Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti

This Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti is so easy to make and the whole family will love – especially the kids – in about 30 minutes from start to finish. It has a secret ingredient that will totally change the way you make tomato sauce.

Two bowls with spaghetti topped with parsley on a table top with a blue/white towel

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Looking for easy, healthy dinner ideas the whole family will love? Check out this Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti. It’s an instant hit with the kids. I usually make this on our busiest nights of the week – usually when the kids have after-school activities or homework.

But I also love this recipe when I need to feed a large crowd because it’s easy to scale up and double the recipe… you know when all the neighborhood kids end up at your house for dinner or when family comes to visit from out of town.

If you’re just getting started with the Instant Pot, check out my quick start guide Top 10 Instant Pot Tips and Tricks You Need to Know.

Ingredients to Make This Spaghetti

This is a pretty basic recipe that includes ground beef, tomato sauce, spices, and gluten-free, dry spaghetti noodles. But there’s a secret ingredient that makes the tomato sauce out of this world… butter. Yep, butter.

It’s from Marcella Hazan, an amazing Italian cook and cookbook author of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking who came up with a simple tomato sauce recipe that includes San Marzano tomatoes, onion, salt and butter. According to Hazan, the butter makes the tomato sauce rich and less acidic. You may have used sugar or a natural sweetener in the past to cut down the acidity of tomato sauce, but it’s actually butter that does it better and on a whole new level.

This recipe pays homage to Hazan’s tomato sauce recipe with the addition of ground beef and a few extra spices, but you could even just do the tomato sauce with the San Marzano tomatoes, onion, butter, and salt and it would be perfection.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this spaghetti:

  • Olive oil
  • Ground beef (or ground turkey works too)
  • Tomato sauce (my favorite is San Marzano peeled tomatoes from Italy – I just put a whole 28 oz can with the juice and herbs in a blender and puree for a few seconds)
  • Italian seasoning or a mix of basil, thyme, oregano and marjoram
  • Butter (it’s my secret ingredient that makes the best tomato sauce that’s rich and smooth)
  • Diced onion
  • Minced garlic
  • Salt and peper, to taste
  • Gluten-free spaghetti noodles, dry
ingredients to make spaghetti in an Instant Pot include tomato sauce, ground beef, water, spices, spaghetti noodles and parmesan cheese

How to Make Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti

This spaghetti recipe is so easy to make. Once you make it in the Instant Pot you’ll never go back to doing it the old way over the stovetop. It’s fast, easy, and it doesn’t require babysitting the pasta or sauce over the stove.

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot and set to Sauté mode. Once it gets hot, add in the oil, ground beef, diced onions, and garlic. Break up the beef into smaller pieces and cook until brown or about 5 minutes.
  2. Turn off the sauté mode and add ½ cup of water or chicken stock. Use a metal spatula to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to get all the leftover bits of meat.
  3. Add in the tomato sauce, butter, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.
  4. Break the gluten-free pasta in half and sprinkle on top of the sauce. Do not stir.
  5. Add in the remaining water or stock. Do not stir.
  6. Close the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
  7. Once it is done cooking, quick release by opening the valve.
  8. Stir everything well and serve with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.

What Other Ingredients Can You Add to the Sauce?

You could add in other vegetables to the sauce to your taste. I suggest sautĂ©ing in a little avocado oil first and then add to the sauce after it’s done. You can control how much you want to add to keep the consistency you want.

  • Mushrooms (sliced)
  • Green peppers (finely diced, cook)
  • Celery (finely diced)
  • Zucchini (diced)

Can I Use Different Meat?

Yes! One option is to use 1/2 ground pork and 1/2 group beef. It will be richer with the pork. Italian sausage is another option. You could either do 1/2 pork sausage (remove the the casing) and 1/2 ground beef or do all pork sausage (again remove the casing).

Another option is you could use ground chicken or ground turkey in place of the ground beef. This would be a leaner option.

Two bowls of gluten-free spaghetti on a table with a bowl of parmesan cheese nearby

What to Serve with This Spaghetti

I love to make garlic bread to serve up with this Instant Pot Spaghetti. This gluten-free sandwich bread recipe works so well for that. Just put a layer of butter, garlic or garlic powder, a little salt, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and voila! Easy garlic bread. Make extra because the whole family will devour it.

Low-Carb + Paleo Option

Make a low-carb version of this recipe with spaghetti squash. Make the sauce in the Instant Pot per directions and just cut out the step cooking it with the spaghetti noodles. Add Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash for a quick, healthy, low-carb meal.

closeup of spaghetti noodles twirled on a a fork with parsley

More Instant Pot Meals

Did you try this Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and comment below to let me know how it went. You can also FOLLOW ME on FacebookInstagram and Pinterest. Check out my free Real Food Guide email course and e-book for more tips to transition to a real food lifestyle.

Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti in two blue bowls

Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti

Don’t Mess With Mama
This Gluten-Free Instant Pot Spaghetti is so easy to make and the whole family will love – especially the kids – in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. It has a secret ingredient to make it taste rich and smooth.
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Pressure Time 18 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6 servings
Calories 521 kcal

Equipment

  • Instant Pot
  • Metal spatula
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
  • 1 onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ½ cup water or chicken stock
  • 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes puree in blender
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 8 oz gluten-free spaghetti noodles, dry or pasta of choice

Optional Toppings

  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Turn on the Instant Pot and set to SautĂ© mode. Once it gets hot, add in the oil, ground beef, diced onions, and garlic. Break up the beef into smaller pieces and cook until the meat is brown, or about 5 minutes. 
  • Turn off the SautĂ© mode and add ½ cup of water or chicken stock. Use a metal spatula to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to get all the leftover bits of meat. 
  • Add in the tomato sauce, butter, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine all the ingredients. 
  • Break the gluten-free pasta in half and sprinkle on top of the sauce. Do not stir.
  • Add in the remaining 1 cup of water or stock. Do not stir.
  • Close the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. 
  • Once it is done cooking, quick release by opening the valve. 
  • Stir everything well and serve with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 521kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 24gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 1109mgPotassium: 571mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1086IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 290mgIron: 5mg
Keyword Gluten Free Pasta, Gluten Free Spaghetti
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