Instant Pot Rigatoni and Meatballs made with frozen meatballs and Marinara Sauce makes a quick and easy dump and start dinner in just 15 minutes. Your whole family will love this Instant Pot Rigatoni recipe. It’s super addictive just like Spaghetti and meatballs.
Instant Pot Rigatoni and Frozen Meatballs
This Instant Pot Rigatoni with Jar Sauce is so good for those crazy busy weekdays when dinner needs to be done super fast. You just need a few ingredients, 15 minutes and the Instant Pot will do the cooking for you. Even your kids will enjoy the dish 🙂
You can make this easy Dump and Start Instant Pot Rigatoni with frozen meatballs like turkey, chicken, beef, Italian.
Ingredients
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Rigatoni Pasta
- Marinara Sauce: We used store bought Marinara.
- Frozen Meatballs: You can use any frozen meatballs like, turkey, chicken, beef, Italian or beef and sausage. Pick your favorite. We use 28 counts frozen small meatballs.
- Seasonings: Italian Seasoning, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & red pepper flakes (for a little kick, skip if you are making it for kids or you do not prefer spicy food).
- Cooking fat: We used light olive oil.
- Liquid: Water.
- Mozzarella Cheese: For garnish.
Tips & Tricks
- Do not Stir: After arranging the frozen meatballs, rigatoni, marinara sauce in this order do not stir the ingredients. You need to just dump and cook.
- Weigh the Pasta: For best results weigh the pasta and use the amount mentioned in the recipe. Eyeballing the Pasta might result in BURN error.
- Rigatoni Cook time: For this Instant Pot Rigatoni pasta recipe you need to pressure cook the Rigatoni for just 4 minutes on high pressure for al dente texture. If you prefer tender pasta cook it for 6 minutes on high pressure. Remember the Pasta will soak up the sauce and become more soft as you stir and mix stuffs.
- Stir & Serve: This is the best part of this dump and start Instant Pot Rigatoni and meatballs recipe. Once, the pressure cooking cycle is over stir and mix the ingredients in the pot. Garnish and serve immediately.
- Instant Pot Rigatoni texture: The Pasta will absorb the sauce over time and cook down more. For best taste and texture serve the pasta and meatballs immediately.
How to make Rigatoni and Meatballs in Instant Pot?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Arrange Meatballs, Rigatoni & Sauce
Dump the frozen meatballs into the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Arrange them in a single layer.
Now, arrange exactly 8 ounces/227 grams Rigatoni Pasta by weight over the meatballs. Spread out the Pasta to form a nice and even single layer. DO NOT stir.
Pour the Marinara Sauce from the jar on top of the pasta and spread it in a way so that the pastas are all covered with the sauce. DO NOT stir.
Step #2 Pressure cook
Add all the seasonings and drizzle oil on top of the sauce. Now, swoosh water in the sauce jar and pour it around the edges of the pasta touching the instant pot wall.
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 5 mins followed by quick pressure release (QPR) for al dente rigatoni and 8 mins for tender pasta.
Open the lid. Stir and mix all ingredients in the pot. Serve right away for best texture. Don’t forget to garnish with cheese. We love Mozzarella 😀 Enjoy!
What to serve with Rigatoni and Meatballs?
You can serve the following with Rigatoni and Meatballs:
- A light Salad.
- Ratatouille
- BBQ Corn on the cob.
- Garlic Bacon mashed potatoes.
- Green Beans.
- Seasoned steamed carrots.
- Seasoned steamed Broccoli.
- Roasted potatoes.
Readers Thoughts who tried the recipe
This is by far my favorite “spaghetti & meatball” instant pot recipe. It has much more flavor than other recipes!”
– Brenda.
Instant Pot Rigatoni and Meatballs
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Ingredients
- 8 ounce Rigatoni Pasta (**weigh the pasta. 227 grams.)
- 24 ounce Marinara Sauce (**one whole jar. You can use any Pasta Sauce. We love Marinara.)
- 1 pound Frozen Meatballs (**28 counts. Small Meatballs.)
- 1.5 cups water (**swooshed in the empty Marinara Jar to use up any leftover sauce.)
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt (**according to your preference.)
Seasonings
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Equipment Used
Instructions
- Layer the ingredients: Arrange the frozen meatballs in a single layer in the Instant Pot. Than, dump the pasta on top of the frozen meatballs covering them in a layer. Pour the jar sauce of top of the rigatoni pasta covering them completely. DO NOT stir.
- Seasonings & water: Add the seasonings of top of the Sauce, drizzle oil. Than, swoosh the sauce jar with 1.5 cups water and pour the liquid around the edges of the pasta touching the walls of the Instant Pot. DO NOT stir.
- Pressure cook: Secure the lid of the Instant Pot. SEAL the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 5 minutes for al dente (chewy) pasta and for 8 minutes for softer pasta. Once, the pressure cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Perform a quick pressure release (QPR) immediately.
- Stir & Serve: Open the lid carefully. Stir and mix the cooked pasta and the meatballs and serve immediately for best texture and taste. Garnish with cheese. Dig in! Enjoy!
Notes
- The pasta texture: The pasta will soak up the sauce and become tender as it sits longer in the sauce. For best flavor and texture serve immediately.
- VERY important: Weigh the Pasta and use the exact quantity mentioned in the recipe. Eyeballing the pasta won’t work for this recipe.
- DO NOT stir: After layering all ingredients in the Instant Pot DO NOT stir the ingredients. You need to stir and mix the pasta, meatballs and the sauce after the pressure cooking cycle is over. This is IMPORTANT.
- Can you double the recipe? Yes you can double the recipe. The cook time would remain the same though.
- Storing the leftovers: You can store the leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container for upto 4 days.
- Re-heating Tips: Re-heat the leftovers with sprinkles of water to moisten the surface of the pasta. We love re-heating the fridge cold rigatoni and meatballs in the microwave oven.
Do let us know if you created this recipe