Pasta Sauce in Instant Pot
This pasta sauce in Instant Pot is a mildly spiced meat sauce that everyone will enjoy. Bell peppers and onions are blended with tomatoes for some hidden veggies (shh don’t let the kids read this)!
No doubt, this is a kid friendly pasta sauce.
Our kids request it all of the time.
It has a milder flavor than some other sauces we make, but it’s a tried and true standby.
We love it as well, on top of spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for a lower carb meal.
This recipe also makes an easy lunch to take in a thermos. Easily set Instant Pot penne or other pasta noodles and toss them while hot in with the Instant Pot pasta sauce.
You can add a small container of shredded parmesan cheese to the lunch box to go with!
Content in this Post
Ingredients in Pasta Sauce in Instant Pot
- Ground Beef — lean ground beef, about a pound.
- Tomatoes — we use fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes (San Marzano) in this recipe. If you have garden tomatoes they are especially flavorful in pasta sauce.
- Onions — diced white, yellow or red onion.
- Bell Pepper — use red, yellow or orange bell peppers.
- Chicken Broth — we use already prepared chicken broth from a carton for convenience.
- Seasoned Salt — seasoned salt provides a mildly spiced flavor to this dish.
- Garlic Powder — you could sub one clove of garlic, minced if you prefer.
- Oil — avocado oil is our favorite oil for cooking
What to Serve With Pasta Sauce in Instant Pot
Serve pasta sauce in Instant Pot with spaghetti, linguine or your favorite pasta shapes. Spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles are both great low carb options.
Dress it up with a generous sprinkle of some freshly grated parmesan from a block of aged parmigiano reggiano.
For an appetizer, we recommend baked spinach artichoke dip with Italian style pasta dinners.
It’s easy to toss together an Italian style house salad to serve along with pasta and spaghetti dishes.
Our kids love garlic bread with Italian style dishes with meat or marinara sauce.
A side dish of marinated olives also goes well with pasta dishes.
If we have some pasta sauce leftover, we use it in our kid friendly Instant Pot lasagna in place of tomato sauce in the recipe.
Time Saving Tips
We love to serve these sauces on regular spaghetti or pasta for our kids, or on low carb Instant Pot spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for the grown ups (carb minders).
It’s the perfect way to satisfy everyone in the family at once.
We use our two Instant Pots to make timely meals at the last minute. One Instant Pot for the Sauce and the other Instant Pot to cook the Spaghetti or Spaghetti Squash.
That’s actually three Instant Pot recipes, but we usually have one recipe already made.
Or we use the stovetop to cook the regular spaghetti while the Instant Pots are used for pasta sauce and spaghetti squash.
Check out our benefits of owning two Instant Pots if you have a large family or need to make a lot of food quickly.
Storage Tips
You can store your pasta sauce in the fridge in an air tight container for up to four days, but it’s best consumed within two or three days for the freshest flavor.
Freeze your meat sauce in a freezer safe air tight container for up to six months.
It’s so convenient to make extra sauce and freeze in portions for times when you don’t have anything prepared.
It’s such a relief sometimes, to realize you have pasta sauce in your freezer.
Just thaw and serve with your favorite noodles.
To make the thawing process quicker – let the sauce thaw just enough to get the sauce ice block out from the container. Then transfer the whole sauce ice block to your Instant Pot and heat it in saute mode.
Make sure it doesn’t burn – you might have to turn off the saute mode from time to time and just use the residual heat. I might turn saute on and off a few times during this process.
You could also do this in a pot on the stovetop on medium heat. Transfer the sauce ice block to a pot and heat it up until it thaws completely.
Keep a close watch in either case, so it doesn’t burn or get stuck to the bottom in either method.
You’ll Also Love
Try these favorite pasta and spaghetti sauce recipes:
Goat Cheese Pasta Sauce — This favorite pasta sauce is still mild enough but has a more grown up flavor. We really love this one but it doesn’t go over too well with our kids 🙂
But they love Instant Pot Marinara Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes with regular spaghetti or pasta shapes. It’s similar to this pasta sauce in Instant pot recipe but without meat. It is so versatile, and is part of so many delicious recipes that we make regularly.
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Pasta Sauce in Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Beef, lean
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Onion, diced
- 2 Tomatoes, diced
- 1 Bell Pepper, diced
- 28 ounces Canned Tomatoes, San Marzano, don't drain
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, sub 1-2 fresh garlic cloves
Instructions
- Press sauté on the Instant Pot. When the display reads "HOT" add the ground beef.
- Separate the meat while browning it in the instant pot.
- When all the meat is browned, transfer it to a bowl.
- Add the onions.
- Sauté the onions until soft.
- Add the fresh tomatoes and bell peppers.
- Add the canned tomatoes, broth, seasoned salt and garlic powder.
- Blend all ingredients using an immersion blender.
- Fasten Instant Pot lid securely, turn the pressure valve to sealing and pressure cook on HIGH for zero minutes. That means it will come to pressure and then complete it's cycle. Quick release when cycle is complete.
- Open the lid and add in the browned meat.
- Stir in the meat, close the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the pressure valve to sealing and pressure cook on HIGH for five minutes. Quick release when cycle is complete.
Nutrition
Note
The above nutritional values are estimates and should only be used as a guide. If you are following a specific diet or have dietary restrictions, please use your preferred nutritional calculator. If you have a food allergy please ensure that none of the listed ingredients are part of your restrictions. As well, always use a food thermometer to ensure safe cooking temperature of the food items.
