My family loves ziti and so I decided to finally share my delicious and super easy Instant Pot Ziti recipe with you! This recipe is a spin-off of my scrumptious Baked Ziti Recipe HERE with a few modifications and made in a pressure cooker instead. And my favorite part is that this recipe is so incredibly easy to make so you can have a hearty dinner on the table quickly.
PS - this recipe goes great with a side of No-Knead Artisan Bread!
Instant Pot Ziti
This easy Instant Pot Ziti recipe with ground beef is the perfect way to get a delicious and hearty dinner on the table quickly.
The best part about this Instant Pot Ziti recipe is that you can make it all in one pot! I personally love ziti with ground beef so I cook the ground beef in my Instant Pot first, then I dump in the rest of the ingredients and turn it on! And it only a few minutes, I have delicious and perfectly cooked ziti.
My traditional baked ziti recipe is also amazing but requires a pan to cook the ground beef in, a pot to cook the noodles in and then a casserole dish to bake it in the oven. That's a lot of dishes and a lot of extra work that this pressure cooker ziti doesn't require.
One dish. That's all you need.
How do you make ziti in an instant pot?
It is so easy! You will begin by cooking your ground beef, then simply dump the rest of your ingredients into your pressure cooker, turn it on, and let it cook!
If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can omit the ground beef. But I love it in there!
Every single person in my family loves this meal! They are excited when I make it and it gets eaten so fast.
How do you cook pasta in a pressure cooker?
It is so easy to make pasta in a pressure cooker. The most important thing is to ensure that your noodles are covered with liquid and to get the timing right.
When cooking pasta in an Instant Pot, you will simply take the al dente suggested time on the back of the pasta box, half it, and then subtract two minutes.
So for the ziti noodles I made, I used penne pasta and I cooked this for 4 minutes in the pressure cooker because it indicated a 12 minute cook time on the box.
Can I make instant pot ziti with ground beef in a pressure cooker?
Yes, you sure can! This Instant Pot Ziti recipe is a one-pot meal. You will simply use the saute setting to cook your ground beef first, then you will add the remainder of your ingredients and cook! It is super easy to add ground beef to your instant pot ziti recipe!
If you prefer, you can sub ground turkey or pork sausage instead of ground beef. This recipe is very versatile and so delicious.
Can you make baked instant pot ziti with jar sauce?
You can definitely use jar sauce in this recipe instead of the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. However, because I have not tried this, you may need to play with the proportions. You want to ensure your pasta noodles are fully covered in liquid otherwise you will end up with noodles that aren't fully cooked. I would use a 28-32oz jar of jar sauce instead of the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and adjust accordingly.
Because this recipe only takes a few minutes to assemble and a few minutes to cook, this instant pot baked ziti has become a family favorite and a great easy meal! It has become a staple in our regular dinner rotation.
And the best part is that every single person in my family of 5 loves this meal! So it is an easy and simple way to please everyone.
What is the best pressure cooker to buy?
This is not my first pressure cooker. However, the one I had before had issue sealing and it became difficult to cook with it when it would often not seal. So after a lot of research, I decided to buy the Instant Pot DUO Plus 60, 6 Qt. 9 in 1, you can check it out HERE.
As of writing this post, I have had it for a couple of months and we use it several times weekly. I haven't had a single issue with it! I am loving it!
Are you ready for the recipe? Here goes:
Instant Pot Baked Ziti with Ground Beef Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 14 oz. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 16 oz. Penne or Ziti Pasta
- 28 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
- 3 oz. canned Tomato Paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 clove Minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- ¼ cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
Directions:
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and cook your ground beef and minced garlic in it.
- Drain any grease from the pan. No need to clean the pan, a little grease in the bottom will help nothing stick to the pan. But you want to get the majority of the grease out.
- Using the back of a spoon, spread the cooked ground beef evenly on the bottom of the Instant Pot, covering the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in the chicken broth and the cream, add salt and pepper.
- Add the pasta. Do not stir, but use the back of the spoon to spread the pasta evenly in the pan.
- Pour the crushed tomatoes over the pasta and add the tomato paste in too.
- Sprinkle the oregano and basil on top.
- Remember not to stir, but do ensure that all noodles are covered in sauce.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, close the valve and set your cooking time accordingly. Remember to take the amount of time it says to cook the pasta for on the back of the box, cut it in half, then subtract 2 more minutes. For the penne noodles I used, I set my cook time for 4 minutes.
- Let the pressure naturally release for 8 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
- Carefully open your Instant Pot and stir in both the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Serve immediately.
You can serve this with additional cheese if you like. We love to eat it with a side of yummy garlic bread!
Snag the printable recipe below:
Easy Instant Pot Ziti
This easy Instant Pot Ziti recipe with ground beef is the perfect way to get a delicious and hearty dinner on the table quickly.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 14 oz. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 16 oz. Penne or Ziti Pasta
- 28 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
- 3 oz. canned Tomato Paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 clove Minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- ¼ cup grated Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and cook your ground beef and minced garlic in it.
- Drain any grease from the pan. No need to clean the pan, a little grease in the bottom will help nothing stick to the pan. But you want to get the majority of the grease out.
- Using the back of a spoon, spread the cooked ground beef evenly on the bottom of the Instant Pot, covering the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in the chicken broth and the cream, add salt and pepper.
- Add the pasta. Do not stir, but use the back of the spoon to spread the pasta evenly in the pan.
- Pour the crushed tomatoes over the pasta and add the tomato paste in too.
- Sprinkle the oregano and basil on top.
- Remember not to stir, but do ensure that all noodles are covered in sauce.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, close the valve and set your cooking time accordingly. Remember to take the amount of time it says to cook the pasta for on the back of the box, cut it in half, then subtract 2 more minutes. For the penne noodles I used, I set my cook time for 4 minutes.
- Let the pressure naturally release for 8 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
- Carefully open your Instant Pot and stir in both the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
You can serve this with additional cheese if you like. We love to eat it with a side of yummy garlic bread!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 625Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 829mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 31g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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