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Home || Recipes || Instant Pot || Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

Mar 29, 2018 · 571 Comments

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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. 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.

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! 

Looking for a lighter version?? Try my SKINNY 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 and pasta dish! - Cooking with Karli - #instantpot #pasta #dinner #fast #easy #recipe

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
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

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!
4.66 from 497 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Keyword: dump and start, instant pot, Instant Pot pasta, instant pot recipe, instant pot ziti, Olive Garden copy cat
Cook Time: 6 minutes
14 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 435kcal
Author: Karli Bitner

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!

Shop My Favorite Kitchen Tools For This Recipe

  • Instant Pot

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.
Don’t love the heavy cream? Check out my SKINNY CREAMY ZITI recipe!
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithkarli or tag #cookingwithkarli!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 435kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 1310mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g

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

  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!

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ABOUT KARLI

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. There isn’t ever a shortage of crazy. I can promise you that! Buckle up, keep your hand and legs inside at all times and enjoy the ride! Read more...

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Comments

  1. Julie says

    November 8, 2021 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe probably a hundred times (maybe a bit of exaggeration there lol) since I found it, my husband and kids crave this all the time!

  2. Hannah K says

    November 29, 2021 at 4:57 pm

    5 stars
    This was amazing and super easy. I doubled the recipe, used half and half instead of cream, and only used half the cheese. I also threw some frozen cooked chicken strips on top. With all these changes I did NOT change the cook time, and it turned out great. I will definitely make this again!

  3. Stephanie says

    December 30, 2021 at 6:53 pm

    I made this for my 13th year anniversary! My husband didn’t really want to eat out (witch we do every anniversary) so I found this recipe. The whole family Loved It!!!! Both of our boys loved it so very very much!! To witch they said “It is a Keeper!!) I do have a question though. I cook any noodles Al dente and these noodles to all of us was a little over cooked. So my question is how to cook this pasta to be Al dente?

  4. Linda says

    January 6, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    5 stars
    Love it. So simple and delicious

  5. Monica T says

    January 29, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this as a result of “ugh! what’s for dinner?” And oh Boy I do not regret it! The heavy cream makes this so delish! It is equal to comfort food. Easy to make and satisfying.

  6. Ava says

    March 9, 2022 at 7:29 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this for the second time. I love it! I do makes changes based On what’s on hand. And this time I accidentally opened it 3 minutes too early and it turned out a nice al dente which I like. I use regular milk and Parmesan and ricotta added some tarragon and oregano as well. Excellent recipe thanks!

  7. Lisa G says

    April 4, 2022 at 10:32 am

    I’ve made this many times! It’s so versatile and we love it! Sometimes I add browned ground beef at the end. And sometimes I add roasted red pepper strips (my personal favorite). It’s also good with chicken or Italian sausage. See what I mean by versatile? Anyway, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

  8. Jenny says

    April 12, 2022 at 1:48 pm

    Can you add raw cut up chicken! Would the cook time change?

  9. Renee says

    May 11, 2022 at 6:30 am

    This recipe looks so yummy. Do you think this recipe would work with fat free half and half instead of heavy cream to cut down on fat?
    Thanks!

  10. Cooking with Karli says

    May 12, 2022 at 1:08 pm

    I haven’t tried this, but if you do please let me know if it works.

  11. Cooking with Karli says

    May 12, 2022 at 1:25 pm

    I would cook it separate and add it after the meal is cooked.

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