This is the EASIEST and TASTIEST Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe for sure! It's pretty much fail-proof too, which makes it a perfect recipe for the beginner Ninja Foodi operator.
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Spaghetti in the pressure cooker is supposed to be an easy, delicious, quick meal and this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe is just that!I really wasn't sold on Spaghetti in a pressure cooker. How can you develop flavors in such a short time? Won't the noodles be soggy? I was so afraid it would taste like canned spaghetti and we don't like canned spaghetti in our house at all. Still, I wanted to give it a try. If it turned out right and tasted good, this would be such a time saver!
I made a few different pressure cooker recipes from reputable recipe creators and was quite shocked at how dry the spaghetti was (like no sauce) or it was so watery, it had no flavor. That is not how I like to eat spaghetti and my guess is, that's true for you too. I wanted it to taste just like I cooked the sauce on the stove and boiled the noodles separately. You know, traditional spaghetti; just in a fraction of the time!
So, I set out to create the easiest and best tasting Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe using a few simple ingredients and here it is!
Tips for making this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe
While this recipe is a dump and cook spaghetti recipe, the order in which you dump the ingredients does matter.
Cooking under pressure: Whenever you are cooking under pressure, you have to have a thin liquid in order for the pressure cooker to be able to build up pressure. Tomato, cream, and cheese based sauces are too thick to use as the liquid alone. To add flavor to any recipe, I suggest using a broth or stock instead of water. That is what we are going to do in this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe and it's delicious!
Avoiding the burn notice: Not only have I had the dreaded burn notice, but I've had friends calling me in a panic when it popped up for them. You can sometimes fix it by just adding in more of a thin liquid; like broth or water. Other times your food has already burned on the bottom and that can be hard to salvage. It is much easier to avoid the notice than fix it and that is what this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti recipe does.
Don't skimp on the thin liquid: My first reaction when reading an Instant Pot Spaghetti Recipe was: I'm not using all that water! I think the recipe called for 6 cups of water and I was convinced my spaghetti would be a watery mess. It wasn't watery, but it was very much lacking in flavor. This Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe calls for 4 cups of beef broth (or you could use chicken or vegetable broth) and you need that much, I promise.
Don't overcook the noodles: I've seen an array of cook times for pasta and they are always overcooked for my liking. Spaghetti noodles should be al dente or have just a bit of a bite to them, not overly bloated and mushy. We don't want them to fall apart in the sauce. This Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe calls for 3 minutes of pressure cooking and you might be tempted to increase the time, but keep in mind that the noodles start to cook while the Ninja Foodi is coming up to pressure
Layer the ingredients as shown: Layering the ingredients is an important part of pressure cooking (for some recipes) and this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe is an example of that. If we reversed the order of the layers, or stirred everything together like you would on the stove, there is a very good chance that you will end up with the dreaded burn notice.
Criss cross the noodles: When using spaghetti noodles in the pressure cooker, you want to layer them in a criss cross fashion to avoid clumping and to have them cook evenly. You can watch how I do this below or see the whole video on my YouTube video: Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Video.
Let's get to making this Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe
First of all, go ahead and gather your ingredients and dice or chop up the veggies you are going to use. I recommend using an onion for flavor and the rest is your personal choice. If you haven't roasted your garlic yet, go ahead and do that now.
How to Roast Garlic in the Ninja Foodi: Cut the top off of the garlic bulb and drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil. Put it on the Ninja Foodi rack on the low setting and set the bake to 325° F for 35 minutes.
You might be tempted to skip this step, but I really urge you to give it a go. The roasted garlic infuses so much flavor into the spaghetti, I know you will love it! if you have an aversion to garlic; by all means, skip it.
Place 1lb of ground beef or ground turkey along with the seasonings in the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi. Set the Sauté to high and add onions. Break up the meat with a non-stick friendly utensil. My favorite thing to use is this Mix N Chop from Pampered Chef. Sauté the meat until it is almost cooked through.
Add in green pepper or any veggies you are using. Add in roasted bulb of garlic. A simple tip to get the cloves out of a bulb of roasted garlic is to squeeze from the bottom and the cloves will just pop out.
Don't stir from here on out. For the rest of the ingredients we will not be stirring. Add the can of tomatoes and 3 cups of the beef stock.
Pour in the jar of spaghetti sauce. Pour the remaining cup of broth into the jar of spaghetti sauce, put the lid on and shake. Pour into pot. Remember, resist the urge to stir. I know, it's so hard. It goes against all we have ever done, but it is important.
Criss Cross and layer the spaghetti noodles. For ½ box (½lb) of spaghetti noodles, I usually make at least 4 layers.
Gently press the noodles down into the liquid.
Add the 6 oz can of tomato paste right on top. Don't stir.
Put the pressure lid on the Ninja Foodi and set the pressure to high and the time for 3 minutes.
After the 3 minutes of pressure cooking are complete. Allow the spaghetti to sit and natural release for another 3 minutes. Make sure the keep warm function is off.
Natural Release for 3 minutes and then manually release the remaining pressure. Open the lid and stir to combine the tomato paste into the sauce. Don't freak out, I know it looks watery. Please don't worry, it will thicken up and become a glorious sauce that looks and tastes like you cooked it all day on the stove. Turn the Ninja Foodi off.
Put down the Tender Crisp lid and let the spaghetti sit for about 5 minutes. This will allow it to thicken even more. Top with cheese if you like.
Serve & Enjoy!
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Ninja Foodi Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup green peppers diced
- 1 bulb garlic roasted- see recipe below
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 14.5 ounces fire roasted tomatoes
- 4 cups beef stock divided
- 24 ounce spaghetti sauce your favorite kind
- ½ pound spaghetti noodles broken in half and stacked
- 6 ounces tomato paste
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Instructions
- Set the saute function on the Ninja Foodi to high Add 1 pound of ground beef, 11/2 teaspoon fine grind sea salt, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning & 1 cup of diced onion to the Inner pot.
- Break up meat with a non metal utensil (I use the Mix and Chop)and stir until the meat is almost cooked through.
- Add 1 cup of diced green pepper or whatever other veggies you like. Add 1 whole bulb of roasted garlic (or 3 cloves of minced garlic)and 1 teaspoon of white sugar (optional).
- When the ground beef is cooked through, add in one 14.5 oz can of fired roasted diced tomatoes, 3 cups of beef broth (you will use a total of 4). Do not stir.
- Pour in a 24 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. Pour the remaining 1 cup of beef stock into the jar and put the lid back on. Shake to remove all the sauce from the sides and pour into pot. Add in ¼-1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
- Break ½ pound (½ box) of spaghetti noodles, broken in half and layered in a criss cross fashion. Gently push down the noodles until they are covered with liquid. See post or video below for details.
- Add in a 6oz can of tomato paste right on top and don't stir.
- Pressure cook on High for 3 minutes. Allow to natural release for 3 minutes. when the 3 minutes is up, move the pressure valve to vent and release any remaining pressure. Open lid and stir well.
- Close the Tender Crisp Lid (the pot is off) and let sit for 5 minutes. Top with cheese if you like. Serve and Enjoy!
Roasting Garlic in the Foodi
- Cut the top off of the garlic bulb and drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil. Put it on the Ninja Foodi rack on the low setting and set the bake to 325° F for 35 minutes.
Nutrition
Here are a few more of my favorite Ninja Foodi Recipes if you would like to check them out.
Amber Meyer says
Made this for dinner last night and it was a HUGE hit! I followed the recipe to the "T". The sauce was thick and well seasoned and the pasta was cooked to perfection! I topped it with some amazing grated Pecorino cheese that my brother brought me back from Umbria Italy and perfecto! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Debbie says
I've made this spaghetti twice and it turned out perfect each time! I used frozen meatballs,but other than that I followed the recipe exactly - I LOVE it! Thank you so much!
Louise says
I'm so glad you like it!
Marlene Paschall says
Best spaghetti recipe ever. Even my hard core husband liked it.
Louise says
I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you so much!
kris fuentes says
i did it almost verbatim, and the ninja, would not get to pressure cook, it kept saying "water". I put in more water, and turned it on and it got to heating up and then said water again.
Louise says
Kris, It sounds like either something is malfunctioning with your Ninja Foodi or you did not deglaze the pot enough and scrape off any browned bits on the bottom from sauteing the meat and or veggies. This recipe has been tested by me at least 10 times and it's also been made thousands of times by other people with great success. I'd love to help you troubleshoot what went wrong, but I would need more information. When you say "almost verbatim," what did you change? Feel free to email me at Louise@thesaltedpepper.com so I can help you have success with this recipe because I'm sure you will love it.
Nancy Thompson says
Louise, this looks delicious and I would like to make it for dinner. I have everything except the spaghetti I only have angel hair pasta can I make that work? This will be the first dinner in my ninja foodi, and I would like to get off on the right foot! Thank you
Louise says
Nancy, you can, but I would change the pressure temp to low and PC for 2 minutes with a 2 minute natural release. I have not tested this, but based on other recipes I've done with angel hair pasta, I think it will be fine. Please let me know how it turns out!