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!
I was looking forward to this tonight, followed instructions for step 1 and at 3 mins I could smell it burning, not sure why this happened. I didn’t change anything…..
Michelle, you are the first to report this happening! Since you could smell it burning, I am thinking your pot must not have sealed correctly. I am so sorry about that!!
I doubled the recipe, I added 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, and Aidells pineapple & bacon sausage. It turned out delicious!!!!
Those sound like great additions, Maria! Glad you liked it!
Super easy and delicious! Just what I was looking for. Doubled recipe with no problems! I used Publix garden style sauce. It thickened up nicely. Thank you.
Hi Kathy! Thank you for taking the time to comment!! Glad you loved the recipe. ❤️
You only need 8oz of pasta? That doesn’t seem like enough.
Yes, 8 ounces or 1/2 of a standard package. Like the post says, it is very saucy! Feel free to add more pasta if you’d like. Just make sure that all of the noodles are covered with liquid before you pressure cook to insure all of the pasta cooks evenly. ? hope this helps!
Thanks so much for your quick response!
No problem, Jennie! I hope you enjoy it! ?
My family of 4 enjoyed this meal. My only problem was that the pasta wasn’t done enough to suit me. Next time I’ll cook it for 7 minutes to see if that’s more to my liking. I also added a half lb. of browned sausage because my DH doesn’t think it’s a meal unless there’s meat!
Glad that you guys enjoyed it! My husband thinks similarly. ?
Do you need to heat up the red sauce before hand or just pour it in out of the jar? Thanks so much!
I always just pour it in right out of the jar. ?
Can you use heavy whipping cream?
Yes! That is actually the same thing as heavy cream. ? hope you enjoy it, Jena!
I’m always trying new recipes and then ask the family (husband, 3 grown boys) if it’s thumbs up or thumbs down. This recipe got thumbs up all around and will definitely be added to the rotation of dinners. It’s delicious. I added cooked Italian sausage which I wasn’t thrilled about but the boys loved it. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe.
Sandy, I am so glad you and your fam LOVED it!! Thanks for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it. 🙂 Hope you have a fabulous week!
I’m going to buy an instant pot just for this recipe but the directions are confusion to me. Is the manual 6 minutes and then another 6 minutes on an additional setting or just manual 6 minutes and then quick release? Any insight is helpful!
Hi Jennifer! I am so excited you are getting an Instant Pot! I have a few posts for beginners that will be helpful to you on my site!
As for the directions, NPR or natural pressure release means that you let the pot release its pressure on its own. So you do nothing but let it sit! Once the 6 minute pressure cooking time is finished, the timer will count up while it is releasing the pressure naturally. Once the timer has counted up to 6 then you can quick release the pressure by turning the knob. I hope this helps! Comment back if you have further questions! ?
Hi there! I just received an Instant Pot Duo Plus for Christmas and this is the first recipe I’m attempting! Could you please be specific on what buttons to push? I’m assuming “Pressure Cook” and then the “+” button until it gets to 6? And from there, after it’s done with the 6 minutes, wait until it says 6 again and then turn the dial from seal to vent? Sorry for the ridiculous question but don’t want to ruin it and will have 3 hungry little faces staring at me, waiting impatiently!!!! 🙂
You are 100% correct on the buttons you’ll press! That is exactly what you’ll do. ? I can’t wait for you to make it!
Do you think canned coconut milk would work in place of heavy cream? Looks delicious!
Hi, Jo! I am not sure if canned coconut milk will work. If you are wanting to replace the heavy cream, follow the directions for my Skinny Alfredo recipe and then add in the red pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese at the end with the evaporated milk. I hope this helps! ? https://cookingwithkarli.com/instant-pot-skinny-alfredo/