Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce is a staple recipe! This classic tomato sauce tastes like it has been simmered all day, but comes together in less than 1 hour, thanks to the pressure cooker. Make a large batch of this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce to always have on hand when needed!
Use this delicious homemade tomato sauce for Oven-Baked Meatballs, Baked Rotini, Lasagna Soup, or Instant Pot Lasagna. And if you don't have a pressure cooker, check out my Stove Top Tomato Sauce Recipe.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Hands down I prefer homemade tomato sauce over store-bought sauce!
BUT, homemade spaghetti sauce is time-consuming, as it takes hours of simmering to develop those rich flavors we all love in a good homemade tomato sauce.
Thanks to the Instant Pot, I have taken my recipe for Homemade Tomato Sauce and sped up the process!
With a few simple steps, it is easy to have a rich, delicious tomato sauce that tastes like it has been simmered all day in under an hour.
This recipe for spaghetti sauce is rich, thick, and full of subtle Italian flavors and is made with simple pantry staples--no fresh tomatoes or spices are needed for this recipe!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Tomato Sauce
- Crushed Tomatoes: You can use tomato sauce or tomato puree, but the flavor of crushed tomatoes is best.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste is needed to thicken the sauce.
- Olive Oil: Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Onions: This is optional, but I love to add sauteed onions for an extra depth of flavor.
- 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: Adds a great depth of flavor and richness to your sauce, but feel free to omit to keep this Dairy-Free
- Honey: Helps to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Feel free to sub out for sugar or omit altogether.
- Vegetable Stock/Wine: This gives the sauce the liquid it needs to cook in the pressure cooker. I personally like to use a mixture of dry red wine and stock for flavor, but all stock or even water will work. For dry red wine, choose a merlot or cabernet that is suitable for drinking.
How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Step One: Saute Onions
- Heat Instant Pot, using saute function.
- Once the pressure cooker is heated, add in olive oil and onions.
- Saute for 1-2 minutes or until onions begin to soften.
Step Two: Add Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- Pour in wine and stock.
- Pour in tomato sauce, garlic, dried herbs, and butter into the pressure cooker.
- Stir gently.
- Dollop tomato paste on top of tomato sauce and dot drizzle with honey. Let the tomato paste sit on top of the tomato sauce so it will not cause a burn notice.
Step Three: Pressure Cook
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
Step Four: Allow Pressure to Release
- Allow pressure to release for at least 10-15 minutes, or naturally.
- Stir the sauce together, removing the bay leaves and use as desired.
Storing Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Use spaghetti sauce right away, or store in glass or freezer-safe containers.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce keeps for 5-7 days in the fridge.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce freezes for 3-4 months.
Use Instant Pot Tomato Sauce for:
- Best Oven-Baked Meatballs
- Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
- Instant Pot Lasagna
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce is a staple recipe! This classic tomato sauce tastes like it has been simmered all day, but comes together in less than 1 hour, thanks to the pressure cooker.
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Servings: 16
Calories: 63kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion minced
- ½ cup dry red wine or additional vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsely
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter or additional olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Heat Instant Pot, using saute function. Once the pressure cooker is heated, add in olive oil and onions. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until onions begin to soften. Turn OFF the saute function.
- 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.
- Add the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes (or sauce), garlic, dried herbs, and salt and pepper, into the pressure cooker in that order. Stir gently.
- 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.
- Allow the pressure to release at least 10 to 15 minutes before releasing pressure. Remove the bay leaf, stir well and use accordingly.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Storage: Use spaghetti sauce right away, or store in glass or freezer-safe containers.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce keeps for 5-7 days in the fridge.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce freezes for 3-4 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 439mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Vitamin C: 11.1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1.5mg
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Ginny
I absolutely love this recipe and have made it many times. I've gotten so many compliments on it! I've recently started Weight Watchers so I appreciate the nutrition info at the bottom, but I'm just wondering what the serving size is. I apologize if it's already listed somewhere, but I couldn't find it.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ginny! I am thrilled to hear you enjoy this recipe so much. Thank you for sharing that. Each serving size is about 1/2 cup.
Jennifer Quigley
I made this a while ago and it went well and tasted great. I've tried it twice tonight (in a new instant pot) and have gotten "food burn" both times. I'm following the instructions methodically. I'm very sad and frustrated. Any advice?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jennifer! I am sorry you are having issues. It sounds like your new model is very sensitive to the burn notice. I suggest layering wine, broth, and seasonings and stirring them together. Then add the tomato sauce on top, don't stir it in, and see if that helps. Sometimes, you can see "burn" and if you give it a second, it will continue cooking without really burning as well.
Dara Robb
I love your recipe. I’ve made it several times, but I just want to clarify some thing.
You have 12 ounces of tomato paste listed which seems like a lot so I’ve only been adding a 6 oz can. I am curious if this was a typo. I double this recipe because of the size of my family so I thought it seemed like it would be a lot. Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Dara! Because I add a lot of liquid, I do prefer using a full 12 ounces for 1 recipe of Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce. You can certainly cut that in half 🙂
Karen
I was a bit worried with all the discussion about getting Burn error, but I followed recipe exactly (replacing wine with north) and it turned out great! I used Cento brand crushed tomatoes, cut the whole recipe in half, used a red onion (half of a medium size onion) and a bit more garlic (we love garlic). Served with roasted boneless chicken thighs over past. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you gave this recipe a try! If you follow the instructions, you should not have to worry about a burn notice 🙂
Bruce Robson
Although the instant pot usually says "burn," I have found this to be an excellent recipe after cooking professionally for many years. This is probably because I use 2# of ground chuck. I don't change any of the seasonings. (I end up using the slow cooker function for 12 hours on low. A keeper
Patricia
Can we put a little ground beef in this recipe or it will get too thick? Thanks a lot!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Patricia! You can certainly add browned ground beef or Italian sausage to the sauce. Just be sure if you saute the meat in the inner pot, you really scrape up any browned bits to prevent a burn notice.
Monique Walczak
Hello! Could you tell me how much is a serving? 1/2 cup? 1 cup? Thank you so much, looking forward to trying this!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Monique! Each serving size is about 1/2 cup. Enjoy!
Donna
Hi Kristen,
Thanks for all your great recipes! Do you think I could use canned whole tomatoes in this recipe? Instead of pureed?
Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
You are very welcome, Donna! You can use whole tomatoes with their juice, but the sauce will be thinner. I would suggest decreasing the broth to 1 cup.
Thomas Darby
I made this today, and it tastes absolutely marvelous! However it didn't quite cook right in my Instant Pot 8-qt Evo Duo, which doesn't have a "manual" setting but offers "custom" instead. After several minutes the "Food Burn" warning came on. I had to scrape the bottom, and ended up finishing it on low pressure. But it turned out great anyway. To please my friends, I added homemade meatballs and mushrooms. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed Thomas! Be sure you put your broth first into the inner pot--that should help prevent a burn notice.