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!
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
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!
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!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount 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
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!
Karli Bitner
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Lauren Z says
This turned out PERFECT as written. Thank you so much! I’m going to double the recipe next time. 🙂
Karli Bitner says
I’m so happy to hear this!
Jordyn says
My cream curdled, any idea how to avoid this in the future?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Jordyn- did you use heavy, full fat, whipping cream? all other creams will curdle under pressure.
Shelley Colbert says
This is AMAZING!! I love saucy meals and this is comfort food at it’s finest! And so quick and easy to make! Thank you! This is going into my weekly dinner rotation (and I will be making it for myself for lunch sometimes when my 5 kids are in school :)).
Karli Bitner says
We make it almost weekly, too! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Shelley!
Kelsey says
Excited to try this tonight! If I double the recipe, do I alter the cooking time at all or still cook for 6 minutes?
Thanks!
Karli Bitner says
The cook time stays the same. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Arti Arora says
Made this for lunch today and it was sooo delicious and soooo easy!!! My kids totally devoured it. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much.
Regards
Arti Arora
Karli Bitner says
Arti- Thanks for leaving a comment for me! I am glad your kids approved. 🙂 Have a happy one!
Carrie says
Oh my goodness this is amazing. Came together so quickly and my 2 year old ate it right up. This is definitely going into the rotation
Karli Bitner says
2 year olds are the toughest critics!! I am so glad this recipe got the stamp of approval from yours! 🙂 Have a happy thanksgiving!
Katrina says
Do you have to use chicken broth or can you substitute water?
Karli Bitner says
If you substitute water, you will need to add more salt to the dish but you should be able to substitute if in a bind. 🙂
Jaylee says
Excited to try this! Is there a way to add frozen meatballs to the recipe?
Karli Bitner says
Sure! Just toss them on in with the pasta. 🙂
Stacey Sampson says
Thank you for this recipe! It is a hit with my family and apart of our dinner rotation too. Where can I find more of your instant pot recipes?
Karli Bitner says
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Stacey! You can find all of my Instant Pot recipes here: https://cookingwithkarli.com/home/instant-pot/
Cynthia Barrantes says
Hi!!
This recipe looks amazing! Any tips when doubling or tripling the recipe??? I have a big family 😂
Karli Bitner says
Hi Cynthia! If you have an 8qt you should be able to triple just fine. 🙂 Triple all ingredients, no need to change cook time!
Robin says
I doubled the recipe. Should I add time to the instant pot?
Karli Bitner says
No need to add to the cook time when doubling. Hope you enjoy!
Diedra says
Love this recipe! It’s truly one of the easiest meals you can make. I like to add spicy Italian sausage to it but it’s just as good on its own and I usually have all of the ingredients in my pantry anyway!
Karli Bitner says
Love the addition of the spicy Italian sausage! Glad you love this recipe, Diedra!
Christina Robertson says
Looking forward to trying this…. would like to add some cubed chicken breasts to the recipe. Would the cook time increase or remain the same? Thank you!
Karli Bitner says
No need to increase the cook time if adding cubed chicken breasts. Hope you enjoy!
Amy says
Do you think coconut milk would work??
Karli Bitner says
I wouldn’t suggest using the coconut milk while cooking under pressure. If you want to use coconut milk, I would follow the method for my Skinny Ziti Recipe.
Nicole says
Fantastic! Doubled the recipe, added a little onion powder and Italian seasoning like some mentioned above. Added a little extra mozzarella bc mozzarella. Lol! Also sauteed some mild Italian sausage links on the stovetop and sliced it up. Added it at the very end. I did have to add a little more sauce bc of that, but my 14 year old daughter is currently piling her 3rd helping on her plate, so I’d say it turned out great! Lol! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Jamie says
I’m so exited to try this! I have a question though, I noticed that when you first give instructions it says to turn to sauté after the quick release and stir, but when scrolling down further under the recipe amounts it doesn’t mention to use the sauté option. Do I need to sauté for the sauce to thicken?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Jamie- generally you don’t need to put it onto sauté, sometimes if the cheese has a hard time melting into the sauce I will put it on sauté. Most time it doesn’t need it though!
Jamie says
Thank you! And we did try it and both my husband and I LOVED it! Thanks for sharing!
Lauren says
This was fantastic! I added frozen meatballs to mine and kept the cook time the same and it came out great! This is going in my regular rotation. Thank you for the great recipe!
Karli Bitner says
I love adding frozen meatballs into the mix! What a fantastic idea!
Edith says
I’m planning on making this dish tonight. I have defrosted chicken, when do I put that in to make sure it cooks all the way through?
Karli Bitner says
Hi Edith- you can put frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta and cook everything according to the recipe if you’d like. If you have chicken breasts, I’d cut them into strips and then cook along with the pasta. Hopefully this helps!