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Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade spaghetti sauce with or without meat is very easy to make in the Instant Pot or stovetop. This recipe is a great way to use extra tomatoes from your garden.

The original recipe makes a rich, chunky sauce, but an immersion blender can be used to make a smooth tomato sauce.

Spaghetti twirled around fork and covered with easy homemade spaghetti sauce

Spaghetti Sauce in the Instant Pot

Ever since a good friend shared her family’s recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce I look forward to making sauce with fresh Roma tomatoes from the garden and freezing it to use throughout the year. Using an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker just makes the process a bit quicker!

We are a spaghetti and pasta loving family. Honestly, our kids could eat spaghetti for every meal, so we’re always coming up with new variations that we adults can enjoy too. This homemade sauce is our favorite kind to use in pasta recipes. Spaghetti Pizza Casserole and Baked Mostaccioli Casserole are popular in our house as is our Crock Pot Spaghetti and One Pot Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan.

Once in a while we enjoy white sauce on our pasta in our Tuscan Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole and Ham and Alfredo Spaghetti. But 98% of the time we are people that love red sauce on a traditional Baked Parmesan Chicken Tenders served over spaghetti. So having a go-to homemade instant pot spaghetti sauce recipe is an easy way to spend 30 minutes making your meal taste so much better!

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When I have a ton of Roma tomatoes I will actually freeze some diced tomatoes to thaw and add to a batch of homemade sauce anytime throughout the year. I like to use at least 75% Roma tomatoes in each batch of sauce and then use up other types of tomatoes that we may have sitting around.

Homemade sauce sprinkled with cheese and parsley served over spaghetti on a white plate

For years I didn’t have an Instant Pot so I would simmer this sauce for about 45 minutes on the stove top and stir often as a big batch would pop and splatter all over my stove and counter. Then I realized that just like Instant Pot Rice Pilaf this is one of those recipes that is just EASIER to seal up in the Instant Pot and walk away.

Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

When simmering spaghetti sauce on the stovetop, cooked and drained ground beef or Homemade Sausage can be added to the pot at any point. When using an Instant Pot the meat could be sauteed as the first step and then drained and left in the pot OR removed, set on a separate plate and added at the end once the sauce has been pureed and made smooth.

Our family prefers smooth sauce that can be made as quickly as possible. The beauty of using an electric pressure cooker is that the tomatoes can be quartered and will break down during the cooking process. Since a blender must be used at the end, the meat should not be in the sauce when a blender is used.

So the meat should be cooked and set aside until the sauce is smooth OR the tomatoes should be diced so that blending isn’t necessary. If tomatoes are diced before adding to the Instant Pot then the drained, ground meat can be cooked in the pot right along with the sauce.

Plate of spaghetti with homemade sauce by Instant Pot

Chunky Sauce vs Smooth Sauce

Kids tend to like a smooth sauce, so we always use our immersion blender. The sauce can be poured into a regular blender too, just be sure not to get burned or crack the blender with hot liquid.

To make a chunky meat sauce begin with diced tomatoes and cooked ground meat. The Instant Pot will do all of the cooking, so just use a long-handled wooden spoon to stir everything together when the sauce is done. If you want a chunky sauce do NOT use a blender.

We love how versatile this recipe is. It can be used to make so many different variations of homemade tomato sauce.

Can Whole Tomatoes Be Used?

Whole tomatoes can be used, but we get the best results by quickly quartering roma tomatoes. Larger tomatoes are best cut into 6 to 8 pieces before adding to the Instant Pot.

When large chunks of tomatoes that are too big to eat in a bite are used a blender must be used to make a smooth sauce.

Freshly shaved parmesan cheese on red sauce and bed of spaghetti

Tips for Making Homemade Instant Pot Tomato Sauce

  • Use an immersion blender to make a smooth sauce
  • Fresh garlic can be sautéed with the onions instead of using garlic powder
  • Whole Roma tomatoes can be used, but we prefer to quarter the tomatoes before adding to the pot
  • We follow this recipe to make a smooth sauce
  • To make a chunky meaty sauce, dice the tomatoes first and do not use a blender after the sauce is cooked
  • Recipe tastes great with twice as many tomatoes OR twice as much tomato paste, more water can be added as a personal preference
  • Always serve with cheese! We love freshly shaved parmesan, but grated parmesan or mozzarella can be more convenient
  • Canned tomatoes can be used in place of fresh tomatoes
  • I have tripled and even quadrupled this recipe to make a super large batch in an 8 – quart instant pot – to do this I only had half of the water to make sure I stay below the fill line – more water can be added before sealing the pot if desired
  • We allow the sauce to cool and use freezer safe containers to freeze sauce. Best food safety practices and guidelines should be followed for canning sauce.
Easy homemade spaghetti sauce with cheese on spaghetti

Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

  1. Set pot to saute, add oil and onions. If desired add some freshly minced garlic. Use a long-handled wooden spoon and stir until onions are tender.
  2. Add water and tomato paste and stir.
  3. Add herbs and spices; mix well.
  4. Add quartered Roma tomatoes to the pot. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for ten minutes.
  5. Allow pot to natural release for ten minutes. Remove lid and use an immersion blender to make a smooth red sauce.
  6. Serve warm over pasta and garnish with cheese and parsley or basil.

How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Set Instant Pot to saute, add oil to the bottom of the pot and stir in onions. Saute until tender.

Onions sautéing in Instant Pot

Add tomato paste and stir well. This is also a great time to add herbs and spices and stir well.

Chopped onion, tomato paste and water in Instant Pot

Add tomatoes that are quartered or have been diced. I often add an extra tomato or two to each batch of sauce.

Add herbs and spices now if that didn’t get done after stirring in tomato paste.

Herbs and spices added to pressure cooker spaghetti sauce

Seal the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for ten minutes. Allow the pot to natural release for ten minutes and then perform a quick release.

This is what your pot should look like inside. The tomatoes will have cooked down, but still be very recognizable.

Cooked tomatoes and sauce that need immersion blender to be smooth

After giving the pot a minute or two for the steam to clear, use an immersion blender to puree the remaining pieces of tomatoes and mix all of the ingredients together very well.

The resulting product will be a very smooth, deep red, beautiful homemade spaghetti sauce!

Smooth red spaghetti sauce homemade in the instapot

Other Easy & Delicious Instant Pot Recipes:

Diced Roma tomatoes also taste great in our Scalloped Tomato Casserole recipe.

Printable Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Smooth homemade spaghetti sauce on spaghetti with cheese and parsley

Homemade Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Servings 8 people
Author: Jennifer
Homemade spaghetti sauce with or without meat is very easy to make in the Instant Pot or stove top. This recipe is a great way to use extra tomatoes from your garden.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Pressurizing and Natural Release time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup onion chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 1 pound Roma tomatoes quartered, about 1 1/2 cups
  • 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Instructions
 

  • Set Instant Pot to saute and add oil. Add onions and saute until tender.
  • Add water and tomato paste and stir until ingredients are mixed well. Add parsley, spices, salt, pepper and sugar and stir again.
  • Add tomatoes and seal lid. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
  • Allow to natural release for ten minutes and then quick release until the lid can be safely removed.
  • Use an immersion blender to create a smooth sauce. Garnish with more parsley if desired.

Notes

  • Use an immersion blender to make a smooth sauce
  • Fresh garlic can be sautéed with the onions instead of using garlic powder
  • Whole Roma tomatoes can be used, but we prefer to quarter the tomatoes before adding to the pot
  • We follow this recipe to make a smooth sauce
  • To make a chunky meaty sauce, dice the tomatoes first and do not use a blender after the sauce is cooked
  • Recipe tastes great with twice as many tomatoes OR twice as much tomato paste, more water can be added as a personal preference
  • Always serve with cheese! We love freshly shaved parmesan, but grated parmesan or mozzarella can be more convenient
  • Canned tomatoes can be used in place of fresh tomatoes

Nutrition

Calories: 49kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 733mgPotassium: 156mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 514IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

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2 Comments

  1. How much tomato paste is to be used?

    1. Jennifer @ Plowing Through Life says:

      Thanks for asking! I like to use 6 oz in a batch, but 12 oz can be used if you prefer.

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