Instapot Ground Beef With Spaghetti Squash

Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce made totally in one pot will change your life. Enjoy a healthy low carb, low fat, low calorie "Spaghetti" and Meat Sauce Dinner!

Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

Many, many years ago, I worked as a Make Up Artist in Hollywood. I had just lost a ton of weight and Baked Spaghetti Squash and Sauce made up, probably 75 % of my meals.

While working on set, Craft Services would have Spaghetti Squash with Mushrooms and Sauce all ready for me, every day. A huge dollop of Cottage Cheese would be on top! Imagine if they would have used a Pressure Cooker? Sure would have saved them time and room in their Food Trucks. The lead Make Up Artist, Wendy, was a good friend of mine. We met while I was teaching Aerobics at Slimmons, Richard Simmons' Exercise Studio in Beverly Hills. She was one of my students and we became friends and then started working together.

Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

I used Ground Turkey, so the meat is not red and bright, like Beef! Any type of Ground Meat that you prefer, will work well. Next time I might use Beef.

The Spaghetti Meat Sauce is a different recipe from my regular Pressure Cooker Spaghetti & Pasta Sauce, so let me know which you prefer. The Beef Stock and Worcestershire Sauce really give this Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce a real boost. Fish Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce both act as flavor enhancers or Umami, which is the word of the year for flavor. 🙂  Use Diced Tomatoes for a chunky Sauce and Crushed Tomatoes for a smoother Sauce.

Check out my Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash recipe/method for cooking the Spaghetti Squash plain.

Dice up the Onions and Celery

Dice the Onions and the Celery into small pieces. We'll sauté them with the Meat. If you don't want to use meat, make this recipe Vegetarian and totally leave out the Meat.

Finely Dice the Fresh Garlic

Smash a couple of Garlic Cloves and dice them up well.

Heat Pot COMPLETELY, then add Oil

Please don't skip this step. It is the difference between your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker coming to pressure or getting an Overheat error. Allowing a stainless steel pot to first fully heat, BEFORE adding a fat, will help to make a stainless steel pot, non stick! The same goes for using stainless steel on your stove stop.

Add in the Beef/Meat, Onions and Celery

Ground Turkey is much leaner and drier than Ground Beef, so you may need less oil, if you are using Ground Beef. I must admit, however, that I do like the taste of a little Olive Oil in Pasta Sauce. If using Ground Turkey, add an extra Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce with the Ground Turkey.

Add the Ground Beef, Onions and Celery to your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker cooking pot. Sauté the Meat with the Onions and Celery, until the meat is nicely browned and the Onions and Celery have become soft. (Remember, I am using Ground Turkey, so the mean is much lighter than beef).

Add Minced Garlic

Drop in the Minced Fresh Garlic and cook for another minute or so, until the Onions and Celery have become translucent.

Pour off Excess Fat if Necessary

Because of heating the Instant Pot cooking pot first and then adding the oil, you can see that nothing stuck to the cooking pot. Drain off any excess grease/fat. Since I use Ground Turkey, I was not left with much liquid at all and only poured off a tiny amount of liquid.

Pour in the Beef Broth and/or Wine to Deglaze

As I said above, nothing stuck to my cooking pot, but, let's deglaze anyway, just in case. I use my homemade Pressure Cooker Bone Broth, as I keep Chicken Stock and Bone Stock in my freezer. If you don't have any, premade Beef Broth works well.

So, pour in the Beef Broth and/or Red Wine and deglaze the cooking pot. Nothing should be stuck to the bottom. Beef Broth gives a real depth of flavor to this Sauce.

Add in the Seasonings

Add in the rest of the Seasonings and mix through. If you don't have all the individual separate Seasonings, just add 2 Tablespoons of any Italian Spice Mix that you have.

Add in the Bay Leaves and Parmesan Rind

If you don't have a Parmesan or Asiago Rind, add in a little grated Parmesan Cheese. Just a bit, not too much. Toss in the Bay Leaves and sink them into the Sauce.

Put the Spaghetti Squash into the Pot

Yep, right into the cooking pot with the Sauce. Cooking the Spaghetti Squash whole, will give a better result than first cutting it open. The strands will be drier and more like a baked texture. One Pot Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce coming right up.

Your sauce will taste like it cooked all day, but in under an hour, you will have a complete AND healthy LOW CARB meal.

Use a Sharp Knife to Cut the Spaghetti Squash

Always make sure your knives are very sharp. Sharpen often. Dull knives are the cause of many accidents in the kitchen. Remove the Spaghetti Squash from the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker cooking pot and rinse under cool water, so that you can handle the squash.

Choose the Sauté or Browning button on your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. Add in the rest of the Tomato Paste and allow the Sauce to simmer and thicken. Taste and add more Salt and Pepper, if needed. Very carefully, cut  and with a sharp knife, the Spaghetti Squash lengthwise.

(Link Removed) Pull out the Guts and Seeds

Use a fork or spoon and pull out the Seeds and Guts from the Spaghetti Squash. Save your seeds and check out my Air Fryer Toasted Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds recipe. The Spaghetti Squash Seeds are cooked the same way.

In that recipe, you first quickly cook the Seeds in the Pressure Cooker. Just skip that step and go to the next!

Pull out the Strands

Use a fork and pull out the strands. This Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce is just as good as my Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash, but with lower carbs and 50% less calories.

For those who have family members that do not like Spaghetti Squash, or who are too stubborn to even try it, eh hem, make them a pot of Spaghetti and toss some of the sauce on it. Maybe hide some strands in their Spaghetti.

Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

This One Pot Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce is a very satisfying meal. Top it with some Ricotta Cheese, Cottage Cheese and some shredded Asiago or Parmesan Cheese.

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
• J.A. Henckels Classic 8-inch Chef's Knife
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Cilio Olivewood Spatula
• Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
• Electric Pepper Mill
• My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
• Stainless Steel Trivet

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Here is your handy printable recipe:

• ▢ 2 pounds Spaghetti Squash whole (can be larger)
• ▢ 1 pound Ground Beef or Turkey
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 1/4 cup Yellow/Brown Onion diced
• ▢ 1 stalk Celery diced
• ▢ 2 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
• ▢ 6 oz Cremini Mushrooms sliced, optional
• ▢ 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes (San Marzano)
• ▢ 15 oz Tomato Sauce
• ▢ 6 oz Tomato Paste
• ▢ 3/4 cup Beef Broth
• ▢ 1/2 cup Red Wine Cabernet, Shaoxing or beef stock
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Dried Basil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley Flakes
• ▢ 1 ounce Carrot grated (helps with acidity)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Sea Salt or to taste
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper or to taste
• ▢ 1 inch Parmesan Rind or Asiago Rind (optional)
• ▢ 2 Bay Leaves

• Trim Stem and Scrub Spaghetti Squash and set aside.

• Select Sauté or Browning on your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and allow it to heat.

• Add Olive Oil to the cooking pot and then dump in the ground beef, onions and celery.

• Sauté the beef, onions and celery, until they begin to caramelize.

• Pour out any excess grease.  Add garlic and cook another minute.

• Pour in Beef Stock and Red Wine and mix through, making sure all brown bits have loosened from the bottom of the pot.

• Add carrots, mushrooms, seasonings, tomatoes, 3 oz tomato paste and all liquids.  Mix well.

• Push Cheese Rind and Bay Leaves into Sauce.

• Place Whole Spaghetti Squash on top of Sauce.  Push down into Sauce, if needed.

• Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve.  Cook on High Pressure for 9-14 minutes, depending on size of Spaghetti Squash.

• When Beep sounds, allow a full Natural Pressure Release.

• Carefully remove the Spaghetti Squash from cooking pot.

• Remove Bay Leaves and Cheese Rind from Sauce.

• Select Sauté or Browning, add the rest of the tomato paste and simmer, until the Sauce has thickened.  Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

• Cut Spaghetti Squash down the length and remove the seeds and gusts.  Use a fork to scrape the strands.

Nutrition Facts

Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 297 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Fat 16g 25%

Saturated Fat 5g 31%

Cholesterol 40mg 13%

Sodium 788mg 34%

Potassium 1167mg 33%

Carbohydrates 25g 8%

Fiber 5g 21%

Sugar 13g 14%

Protein 15g 30%

Vitamin A 928IU 19%

Vitamin C 22mg 27%

Calcium 102mg 10%

Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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