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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!
Have you tried it with adding a type of meat to it and if so what type and when did you add it
You can add browned (cooked) ground beef/sausage before or after pressure cooking or you could add frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta prior to cooking and everything will cook together at the same time.
Can I double this recipe? Do I just add double the ingredients to make a double batch?
Yes! Just double the ingredients, cook time stays the same.
Hi,
I made this recipe for dinner last night! It was delicious, but I’m curious what I’d have to change if I wanted to add chicken to it. Do you have any insights?
You can add frozen chicken tenderloins on top of the pasta without any changes to the recipe. 🙂
I made this pasta exactly as created. My instapot is new so this is the first time I have made pasta in it. It turned out great! My husband loved it! It was quick to prepare, only one pot to clean up, all good! Thanks for this recipe and I will certainly look at your other recipes!
So yummy!! I ended up doubling up on the pasta and left all other ingredients the same. I should have added another minute or two to the cook time because the pasta came out al dente. We loved the flavors and the creaminess. Definitely adding to the dinner rotation!
Pressure cooking pasta for 6 mins seems like a long time? Most recipes recommend cooking pastas for 3 mins. Is the timing correct and does it depend on the kind of pasta you use?
Yes, the timing depends on the type of pasta you use. 6 minutes is perfect for ziti pasta that this recipe calls for. Penne would make a good substitute to stay at the same cook time.
I was skeptical because this seemed too easy to be good. Was I wrong!!!!! So fast, so easy, and SO DELICIOUS! A new family favorite for sure!
It’s one of our favorites but everytime I make it, the cheese is sooooo stringy and clumpy. No matter how fast or slow I add the cheese or if I use pre-shredded or if I shred my own, I can’t serve this w/o cheese stringing everywhere and the spoon being full of nothing but thick cheese. What am I doing wrong?
If you stir the cheese in more slowly it should work a little bit better. Thanks for the comment, I’m glad you enjoy the recipe.
This is absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make it again. That said, how the heck do you clean your instant pot afterward of all the cheesy goodness without giving yourself a nervous breakdown and/or destroying your scrubbers? Lol Please help!
That is such a great question!! Let it soak in hot water for a long time and it will come off easier.
If I double the recipe, do I need to change my cooking time?
Nope! No need to increase cook time.