This Meatless Baked Ziti in Instant Pot is the perfect easy weeknight dinner—creamy, cheesy, and absolutely delicious! Ready in just 30 minutes!
Looking for more easy instant pot pasta dishes? Try my instant pot pasta with tomato cream sauce next—it's a delicious pink sauce pasta you won't want to miss!
Why You'll Love Instant Pot Baked Ziti
This recipe has been a reader favorite since I first shared it in 2019, and I gave it a fresh update with better photos in 2025.
I can see why it’s so popular! It’s a true one-pot wonder—everything cooks right in the Instant Pot, so there’s no need to boil the pasta separately or turn on the oven. The pasta cooks directly in the sauce, soaking up all those delicious flavors along the way.
I use jarred marinara to keep things quick and easy, and there’s no meat needed. Best of all, it’s ready in under 30 minutes, making it much faster than traditional baked ziti. Prefer the classic baked version? Try my Chicken Baked Ziti instead.
My secret to ultra-creamy Instant Pot baked ziti is mixing the ricotta with a splash of heavy cream before adding it to the pasta. This simple step makes the ricotta smoother and richer, creating a creamy sauce that coats every bite beautifully.
-maria doss
★★★★★
"This is serious restaurant quality and soooo easy. This will be a regular for us! Substituted tofu for ricotta and while milk for cream (what I had). Simply delish! Thank you!"
-LAURA
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Tips for Success
- Tomato Sauce – I used Prego (tomato, basil & garlic), but feel free to use your favorite sauce. Just adjust the salt based on the sauce’s seasoning.
- Stock – I used 33% less sodium chicken stock. If using regular or no-sodium stock, adjust the salt to taste.
- Vegetarian Option – Use vegetable stock to keep the dish fully vegetarian.
- Salt – The amount needed will vary depending on your choice of sauce and stock. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Penne - Use penne instaed of ziti pasta.
FAQ'S
Why Is It Important Not to Stir Pasta in an Instant Pot?
It’s important not to stir the pasta into the sauce before pressure cooking because the pasta can sink to the bottom of the pot and stick, increasing the chances of scorching and triggering the dreaded “BURN” notice.
An Instant Pot needs enough thin liquid at the bottom of the pot to create steam and build pressure. When you stir the pasta into a thick sauce, the heavier pasta can settle against the bottom, where it can trap the sauce and prevent the liquid from circulating properly. The thick sauce can then scorch against the hot bottom of the pot and cause a BURN warning.
Instead, add the pasta on top of the sauce and gently press it down so most of it is submerged, but resist the urge to stir. This simple layering step helps the pasta cook evenly while keeping the sauce from sitting directly against the bottom of the pot.
Adding the ricotta after pressure cooking helps keep it smooth, creamy, and fresh-tasting. The high heat inside a sealed Instant Pot can cause ricotta to separate and become grainy or watery when cooked for too long.
Instead, stir the ricotta into the hot pasta and sauce after releasing the pressure. The residual heat is enough to warm the cheese and blend it into the sauce without overcooking it. I also mix the ricotta with a splash of heavy cream first, which makes it extra smooth and easy to incorporate.
The result is a rich, creamy, cheesy sauce with that cozy “lazy lasagna” feel—without having to layer or bake anything.
Technically, this isn’t a traditional baked ziti because it’s cooked entirely in the Instant Pot. But it uses the same classic combination of ziti, marinara, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan, giving you all those familiar baked-ziti flavors without the oven.
The biggest difference is the finish. Traditional baked ziti gets its golden, bubbly cheese crust from the oven, while the Instant Pot uses moist heat, so it won’t create that browned top on its own. Instead, you get saucy, creamy pasta with perfectly melted cheese—all in one pot and ready in under 30 minutes.
More Instant Pot Pasta Recipes
Meatless Baked Ziti in Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce (I used Prego - tomato, basil & garlic)
- 1 cup chicken stock (I used 33% less sodium)
- ½ + ⅛ teaspoon salt or use according to taste
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 ounces ziti pasta
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
- 2 tablespoons grated paremsan
- fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Saute aromatics. Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Once hot, add 2 tablespoon olive oil, then ½ cup chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes, until the onion turns translucent.
- Mix sauce. Press cancel, then stir in 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, 1 cup stock, ½ + ⅛ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Pressure cook. Add the pasta on top and gently press it down into the sauce, making sure most of it is submerged. Don’t stir! Close and lock the lid, making sure the valve is set to Sealing. Cook on manual for 6 minutes.
- Mix cheese. Meanwhile, mix ¼ cup ricotta and ¼ cup heavy cream in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in ½ cup of mozzarella and set aside. 👉 This simple step adds a rich, creamy touch to the pasta.
- Finish. Quick-release the pressure as soon as the cooking time is up. Open the lid and gently stir in the ricotta mixture.Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoon parmesan, and fresh basil on top. Close the lid for 2–3 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
How to make baked ziti in an instant pot?
Looking for more easy instant pot pasta dishes with jar sauce? Try our instant pot penne alla vodka recipe or the spicy chicken pasta.
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💚 Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love to hear your feedback! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Facebook.
Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Mary Keller
This was excellent! And I love how you organized the groups! It made it very easy to keep my place and know what was coming next!
Claudia Muller
We enjoyed this recipe! I would like to double this for a family gathering. I assume I double all of the ingredients, however, is the cooking time the same? Thanks for any advice.
Maria Doss
HI Cladia, Glad to hear that you liked it.
To double the recipe, you WILL NOT make any changes to the cooking time. The instant pot will take longer to come to pressure (which automatically adjusts for the quantity). Hope it helps:)
Laura Forman
This is serious restaurant quality and soooo easy. This will be a regular for us! Substituted tofu for ricotta and while milk for cream (what I had). Simply delish! Thank you!
Maria Doss
So glad that you loved it 🙂
Jon D
This is my family's GO-TO recipe for the past 13 months for pasta bake in the instant pot. Move the portion slider to 6 servings and it is perfectly scaled to a 1 lb box of pasta. We gourmet it up by adding a bag of baby spinach or chopped kale before we pressure cook it.
Jon D
(Jon D. again.) We continue to make this recipe on the regular. I also plus up the onion to 2 cups. I use 6-8 cloves of garlic. We frequently add chopped chard, spinach or kale when we add the noodles and put it to pressure. Just a great recipe. I came back to print it out again because of a food mishap on the kitchen counter.
Karen Psolka
How is the total cook time 17 minutes? 2 for sautéing got and 6 for group 2 and 1 for group 3. What am I missing?
Maria Doss
Hi Karen, The instant pot (varies based on size) takes time to come to pressure. So, the cooking time takes that into account as well. Hope this helps...Happy holidays, Maria
Karen
Thanks for responding - I'm very new to this so I thought the times were those written about. I just loved your recipe. Thanks!
Maria Doss
Sure, enjoy🙂