Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce is quick and easy to make! The pressure cooker helps to develop mouthwatering, rich flavors in a a very short period of time. This recipe requires about quarter the time that traditional stove top recipes do, and the results are just as delicious...maybe even more.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Spaghetti sauce made in the Instant Pot will take about half the time you’d spend making this same sauce on the stove top. Plus, the pressure cooker pretty much does all the work for you! While it may seem like you’re cutting quite a few corners, don’t worry – the results of this Instant Pot sauce are just as bold and robust as a sauce prepared traditionally on the stove top.
This is another family favorite recipe that I mostly make in a pressure cooker now. Unless I’m making a quick marinara sauce for a recipe like Eggplant Parmesan or Lasagna, I’ve grown accustomed to now using my Instant Pot to make the Spaghetti Sauce. I’ve made a few adjustments to my favorite tried and true spaghetti sauce to make it compatible with the pressure cooker, and it comes out fantastic every time.
If you like to plan your meals ahead of time, this is a perfect recipe for you! Instant Pot spaghetti sauce is a great recipe to make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or the freezer for pasta nights. Really, everything about this recipe is made for busy people. It’s quick and easy to make, perfect for making ahead of time, reheats perfectly, and is downright delicious.
How To Make Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce:
Ingredients You Need
- Olive Oil – olive oil or canola oil will work.
- Vidalia Onion – Vidalia is a sweeter onion but yellow onion will also work.
- Carrots – choose a couple of small to medium carrots.
- Tomatoes – fresh tomatoes will add a little extra something to the sauce but not a necessary ingredients if you don’t have any.
- Garlic – it’s always best to use fresh garlic rather that pre-minced from the store.
- Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes – The fire roasted element will add to the flavor of the sauce. However, in a pinch, a can of plain crushed tomatoes also works.
- Tomato Paste – This is a great enhancer of the tomato flavor. Make sure to use tomato paste, not tomato sauce.
- Chicken Stock – Chicken Stock is preferred, but Vegetable Stock may also be used to make the sauce completely vegetation.
- Sugar – Just a couple of teaspoons of plain white granulated sugar helps balance out the acidity of the tomatoes to make sauce smooth tasting.
- Herbs – A medley of bay leaves, dried oregano, dried basil, and dried parsley create a wonderful herb notes that enhance the flavor of sauce.
- Seasonings – For a slight spicy note, add just a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes. (Of course, add as much as you’d like to make it as spicy as you prefer.) Don’t forget the coarse salt!
Cooking Spaghetti Sauce In Instant Pot:
Before cooking, peel and dice all of your veggies, and make sure they’re well measured.
Preheat your Instant Pot to the “sear/sauté” setting. Add some oil, then cook the onions and carrots until softened. Then toss in the diced tomatoes and also cook until softened.
Sauté the garlic until fragrant. Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for about a minute.
Stir in the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, herbs, and seasonings. Scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir.
Close the lid and make sure it’s fully latched. Then, turn the valve to “seal” and set the pressure cooker to cook on “high” for about 20 minutes.
Once the time is up, let the pressure cooker do a natural release for about 10 minutes, followed immediately by a quick release.
Stir the sauce before turning on the “sear/sauté” setting again. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for 5-7 minutes. Give it a stir now and again.
Turn off the Instant Pot and discard of the bay leaves.
You can blend the sauce with an immersion blender at this point if you’d prefer a smoother sauce, or you can leave it chunky.
Storing and Freezing Instructions:
How to Store Spaghetti Sauce
This homemade sauce will should be good for 4-5 days stored in a glass jar with an air-tight lid, in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that food spoils quicker when new bacteria is introduced, so keep this sauce fresh for its full shelf life by pouring out what you need instead of scooping from the jar.
How to Freeze Spaghetti Sauce
If you plan to freeze the sauce, let the sauce cool completely to room temperature, then place it in a freezer-safe food storage container (like a freezer zip-top bag) and get as much air out as you can. Label and date the bag(s) accordingly, then place them in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Note: that you can always separate the sauce into smaller portions and freeze it is several bags.
Check out all of the best freezer tips HERE!
Uses for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Spaghetti noodles aren’t the only thing this sauce is made for! Spread it on the pizza instead of pizza sauce, add it to sandwiches, or use it as a dipping sauce.
Here are just a few of my favorite recipes that call for spaghetti sauce.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large Vidalia onion
- 2-3 medium carrots
- 2 tomatoes on the vine
- 6 garlic cloves
- 28 oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 12 oz tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- coarse salt or sea salt
Instructions
- Dice onions and carrots, peel garlic, and mince it. (Don’t worry about the exact size of the cut since the sauce will be blended.) Measure the remaining ingredients and open the cans.
- Set your Instant Pot to a “sear/sauté” setting and let it heat up. Add some oil and throw in onions and carrots. Let the veggies sear for a few minutes, until softened. Add in diced tomatoes if using and cook until softened.
- Mix in garlic and sauté until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste and let it sauté for about a minute as well.
- Slowly stir in chicken stock, while you scrape the bottom and sides of the pot. Pour in crushed tomatoes, herbs, and seasoning. Stir well and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula completely while you stir. (Never use a metal spatula.)(If you don't scrape the bottom well before closing the lid, it might lead to a "burn" notice. Don't worry thought if it happens, it just means that the bottom got too hot, not that your food is burned! It's a precautionary notice but check with your manual how to remedy that.)
- Close the lid and make sure it is latched all the way. Turn the valve to “seal” and set the pressure cooker to cook on “high” setting for about 20 minutes. (Consult your pressure cooker manual for exact proper operations.)NOTE: Pressure cooker will take about 15 minutes to build the pressure inside first, before it starts cooking.
- Once time is up, let is do a natural release for about 10 minutes and the carefully do a quick release.
- Stir the sauce and turn on the "sear/sauté" again and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes to thicken the sauce a little bit. Make sure to stir the sauce from time to time.
- Turn off the pressure cooker and discard bay leaves.
- You can blend the spaghetti sauce or leave it chunky if you'd prefer. If you choose to blend it, please NOTE that it will be very hot, so be careful. Blend sauce in the blender or using an immersion blender until smooth. Again, be careful, you are dealing with scalding-hot sauce. (If you have time, let the sauce cool down for 30-45 minutes before blending.)
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