• Home
  • Email List
  • Cookbooks
  • FAQs
  • Instant Pot Secrets

365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking

Easy slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes for each day of the year

  • Filter Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Meatless
  • healthy
  • Soups

September 29, 2017

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash–this is hands down the easiest and fastest way to cook spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a healthy, low calorie alternative to regular pasta and because it has a neutral flavor it soaks up whatever seasonings or sauce you serve with it.ย 

Pin this recipe for later!

Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here

Jump to the recipe

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash--this is hands down the easiest and fastest way to cook spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a healthy, low calorie alternative to regular pasta and because it has a neutral flavor it soaks up whatever seasonings or sauce you serve with it.ย 

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

I’ve been dancing around my kitchen because I found out a super easy and fast way to cook spaghetti squash. You see I love spaghetti squash but it always felt a little intimidating to me to cook. I used to cut it lengthwise (which is a feat in and of itself) and place it on a cookie sheet with a cup of water and then bake it in the oven for an hour. I’ll never make it that way again! I am totally converted to the Instant Pot for cooking up spaghetti squash which literally takes about the same amount of time as boiling pasta noodles on the stove top!

The first thing you’ll want to do is pick out a smallish to medium spaghetti squash. The huge ones won’t fit in your Instant Pot. I did use a 6 quart Instant Pot,ย so if you have an 8 quart Instant Pot that will open up your options a little more. Then you’ll cut it in half crosswise instead of lengthwise. Just use a small, sharp paring knife for this…it is so much easier than cutting lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and gunky stuff in the middle of the squash. This is not dissimilar to getting the stuff out of the middle of a pumpkin. You’ll pour a cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot and then place the trivet in the bottom. Place the squash halves on top of the trivet. You may have to maneuver them around a bit to get them to fit. You can place them on top of each other if needs be. It doesn’t matter if they are facing up or facing down. Then you’ll just pressure cook them for 7 minutes. You can totally do a quick release and then use a fork to shred the flesh of the squash. Didn’t I tell you it would be easy?

Ways to eat your Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

I’ve been eating my spaghetti squash with a little butter, salt and pepper and some feta. Oh yum it my favorite thing ever right now. My husband prefers serving his instant pot spaghetti squash with a red sauce that has italian sausage it in. I even made a chicken parmesan spaghetti squash recipe that was a total hit in our house. That recipe will be coming soon. Here are some other ways you may want to eat your spaghetti squash:

Easy slow cooker spaghetti sauce

Slow cooker meat and veggie sauce

Skinny chicken alfredo from Spend with Pennies

Marinara sauce from Add a Pinch

Pin this recipe for later!

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash--this is hands down the easiest and fastest way to cook spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a healthy, low calorie alternative to regular pasta and because it has a neutral flavor is soaks up whatever seasonings or sauce you serve with it.ย 

What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?

To make Instant Pot spaghetti squash I used my 6 quartย Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1. I also own the 6 quartย Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. They are both great pressure cookers! The first one I mentioned has a yogurt making function but other than that they are fairly similar. The price difference between the two is about $20.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash


★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 7 minutes
  • Total Time: 12 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This is hands down the easiest and fastest way to cook spaghetti squash. Spaghetti squash is a healthy, low calorie alternative to regular pasta and because it has a neutral flavor it soaks up whatever seasonings or sauce you serve with it.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 small to medium spaghetti squash
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Use a paring knife to cut your spaghetti squash in half crosswise (not lengthwise).
  2. Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and gunk.
  3. Pour a cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot. Place the trivet in the bottom of the pot.
  4. Place the squash halves on top of the trivet. They can face up or down. You may have to maneuver them around to fit.
  5. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to “sealing.” Set the manual (high pressure) timer to 7 minutes. Once the timer beeps remove the pressure quickly by moving the valve to “venting.”
  6. Remove the lid and use a towel or hot pad to remove the squash. Use a fork to shred the flesh of the squash into long spaghetti-like strands. Serve the squash with any sauce or topping you enjoy.

Notes

I used my 6 quartย Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1. I think an 8 quart Instant Pot would be even better for this recipe because you’d be able to fit a bigger squash in it.

Click here for the SLOW COOKER version of this recipe.

  • Method: Instant Pot

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @365dayscrockpot on Instagram

Send Me Your New Recipes

Get all my new recipes delivered to your email inbox by signing up below.
ย This is a free service! Try it out. Youโ€™ll eat better and be more inspired to make family dinner happen at your house.

This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. Each time you purchase something from Amazon that I’ve linked to I get a few pennies. Thanks so much for supporting my blog!

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

29 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Healthy, Instant Pot, Meatless Tagged With: 0-2 hours, instant pot, 5 stars

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Gail says

    September 12, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    I have my squash in the oven now 400 degrees for 40 minutes. I just happened to find this recipe for the instant pot. Definitely next time will do it in my pot. QUESTION If I have a bigger squash I was thinking just do half at a time. This would still be quicker than the oven. What is your opinion on this?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 13, 2021 at 1:27 pm

      Yes great idea!

      Reply
  2. Ginny says

    December 18, 2020 at 12:28 pm

    Couldn’t you put squash on sling easier to lift out?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 21, 2020 at 3:43 pm

      Totally!

      Reply
  3. Car says

    November 9, 2020 at 6:12 pm

    Had to cook mine a total of 12 minutes (8+3+2) and it still was still crunchy. It wasn’t a large squash…. Definitely on the small to medium size. It has been sitting in my pantry for a while so maybe that had something to do with it.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 10, 2020 at 12:22 pm

      Oh interesting. I have had similar results when cooking one from my mother-in-law’s garden. The good thing is is that you can easily bring the pot back to pressure.

      Reply
  4. barbara reed says

    October 21, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    I tried it tonight..It turned out great.I well eat more spaghetti squash now.Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 23, 2020 at 11:56 am

      We love it at our house! A great meal that’s low cal!

      Reply
  5. Dawn says

    May 10, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    Iโ€™ve always done my squash in the microwave I got the pot today for Motherโ€™s Day.
    I am doing chicken Alfredo over squash…
    Prepared sauce and rotisserie chicken.
    Iโ€™ll let you know if I blow up the kitchen

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 11, 2020 at 2:42 pm

      I bet you did just fine Dawn!

      Reply
  6. Peg L Arnett says

    August 13, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    I did my fresh out of garden spaghetti squash for 8 minutes because it was huge. I did have to cut it into quarters so maybe that made a difference in cook time. My thinking was it was so big it would need extra time. Well it was over done. Still delicious but not spaghetti like.. will do 6 min next time.
    What do you think? Do yu think the squash being cut into quarters made it cook faster?.
    Thank you for the directions anyway

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 14, 2019 at 3:25 pm

      Yes that is possible! I would do 6 minutes next time.

      Reply
  7. Debra L Smith says

    May 21, 2019 at 2:15 pm

    I love spaghetti squash, and this is, by far, the easiest and fastest way to cook it. So much easier to cut the squash crosswise, and it fits in the instant pot perfectly that way. I will even eat MORE spaghetti squash now!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 22, 2019 at 10:37 am

      I know I do too!!!

      Reply
  8. Marge Teilhaber says

    March 10, 2019 at 4:27 pm

    Can’t find the links. Want to get that knife sharpener!

    Also, don’t throw out the seeds. Put the seeds and gunk on a rimmed baking sheet, marinate with avocado oil and any seasoning you want, and bake for 30 minutes. Crunchy and healthy!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 11, 2019 at 3:03 pm

      Here is the sharpener: https://amzn.to/2TvnKkm*

      Thanks for the seeds tips!

      Reply
    • Janet Welch says

      October 27, 2020 at 8:56 am

      What temp did you bake the seeds at?

      Reply
  9. George Wade says

    March 4, 2019 at 11:22 am

    Love this. Healthier. Using 6 qt. Question: we did 7 minutes= not done= total 10 minutes. Better BUT ended up putting in left over squash next day in oven to cook some more to get soft squash- not crunchy. So – in your opinion, how long shoul we cook? TIA Wades in Texas

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 4, 2019 at 9:08 pm

      I would add a few more minutes. I bet it was a big squash. Am I right?

      Reply
  10. Jessica says

    June 11, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    My instant pot doesnt seem to have a trivet that goes in the lower position. Just to the top. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 12, 2018 at 1:22 pm

      You can just put the squash in the bottom of the pot. It should work fine. Either that or ball up some pieces of foil.

      Reply
  11. Ann says

    March 8, 2018 at 8:42 pm

    I hate to cook spaghetti squash and this was so fast and easy. So excited!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 9, 2018 at 10:01 am

      I know! I used to hate it too but now I love it!

      Reply
  12. Dawn says

    February 25, 2018 at 4:23 pm

    This method worked out GREAT! It was super fast and the spaghetti squash was cooked to perfection! The squash was super easy to get out of the squash, all the way down to the skin! My husband was even excited because I was so excited! Thanks for sharing, I will always cook my spaghetti squash this way in the future. Oh, and cutting it in half instead of lengthwise was so much easier too!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 26, 2018 at 1:58 pm

      I know, right?! It’s the best!!

      Reply
  13. nicolep says

    February 1, 2018 at 9:11 pm

    Turned out great. Way better than a crock pot and half the time of the oven. Thanks.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 2, 2018 at 8:55 am

      Awesome! I just made this again yesterday and was so happy with how easy it was ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  14. Sam Parks says

    November 13, 2017 at 8:57 pm

    The time in the Instant Pot was perfect! Thank you so much.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 16, 2017 at 4:54 pm

      Awesome! thanks for sharing ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Hi! I'm Karen

I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.
Karen
 

Stay In Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Amazon Associates Disclosure

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.

365 Days of Slow Cooking © 2022 ยท Privacy Policy

MENU
  • Home
  • Email List
  • Cookbooks
  • FAQs
  • Instant Pot Secrets
  • Filter
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Meatless
  • Healthy
  • Soups