Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs

Name: Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced; 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 basil sprigs, plus more thinly sliced for serving; 8 ounces spaghetti (not thin spaghetti), broken in half; 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving; 1 cup ricotta (optional); 1 pound ground beef (or substitute veal, pork or turkey); 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan; 2 tablespoons chopped basil; 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

Recipe from "Comfort in an Instant"

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Pressure Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(1,577)
Comments: Read comments

Spaghetti and meatballs isn’t necessarily any faster when made in an electric pressure cooker, but it does take away a lot of hands-on work. And it can all be done in one pot instead of the usual two to three it would take on the stove. Here, the meatballs, which are not fried but cooked entirely in the sauce, are gently spiced and very tender — the height of kid-friendly cuisine. The ricotta topping is optional, but it makes the whole thing especially creamy and rich. If you have some homemade marinara sauce in the freezer, or a favorite store-bought kind, you can substitute 3¼ cups of it here. Olive fans take note: Adding ¼ cup sliced pitted olives to the sauce will probably make you very happy come dinnertime. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: A New Way to Spaghetti and Meatballs

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Sauce

3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1teaspoon kosher salt
2basil sprigs, plus more thinly sliced for serving
8ounces spaghetti (not thin spaghetti), broken in half
2tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1cup ricotta (optional)

For the Meatballs

1pound ground beef (or substitute veal, pork or turkey)
¼cup panko bread crumbs
¼cup grated Parmesan
2tablespoons chopped basil
1large egg
1teaspoon kosher salt
1 to 2garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Set pressure cooker to the sauté function, and heat 2 tablespoons oil in the pot. Stir in garlic, red pepper and black pepper, and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes, salt and basil sprigs; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes (lower the sauté function to low or briefly turn the machine off if the sauce splatters too much).
Step 2
Meanwhile, make the meatballs: In a large bowl, mix together beef, bread crumbs, Parmesan, chopped basil, egg, salt and garlic. Roll into 1¼-inch balls.
Step 3
Pour 1 cup water into sauce in pot, scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pot (if you don't do this, the burn light may turn on). Scatter uncooked spaghetti over the sauce. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon oil over spaghetti, stirring gently (try to keep the spaghetti on top of the sauce), then top with meatballs.
Step 4
Cover and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Manually release the pressure, then remove the cover and stir to separate the spaghetti. Stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan. At this point, the pasta will be almost but not quite cooked through. Place the top back on the pressure cooker (loosely) and let it sit for 3 to 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and spaghetti is al dente but not mushy.
Step 5
Serve dolloped with ricotta, if using, and sprinkled with thinly sliced basil and more Parmesan if you like.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,577 user ratings

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Comments

CFXK6 years ago

Right. Sounds fine. But you missed her point. We can all do something nice using three using 3 pans/pots, as you do using the recipe you suggest (one for sauce, one for meatballs, and one for pasta). And I am sure it is delicious. Her whole point, however, was to see if she could do something that people would enjoy using one pot only. If you don't like the result, you can offer an alternative, but you ought to do so using the premise/criterion of this recipe: one pot.

Ellen6 years ago

My mother worked full time, yet always put a great dinner on the table for our family. Her secret? A pressure cooker, which enabled her to cut down on precious time needed to cook a variety of foods. Her pretty large beef meatballs cooked in the pressure cooker in canned Sauce Arturo (we're talking '50s and '60s) and were perfect. Thanks for this recipe!

Marge Keller6 years ago

I do use one particular store bought pasta sauce which I simply love. Any particular brand of frozen meat balls which you would suggest? I've never bought frozen meat balls so I am flying blind here. Thanks for any suggestions.

JAM2 weeks ago

Made turkey meatballs and no. 8 ronzoni. Just delicious !

HZamora3 weeks ago

This sauce had some legit Italian grandma flavor! But I got the burn notice twice and had to finish on sauté. I’m wondering if anyone had better luck by just pressure cooking the meatballs in the sauce and boiling the pasta separately in the stove?

Always burns3 months ago

Busy mom here so don't come for me about shortcuts. I use jar sauce and add a cup of water. Otherwise I follow the recipe pretty faithfully. It always burns. Any tips?

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