How to Cook Spaghetti Squash in an Instant Pot

So you’ve got a spaghetti squash and now you need to cook it. If you are like me, it’s so frustrating to go through the old process for cooking spaghetti squash, so the darn thing is just going to sit on the counter staring at you until you have to cook it or throw it away.

I’ve got good news — this post is all about how to cook spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot.

When you cook spaghetti squash, you want fast, you want EASY, and most of all, you want to walk away. And with the Instant Pot you get all of those things. If you are wondering how to cook spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot, it is super easy. It takes all of 30 minutes, and that entire time you can go read a book, play with your kids, or do whatever else it is you need to be doing while you wait on your low-carb, delicious God-made noodles.

Cooking spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot is similar to cooking a pumpkin or any other squash. The difference is, you don’t want to cook the spaghetti squash too long because you don’t want your noodles to turn to mush.

Depending on the size of your squash, I recommend only cooking it for 15-20 minutes at full pressure, and then using a quick release of the pressure to prevent over-cooking. Then all you have to do is slice the squash open, have your toppings ready, and your meal is on the table. I like to make my chorizo, corn, and beans topping for our spaghetti squash which is amazing and super healthy at the same time.

Here are the very simple steps for how to cook spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot.

• Plug in your Instant Pot and set it to sauté. This gets it started heating and will speed up the process of coming to pressure.
• Add the trivet that came with your Instant Pot with the handles up.
• Pour in 1 cup of water.
• Set your spaghetti squash inside.
• Make sure the sealing ring is pressed in firmly all the way around and place your Instant Pot lid on the machine.
• Close the sealing vent.
• Switch your Instant Pot to manual (on mine, you have to hit cancel first since it is already sautéing and then you can push the manual button).
• Set it for 15-20 minutes on high pressure. Twenty minutes is for the largest spaghetti squash that would fit in your pot and still get the lid on.
• Walk away. The Instant Pot will come up to pressure and cook your spaghetti squash. Make sure you check on it after a few minutes so that you know approximately when it will finish, or listen closely for the beep.
• When the pressure cycle ends, do a quick release by turning the valve immediately once the machine beeps. This will prevent the spaghetti squash from over-cooking.
• Remove the spaghetti squash from your Instant Pot, slice it in half, remove the seeds, and pull the strings out with a fork to create your noodles.

Here are some commonly asked questions about how to cook spaghetti squash in an Instant Pot.

Do I need to poke my spaghetti squash? No. The Instant Pot method does not require your squash to be poked in any way. 

Do I need to slice it first? No. You will be able to easily slice it in half when you remove it from the Instant Pot.

Now what do I do with it? You can serve spaghetti squash with any of the sauces you would use on pasta – but you can also fry it in patties with butter (not very healthy, but better for you than potatoes!) and/or get creative with what you put on top. We like to pair it with a yummy Mexican flavored sauce I make with chorizo. 

Isn’t the spaghetti squash too big for a six quart Instant Pot? No. The rule of thumb is you can’t fill your IP more than 2/3 full. By the time you factor in the amount of space on the bottom beneath the trivet, and all the space around the spaghetti squash because it is not actually round (it’s an oval sphere), there is plenty of space for the Instant Pot to do its job.