Easy Instant Pot ziti recipe! This Instant Pot pasta recipe turns Italian sausage and a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce in a yummy one-pot dinner in less than 30 minutes total.
Looking for simple weeknight dinner recipe? And, really, who isn’t right now? Well, you found it with this easy Instant Pot ziti recipe!
This Instant Pot pasta recipe turns ground Italian sausage, pasta, and a couple jars of spaghetti sauce into a yummy one-pot dinner in less than 30 minutes total. So, this quick and easy ziti recipe makes a great weeknight dinner.
Since it’s all made in the inner pot, it’s also quick and easy to clean up. And, best of all, you end up with a delicious, comforting dinner with practically no work!
How to make ziti in the Instant Pot
Press SAUTE. When HOT, add Italian sausage and cook until browned.
Drain grease, if necessary, and return Italian sausage to the inner pot. Stir in onion and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and stir in.
Deglaze the inner pot with the red wine and scrape up as many of the browned bits as possible. This will help to avoid a burn message. Press CANCEL.
Add the ziti, water, spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Do not stir.
Close and lock the lid. Turn the pressure release valve to SEALING.Press MANUAL and adjust the pressure to HIGH and the time to 4 minutes.
When the cooking time is finished, carefully turn the pressure release valve to VENTING to quickly release the pressure. Give the pasta a good stir.
For the filling, add the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. Stir in to combine.
Tips
Tips- Italian Sausage: You can use mild or hot Italian sausage in this recipe. Turkey Italian sausage will also work.
- Red Wine: If you don’t want to use red wine, simply substitute an equal amount of beef or chicken broth.
- Filling: The filling is optional.
- Cottage Cheese: I don’t recommend fat-free cottage cheese, but low-fat or full-fat work well. If you don’t like cottage cheese, you can use an equal amount of ricotta cheese instead.
- Cooking Time: Different brands of noodles can have slight cooking time differences. If you find that the noodles are still too firm after cooking, just cover the pot and let the pasta sit for a few minutes.
How long will this pasta keep?
This pasta reheats well. It will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What to serve with ziti
I like to serve this ziti with a simple green salad for a quick weeknight meal. If I have more time, I make my 30 minute garlic knots to go alongside this pasta.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes!
More Instant Pot pasta recipes!- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Instant Pot Goulash
- Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot ziti recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
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Instant Pot Ziti
Equipment
- Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
Ziti
- 1 pound Italian sausage1
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 1/4 cup red wine2
- 16 ounces uncooked ziti
- 2- 24 ounce jars spaghetti sauce
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Optional Filling
- 3/4 cup cottage cheese3
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Press SAUTE.
- When HOT, add Italian sausage and cook until browned.
- Drain grease, if necessary, and return Italian sausage to the inner pot.
- Stir in onion and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir in.
- Deglaze the inner pot with the red wine and scrape up as many of the browned bits as possible. This will help to avoid a burn message.
- Press CANCEL.
- Add the ziti, water, spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Do not stir.
- Close and lock the lid.
- Turn the pressure release valve to SEALING.
- Press MANUAL and adjust the pressure to HIGH and the time to 4 minutes.
- When the cooking time is finished, carefully turn the pressure release valve to VENTING to quickly release the pressure.
- Give the pasta a good stir.4
- For the filling, add the cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.
- Stir in to combine.
Notes
- Mild or hot ok. You can even use a turkey Italian sausage if you prefer.
- You can substitute an equal amount of chicken or beef broth for the wine.
- Whole milk or low-fat ok. I don't recommend using fat-free. You can also substitute an equal amount of ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese.
- If the pasta is a little too firm for you, cover the pot and let the pasta sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Nutrition values are estimates and include optional filling.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Manoj says
I made this for my board game group last Saturday and it very popular. I was able to take the leftovers to my friend’s house the next day (his daughters love pasta dishes) and they loved it too! It is simple enough that I can’t mess it up, so thank you for that!
I did have one question. Would it work as well with ground chicken? I have some friends that don’t eat red meat, so I thought that I could make it with ground chicken instead. I wasn’t sure if the recipe would need to be adjusted due to that change – I could add some crushed red pepper flakes or maybe some cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit, but wanted to know if there was anything else that I should take into consideration?
Thanks again!
Kate says
I’m so glad that it was a hit!
You could use ground chicken or ground turkey. Since ground chicken and ground turkey are leaner, you will need to add a tablespoon or so of oil to prevent the meat and the vegetables from sticking to the inner pot. Also, you could add a bit of fennel seed to give you a bit of flavor. Hope that helps!
Tara Meharg says
Ok, need a quick working momma come back answer here because I’m a teacher and have to be at work at 7:20 AM , therefore I’m not at home all day to run & get these ingredients like stay at home moms can, (envious), but my daughter plays soccer and has requested this for her carb loading dinner the night before a major game. It looks like it calls for “milk” but I can’t find it in the recipe list accept for cottage cheese, so how much milk do I need along with the cottage cheese? Please answer quickly. Working momma is on a timeline!! This dish looks delicious & I want to make it possible for my girl! Thanks in advance!?
Kate says
Hi! Hopefully you’ll see this in time! I have a new baby, and, unfortunately, with 5 kids at home now and a job, I’m not always able to answer questions as each one comes in. I’m guessing that you’re looking at the part where it says “whole milk”. That refers to the type of cottage cheese (whole milk vs 2% vs non-fat), but there’s no milk called for in the recipe. Also, the cottage cheese filling is completely option and can be omitted if you prefer.
Jenny says
This was my first Instant Pot recipe and it was so simple and so good! My 2.5 year old devoured it and it made enough for my husband and I plus the toddler to have dinner and freeze the leftovers for another meal! Definitely will be making this again and made me fall in love with my Pot!
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that!
Cie says
Took a chance on this – and I’m glad I did! So easy – and you can easily change out some of the ingredients without messing it up. I used vegan sausage – added green pepper after the onion cooked – and used more mozzarella than cottage cheese to make up the combined amount. I also used about 30-32 oz of spaghetti sauce and it was plenty. This was awesome. Thanks so much for the recipe – I’m a new InstantPot user and this was my first pasta dish.
Kate says
Thank you! And thank you for sharing your notes!