Instant Pot Tomato Sauce with Canned Tomatoes

You can make spaghetti sauce from scratch at home with this easy instant pot tomato sauce recipe! Simple ingredients like San Marzano canned tomatoes, garlic and onions make this sauce quick to make in under 40 minutes. The perfect topping for pasta or air fryer spaghetti squash and meatballs, Chicken Parmesan or your favorite Italian dinner!

Want this recipe sent to you?

I'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later! (Check your spam if you have Gmail!)

This post may contain paid links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read my disclaimer.

Jump to:

What Makes This Recipe Work
Ingredients
How to Make This Recipe
Expert Tips & Important Info
FAQs
Related Recipes
Instant Pot Tomato Sauce

There is nothing like making your own spaghetti sauce from scratch! I've tried this recipe on the stove top and in the slow cooker and although the results were delicious, it was a multi-hour effort.

Insert Instant Pot tomato sauce! By pressure cooking the ingredients we've created a sauce that tastes like it's been slow cooked all day but is done in under 40 minutes (including pressurization and prep!)

You can use this recipe on so many of our Italian favorites like chicken parmesan sandwiches, Italian quesadillas, zucchini lasagna rolls, or use as pizza sauce for flatbread pizza!

What Makes This Recipe Work

Easy to make ahead for freezing!
Simple and fast - done in less than 40 minutes including prep, pressurization and blending time.
Uses canned tomatoes therefore no peeling, cooling, coring or seeding.
Made without sugar - this recipe is based on the Fixate recipe and has only 123 calories and 13 grams of carbs per cup.
Best homemade sauce to make from scratch in your pressure cooker!
Can be made in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or whatever pressure cooker you have.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.

Fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano and fresh basil.
Honey is used to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Agave nectar or even carrots may be used in place.
Parmesan cheese rind may be omitted if dairy free.
Olive oil also needed to saute onions and garlic.

How to Make This Recipe

Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe with the best results. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.

Using saute mode, heat olive oil and cook onions for about 5 minutes or until beginning to brown and translucent. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add in tomato paste and wine and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Cancel saute mode and scrape up any bits from the bottom.
Add in remaining ingredients (except for fresh herbs) and cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
Once completed, do a quick release and turn off. Use an immersion blender to blend to desired consistency.

Expert Tips & Important Info

Burn Message Tips: If you receive the burn message, carefully release pressure and open lid. Stir in a bit of water to thin it and scrape up any bits on the bottom. I find this blog post helpful in learning about how to avoid the burn warning.
To add meat or sausage: The original recipe and nutritional info is for no meat, however, if you want to make a meat sauce, here are the simple adaptations. Cook the meat along with the onions until browned. Add in ¼ to ½ cup of water or chicken broth to the mixture prior to pressure cooking to avoid burning.
Storage: Store cooled sauce in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezing: To freeze allow it to cool completely before storing in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
Make it spicy by adding in some red pepper flakes.
Add mushrooms for some additional moisture and flavor.
If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a Vitamix or high-powered blender to blend. You could also opt for crushed tomatoes rather than whole.
If in season fresh tomatoes are great in this recipe. Be sure to add in additional liquid (at least ½ cup water) to avoid the burn notice.
You can also use tomatoes for canning if you have canned some during the season. I usually can the whole tomatoes (rather than can the sauce) to make the sauce fresh.
This recipe was tested in my 8 qt. Instant Pot but I've made it in my 6 qt. as well.
This recipe yields about two 32 oz. Mason jars.

FAQs

Why does tomato sauce burn in the instant pot?

Tomato sauce burns in the instant pot because the sealing ring isn't properly sealed, it is too thick or because there are bits on the bottom of the pot.

Avoiding the burn message can be done by making sure that all bits are scraped up from the saute of the onions, garlic and tomato paste.

You can also add in ¼ cup of water or chicken broth to the sauce prior to pressure cooking to thin it and hope to avoid the burn warning.

Can I use frozen tomatoes?

You can use frozen tomatoes, however the sauce will be thinner than if you are using fresh or canned tomatoes. I find frozen tomatoes to be quite watery and the flavor not as bold so you may consider increasing the amount of onion, garlic and seasoning to compensate for the extra liquid.

Can I use cherry tomatoes?

I haven't tried cherry tomatoes in this recipe (although they are delicious in my baked feta!) I generally opt for Roma or San Marzano tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes may create a sweeter sauce since they tend to have more sugar.

If you've made this recipe, would you please leave a star rating and comment below on the recipe card? If you want more simple + delicious eats, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for the latest updates.