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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? 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
Equipment
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!
Video
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!
Do you think I could double this recipe if I have the larger Instapot? What would you change the cook times too?
Yes, you could definitely double this! Cooking times stay the same. Like the post says, this is very saucy. If you don’t like it quite as saucy, just add a few more noodles. ? hope you love it as much as we do!!
I just made this in my 6qt and doubled it with no problems. It didn’t change the cook times at all either. It said it was quite saucy, but I noticed that it thickened as it set for a few minutes. I wouldn’t worry about it being too saucy.
Thanks for updating and giving some doubling details!! ?
This was so good! If you double the noodles, do you also double the amount of broth and cream used?
Yes! Double all of the ingredients. ? glad you loved it, Cheryl!
Can I use milk instead of cream? All I have is milk right now.
The milk sometimes curdles under pressure because there isn’t as much fat as cream. Do you have evaporated milk on hand by chance? If so, you could make my Skinny Alfredo!
No. I guess I will come up with a back up plan! Thanks!
I doubled the recipe but didn’t have enough cream, so I added 1/4C butter to 3/4 C milk. (I warmed butter in a small pot just enough to melt it, then added the milk and mixed well.) I then added it to the recipe like the regular heavy cream and it turned out great!!
I’ve used this heavy cream substitute in many recipes although it doesn’t work when trying to whip it, but otherwise no issues.
PS – My DD told me that I should make this dish more often!!
Thanks for sharing that. I am so glad you and your daughter loved it! ❤️
Soooo sad! I attempted this cream substitute and mine curdled ☹️ Guess I’ll just have to buy cream to make this! It looks/sound delicious!
Ah man! I am so sorry! Heavy cream will not curdle. Give it another go, you will love it! ❤️❤️
I’d like to add some meat to this dish. When would you suggest adding something like ground Italian sausage?
I would fry it up first in the instant Pot, deglaze the liner with the broth and then continue with the recipe. You may have to add a little extra broth, make sure the pasta is fully covered!! Or you could fry it separately while the pasta is cooking and then add it in at the end with the cheese. ?
Do you set your pressure to med or high?
High pressure. ?
My instant pot doesn’t have the option to change the pressure on manual. What then??
Hi Sarah- if your Instant Pot doesn’t have a ‘manual’ button you will use the ‘pressure cook’ button. They are the same thing, just named differently on different models. ?
So yummy and easy to make! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great!
So glad you loved it, Stefani! Thanks for stopping by! ❤️
What kind of red sauce do you use with his? Brand etc..
I use Hunt’s Four Cheese Pasta Sauce usually. ?
Just made it my 3 year old say Mommy this is delicious!!
Just like you said everyone liked it!!
Will try it with meat and maybe a dash of red pepper flakes next time!!
Thanks!!
I am so glad you loved it! Red pepper flakes would be an awesome addition!
I made this and it was delicious.
So glad you loved it, Judy!
just made it ! I totally loved it. I was worried about the cream getting yucky, but it turned out perfect. It was the perfect make ahead dish that everyone could nuke when they were ready to eat. Work, practice and track meets made it a fend for yourself night.
I look forward to trying more of your recipes
I am so glad you loved it! This is always a go to for us when we don’t have a lot of time or when we are all running different directions too. Thanks for commenting! Have fun at the track meet!!
Would it work to add the marinara before you cook it? Or would it be too thick to cook correctly? I was thinking that the sauce would penetrate the pasta that way.
I am afraid the cream and the acidity of the marinara wouldn’t mix too well under pressure. ? red sauce also tends to give the burn notice on the Instant Pot. These are the reasons for waiting until the end. Hope this helps!