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This Instant Pot Baked Ziti is the perfect weeknight meal and the ultimate Italian-American comfort food! A savory meat sauce, with perfectly melted cheese and a creamy finish – you’ll be giving yourself a pat on the back for this one!
This one pot recipe is going to blow your mind! We are all aware of my love for all things pasta and when I find a way to throw it all in one pot for even more efficiency, I get even more excited! Now don’t let the “baked” part cause confusion, this ziti isn’t really baked at all, but cooked under pressure using my favorite technique.
This dish can very much be compared to lasagna, but without all the fuss. Creamy, cheesy, meat sauce deliciousness! I find that pasta casseroles are often regulated to weekend-only cooking because they take a fair amount of time to cook. Well no more of that being the case my friends!
What Is Ziti?
Ziti, specifically, is a pasta similar to rigatoni – but smaller. It is a tubular shape that has both variations of smooth and rigid sides. However, feel free to use rigatoni, penne or any other long tubular shaped pasta.
Baked ziti is a popular casserole with a tomato-based sauce, then layered with all kinds of different cheeses, such as mozzarella, ricotta, or parmesan . Today however, I’m only using mozzarella, but feel free to switch it up and use your favorites!
Ingredients
- Ground beef – 1 lb of lean ground beef.
- Onion – 1 medium white onion, chopped.
- Garlic – 3 fresh cloves, minced. If you’re only able to find jarred remember 1 1/2 teaspoons is similar to 1 fresh clove.
- Salt and pepper – For seasoning and to taste.
- Red pepper flakes – For some added heat.
- Brown sugar – This adds some sweetness to our meat and sauce and balances out the acidity from the tomatoes.
- Italian seasoning – It wouldn’t be Italian without it!
- Ziti pasta – If you can’t find zit in the supermarket, that’s okay – feel free to use rigatoni or penne as they are very similar.
- Chicken broth – I prefer the low sodium options, for aded flavor and liquid in our sauce.
- Heavy cream – You can use whichever fat percentage you prefer.
- Passata – This is uncooked tomato puree but if you can’t find it you can use canned crushed tomatoes or tomato puree.
- Mozzarella – Freshly grated, please!
- Basil – Because Italiano! I’m all about garnishing my food with fresh herbs!
How To Make Baked Ziti In The Instant Pot
- Preheat: Set the Instant Pot to “saute” setting and spray the insert with cooking spray.
- Prepare beef: Add in the ground beef and cook until it begins to brown – breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon.
- Create sauce: Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and Italian seasoning; stir well. Next, stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream.
- Add pasta: Press “cancel” on the Instant Pot. Add the pasta (do not stir!). If the pasta is not submerged in the sauce, add water -up to 1/3 cup- to ensure the pasta is submerged. Finally, pour the passata over the past (do not stir!) and close the lid.
- Cook: Turn the sealing valve on the Instant Pot to the “seal” position, and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Note: it will take about 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure.
- Finish: When cooking time is complete, release the steam valve and press “cancel”. Once pressure has been released, remove the lid and stir in 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Top the ziti with the remaining mozzarella and let it stand for about 10 minutes.
- Serve: Garnish with fresh basil and serve warm!
What Else Can I Add
You can absolutely mix this up if you want! It’s a really versatile dish and there are lots of variations. Some ideas to get you started might be:
- Swap out ground beef for another meat; loose Italian sausage would work great!
- Swap out the noodles; ziti may be hard to find, so look for penne or rigatoni if that makes life easier – you could also try using spaghetti (just make sure you cut down on the cook time)
- Bump up the veggie content; adding shredded carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, and bell peppers will give this dish some variation and no one will ever know its packed full of vegetables!
Slow Cooker Option
Yes you can make baked ziti in a slow cooker! And the results just won’t be good – they’ll be great! Pasta has a reputation for being overcooked and soggy when done in a slow cooker – usually a result of too much liquid or too long of a cook time. That being said, here’s how you’re going to do it:
- Prepare the slow cooker by spraying entirely with cooking spray.
In a large skillet, saute the garlic and onion, and then add in the ground beef and cook until browned. - Add the beef mixture and remaining ingredients (not the basil) to the prepared slow cooker and give everything a good stir.
- Turn the slow cooker to high for 3 hours. When finished, stir in the ziti until well combined and cook for another 10 – 15 minutes. Check and stir and the 15 minute mark to ensure the ziti is cooked.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cover for 3 – 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Then serve!
Tips And Tricks
- Use fresh cheese – a ziti is meant to be cheesy, so if you can use the freshly grated stuff and plenty of it, the better your ziti will be!
- Make enough sauce – it’s true that nobody wants a dry pasta, so make sure you make enough sauce as instructed!
- Serve it with bread – do yourself a favor and serve this ziti with a homemade loaf of bread it goes perfectly! Don’t let that sauce go to waste people!
Leftovers
Creamy baked ziti will last in the fridge for 3 – 5 days when stored in a sealed airtight container. If you would rather freeze the ziti, do so by storing in a tightly sealed airtight container and it will extend the shelf life for up to 1 month.
When the times comes for reheating, remove from the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. Reheat in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 F degrees.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes Here:
- Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
- One Pot Creamy Parmesan Pasta
- Beef Stroganoff
- Easy Pasta Alfredo
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Chicken Bacon Pasta with Tomato Sauce
- Pesto Shrimp Asparagus Pasta
- Baked Mostaccioli
- Baked Ziti
Instant Pot Baked Ziti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef extra lean
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pound ziti uncooked, or other pasta such as rigatoni, or penne
- 3 cup chicken broth low sodium or no sodium added
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup passata or crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Preheat: Set the Instant Pot to "saute" setting and spray the insert with cooking spray.
- Prepare beef: Add in the ground beef and cook until it begins to brown – breaking it into crumbles with a wooden spoon.
- Create sauce: Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and Italian seasoning; stir well. Next, stir in the chicken broth and heavy cream.
- Add pasta: Press "cancel" on the Instant Pot. Add the pasta (do not stir!). If the pasta is not submerged in the sauce, add water -up to 1/3 cup- to ensure the pasta is submerged. Finally, pour the passata over the past (do not stir!) and close the lid.
- Cook: Turn the sealing valve on the Instant Pot to the "seal" position, and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Note: it will take about 10 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure.
- Finish: When cooking time is complete, release the steam valve and press "cancel". Once pressure has been released, remove the lid and stir in 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Top the ziti with the remaining mozzarella and let it stand for about 10 minutes.
- Serve: Garnish with fresh basil and serve warm!
Tips & Notes:
- Creamy baked ziti will last in the fridge for 3 – 5 days when stored in a sealed airtight container. If you would rather freeze the ziti, do so by storing in a tightly sealed airtight container and it will extend the shelf life for up to 1 month.
- When the times comes for reheating, remove from the freezer the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. Reheat in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 F degrees.
