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Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

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Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce pasta dish!

 

Don’t have an Instant Pot yet? HAVE NO FEAR!! One Pot Creamy Ziti Recipe is here!! Check it out!

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce and pasta dish!

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is a favorite at my house! I’ll be honest, it totally reminds me of Olive Garden’s Five Cheese Ziti dish. AKA the only thing I ever get while visiting Olive Garden.

I think I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve actually gone to Olive Garden though.. and most of those occasions were for the end of season formal dinner for the high school tennis team. (I was totally JV. All 3 years. ?)

There are two reasons why we hardly ever choose to go out to eat at Olive Garden. 1. I am cheap. 2. I can make the exact same thing, just as good without having to get dressed.  I’d call that a win win.

Also, every single person in my family enjoys this for dinner. That right there is a miracle, people. If you have kids, were a kid a some point or haven’t been living under a rock you’ll know that is nearly impossible.

 

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce and pasta dish!

How to Make Creamy Ziti

‘Dump and Start’ are a funny combination of words to be on my favorite word list.. but it’s there alright. This dish is so easy! Dump and Start easy.

Broth, cream, garlic, s&p and pasta go into the Instant Pot. Make sure that the pasta is covered with liquid.

Instant Pot pasta in the liquid before it is pressure cooked.

Pressure cook for 6 minutes, NPR for 6 minutes and then QR the rest of the pressure. The sauce will be very liquidy, totally normal.

Instant Pot pasta after it is pressure cooked.

Turn the Instant Pot onto sauté, then in goes some red pasta sauce.

red pasta sauce is added to the cooked pasta.

Slowly add in the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. This will thicken the sauce nicely for you. Once the sauce has thickened, turn the Instant Pot off and serve immediately.

the cheese thickens the sauce for this instant pot pasta dish.

See, I told you it was easy.

Don’t have an Instant Pot yet? HAVE NO FEAR!! One Pot Creamy Ziti Recipe is here!! Check it out!

 

 

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce and pasta dish! - Cooking with Karli - #instantpot #pasta #dinner #fast #easy #recipe

Try out these other Dump and Start Recipes!Instant Pot Cashew Chicken and Noodles is finished in no time, literally zero minutes on high pressure! The ramen noodles soak up the sweet sauce that perfectly pairs the veggies, cashews and chicken. Instant Pot Cashew Chicken and NoodlesNo prep Alfredo made in the Instant Pot in under 20 minutes! A dream come true!Dump and Start Instant Pot Alfredo
Pulled Teriyaki Chicken Sliders are full of the sweet and tangy flavors from the made from scratch teriyaki sauce; paired with grilled pineapple, melty cheese and a toasted bun this fun meal is a guaranteed winner.Pulled Teriyaki Chicken Sliders

I LOVE seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! Snap a picture & share on social media! Don’t forget to tag me!

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

Yield: 4 servings
Cook Time: 6 minutes
: 14 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce pasta dish!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp minced garlic, dried
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 oz dry ziti pasta
  • 1 cup red pasta sauce
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Add the broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and noodles to the instant pot in that order. DO NOT STIR, but make sure all noodles are covered. If you need to move some noodles around, thats okay.
  2. Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes. Let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
  3. Add the red pasta sauce to the Instant Pot and give it a stir.
  4. SLOWLY add in the cheese while stirring. The cheese will melt and thicken the sauce. The sauce will also thicken as it cools.
  5. Enjoy!

Notes

This is a very saucy dish- If you like yours with less sauce, just cut back on the red pasta sauce at the end.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 435 Total Fat: 34g Saturated Fat: 20g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 106mg Sodium: 1310mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 7g Protein: 17g
© Cooking with Karli
Category: Main Course
Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce and pasta dish! - Cooking with Karli - #instantpot #pasta #dinner #fast #easy #recipe

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

(Printable recipe below)

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti is saucy, cheesy and delicious. 20 minutes is all you need to make this creamy red sauce pasta dish!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1  cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp minced garlic dried
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 oz dry ziti pasta
  • 1 cup red pasta sauce
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded

Instructions

  1. Add the broth, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and noodles to the instant pot in that order. DO NOT STIR, but make sure all noodles are covered. If you need to move some noodles around, thats okay.
  2. Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes. Let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
  3. Add the red pasta sauce to the Instant Pot and give it a stir.
  4. SLOWLY add in the cheese while stirring. The cheese will melt and thicken the sauce. The sauce will also thicken as it cools.
  5. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This is a very saucy dish- If you like yours with less sauce, just cut back on the red pasta sauce at the end.

Serve alongside some Oven Roasted Broccoli!

 

236

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Would almond milk be an acceptable (non curdling) substitute? I can be sensitive to lactose with milk and heavy cream but seem to tolerate it okay in smaller doses like cheese so was hoping to be able to sub out the heavy cream for something else. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Emilee- I haven’t ever cooked with almond milk under pressure so I am not sure if it would curdle or not. I think your best bet would be to up the chicken broth a bit and then add in the almond milk with the red pasta sauce at the end. Hope that works out okay for you!

      Reply

  3. Do you eat this as a side or main? I just made it and it looks to me to be closer to 2.5-3 servings for my family than 4 servings as suggested by your recipe. (Just wondering)

    Reply

    • Hi Lo-Anne! According to the package of pasta, what you have there is in fact 4 servings! I always serve this along side a salad, fruit and garlic bread. If you find it isn’t enough for your family, the recipe doubles well. ? hope this helps a bit!

      Reply

    • Hi Jeanne- I haven’t tested it in a crockpot so I am not sure. I do have a stove top version that is linked in this post that you should take a look at! ?

      Reply

  6. This turned out wonderful. I doubled the recipe and followed the recipe except I added more Italian spices to add more flavor to the sauce. It was a huge hit with my family, even my daughter’s boyfriend went back for seconds. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  7. My husband and I loved this recipe! It’s so easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing. I’m loving your instant pot recipes. 🙂

    Reply

  9. LOVED this recipe. We are organic and GF though, so I used a 12 oz bag of Bionaturae penne, let it cook 6 minutes on high and then BY ACCIDENT let it sit 12 minutes afterward, before releasing the valve. It was EXCELLENT! Big hit! Thanks for this recipe. https://thrivemarket.com/p/bionaturae-organic-gluten-free-penne-rigate?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_medium=pla&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Shopping_50_Decile&utm_content=799210434032&utm_term=na&ccode=WELCOME&ccode_force=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuO3cBRAyEiwAzOxKskYxMe8FdVKDDfr3PHI4_ZSHEmA08S3RCVGe6nthkbBygswlnQiC2BoCFEkQAvD_BwE

    Reply

  10. This was super easy and quite tasty. My add-in was a 5 oz container of baby spinach. (I’m going to add spinach and cannellini beans or chicken sausage next time!) Once cooked and the sauce and cheeses were added, I added the baby spinach a handful at a time and mixed. It wilted beautifully, and was some added veggies for the kids. 🙂

    The only problem I ran into with this recipe was that the pasta as incredibly overcooked. The 6 min HP + 6 min NR made the pasta so soft. It seemed like a lot of time, but all of the comments said it was perfect so I tried. I’ll definitely make this again, but decrease the cooking time to 4 and 4 and see how that goes. Otherwise, it’s a winner!

    Reply

  11. This is a super easy recipe and so delicious!!! I doubled the recipe plus added a can of quartered artichokes which turned out to be a great addition. We had garlic toast and it was an awesome meal.

    Reply

  12. I made this for my daughter’s cross country pasta party last night. It was a HUGE hit with the girls. My son and my husband were upset that there wasn’t any for them. I’m definitely making it again next week. It is so easy and delicious.

    Thank you!!

    Reply

  13. This recipe is SUCH a winner. Just wow. I have doubled it. I want to serve it to the soccer team, and wondering if the 6-qt pot will handle TRIPLING the recipe?
    PS, I have also thrown in fresh spinach and frozen meatballs to make this a one-pot-wonder.

    Reply

    • Hi there, Beth! Thanks so much for the kind words!! I haven’t ever tripled the recipe- I would worry about the pasta over cooking from the Instant Pot taking so long to come to pressure!!

      Let me know how it goes if you try it!

      Reply

  14. I made this for dinner….well mostly. I had to substitute a few ingredients. I used bow tie pasta because that is what I had, and I added more cheese because who doesn’t love cheese! And I added hamburger too to give it a little more umph for the Fam. It was great! And so quick and easy. Perfect for a busy night meal.

    Reply

  15. I used pizza sauce instead of pasta sauce because it’s thicker than pasta sauce. I am so happy to see that this can be doubled bc I was sad when there were no leftovers.

    Reply

    • Hi Sherrie! Sounds like you are having a party! Do you have an 8 qt Instant Pot? If so, you should be fine! I would actually suggest to cut the time down by a minute or two since the Pot will take longer to come to pressure. Does that make sense? If you have a 6 qt, I would suggest making two batches, keeping the first warm in the oven while the second cooks.?

      Reply

  18. I’ve made this dish several times. My family loves it. It is great as is but we’ve also added cooked Italian sausage and/or spinach…you know…tho make it healthier. 😉

    Reply

  19. Love how easy, fast, and tasty this meal is. It is very convenient because I can get all the ingredients from the Dollar Store right down the road. I doubled the recipe my first time making it (I’ve made it twice) and was worried because I realized I only had 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, but it was still perfect! I think I may try adding chicken next time. This is my new go-to meal when we are short on time!

    Reply

  20. I tried to read through the comments to see if I’m the only one…there are so many comments, lol. I ended up with a giant clump of cheese (I added it slowly and stirred my guts out!), Sauce, and noodles. *Sigh* I keep stirring and stirring and it is just all stringy and sticking to the spoon. If it’s supposed to be like that, then I #nailedit lol.

    Reply

    • Hi Tara- try turning the Instant Pot onto Saute to reheat the sauce and cheese. Stop stirring while it heats up and starts bubbling, then give it a stir again. Your red sauce may have cooled things down a tad too much. Give that a shot. ?

      Reply

  21. I made this for the first time last night. It was awesome. Thanks! I did make 2 substitutions We used whole wheat pasta, and since I didn’t have any cream, we swapped the cream for evaporated milk (a cupboard staple). It came out just as creamy without the added calories. I used the original 1 cup as recommended and as the dish thickened up I used the remaining bit that was left in the can to thin it down. We will definitely be making again!

    Reply

    • Hi Mark!! So glad you enjoyed my recipe! Swapping evaporated milk is a great way to cut calories- good thinking! Thanks for stopping by! ❤️

      Reply

  22. I was functioning on mommy brain with a hungry toddler after work and just threw all the ingredients in the pot (used water because I didn’t have enough broth on hand and used half and half because it was all I had). Took out my sons and then added red crushed pepper to ours. I did forget about it when it was done, so it natural released for like 10- 12 min which is fine for us because we like our pasta a little soft its easy for my 2 year old to eat.

    Everyone LOVED it! My son asked for more and my husband who rarely eats pasta (because he is all about healthy eating) has been asking me to make it again!
    So I am making it again when some friends come over for dinner Sunday.

    Also I stirred my ingredients, I have noticed a lot of instant pot recipes say that. Why does it matter, is it to prevent ingredients from sticking?

    Thank you for this delicious recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi there! I’m so glad this was a success for you!!

      Layering is very important when working with the Instant Pot. You’ll always want the thin liquid closest to the bottom, that way it can boil, create steam and then seal the pot and bring it to pressure. Also, there are several ingredients that are prone to burning (such as bbq sauce or red pasta sauce) that shouldn’t be on the bottom because the burn notice will come on and the food won’t be cooked! I hope this helps a little! Let me know if you have more questions. I’m happy to answer. ?

      Reply

  23. I would like to try this recipe, but I’m allergic to cheese. Should I decrease the amount of broth to one cup or enough to cover the pasta so there’s not so much liquid left at the end? Thank you in advance for your thoughts on this.

    Reply

    • I would decrease the amount of broth until it is just covering the pasta. Then add the red pasta sauce sparingly until it is the consistency you like. 🙂 Hope you love it!

      Reply

  24. Can you add ground beef? And if so, does anything need to be changed. Thanks, I’m new to the instant pot world and would love to try this.

    Reply

    • Hi Lindsay! Yes! Just brown your ground beef first and then add it in with the pasta! No need to change the cook time. If you are planning on browning the ground beef right in the Instant Pot, make sure to deglaze the Instant Pot before adding in the pasta. Deglazing means to pour a thing liquid (like the broth) into the pot and scrape the bottom of the pot until all of the food stuck to the bottom of the pot are removed. This is necessary for the Instant Pot to work correctly. Hope this helps! 🙂

      Reply

  25. Making this right now!!! It’s the first attempt at using my Instant Pot!! Crossing my fingers that I did everything correctly!!!! ?????

    Reply

  26. Followed the directions except used grated Parmesan instead of shredded and didn’t sauté after NPR and adding pasta sauce. Turned out tasty but very soupy. Didn’t thicken very much. What did I do wrong?

    Reply

    • Hi Nancy- grated Parmesan cheese will not thicken the sauce like shredded Parmesan cheese will. The real shredded Parmesan cheese will melt into the sauce and thicken it. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  27. My very first instapot meal! I stirred in some browned sausage at the end and extra cheese and OMG it’s amazing. The kids both had THIRDS!

    Reply

    • Hi Natalie! You can toss frozen chicken tenders on top of the pasta before cooking and it works great. No need to change cook time. Pull the chicken out and let it rest while adding in the red sauce and cheese, then slice the chicken tenders and add in right before serving!

      Reply

  29. This was great! I doubled the recipe (in my 6 qt), and sauteed some italian sausage and mushrooms prior to following the rest of the recipe. It was a hit with my book club ladies and my kids (age 11 and 13). Both kids had seconds. Thank you!

    Reply

  31. Can you use shells instead of ziti and what would the cooking time be – the same? I have 2yo twins who eat with girls but smaller noodles are easier.

    Reply

    • Hi Christa! Yes, you could definitely do this with shells! I cook Medium Shells for 3 min HP with a 3 or 4 minute NPR. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  32. I made this tonight for an easy dinner while studying for finals. SOOOOO good! I used penne instead of ziti and exchanged the ratios for the cheeses and it was the perfect hot and comforting meal!

    Reply

    • Hi Gaby! I’m so glad you enjoyed this comforting meal! Perfect to throw together while studying, extra study time since you don’t need to spend any time in the kitchen! 😉 Good luck on finals!

      Reply

  33. This was a hit tonight. My other menu plan fell through because I was lacking a key ingredient and I found this instead! I tossed in some shredded chicken for some protein but I added in before the cheese and learned not to add the protein in until the cheese is in and melted. It was still so tasty! You might want to edit your recipe to reflect putting the IP on saute, though. 🙂 .

    Reply

  35. This recipe is amazing! Are there any suggestions to take it to a friend that just had a baby? I’d like to give her something that she can just pop in the oven. Not sure how if that’s possible with this recipe. I think her family would love this.

    Reply

    • Hi Lindsay! Glad to hear you love it! I would undercook the pasta a bit and add a little extra sauce because once the pasta has cooled, the pasta soaks up a lot of the sauce. Pour it into a throw away tinfoil 9×13 pan, refrigerate. Have her reheat on 350* for about 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly! Hope this helps!

      Reply

    • I am planning to make this for my friend this weekend. Do i use all the same instructions if I’m doubling the recipe? So, 5 minutes to undercook the noodles & do the same oven time & heat for when she uses it?

      Reply

  37. Made this tonight. Didn’t have heavy cream, so used evaporated milk like suggested. It curdled. Will try this again and make sure that we have cream in the house.

    Reply

    • Sorry to hear this, Barbara! There isn’t enough fat content in the evaporated milk to stabilize it under pressure. That is why it curdled. Hope this helps explain!

      Reply

      • Can I make the suggestion for you to remove your comment from April 19, 2018 where you suggested to another person to use the evaporated milk? This comment is very close to the top, so lots of people will read that and make the same mistake. I read that comment and since I didn’t have the heavy cream, but did have the evaporated milk, I thought it would be ok to use. Just a suggestion! Thanks!

        Reply

        • Hi Barbara- just went and edited that comment. My thinking when I asked that question was that if the commenter did have evaporated milk she could make my skinny Alfredo, which uses evaporated milk but it is stirred in after pressure cooking. ?

          Reply

  38. I just got my 1st Instapot for Christmas and I just made this as my first dish. I doubled the recipe and it is absolutely delicious, thank you so much for having such an easy to follow and amazing recipe!!

    Reply

  39. This is my 3rd recipe tried with my new instant pot. The 2nd was an epic failure so I was praying this would be better… thank god it was delicious! I only had 3/4 cup of heavy cream so I added in 1/4 cup of 2% milk with it and tasted great and no issues. I also didn’t have minced dried garlic so I used minced garlic from the jar – and just because some made comments about less flavor and also because I adore garlic – I doubled the amount of garlic written. The flavor was so good my twin 8 year old boys, who are always underwhelmed with what I make, said it was fantastic! Definitely will be adding this into my dinner rotation as it took me under 15 minutes from start to finish. I found no issue with the length of cooking and NPR as written so I agree it must be personal preference. Thank you thank you thank you! Of course now I have to search through all of your recipes and try more!

    Reply

  40. I made this today and followed the recipe exactly. It was perfect. Thank ou for such an easy delicious meal.

    Reply

  42. I just got an IP for Christmas from my mother-in-law so I’ve been scouring Pinterest trying to find some good things to try.. I made this tonight and it’s delicious!! ? ? my toddler was having a fit cuz apparently the noodle looked foreign ? haha. But more for me! Next time tho I will double it, this needs leftovers haha.. thanks so much!!

    Reply

      • Haha I actually did use penne since that was all the store I went to had but still same cook time and came out perfectly 🙂

        Reply

    • I would probably say .5 lb, but I don’t like a ton of meat! If you and your family are big sausage fans you could definitely get away with 1 lb. I don’t think that would be to much at all!

      Reply

  44. This was delicious! I used fresh garlic, reduced the chicken stock, and substituted vodka to turn the dish into a vodka sauce pasta dish. It was amazing! This is a great base recipe you can use to build other pasta dishes. Thank you for a winning recipe!

    Reply

  45. I made this as written except doubled the recipe because we love leftovers to take to work! It was so delicious! It was my first dish ever made with my Instant Pot after Christmas. I’m going to make it again tonight, and I’m already salivating.

    I’m thinking about adding either frozen meatballs or frozen langostino tails too. We’ll see!

    Reply

    • Hi Ian! You can actually just toss frozen chicken tenders on top of the pasta and it will all cook at the same time.

      Reply

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