Creamy Instant Pot Baked Ziti with homemade red sauce and three types of cheese is a “dump and go” recipe made quickly in the pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Baked Ziti
I was challenged by my This Old Gal Cooking group to make my homemade Oven Baked Ziti recipe into a “dump and push start” recipe, using the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
Although my TOG Cooking Group did not know exactly the recipe being voted on, the majority of people said they prefer a homemade sauce, rather than a jarred pasta sauce. Without overstating the obvious, any recipe with my Homemade Pasta Sauce is just going to be better, period.
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Baked Ziti
While a lot of people opted for a dump recipe with jarred sauce, I was determined to satisfy both groups, so that everyone wins. Homemade sauce usually includes sauteing some of the ingredients, like onions and garlic, right? Busy people don’t always have time for this, even if it only takes five minutes.
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Baked Ziti
- Ziti
- Butter and Onion
- Tomato Puree
- Red Wine
- Ricotta Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Red Pepper Flakes
See, no jarred sauce is used and the ingredients are few. With my Instant Pot Baked Ziti recipe, everyone definitely wins. The red sauce in Instant Pot Baked Ziti shouldn’t be thick and heavy, like you get from most jarred sauces. It should be a simple and lighter saucy sauce. 🙂 The sauce is homemade and very saucy.
Peel and Cut Onion in Half
Instant Pot Bake Ziti is so easy and there is no sautéing or chopping the onion. It is a true dump and push start recipe.
Dump in all the Liquids
As this is a quick dump and cook recipe, I’m taking shortcuts from my usual whole peeled tomatoes, etc. But, this is important. For optimal results, use good canned tomatoes. Check the label and if it says “Imported from Italy,” you are good to go.
I’ve opted to use Fresh Water, rather than Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth in this recipe. Why you are thinking? Because I love a good vegetarian Baked Ziti.
Heavy cream has enough fat in it, so that it won’t break a part and curdle, so it is added in with the sauce, water and wine. If you don’t have heavy cream in the fridge, but you have a can of evaporated milk in your pantry, you can use that instead. If you prefer creamy baked ziti, then feel free to use more cream and less water.
Why use Wine in Instant Pot Baked Ziti Recipe?
- Wine adds a nice depth of flavor and adds richness. You will have an added robustness to the sauce.
- Dry red wine is generally the wine of choice for red sauces, however, some dishes might benefit better from a fruity wine.
- Chianti is very popular to use in Italian recipes. However, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is what I usually use.
Seasonings for Creamy Baked Ziti
Optional Seasoning Add Ins.
- Oregano – optional
- Basil – optional
- Italian Seasoning – optional
This is a super simple Ziti with a luscious tomato sauce, which does not need a lot of extra seasonings. However, if you want to add Italian seasonings, such as Dried Oregano and Dried Basil, that is fine. Maybe a pinch of Dried Thyme would be nice as well.
In my opinion, however, sometimes a simple sauce is really good.
Give the Sauce a Quick Mix
The sauce hasn’t even cooked yet and already it is rich. My di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set is all I need for this job.
How do you lower the tomato acidity in Instant Pot Baked Ziti?
- Normally, I use a piece of carrot, shredded and finely minced.
- A teaspoon of sugar is probably the most used helper for this cause.
- In this Instant Pot Baked Ziti recipe, the butter is the one to do the job and get ‘er done!
- Butter also adds an extra layer of creaminess.
Dump in Dry Ziti
Here is where I get very particular.
Best Pasta for Instant Pot Baked Ziti?
- De Cecco brand pasta holds up very well in pressure cookers. It is a good and quality pasta.
- There is less of a chance of the pasta breaking a part. Plus, it tastes great!
- Amazon usually has the best prices for a pack of 5, so make sure to check out their prices.
- I always say, use the best you can afford and that often times, brand does not make a difference.
Pro Tip: For pasta, buying a good brand does make a difference, as does a good olive oil (but we are not using oil here).
Remove Onion from Pot of Ziti
When you open the lid, hopefully, the onion will float to the top. But, it’s easy to find. All you have to do is remove the onion. All the taste, no chopping or chunks!
Pro Tip: With the short cook time, expect the pasta not to be fully cooked. The hot tomato pasta sauce, will continue to be absorbed by the pasta, as you add the cheese.
Cheese is Added to the Ziti
We always buy blocks of cheese and shred the cheese ourselves. The pre-shredded cheese never seems as good and there is a starchy coating on it to keep it from sticking. This Microplane Artisan Ribbon Grater is very easy to use and takes little effort.
What kind of Cheese is used for Instant Pot Baked Ziti?
- The number one answer is Mozzarella, of course.
- Parmesan Cheese is also used, but often times, just on top.
- Ricotta Cheese makes this vegetarian Baked Ziti dish really special.
Pro Tip: Add a handful of cheese at a time and allow the cheese to melt on top of the noodles and then mix it in. This will help prevent the cheese from accumulating on the sides and bottom of the pot.
Instant Pot Creamy Baked Ziti
I happen to love Ricotta with pasta and have a tendency to go heavy. So, start with a little and work your way up.
If you would like to add in fresh parsley, do it in this step. I did not add it in and instead garnished my Instant Pot Baked Ziti. However, you might notice, that I reached for the cilantro, rather than the parsley and had to pick it out after taking photos.
Instant Pot Creamy Baked Ziti
Enjoy! I’d love to know how you like this dish.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes to Make:
- Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Blue Cheese Broccoli Butternut Pasta
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Dinner
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Pasta
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- Instant Pot DUO Mini Plus 3 Quart Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Alton Brown Salt Box
- Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 28 ounces Pureed Tomatoes (Jersey Fresh)
- 1 cup Fresh Water
- 1/4 cup Dry Red Wine (or water or chicken broth)
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 medium Yellow/Brown Onion cut in half
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 cloves Fresh Garlic smashed
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Blend optional
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 8 ounces Ziti Pasta Noodles
- 1/4 cup Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shredded
- 8 ounces Mozzarella Cheese shredded or sliced
- 1/2-1 cup Ricotta Cheese
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Peel and cut onion in half and add to cooking pot.
- Pour in pureed tomatoes, water, cream and wine (or water/broth).
- Add butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes and mix through.
- Add Ziti noodles.
- Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes.
- When beep sounds, wait 3 minutes and then remove the rest of the pressure.
- Remove lid and retrieve the onion.
- Hit the sauté/browning button and slowly add in Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Wait for the cheese to start to melt and then mix it in.
- Mix in Ricotta cheese and add fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
How to add Cheese to Instant Pot Baked Ziti
- Add a handful at a time and allow the cheese to melt on top and then mix it in.
- his will help prevent the cheese from accumulating on the sides and bottom of the pot.
Optional Add-Ins
Nutrition
Pin this Creamy Instant Pot Baked Ziti Recipe
If you are using gluten free or quinoa pasta for these recipes how much time would you cook it for? ( even if you haven’t used it) to prevent it from getting all mushy?
Hi Brooke. Please check out the notes section for my rule of thumb for timing of pasta. Jill
I don’t see anything in the notes though about gluten free pasta??
Hi I don’t see anything about using gluten free pastas in your recipes in the notes section?
If you are using gluten free or quinoa pasta , chick pea etc for these recipes how much time would you cook it for? ( even if you haven’t used it) to prevent it from getting all mushy? It’s hard to tell & Mine always comes out mushy?? Also read it’s hard to cook gluten free pasta with sauces comes out gluey
Hi Jill,
Made this tonight and the taste was delicious! Mine came out much saucier than yours and I am wondering if the 8oz of pasta is a mis-type? Eight ounces of pasta also seems a bit light to feed 8 people.
Thank you,
Maria
So glad you enjoyed the ziti. You can always add more pasta, etc. for a larger portion. We like a lot of sauce here. Jill
This is FABULOUS!! I make it about 1-2 times a month. Grew up in NJ with A Grandfather that moved here from Italy, so I take my Italian food seriously, And this is my FAVORITE recipe and do not miss the browned cheese on top like you get in a baking dish, at ALL!
WTG!!
Oh, I am so thrilled that you like my recipe so much! Thank you. Jill
Another “A” Plus Jill!,,
Thanks a bunch. Love to you and Ed
Hi Vanessa. Thank you so much. Jill
This looks awesome but I have a question-at the top of the photos it says making in 3 qt. IP but just below the photo of the ingredients it says use half the ingredients…is the printable recipe for the 3quart IP or do I need to 1/2 all the ingredients ? Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.
The recipe is for the a pot 4 quart and larger. For the 3 quart just cut in half. There is a recipe slider to help you cut the recipe. Jill
Hi, thanks for all the great recipes and tips! I’m loving my IP more and more because of your recipes. If I want to double this recipe, will the cook time be the same or doubled? I have an 8qt.
Hi Jill, I just made this tonight with famtaatic reaults! The whole family loved it, so thank you. I am curious if you’ve evee tested this recipe using whole wheat ziti. Whole wheat pasta is typically what I use, but I didn’t do so tvis time in fear of it not working out. If you’ve tried it, what did you learn? If not, can you recommend a cooking time that might be better than the 2/3? Thanks.
can you add meat to this recipe such as
I don’t see why not. Jill
Delicious! I made one minor sub to prevent a trip to the store by using penne instead of ziti and increasing the cook time to 5 minutes. I also sauted a few spicy Turkey sausages and drained the fat before adding the other ingredients. Absolutely fabulous recipe! I’m always skeptical of pasta recipes in the IP–I’ve tried 3 and they were either bland or gave the burn notice. This really worked and gave me another quick fix for a weeknight without using processed sauces. Thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed my recipe. Jill
Jill, to double this recipe and cook in my 6 qt InstantPot, are all the ingredients doubled? And thank you for this recipe—it looks wonderful!!!
I would not double in a 6 quart. 8 quart would be fine. Jill
Hello,
I’m newer to IP cooking. This recipe sounds yummy! I only have an 8qt. Can I make this recipe just as it is in an 8qt. There’s only 2 of us, so I don’t want to double or tripe it.
Thanks!
Any size of pressure cooker is fine. Just like with an oven. Oven recipes are written for all ovens, not for one particular size of oven. The bigger the oven, the more that fits. The smaller the oven, the less that fits inside. Jill
Jill, I have strained tomatoes, not puréed. Will that work? I do have a jar of store bought sauce I can use in a pinch.
Making this tonight. Think I’ll stir in some fresh spinach at the day because I like spinach! Mouth is watering in anticipation. Thanks for all you do!
Made this tonight. Doubled the recipe and used my 8qt IP. For some reason, I received a burn message. Was able to salvage most of it and the flavor was really wonderful. What would cause a burn message?(I’m rather new to all of this).
Just finished making this, and it is delicious!! My only regret is that I forgot to buy a nice, crusty bread to sop up the sauce with! This is definitely going into my regular rotation. Thank you!
Hi Vilya. So good to hear. A crusty bread, would have been great! Jill
Sounds good and I will probably try this. Would like to know what is that oblong bowl/dish you are using?
I would like to make one pound of pasta. what do I change? thank you. Also, can I use crushed tomatoes instead of puree?
Just double the recipe. If you use crushed, smash them. The cook time is so short, they won’t turn to sauce. Jill
It’s delicious.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for a 3 qt mini recipe! And such a wonderful recipe at that!
You are welcome. Enjoy. All my recipes are for the 3 quart and any other size pressure cooker. Jill