Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce [Pressure Cooker] Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is tomato sauce enough liquid for Instant Pot? ›

In the case of this recipe, the tomatoes contain more than enough liquid to bring the pot to pressure because they will release their moisture as the pot heats up, without burning or sticking to the bottom. Be sure to closely follow the directions, though.

Traditionally, the sauce would simmer gently for hours, allowing the flavors to meld and intensify. This slow-cooking technique not only tenderizes the meats but also infuses the sauce with a depth and complexity that distinguishes it from other meat-based sauces.

Bolognese is an Italian pasta sauce made with ground pork and beef, an aromatic combo of celery, carrots, onion and garlic, cooked down with milk (which tenderizes the meat and adds a silky complexity). The mixture is then cooked, uncovered, with wine and tomatoes.

To prevent spaghetti sauce from burning in the Instant Pot, make sure you deglaze the pot by scraping the bottom with a spoon after sautéing the onions and garlic. This helps to remove any browned bits and prevents them from sticking and burning during pressure cooking.

now, this recipe processes at 10 PSI, 75 minutes for pints, and 90 minutes for quarts. A couple hours later…and there you have it, beautifully canned tomato sauce.

Add tomatoes, then milk, and simmer for at least 2 hours on low heat. Keep it partially covered, but add water if too much liquid simmers away. Of course, you can skip the long slow cooking if you want, (we have a quick Bolognese recipe) but the flavor definitely improves with the longer cooking.

Like most recipes the longer you leave it to slowly cook the better the flavour will be but this can also be knocked up with in an hour.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture cooks down into a thick sauce, at least 3 hours but preferably 4 to 6 hours. Skim fat from the top of sauce if desired. Add more water if sauce is too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

Cook, stirring and scraping down sides of pot occasionally, until liquid has almost completely reduced and sauce is rich and thick underneath a heavy layer of fat, 3 to 4 hours.

How to make bolognese sauce more flavorful? ›

The best tip for intensifying the flavour of your sauce is just to cook it slowly on a low heat for a long time. This reduces the sauce and intensifies the flavours – four hours is not uncommon for my bolognese.

Tomato paste gives a rich kick to a sauce, it is the result of tomatoes being cooked down for hours, so all the hard work has been done for you. Make sure you add a lot to the pan – like 1/3 of a cup – and cook it out for a few minutes before adding your mince. Add a pinch of sugar and this will reduce the acidity too.

What Is Instant Pot's Burn Notice? Instant Pots have sensors that report when the temperature at the bottom of the pot is getting too hot. This feature is designed to prevent someone from opening the pot to a pile of scorched food.

If you are burning the bottom of your food, you should begin using a wire rack to hold the food off the bottom. You should also be using enough water that it does not run out of steam during the cooking cycle.

Add Some Baking Soda

If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid.

Cooking pasta in the sauce instead of in boiling water will increase the amount of time it takes to cook through. It's a good technique to use if you want to delay serving your pasta for a few minutes.

At this point, I normally like to add a bit of water (1/4 to 1/2 up) to the tomato can and swish it around to get all the tomato-y goodness, and pour that into the pot as well. This will thin the sauce a little and let it simmer longer without burning to the bottom of the pan.

Unripe tomatoes consist of a lot more acid as compared to fruit that has reached maturity. That is why it is recommended to make spaghetti sauce or preserve tomato-based sauces through the pressure canning method that requires no acid to be added to the sauce and ensures that the taste remains fresh even after days.

Tomatoes naturally contain lots of water, so cooking any tomato sauce for a long period of time will help eliminate some of the water content. The water will slowly but surely evaporate, leaving behind a thickened, full-bodied sauce with lots of flavor.