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
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion minced
- 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
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter or additional olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup dry red wine or vegetable stock
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
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.
- Add stock/wine or water to instant pot. Scrape up any browned bit that may have formed on bottom of the instant pot.
- Add remaining stock, crushed tomatoes (or sauce), garlic, and dried herbs, into the pressure cooker in that order. Stir gently.
- Dollop tomato paste on top of sauce mixture and drizzle with honey. Add butter to top of ingredients. DO NOT STIR. Secure lid on Instant Pot and make sure vent knob is sealed.
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release at least 10 to 15 minutes before doing quick release. Remove bay leaf, stir well and use accordingly.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Use spaghetti sauce right away, or store in glass or freezer safe containers.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce keeps for 5-7 days in fridge.
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce freezes for 3-4 months.
- For Dry Red Wine, I suggest a Cabernet or Merlot wine.
Randy
Just got my instant pot and this was the first recipe I tried! Was amazing! I usually cook my sauce forever and make a huge mess doing it, the ease and simplicity of this was only outshined by the taste! I was worried about the amount of paste and only one can of crushed tomatoes but stuck to the recipe since it was my first time... All right on the money! Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Welcome to Instant Pot Cooking! I am honored that this was the first recipe you tried and I love hearing you enjoyed it! I hope you find many more recipes here to enjoy!
Randall Ellicott
I was wondering if I wanted to make this a meat sauce with ground beef, could I just sauté the meat in the IP drain the grease and deglaze with the liquid and follow the rest of the recipe or should I make other changes?
Thanks,
Randy
Kristen Chidsey
Yes absolutely! I do that often and it adds rich flavor to the sauce. Enjoy.
Cheryl
This is my hands-down go-to marinara. Sometimes I saute' sausage, then stir it into the finished marinara. Add pasta, pressure cook for 4 minutes, and -- Voila'!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you love this recipe so much Cheryl. Thank you for sharing a review.
Thomas Ober
I made the sauce according to the recipe and it was very thin. I used crushed tomatoes with a lot of juice.
When I attempt the recipe again, what would you suggest so that the finished product would be thicker?
Kristen Chidsey
I would use Tomato puree or tomato sauce.
Connie
Finally got my 7 y.o. son who doesnt 'like' pasta to finally eat pasta. Didnt change a thing other than not using wine. Thanks for sharing.
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing this! It is always a win when the picky eater approves!
Karen W. - Seattle
My husband is always the "Seasoning Guy" - notorious for walking & and letting whichever of us just cooked something that he is ready to finish it with his "magic touch". This time, I casually mentioned that the InstantPot had just finished & the spaghetti sauce I'd prepared using our fabulous bounty of home-grown tomatoes (my neighbor & I have collaboratively nurtured 24 different plants - all unique varieties - this season.) For this round, I used "Hungarian Heart" variety, one of which weighed in at TWO pounds! Hubby headed over to give it a taste & figure out how to doctor it up. But no! He actually looked up, smiled, and said, "I can't think of ANYthing I'd add to that! It's delicious!!" Wow! Now THAT, my friends, is a STELLAR online testimonial! Can't wait to make the next round. Enjoy!
Kristen Chidsey
That means so much to me Karen! I love hearing how much your husband thought I nailed the seasonings. Thanks for sharing!
Shannon Webb
How much does this recipe make? I'm wanting to can these up in quart jars and gift for Christmas.
Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Shannon! What a wonderful gift! This recipe makes about 56 cups which is about 14 quarts 🙂
Sarah Harriman
I was just reading the recipe, which I plan to try. In the comments you said it makes 56 cups, but I calculated about 56 ounces. What did I miss?
Thanks.
Kristen Chidsey
Oh my goodness...56 OUNCES not cups😅🤣 I will fix that
Madeline Sarver
Hello! Could I use fresh tomatoes for this?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Madeline! Yes, you certainly can, however, I would recommend removing the skin and seeds before making the sauce. I have a tutorial on this on my recipe for Salsa. I would then chop up the tomatoes and use about 6 cups.
Karen W.
Definitely - see my comments above yours! Just made a batch today. Worked GREAT!! Will probably try to can a future batch, being sure to use the 2 TBSP of bottled lemon juice per quart of sauce.
Sara
This is my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe! It is so good and so easy to make. I usually use petite diced tomatoes just because that's what we like and it's great! I will also brown some ground beef before pressure cooking and that's great too. Thank you for a fantastic recipe that I've made at least 10 times.
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing how much you enjoy this Sara and that it has become a staple at your house! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Karen W
PS: I didn't remove skin or seeds, just chopped them up and layered as Kristen suggested. At the end, I used an immersion blender - just a few dunks did it. You wouldn't be able to find one seed in there, and yet it has retained wonderful consistency. I sauteed the garlic (probably double the amount, as we like it that way - along with extra red pepper) with the onions. I used "Two Rivers" red blend from Cana's Feast Winery (we are part owners) and homemade chicken stock from the freezer. Filled four 16oz jars, which are cooling in the refrigerator, and had about 3/4 cup leftover, so my neighbor could taste & compare...since she's doing the recipe right now in her kitchen!
Niketa
Quick question: I thought tomato paste was meant to be used in smaller quantities as it’s a concentrate. Do we really need 12oz of it?
Kristen Chidsey
It really does add a great depth of flavor to this sauce, so yes, that is what I recommend.