This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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!
More Recipes You Will Love
I LOVE seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! Snap a picture & share on social media! Don’t forget to tag me!
If you loved what you saw here, get more of it on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest! I’d love to connect! Sign up for my weekly newsletter below to never miss a new recipe again!
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!
Could I use penne pasta instead of ziti? That’s what I have in my cabinet!
Yes! Penne cooks for the same cook time! 🙂
The first time I made this, it was prefect! The last 3 times I’ve made it, the cheese is all in clumps and stringy. I’ve added less and less cheese each time and slowly every time…..and it’s still soooooo cheesy. Like all the cheese is stuck to the spoon. I don’t understand why.
Hi Nicole- a few thoughts. First, sometimes the the red pasta sauce cools down the sauce too much so the cheese won’t melt properly. You can turn your pot onto sauce and bring everything to a boil before slowly adding the cheese. That may help! My other thought is regarding the cheese. Are you using pre-shredded cheese? Sometimes that doesn’t melt extremely well because there are anti-caking agents mixed in with the cheese which makes it have a hard time melting. Shredding your own cheese will really help with this issue if that is a possibility! Hope this helps!
I added 2 chicken breasts, increased chicken broth to cover pasta, and set to 8 minutes. Delicious!
I am so glad you loved it!! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
First few times I made it, it was perfect. The last time the noodles were way over cooked. I’m pretty sure the last time I did on high for 6 min then natural release 6 min. Should I have put it on low? Making it for dinner tonight. My kids favorite!!! Thank you
Hi Jamie- I always cook it on high pressure, we’re you using a different brand of pasta the last time? It was your broth cold? Both of those play a role in the outcome of the dish. Hope this helps!
This is my all time fav recipe! Tonight I threw in left over cut up chicken and spinach — yum
Double I need to triple it lol
Sounds so good, Cathy! I am happy you enjoyed it!
Hi can I use light cream for this?
Hi Krupa- I do not recommend this. Light cream does not have a high enough fat content to be stabilized while cooking under pressure and it will curdle. I do have a ‘skinny’ version that would work with a light cream as a substitute. I will leave the link for you here. Hope this helps!! https://cookingwithkarli.com/instant-pot-skinny-creamy-ziti/
Karli,
I saw your post on the Instant Pot Facebook page and thought I would give it a try. I doubled the recipe. I honestly have to admit that this is THE best recipe I have ever made in the Instant Pot! I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Only complaint is that I feel like I cheated because of how easy this is to make. Thank you for sharing!
I am so happy to hear this, Dominick! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, it means the world! Keep on using that Instant Pot!
Wonderful! I doubled the recipe and used rigatoni (because I wasn’t paying attention when purchasing pasta), and it turned out wonderful! Will absolutely be making again! Any advice on what kind of protein would go well with it? Maybe some veggies also?
Hi Allie- I love to add chicken to the dish. Toss frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta and everything will cook together at the same time! Hope you enjoy!
This is truly my favorite dish. I can’t stop eating it. My only adjustments are I add a half cup of red wine (cab sav) and a big ol’ shake of Italian seasoning at the beginning. I also use cavatappi instead of ziti.
Made a double batch in my neighbor’s 6-qt IP last week and can confirm that you double the ingredients but leave the time as-is.
Would any variety of gluten free pasta work with this recipe?
My GF readers tell me that they use Penne pasta and cook for 3 min HP with a 3 min NPR. I hope this helps!