Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce uses simple ingredients to create a rich and hearty pasta sauce that tastes like it has been simmered all day, yet is ready in an hour.
From Baked Ravioli Lasagna to Instant Pot Spaghetti to Instant Pot Lasagna, Spaghetti Sauce is a staple ingredient in many recipes.
And while you can certainly use jarred spaghetti sauce, homemade always trumps storebought in terms of flavor. Thankfully with this easy recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce, it is insanely easy to make delicious homemade pasta sauce.
Reasons to Love Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Amazing Flavor Fast. Just like my recipe for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce is rich, thick, and full of subtle Italian flavors. Unlike my classic recipe, this version comes together in under an hour.
- Simple Pantry Ingredients. While I have included instructions for making Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce with fresh tomatoes if desired, you can whip this up using canned crushed tomatoes and a handful of dried spices.
- Endless Uses. Whether serving as a dipping sauce for Baked Meatballs, or used to assemble Baked Rotini, Lasagna Soup, or Homemade Lasagna, you can ensure delicious results when you start with this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce.
Notes on Ingredients
- Crushed Tomatoes: You can use tomato sauce or tomato puree, but the flavor of crushed tomatoes is best.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste will help to thicken the sauce.
- Olive Oil: Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Onions: Adding a yellow or white diced onion to the sauce will add an extra depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are best. Just crush them slightly to allow the garlic flavor to be released. In a bind, you can use jarred garlic.
- Dried Herbs: A combination of dried parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves flavor this sauce perfectly.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, which will help to add richness to the spaghetti sauce.
- Honey: A little bit of sugar is needed to help balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Vegetable Broth: Use low-sodium vegetable broth, which will help the Instant Pot come to pressure. Feel free to replace the vegetable broth with chicken stock or beef broth if that is what you have on hand.
- Wine: Adding a bit of dry red wine, like a Merlot or Cabernet, will work to add amazing flavor to Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce. Just be sure to select a dry red wine that is suitable for drinking, not a cooking wine.
Recipe Modifications
- Dairy-Free Spaghetti Sauce: Replace the butter with additional olive oil or non-dairy butter. If using non-dairy butter, reduce the salt slightly, as it is typically salted.
- Omit the Wine: Feel free to replace the wine with additional broth.
- No Honey on Hand? Feel free to use granulated sugar in place of the honey.
- Using Fresh Tomatoes: Replace the 28 ounces of canned crushed tomatoes with 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. I would recommend peeling, seeding, and dicing the tomatoes before making the sauce.
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One: Saute Onions. Using the saute function, saute minced onion in a bit of olive oil until the onions have softened.
Step Two: Delglaze the Inner Pot. Any time you saute something in your pressure cooker, you want to add a thin liquid and scrape up any browned bits from the inner pot. This will add flavor to the pasta and prevent a burn notice from happening. For this recipe, add in the dry red wine and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits off the inner pot, while the wine simmers and reduces.
Step Three: Layer Ingredients. Pour in broth, garlic, dried herbs, salt, and pepper in the inner pot. Add in the crushed tomatoes, butter, dollop tomato paste, and drizzle with honey. Do not stir, to prevent a burn notice.
Step Four: Pressure Cook. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 10-15 minutes.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Allow the spaghetti sauce to cool then transfer the sauce to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Freeze: Transfer the cooled spaghetti sauce to a freezer-safe container, allowing room for expansion, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before using.
Recipes Using Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Italian Baked Vegetables
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- The Best Italian Stuffed Shells
- Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
- Instant Pot Lasagna
If you tried this recipe for Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce, be sure to leave a comment and a review below. I love to hear from you!
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- ½ cup dry red wine or additional vegetable broth
- 1-½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsely
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or additional olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on using the saute function. Add in the olive oil and let briefly heat. Once heated, add in the minced onions and saute for 2-4 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften.
- Add the wine (or ½ cup of broth) to the instant pot. Scrape up any browned bits that may have formed on the bottom of the instant pot, allowing the wine to saute and reduce for 1 minute or so. Then hit cancel on the Instant Pot to turn off the sauce function.
- Add the vegetable broth, garlic cloves, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes into the inner pot and stir to combine.
- Add the crushed tomatoes to the inner pot. Dollop tomato paste on top of sauce mixture and drizzle with honey. Add butter to the top of the ingredients. DO NOT STIR.
- Secure the lid on Instant Pot and make sure the vent knob is sealed. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes by hitting manual or pressure cook and using the +/- buttons to adjust the time to 25 minutes.
- After the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for at least 10 to 15 minutes before releasing pressure. Remove the bay leaf and cloves of garlic stir well, and use as desired or allow to cool before storing.
Laura
This was delicious! I used a homemade rotisserie chicken broth and maybe enough tomato paste. Ended up blending in the garlic with an immersion blender. The pieces weren't big enough to fish out.
Earlene Hartley
I love the ingredients for the recipe but I have no vegetable broth, can I use chicken or beef?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes! Either would work well. Beef broth will be a bit stronger in flavor.
Dave
I'm new to Instant Pot and I can see it's going to change my life. This recipe is perhaps the best example of that. I cooked up a batch and froze it in Ball jars. Then, a week later I felt like having some spaghetti. I thawed a quart, fried up a half pound of Italian sausage, and sauted some mushrooms. Within an hour I had the best spaghetti sauce I've ever tasted.
Thanks, Kristen.
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful! I hope you find many more Instant Pot recipes here to enjoy!
Dave
I've already checked out some others here that I want to try. I'm going to take a small portion of your magic tomato sauce and mix in some additional tomato paste to make pizza sauce. It should be delicious.
Kristen Chidsey
Yes!!! Great idea!
Michelle
We doubled this recipe for a Christmas gathering and made it on the morning of Christmas Eve so that the flavors had a day to marry before the next day. Annoyingly it caused a burn warning even though we dolloped the paste, honey, & butter on top just like it says. As you know, once that occurs, it's impossible to get the IP to continue cooking. So we then had to scoop it all out of the IP and into a slow cooker so that we could cook it while we weren't home. (We didn't have enough time to cook it on the stovetop due to another holiday gathering.) Fortunately it worked out and the flavor was good. It's just the technique that doesn't work due to the IP's propensity to burn. Maybe if you have a different brand of pressure cooker it might work - my old non-IP one never "burned".
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Michelle! I am sorry you had issues. It is likely because of doubling the recipes. By the time it heats fully, the bottom of the inner pot will burn.
Nicole
Delicious as usual but I discovered if you put too little tomato paste (all I had) it turns out more like tomato soup. I ran to store and immersion blended another 8 ounces and yea!!!! Good as usual
Kristen Chidsey
Good to know! Thanks for sharing.
Paul
I love this sauce. Making my second batch in 7 days. I add a whole bunch of Mushrooms at the end because......MUSHROOMS!
Kristen Chidsey
Love hearing you enjoy so much, Paul! Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie
Can you use fresh tomatoes?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Stephanie! Yes, feel free to use fresh tomatoes. 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes is equivalent to about 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. I would recommend peeling, seeding, and dicing the tomatoes before making the sauce to keep it from becoming waterey.
Stephanie
Would you use an immersion blender to mix at the end? Thank you for your help.
Kristen Chidsey
That would work beautifully! Or you can carefully blend in batches in a blender. Enjoy!
Stephanie
Love this recipe! It worked great using fresh tomatoes. Just curious if you’ve ever pressure canned this recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Stephanie! I am so glad you enjoy this spaghetti sauce. I am not a canning expert, however, I do know acid (like lemon juice) needs to be added for preservation. Here are some directions for canning tomato sauce that may help you.