TheWildWaynes
a family of four cooking & creating our way through tiny living
Skillet Spaghetti in Your Instant Pot
Skillet Spaghetti in your instant pot should be a part of every family’s recipe rotation. It is an easy recipe, relatively cheap, quick to make, and tastes amazing! This is the recipe you are looking for, I promise.
Easy Instant Pot Skillet Spaghetti Recipe
My family travels full time in our 32 foot 5th wheel. We often times need a good meal that I can make in a limited amount of time.
Browning some ground hamburger and ground turkey with sliced onion is the hardest part. The rest is adding seasoning, water, spaghetti, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. How awesome is that? Put the lid on the instant pot and pressure cook for eight minutes. Stir it, serve it, and eat it.
How to Make Skillet Spaghetti in Your Instant Pot
Diced Tomatoes
To start, open a can of diced tomatoes and dump them all into a colander or strainer. Let the tomatoes drain all of their juice into a sink or bowl while you prep the rest of your skillet spaghetti.
We drain the tomatoes because the instant pot could get ahold of the thicker tomato juice and BURN! It is a precaution I take to avoid frustration. It’s worth it!
Brown the Meat
This recipe uses about a pound and a half of ground hamburger (80-85% lean) plus a pound of ground turkey. Adding turkey to the ground hamburger lightens up the ground hamburger flavor. Trust me, it makes a positive difference.
Press the Sauté button on your instant pot. When the pot is hot, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Drop in the ground hamburger and turkey. Break it all down with a wooden spatula or spoon of your choice.
Let the hamburger and turkey sit on sauté for 5 minutes. I like to use a kitchen timer to make sure I don’t go too long or short the first half of browning the meat.
Slice One Onion
While the hamburger and turkey is sitting on sauté, use a sharp knife to cut an onion in half and slice both halves. I like to use a yellow onion or sweet onion. I like the onion sliced so they act like a noodle.
After the five minutes of browning the hamburger and turkey are finished, add the sliced onion on top of the meat. Use your wooden spatula to stir the onions into the meat while scraping the bottom of the instant pot clean.
Let the onions, hamburger, and turkey sit on sauté for another five minutes. Use your Kitchen timer.
Drain the Fat
After a total of ten minutes on sauté, cancel the sauté function and stir the meat and onions scraping the pot bottom clean. I rely on my instant pot slow cooker lid to hold the meat inside the pot while I drain the fat from the pot. The pot is not hot on the top but you are welcome to use a towel or pot holders.
Put the slow cooker lid on the pot and pull the pot out of the instant pot. Carefully pinch the lid’s edge onto the pot’s top edge with your thumbs and index fingers. Tip the pot to the side and use the empty diced tomato can to catch the fat.
Once you are satisfied most of the fat has been drained, slide the pot back into the instant pot. I like to spread the meat out evenly before adding any of the seasoning.
Instant Pot Skillet Spaghetti Seasoning
There is always wiggle room when it comes to seasoning, all depending on your taste buds. If you would like to have a spicy skillet spaghetti, double up on the chili powder. Or, double up on the basil for a sweeter skillet spaghetti.
Add all of the seasoning: oregano, basil, chili powder, granulated onion and garlic, chicken bouillon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir the seasoning into the browned meat and onions. Make sure the pot bottom is scraped clean.
Water and Pasta
Add 4 cups of water to the seasoned hamburger, turkey, and onions. Do not stir.
I like to use linguini for this recipe. It’s hearty and fills everybody’s belly.
Break the linguini or spaghetti in half and lay the pasta down into even layers going in different directions over each other. This will help keep the pasta from clumping together.
Tomato Time
Grab your colander or strainer with the drained diced tomatoes. Dump them on top of the layered pasta and use your wooden spatula to spread the diced tomatoes out evenly.
Add three tablespoons of tomato paste to the very top. I do not try to spread it around because tomato paste is very sticky.
Pressure Cook Your Skillet Spaghetti
Put the lid on your Instant Pot, seal the pressure release valve, and adjust the pressure cook time to eight minutes. It takes about ten minutes for the instant pot to bring the water to a boil and come to pressure.
I use this time to wash everything I dirtied and get the plates and silver wear out.
As soon as the eight minutes are finished, the instant pot will beep at you. Release the pressure. When the floater valve drops, remove the instant pot lid.
Let the Skillet Spaghetti Sit in the Instant Pot
Grab your wooden spatula and stir the ingredients into each other. The pasta is heavy but the wooden spatula works well digging in under the pasta and meat and turn the meat over onto the pasta.
After the ingredients are stirred into each other, let the skillet spaghetti sit in the instant pot for another five minutes. Use a pair of long tongs or a pasta spoon to plate the skillet spaghetti. We usually serve ours with a side salad.
Watch Me Make Skillet Spaghetti in My Instant Pot in 3 1/2 Minutes
Watch a very entertaining video of each step I take to make skillet spaghetti in the instant pot. You can also have this video play on your phone or TV while you make your own skillet spaghetti in your instant pot. Just hit pause while you go.
Other Instant Pot Recipes by TheWildWaynes
RANCH PORK CHOPS WITH GRAVY IN THE INSTANT POT
EASY INSTANT POT HAMBURGER STROGANOFF
SOUTHWEST PORK CHOPS AND GRAVY IN THE INSTANT POT
INSTANT POT TACO MEAT WITH GROUND BEEF
ASIAN GREEN BEANS INSTANT POT (STEAMED AND DELICIOUS)
CHICKEN SHAWARMA IN YOUR INSTANT POT OR AIR FRYER
FULLY LOADED MASHED POTATOES IN THE INSTANT POT
AUTHENTIC CARNITAS IN THE INSTANT POT (DONE BEST)
CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP IN THE INSTANT POT – RICH AND CREAMY
CREAMY INSTANT POT CHICKEN CHILI VERDE
CANTONESE APRICOT CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT
Tools and Toys Used in this Recipe and Then Some
Slow cooker lid for 8qt Instant Pot
Wooden Spatula I use for Scraping and Stirring
Steamer Basket for the Instant Pot
Cookie Spatula that works the Best in the Air Fryer
Boo’s Mystery Oil for the Wood Cutting Board
Boo’s Board Cream for Wood Cutting Boards
Hard Boiled Egg Holder for the Instant Pot
Egg Bite Mold for the Instant Pot
Basket Replacement for Cosori 5.7 quart Air Fryer
Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle
Skillet Spaghetti in the Instant Pot Recipe
Skillet Spaghetti in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs Ground Hamburger
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 16 oz Spaghetti I use Linguini
- 1 Yellow Onion sliced
- 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes drained in colander
- 3 Tbs Tomato Paste
- 4 cups Water
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Oregano dried
- 1 Tbsp Basil dried
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Chicken Bouillon
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Granulated Onion onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper fresh ground
Instructions
- Empty the can of diced tomatoes into a colander or strainer to drain into your sink or a bowl
Brown the Meat and Onions
- Press Sauté on the Instant Pot and add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pot when it's HOT
- Drop ground hamburger and turkey into the instant pot and break the meats into small pieces with a flat wooden spatula
- Set a timer for 5 minutes to brown the meat
- While the meat is browning, slice 1 yellow onion and add the sliced onion to the meat as soon as the 5 minutes of browning are finished
- Stir the onions into the burger and turkey using a flat wooden spatula or spoon scraping the pot bottom clean
- Brown for another 5 minutes, use your kitchen timer so you do not short or go over your time.
- When the last 5 minutes are finished, press cancel, and stir the meat and onions scraping the pot bottom clean
- Use an Instant Pot slow cooker lid to hold the meat and onions in side the pot as you tip the pot over allowing the fat to drain into the empty diced tomatoes can*You can also use the instant Pot lid to hold the meat in while you drain the fat, but tricky
- Place the pot back into the Instant Pot
Build your Skillet Spaghetti
- Add all seasoning: oregano, basil, chili pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper
- Stir seasoning into the browned meat
- Pour 4 cups of water into the pot
- Break Spaghetti in half and layer in different directions onto of the browned meat and water in the instant pot
- Pour drained tomatoes over spaghetti and spread them out evenly over the spaghetti
- Spoon 3 Tbsp tomato paste on top of the diced tomatoes
Pressure Cook Your Skillet Spaghetti
- Put the instant pot lid on, seal the pressure release valve, and set the pressure cook time for 8 minutes
- *The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to boil and pressurize
- Release pressure as soon as the 8 minutes of pressure cooking are finished
- Stir the skillet Spaghetti and let sit for 5 minutes with the lid off
- Serve with a salad and garlic bread, enjoy!
Nutrition