Instant Pot Pasta- Five Cheese Ziti

Instant Pot Ziti is a rich and flavorful Instant Pot pasta recipe that is ready in no time at all thanks to the "magic" of the Instant Pot! This easy one-pot meal is made with the unforgettable flavors of five kinds of cheese.

If you can believe it, this Instant Pot pasta recipe the first Instant Pot recipe I've posted to the blog! At this point, it feels like everyone on earth (or at least everyone on Pinterest) has an Instant Pot, so I decided it was about time to post one of my favorite Instant Pot recipes. I make a batch of this pasta and this Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup weekly during the winter!

What I especially love about using the Instant Pot is doing so usually removes at least one step or ingredient somewhere in the recipe. Something gets cooked with something else, moisture is preserved so you don't need that extra water... there's just something that makes the Instant Pot version more appealing.

In the case of this Instant Pot Ziti recipe, the whole "cook the ziti pasta" step is gone. No need to cook the pasta before throwing it in a baking dish with the rest of ingredients and placing it in the oven — the pasta is cooked with the rest of the ingredients. You'll have time to bake a batch of garlic bread with this Homemade Garlic Butter! 

This Instant Pot Pasta Recipe is so Easy!

To make Instant Pot Ziti, you add the dried pasta to the Instant Pot along with the tomatoes, cream cheese, seasonings, pasta sauce, and water. Cover, seal, and set to high pressure for only 8 minutes.

Once the pressure cycle completes, you'll do a 5-minute natural pressure release followed by a quick release. Once you've removed the Instant Pot pasta, you'll add the cheese blend and stir.

Let it sit for a few minutes, stir, then top with Parmesan cheese. That's it! Most baked ziti recipes are paragraph after paragraph of detailed instructions, so it's easy to see why so many people love the Instant Pot (myself included!).

More Pasta Recipes

For more recipes like this easy Instant Pot pasta recipe, try these:

• Short Rib Ragu-Homemade Pasta
• Quick Pasta with Creamy Cilantro Sauce
• Butternut Squash Ravioli- Homemade and Delicious

Enjoy!

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Instant Pot Ziti

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

8 mins

Total Time

18 mins

 

This is a delicious and cheesy Instant Pot pasta recipe!

Author: Jackie

Ingredients

• 16 oz penne ziti pasta
• 14.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 4 oz whipped cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 24 oz tomato basil pasta sauce
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend I used a mozzarella, provolone, fontina and asiago blend - any Italian blend is fine
• ¼ grated parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

1. Add dried pasta to pressure cooker
2. Add canned tomatoes and whipped cream cheese along with seasonings
3. Top with pasta sauce and water
4. Stir gently to combine
5. Cover and seal pressure cooker according to manufacturer instructions
6. Set to high pressure for 8 minutes
7. Allow 5 minute natural pressure release, then perform a quick release
8. Add shredded cheese and stir to combine

9. Let pasta rest for about 5 minutes before serving and stir one more to allow remaining water to absorb

10. Top each serving with grated parmesan cheese

Recipe Notes

Depending on the pressure cooker used, it generally takes around 15 additional minutes to come to full pressure before it starts cooking After cooking, some water will remain on top but will absorb once stirred and allowed to rest for 5 minutes. Meat could easily be added to recipe by utilizing the sauté function to brown ground beef, then follow remaining instructions.