Instant Pot Jo Mama’s Spaghetti–a spaghetti sauce that has a pizza twist. With green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and cheese this sauce is chock full of flavor. Bonus: you can make the pasta and sauce at the same time if you’d like!

Instant Pot Jo Mama’s Spaghetti
Who made this dinner? Jo. Jo who? Jo Mama! 🤣
If you’re looking to make a boring spaghetti dinner into something a little more exciting with a fraction more work try this Instant Pot Jo Mama’s spaghetti. It’s full of flavor and it comes together quickly with the help of your Instant Pot. You can even make the sauce and the pasta at the same time if you’d like!
You’ll notice I only use ½ cup of liquid. The reason I did this was because the layer of mushrooms on top of the beef lets off a lot of liquid and helps the pot come to pressure. If you leave out the mushrooms you may want to increase the broth to 1 cup (unless you are making the pasta at the same time then you just need to follow the instructions in the notes section of the recipe below). The other really important part of this recipe is the layering. It is important that you layer the ingredients instead of stirring them all together. This will help prevent the burn error message.
If you do choose to cook the spaghetti in the Instant Pot make sure to layer it in a criss-cross pattern. This will help prevent it from clumping up together. You can use whole wheat or white pasta. I haven’t tried gluten free pasta with this recipe and am unsure how it would turn out.

More Amazing Instant Pot Pasta Recipes…
Instant Pot Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine
Mac and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole
Instant Pot Prize Winning Pizza Mac and Cheese

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Instant Pot Jo Mama’s Spaghetti
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A spaghetti sauce that has a pizza twist. With green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and cheese this sauce is chock full of flavor. Bonus: you can make the pasta and sauce at the same time if you’d like!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 8 oz sliced or chopped mushrooms
- 1 (24 oz) jar Classico Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce
- 1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
- 25 slices of pepperoni
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and pepper. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Layer the following ingredients: mushrooms, pasta sauce, green peppers, pepperoni, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Serve sauce over the top of hot cooked angel hair pasta. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese.
Notes
If you want to make spaghetti in the same pot at the same time, you can. Instead of ½ cup broth add in 2 cups of broth in step 1. Then break 8 ounces of spaghetti pasta in half and lay it in a criss cross pattern on top of the ground beef. Cover with the mushrooms (step 2) and follow the layering directions in step 2. Pressure cook for 4 minutes with a 5 minute natural pressure release.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
It was great. I did increase the garlic and onion powders and added some basil. This would be really good made with sausage too. I used a generous shake of red pepper flakes to finish it off.
★★★★★
I bet sausage would be so great!
I got a burn notice 🙁
All I put was the meat, sauce and 1 cup of broth.
Any idea why the sauce burned to the pot?
Did you layer the ingredients or stir all together? It’s important to put the thin liquid (broth) on the bottom of the pot. Then the meat, then the sauce.
Can this recipe be made in a crockpot? Mama’s Spaghetti. You some of the BEST recipes. Thank You.
Yes it could be cooked in the slow cooker. Here’s how I would do it:
1. Brown beef. Drain off excess grease. Add to the slow cooker. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and pepper. Pour in the broth.
2. Layer the following ingredients: mushrooms, pasta sauce, green peppers, pepperoni, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
4. Serve sauce over the top of hot cooked angel hair pasta. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese.
I have not made this recipe yet but it looks yummy! I am looking for portion control and would like to make this recipe in my mini 3 quart. If I cut the ingredients in half do you think it will still work? Would like to know if all of your recipes would work in Instant Pot mini 3 qt?
You can halve this recipe in the 3 quart pot. Here are some resources for you: https://youtu.be/qXV2R__PzsM and https://youtu.be/0Zvp2C97puE
Hi Karen…
I made this, but left out the pepperoni and substituted Cosco Italian meatballs for the hamburger. I used 24 meatballs, wich is 1 lb worth, took them straight from the freezer and increased cooing time to 3 mins because of them being frozen. It wasn’t a major issue, but the meatballs did have about a 1.2 inch wide burn mark on the bottom of each and the pan was a mess… other than that, it turned out great…any suggestions?
I would get the broth boiling and then drop the meatballs in next time. Hopefully that will help get the pot to pressure quicker and less burn at the bottom.
Made it today, did not double, but I think it would have been fine. Only added a teaspoon of sugar at the end. Hubby loved it, so did I!
★★★★★
Okay good! Glad it went well. Thanks for the 5 stars.
I’m going to.make this today. If I don’t cook the pasta in the pot, would I be able to double it in my 6 quart IP?
Yes you can!
Any changes if l omit or reduce the pepperoni? Sometimes we find the kinds available to us way too salty. While I usually make my own sauce, this a GREAT recipe to jazz up the jar sauce!!! We LOVE spaghetti squash too! It’s a breeze in our Foodi so can’t wait to try this one!! Thanks for your creativity!! 🥰
no changes! Should be just fine.
How much pasta do we use if adding it to the pot?
Sorry about that. It’s 8 ounces
Thank you Karen.
★★★★★
If I opt to cooking the pasta in with the meal, how many ounces should I use?
Sorry about that omission. It’s 8 ounces.