauce that clings to every bite. The more you stir, the thicker and creamier the sauce becomes. Serve hot, optionally topped with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs like parsley or basil. A side of garlic bread and a simple green salad completes this satisfying meal.