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? StoveTop 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.
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.
I love how this pasta dish pairs nicely with all sorts of sides to make it a meal, you could do a garden salad, garlic bread or even a crisp Fruit and Vegetable Salad. Whatever you serve it up with, your family will love it!
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!
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Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti
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!
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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!
Kate says
Best pasta I have ever made!!
April says
If we want to double this recipe, is everything just doubled 1:1? Thanks!
Karli Bitner says
Yes!
Connie Smith says
Just made this recipe for lunch and it was amazing and oh how simple in my instata pot! Can’t wait to try some more of your recipies!
Robyn says
Hi Karli! This is one of my favorite recipes of yours. This was the first recipe I made when I got my instant pot years ago and it is still a hit every time I make it. I tried your skinny creamy ziti recipe but it was just not the same as this one. I choose to add Italian sausage to this every time I make it. I love how your recipes are a great base for everyone to enjoy and for those to make changes or add to them. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Kelly says
One of my favorite Instant Pot recipes! My kids also love it. Delicious 😄
Heather Sanders says
This has become a regular rotation in our house. My boys gobble it up! I always add a bit more broth and cream than it calls for and add ground sausage. Sometimes, we’ll put it in a dish afterwards and bake with cheese on top for a few extra minutes. So tasty!
Karli says
Wow this is better than any restaurant I’ve tried. YUM!
Lorie Cannon says
This recipe really is delicious! “Restaurant-quality” I would even say. Followed recipe pretty closely (added ground beef & doubled it). So glad I did. Served with sourdough garlic bread and they all went back for seconds. Thanks for a wonderful new recipe!
Shirley Vanderford says
Amazing recipe! Easy, quick, & will certainly make again. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth & it was delicious.
Texas Gigi says
This recipe is listed under “Family Favorites”, on my Pinterest boards. It’s one of my go to recipes. You can make it with half and half instead of heavy cream, to cut a few calories. I always double this recipe. Don’t worry if you don’t happen to have the type of cheese that’s called for—use what you have. Grate your own cheese (I put mine in my small Ninja processor—it works great!). Never use already grated cheese out of the bag, it will mess up your sauce! This recipe is so good, I can’t eat penne pasta at Olive Garden anymore. Enjoy!!!
Deb D’Ambrose says
This was amazing! I always make my own sauce but thought let’s try store bought and it’s great.
Deborah says
I can only do a small amount of red pasta sauce due to a health condition so I use Alfredo sauce instead. I always blend in about 1/4 cup of the red sauce also and the flavor is great. I take a double batch to our church potlucks and everyone gobbles it up. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Carole Heaney says
This worked out well. I am in the middle of moving and packed all pots but my instant pot. It’s 9..00pm and I was famished. My pantry was practically empty except for a small bag of ziti ; fresh Parmesan in fridge; boxed whole milk; garlic powder; cayenne pepper and salt. I didn’t use tomato sauce. I added broccoli and it was perfect. Very flexible recipe. I’ll make this again.
Thanks.
Carole
Megan Watson says
AMAZING!! One of my family’s new favorite meals! Even my picky 10 month old could not stop eating it! We will be making this over and over again.
phoebe says
Very Good! Kids love it! 🙂