2teaspoonsolive oilif you choose to sear the meatballs
1poundhomemade meatballsfresh or thawed
8ouncesspaghetti broken in half
3cupsstock or water
24ounces pasta sauce/marinara
2clovesgarlicminced
½teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonblack pepper
¼cupparmesanfreshly grated
¼cup basil leavesfresh, to garnish
Instructions
Optional: Add olive oil into the Instant Pot and press SAUTE so the oil gets hot. Place meatballs into the Instant Pot and cook until all sides are brown, flipping with kitchen tongs for about 5 minutes. Work in batches if needed. Pour in a little bit of water and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, to avoid getting a BURN message.
Switch off the SAUTE setting, and break the spaghetti if needed (I usually break them in half), then pile them up but use alternating directions to avoid them from sticking to each other.
Add pasta sauce or marinara, water or stock, minced garlic, and season with salt and pepper.
Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 8 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 6-7 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
Add Parmesan while the spaghetti is still hot and gently stir until the cheese is all melted and spaghetti is completely separated.
Cover with the lid and leave it on for 5 minutes to allow the spaghetti to soak up the flavors of the sauce. Then, garnish with fresh basil leaves, and serve!
Notes
It's important to let the spaghetti sit on top of the meatballs when pressure cooked, as it tends to stick to the bottom of the pot when placed directly in the pot.
Do not stir the ingredients before pressure cooking, and you need to make sure that you are layering the ingredients correctly for the recipe to work.
Frozen cooked meatballs work here too.
Water can be used instead of stock.
You can use any kind of pasta sauce that you enjoy. I like marinara and mushroom pasta sauce.
You can replace spaghetti with any shape/type of pasta you want; such as penne, macaroni, shells, whole wheat, regular. But you might need to adjust the cooking time according to the type of pasta you use.
You can add more parmesan cheese for extra flavor. or substitute it with your favorite shredded cheese.