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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!

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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 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.

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!

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

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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 and pasta dish!
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4.69 from 543 votes

Dump and Start Instant Pot Creamy Ziti

By: Karli Bitner
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!
Cook Time: 6 minutes
14 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

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

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!

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
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

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!

About Karli Bitner

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. If you are Cookie obsessed like I am, check out my Sister Site, Cookies for Days.

Read More About Me

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4.69 from 543 votes (384 ratings without comment)

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621 Comments

    1. That is so strange! Was your vent closed all the way? That can cause the burn notice sometimes. I don’t really have any other troubleshooting ideas, I have made this so many times personally and have never gotten the burn notice with it. Maybe give it another shot and see if the same problem happens? I’d be curious to know. Also, which brand and model if pressure cooker do you have? I have found that the newer Instant Pot models have a far more sensitive burn notice than the older ones. Hopefully this helps a little!

      Reply

  3. This is so good and so easy to make! Definitely one of my favorite meal prep recipes I’ve made. If I wanted to add some chicken to it, should I change the cooking time at all? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Emily- you can add some chicken by simply tossing frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta prior to pressure cooking. No need to change the cook time.

      Reply

      1. So what about when adding ground beef when would you add it? And what about cooking time?

      2. I would brown the ground beef separately while the pasta is cooking and then add it at the end.

  4. Made this recipe for the first time tonight and it was delicious! I doubled all the ingredients so I’d have left overs for the week. Thank you for this perfect quick dinner recipe. It’s definitely going into my rotation.

    Reply

  5. I have made it a few times and it’s so good! But there isn’t enough liquid to cover the noodles and some of the noodles end up not done enough, maybe my instant pot is wider than yours. Do you have any suggestions to fix this?

    Reply

    1. Hi Macy- I would suggest adding a little bit more broth or heavy cream until the pasta is covered. This will help insure all of the pasta cooks correctly. You may need to cut back on the red sauce at the end depending on how much extra liquid you need to initially add. I hope this helps!

      Reply

  6. If you double the ingredients, do you have to adjust the cooking time or leave it as is? Going to try this tonight for the first time. Hoping I don’t mess it up.

    Reply

  7. This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE recipe!! I am in LOVE with this!! I add a little homemade sausage (when I put all the other ingredients in) and it turns out great!!

    Reply

  8. I make this often and my family love it, but I have a question. About the 3rd time I was rushing and added the pasta sauce and THEN cooked it. I made no difference that I could tell. Is there a reason you add it after cooking? Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Hi Terry- sometimes the acidity of the tomato based sauce doesn’t play well with the cream while under pressure which is why I add it afterwards, just to guarantee success 100% of the time. 🙂

      Reply

  9. The grocery store didn’t have any ziti, so I grabbed penne instead. I know pasta is finicky in the pressure cooker, so would this change the cook time?

    Reply