Instant Pot GF Spaghetti and Meatballs

Dinner in under 30 minutes

This classic dish is one of the few that my GF baby will eat with any regularity (at the moment). Toddler pickiness is tough! I’ve been on a mission lately to use as few pots and pans as humanly possible, particularly at the end of the day. Aside from the bowl I mix the meatballs in (you could technically just use the IP insert for this) I only use one pot, and it’s glorious.

Note: the first few times I tested this, I got the FOOD BURN notice on the IP display, and alas, some of the spaghetti did burn on the bottom of the insert. I found the remedy for this is to use the rack that comes with your Instant Pot to elevate the spaghetti and prevents any burning. That said, there was still plenty (like 90%) perfectly cooked, yummy spaghetti available when the timer went off, despite the burn notification. Regardless, this will not be an issue if you just use the rack.

If you really needed to, you could cook the GF pasta separately (but where is the one-pot fun in that?) however I HIGHLY recommend cooking your meatballs in the IP with all the sauce for a really tasty result, that is nowhere near as dry as oven meatballs. I used my Chicken Meatloaf Meatballs recipe, and I’ve included some variations at the end of the post for added flexibility.

Meatball Ingredients
1 lbs. ground chicken or turkey
1/4 cup GF breadcrumbs (seasoned if you want a kick of flavor)
1/2 cup GF tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated parm
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon favorite dried herb, such as parsley, oregano or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or IP insert, and mold into 2 inch meatballs. Set aside while you prep the IP for sauce and spaghetti.

Spaghetti Ingredients
1 24 oz jar of GF tomato sauce
2 cups water, separated
1 12 oz package GF spaghetti (I used Jovial brown rice, and Barilla GF and both turned out great)
Shredded parm, for serving

Directions
Pour the 24 oz jar GF tomato sauce and 1 cup water into the IP and mix. Insert the Instant Pot rack to elevate your spaghetti so it doesn’t burn. Take your 12 oz GF spaghetti and break them in half (I do this in the sink so any little bits don’t go flying everywhere). Lay the spaghetti down in a criss-cross pattern (pictured above) to prevent clumping until all of the spaghetti is inside the IP. Then go ahead an add the final 1 cup of water, and gently place your meatballs on top of the spaghetti. It will not all be submerged in your sauce, and that is ok!

Place your cover on the IP, turn valve to sealing, and set to pressure cook for 8 minutes. When the time is up, let pressure release naturally. The spaghetti will need a good mix when it’s all done, and I found tongs really useful for this (and also to remove the rack).

Voila!

Variations
1. Use pre-made or frozen meatballs to save even more time. The instructions are the same.
2. Put IP on sautee and make a meat sauce before adding the sauce, water and spaghetti, then follow the same instructions.