Instant Pot Spaghetti

Let me start by sharing that I've always considered spaghetti to be a quick and easy weeknight meal.  I'm not Italian (although I do love some Italian food) and for me, it was a matter of boiling water and heating some sauce while the pasta cooked.  But then along came the boyfriend and he wanted more (ground beef or meatballs, peppers, and onions) and it became much more effort.  However he loves the way the sauce comes out in the instant pot (in this recipe from TheKitchn, so I am back to it being a quick and easy dinner!  Yay!  Now this is the part where I say, if you have an all day Sunday sauce that you make, you probably aren't going to be as happy (I find that if you have a really good recipe for anything and then try an alternate, you're never as happy with it).  And yes, it's not really *faster* than boiling water and cooking the pasta while you heat the sauce.  But it is simpler since it's all in one pot.  You brown the beef and then add the sauce and pasta and seal and you can go sit while it comes to pressure and cooks.  Or you know, make garlic bread if you want.


INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups water, divided
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara or tomato-based pasta sauce
8 ounces dry spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Turn an electric pressure cooker on to sauté. Once heated, add the olive oil and beef. Break the beef up into large pieces with a wooden spoon and season with the salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook, stirring and breaking the beef into smaller and smaller pieces, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Turn off the sauté function and add 1/2 cup of the water to the pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck-on bits. Add the sauce and stir to combine well.

Break the spaghetti strands in half and spread them in one or two layers over the ground beef mixture. Do not stir from this point on.

Rinse the pasta sauce jar with the remaining 1 1/2 cups water (pour the water into the jar, twist on the lid, and shake gently) and then pour the water over the pasta. Remember — no stirring here.

Seal the pressure cooker. Set to cook on HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. The cooker should take between 10 and 12 minutes to come up to pressure.

Open the pressure release valve (quick release) as soon as the 8 minutes cook time is up. Open the pressure cooker and stir the spaghetti into the sauce. Turn off the pressure cooker and remove the insert from the pressure cooker. Serve immediately with a flurry of grated Parmesan cheese.