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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Earlene Hartley
I love the ingredients for the recipe but I have no vegetable broth, can I use chicken or beef?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes! Either would work well. Beef broth will be a bit stronger in flavor.
Dave
I'm new to Instant Pot and I can see it's going to change my life. This recipe is perhaps the best example of that. I cooked up a batch and froze it in Ball jars. Then, a week later I felt like having some spaghetti. I thawed a quart, fried up a half pound of Italian sausage, and sauted some mushrooms. Within an hour I had the best spaghetti sauce I've ever tasted.
Thanks, Kristen.
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful! I hope you find many more Instant Pot recipes here to enjoy!
Dave
I've already checked out some others here that I want to try. I'm going to take a small portion of your magic tomato sauce and mix in some additional tomato paste to make pizza sauce. It should be delicious.
Kristen Chidsey
Yes!!! Great idea!
Michelle
We doubled this recipe for a Christmas gathering and made it on the morning of Christmas Eve so that the flavors had a day to marry before the next day. Annoyingly it caused a burn warning even though we dolloped the paste, honey, & butter on top just like it says. As you know, once that occurs, it's impossible to get the IP to continue cooking. So we then had to scoop it all out of the IP and into a slow cooker so that we could cook it while we weren't home. (We didn't have enough time to cook it on the stovetop due to another holiday gathering.) Fortunately it worked out and the flavor was good. It's just the technique that doesn't work due to the IP's propensity to burn. Maybe if you have a different brand of pressure cooker it might work - my old non-IP one never "burned".
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Michelle! I am sorry you had issues. It is likely because of doubling the recipes. By the time it heats fully, the bottom of the inner pot will burn.
Nicole
Delicious as usual but I discovered if you put too little tomato paste (all I had) it turns out more like tomato soup. I ran to store and immersion blended another 8 ounces and yea!!!! Good as usual
Kristen Chidsey
Good to know! Thanks for sharing.
Paul
I love this sauce. Making my second batch in 7 days. I add a whole bunch of Mushrooms at the end because......MUSHROOMS!
Kristen Chidsey
Love hearing you enjoy so much, Paul! Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie
Can you use fresh tomatoes?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Stephanie! Yes, feel free to use fresh tomatoes. 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes is equivalent to about 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. I would recommend peeling, seeding, and dicing the tomatoes before making the sauce to keep it from becoming waterey.
Stephanie
Would you use an immersion blender to mix at the end? Thank you for your help.
Kristen Chidsey
That would work beautifully! Or you can carefully blend in batches in a blender. Enjoy!
Stephanie
Love this recipe! It worked great using fresh tomatoes. Just curious if you’ve ever pressure canned this recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Stephanie! I am so glad you enjoy this spaghetti sauce. I am not a canning expert, however, I do know acid (like lemon juice) needs to be added for preservation. Here are some directions for canning tomato sauce that may help you.