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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!
I made this for my 13th year anniversary! My husband didn’t really want to eat out (witch we do every anniversary) so I found this recipe. The whole family Loved It!!!! Both of our boys loved it so very very much!! To witch they said “It is a Keeper!!) I do have a question though. I cook any noodles Al dente and these noodles to all of us was a little over cooked. So my question is how to cook this pasta to be Al dente?
I find that if I cook the noodles one minute less than what the package suggests that everything is fine. I know it’s a dump and go recipe but sometimes I do cook the noodles on the side for this reason.
Love it. So simple and delicious
I just made this as a result of “ugh! what’s for dinner?” And oh Boy I do not regret it! The heavy cream makes this so delish! It is equal to comfort food. Easy to make and satisfying.
I just made this for the second time. I love it! I do makes changes based On what’s on hand. And this time I accidentally opened it 3 minutes too early and it turned out a nice al dente which I like. I use regular milk and Parmesan and ricotta added some tarragon and oregano as well. Excellent recipe thanks!
I’ve made this many times! It’s so versatile and we love it! Sometimes I add browned ground beef at the end. And sometimes I add roasted red pepper strips (my personal favorite). It’s also good with chicken or Italian sausage. See what I mean by versatile? Anyway, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Can you add raw cut up chicken! Would the cook time change?
I would cook it separate and add it after the meal is cooked.
This recipe looks so yummy. Do you think this recipe would work with fat free half and half instead of heavy cream to cut down on fat?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried this, but if you do please let me know if it works.
Can I make this on stove or crockpot. My instant pot broke 🥲
Here you go! https://cookingwithkarli.com/one-pot-creamy-ziti-pasta/
can this be frozen and eaten at a later date? Trying to find good recipes to take to a couple with a new baby.
This should freeze okay, I would purposefully undercook the pasta, though. That way it doesn’t get mushy when they are reheating it.
Is it high or low pressure?