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 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.
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. If you like dump and start recipes as much as I do, check out Top 25 Instant Pot Dump and Start Recipes.
Broth, cream, garlic, s&p and pasta go into the Instant Pot. Make sure that the pasta is covered with liquid.
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.
Turn the Instant Pot onto sauté, then in goes some red pasta sauce.
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.
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!
Looking for a lighter version?? Try my SKINNY CREAMY ZITI!
Try out these other Recipes!
- Instant Pot Cashew Chicken and Noodles
- Dump and Start Instant Pot Alfredo
- Pulled Teriyaki Chicken Sliders
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
- Chicken Wraps
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Alfredo Sauce
- Pressure Cooker Steak
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Asiago Bagel
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Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
Ingredients
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- 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
- 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.
- Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes. Let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
- Add the red pasta sauce to the Instant Pot and give it a stir.
- SLOWLY add in the cheese while stirring. The cheese will melt and thicken the sauce. The sauce will also thicken as it cools.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
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
- 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.
- Set your Instant Pot to Manual for 6 minutes. Let it naturally release its pressure for an additional 6 minutes then quick release.
- Add the red pasta sauce to the Instant Pot and give it a stir.
- SLOWLY add in the cheese while stirring. The cheese will melt and thicken the sauce. The sauce will also thicken as it cools.
- 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!
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Elizabeth says
No I didn’t stir there was plenty of liquid ????
Karli Bitner says
That is so strange! Was your vent closed all the way? That can cause the burn notice sometimes. I don’t really have any other troubleshooting ideas, I have made this so many times personally and have never gotten the burn notice with it. Maybe give it another shot and see if the same problem happens? I’d be curious to know. Also, which brand and model if pressure cooker do you have? I have found that the newer Instant Pot models have a far more sensitive burn notice than the older ones. Hopefully this helps a little!
Jac says
Sorry when you say red pasta sauce; is that any red pasta sauce like marinara in a jar?
Karli Bitner says
Yes!
Emily S says
This is so good and so easy to make! Definitely one of my favorite meal prep recipes I’ve made. If I wanted to add some chicken to it, should I change the cooking time at all? Thanks!
Karli Bitner says
Hi Emily- you can add some chicken by simply tossing frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta prior to pressure cooking. No need to change the cook time.
Nancy D says
Made this recipe for the first time tonight and it was delicious! I doubled all the ingredients so I’d have left overs for the week. Thank you for this perfect quick dinner recipe. It’s definitely going into my rotation.
Karli Bitner says
I am so happy to hear this, Nancy!! It is one of my family’s favorites, too! 🙂
Macy Taylor says
I have made it a few times and it’s so good! But there isn’t enough liquid to cover the noodles and some of the noodles end up not done enough, maybe my instant pot is wider than yours. Do you have any suggestions to fix this?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Macy- I would suggest adding a little bit more broth or heavy cream until the pasta is covered. This will help insure all of the pasta cooks correctly. You may need to cut back on the red sauce at the end depending on how much extra liquid you need to initially add. I hope this helps!
Monica Waterhouse says
If you double the ingredients, do you have to adjust the cooking time or leave it as is? Going to try this tonight for the first time. Hoping I don’t mess it up.
Karli Bitner says
Hi Monica! Doubling the recipe will not change the cook time. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Janine says
This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE recipe!! I am in LOVE with this!! I add a little homemade sausage (when I put all the other ingredients in) and it turns out great!!
Karli Bitner says
I love the addition of sausage, I will have to try that! Thanks, Janine!
Terry Beck says
I make this often and my family love it, but I have a question. About the 3rd time I was rushing and added the pasta sauce and THEN cooked it. I made no difference that I could tell. Is there a reason you add it after cooking? Thanks.
Karli Bitner says
Hi Terry- sometimes the acidity of the tomato based sauce doesn’t play well with the cream while under pressure which is why I add it afterwards, just to guarantee success 100% of the time. 🙂
Mallory J says
The grocery store didn’t have any ziti, so I grabbed penne instead. I know pasta is finicky in the pressure cooker, so would this change the cook time?
Megan says
Do you think it would work with just whole milk? 3.25% it’s all I have at the moment
Karli Bitner says
Hi Megan- follow this method and you should be golden! https://cookingwithkarli.com/instant-pot-skinny-creamy-ziti/
Jenni Wilson says
No ziti pasta so I used rigatoni. Also started with Italian sausage then followed the recipe. Added more mozzarella. BEST dish I’ve made in the instant pot. Definitely restaurant quality.
Karli Bitner says
I love reading this! Thank you so much, Jenni! I am happy you found and tried out my recipe.
Linda says
You know a recipe is great when u can make substitutions and still tastes amazing. Well I had to just that. Didn’t have cream used a substitute of 3/4 cup 1% milk and 1/4 cup of melted margarine. No dry minced garlic used garlic power and of course no shredded parmesan cheese so i used grated. I even changed the pasta to skubby doo and the family loved it.
Can wait to try your original version. Thanks for sharing.
Karli Bitner says
Thank you Linda, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m glad your substitutions worked out well.
Paige says
We love your recipe. Curious if you’ve ever tried adding ground beef? Wondering if it could be added in and cooked all together or would it need to be cooked separately and then added to the pasta when it’s finished?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Paige, I would brown it first and then add it at the end when the pasta is finished.
Melinda says
You had me at “saucy dish.” We will tweak a bit to make this beauty vegan, but we will definitely be consuming large quantities. I see a food coma in the very near future! Thanks for another awesome recipe.
Karli Bitner says
Haha! I am so glad you enjoyed this dish, Melinda! Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Gigi says
This is such a yummy recipe. I found myself craving some Olive Garden penne pasta. As the author of this recipe said, her recipe is SO MUCH better! Lol. When we find a recipe that our family really, really loves, we add it to our family faves list on Pinterest. I can guarantee you, that this is being added to that list. It was also very easy! I didn’t have to wait, my sauce thickened in no time. I added 2 teaspoons or oregano and 2 teaspoons of basil at the end. Thanks for a terrific and easy recipe!!!
Karli Bitner says
Wow Gigi, great job! I’m so happy you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for the comment.
Kaycee says
Made this and loved it!! We added chicken to ours because my husband has to have some type of meat and it was really yummy! We just threw some thin chicken strips on top of the noodles and used the same cooking time! Everything was done perfect and it was so yummy!
Dan Bitner says
I’m so glad Kaycee! My husband is the same way… If there isn’t any meat, it isn’t a meal. 🙂
Kristine says
I love this recipe and make it all the time at home! We are out of town without a pressure cooker, any advice to cook this traditionally?
Dan Bitner says
Hey Kristine I’m so glad that you enjoy the recipe. I do have a baked creamy ziti on my website that you can make without a pressure cooker. Here is the link: https://cookingwithkarli.com/one-pot-creamy-ziti-pasta/