Instant Pot Baked Ziti Recipe (2024)

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Posted by Aimee 21 comments
Published: Sep 04, 2019 Last Updated: Sep 29, 2023

Under 30 minutes for this easy, hearty Instant Pot Baked Ziti Recipe. Packed with flavor and plenty of CHEESE, you’ll love this delicious weeknight dinner in the pressure cooker!

My family is obsessed with pasta, sauce, and meat. One of our go to dinners is Instant Pot Meatball Sliders. Served on a bun or over pasta, it’s a family favorite! Or give our homemade lasagna recipe a try, truly a classic.

Why This Recipe Works

I was on a mission this past week to conquer all things ziti.

You may recall this delicious Baked Ziti recipe that I shared. It’s seriously THE BEST.

Baked Ziti is known in my house as “lasagna with mostaccioli noodles.” Not quite, but dang, pretty close.

• Thick meaty marinara sauce
• Tangy ricotta cheese filling
• Baked with extra mozzarella on top

While Baked Ziti is fantastic, I wanted to try my hand at making it in the Instant Pot.

Let me just cut to the chase and say, it turned out fantastic. Using my baked ziti recipe as the base…this Instant Pot Ziti Recipe was a winner, with so much flavor.

Unlike most Instant Pot Ziti recipes, my version still has the ricotta filling like you would find in a traditional recipe. All the zing and flavor with half the work!

Ingredient Notes

• Meat – The combination of ground beef and Italian sausage gives an authentic Italian flavor to the dish. You could also use ground turkey or Italian sausage links (cooked).
• Marinara – Choose your favorite pasta sauce brand and flavor here.
• Pasta – Ziti is the classic noodle shape for this dish. However, penne pasta, rigatoni or elbow noodles all would work.
• Cheeses – Mozzarella, Parmesan and ricotta cheese are the trio needed to make a classicziti. And we’ve also got some cottage cheese here for extra richness.

How to make Instant Pot Ziti

STEP 1: Saute. Turn Instant Pot to “Saute” and add olive oil, onions and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add ground beef and Italian sausage. Cook and brown until done then turn Instant Pot off.

DEGLAZE THE POT. Add your beef broth and with a wooden spoon get all the bits from the bottom of the pot or you will get the burn notice!

STEP 2: Layer. Add marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the pressure cooker. Do not stir. Add uncooked ziti noodles on top. Do NOT stir. Using a wooden spoon, press the noodles until they are submerged in the sauce, but not stirred.

STEP 3: Cook. Seal the Instant Pot and set to cook on high “Pressure Cook” for 6 minutes. Allow to cook then do a QUICK RELEASE.

PRO TIP. Hold a thin tea towel above the release valve (several inches away from spout) to prevent the liquid from spraying all over your cabinets. Pasta liquid will usually spray longer too!

STEP 4: Mix. While the pasta is cooking, make the cheese mixture by combining ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley and cottage cheese. Set aside.

STEP 5: Finish. Once the pressure is released, open Instant Pot lid. Spoon in the cheese mixture, stirring until fully combined. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

If you’ve ever been to Olive Garden and had their ziti, you know how good it is paired with salad.

• This Olive Garden Salad is JUST LIKE Olive Garden’s recipe. Only better because you don’t have to leave the house!
• Whip up a batch of these easy, no knead Garlic Dinner rolls to go with your pasta. You’ll love the flavor! Give our easy garlic bread a try if you prefer.
• My family could eat Caesar Salad with every meal. Good thing I’ve got an easy, homemade caesar dressing recipe (and no raw eggs needed)!

Tips and Tricks

• Use your favorite combination of meat, from ground beef, Italian sausage and ground turkey!
• Avoid the “burn notice” by following directions exactly. Do NOT stir the noodles into the sauce, just press them in until they are submerged.
• You can substitute penne pasta for the ziti if you desire. Both work great in this recipe, trapping sauce and cheese in the tubes of pasta.
• Cheese. Stir the cheese mixture in at the end completely, adding more or less to your taste.

Recipe FAQs

More Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers Casserole
• Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken Recipe
• Pressure Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
• Chicken Alfredo
• Beef Stroganoff in Instant Pot
• Hard Boiled Eggs Recipe

Cheesy, creamy Instant Pot Ziti recipe. Ready in under 30 minutes!