This Meatless Baked Ziti in Instant Pot is the perfect easy weeknight dinner—creamy, cheesy, and absolutely delicious! Best of all, it’s 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!
👉 This meatless baked ziti in instant pot has been a reader favorite since I first shared the recipe in 2019. It was updated with new photos, step-by-step instructions and a short video in June 2025.
Baked ziti is a beloved Italian-American comfort dish, but as in my chicken baked ziti, the traditional version can be a bit involved—with steps like boiling pasta, cooking meat, preparing sauce, layering, and then baking.
This recipe simplifies it all by using the instant pot to cook everything in one pot—no meat, no fuss. It's my easy, meatless twist on the classic, perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner.
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Why our recipe?
- One-Pot Wonder – Everything cooks in the Instant Pot—no separate pans for pasta, sauce, or baking. The pasta absorbs flavor as it cooks.
- Easy Sauce Swap – Jarred marinara keeps it quick and simple, replacing traditional homemade meat sauce.
- Meatless & Vegetarian-Friendly – No meat needed! Just use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth to keep it fully vegetarian.
- Quick & Easy – Ready in under 30 minutes—much faster than the traditional 1–2 hour version.
Featured comments
From Laura: "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!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From 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" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How to make meatless baked ziti in instant pot?
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Creamy instant pot baked ziti
My secret to ultra-creamy baked ziti in the instant pot is to mix ricotta cheese with a splash of heavy cream before adding it to the pasta. This simple step creates a richer, smoother sauce that coats the pasta beautifully, giving it a luxurious, restaurant-quality taste.
Recipe tips
- Tomato Sauce – I used Prego (tomato, basil & garlic), but feel free to use your favorite. 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.
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
- Set Instant pot to saute setting. When hot, add olive oil and then chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes, until translucent.
- Press cancel and then stir in the marinara sauce, stock, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper. Give a good mix.
- Place the pasta on top and gently press it into the sauce, making sure that they are mostly immersed into the sauce. Don't stir the pasta!
- Close and lock the lid, making sure the valve is in the sealed position. Cook on manual for 6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the ricotta and heavy cream until smooth and well combined. Stir in ½ cup of mozzarella and set aside. This simple step adds a rich, creamy touch to the pasta.
- Quick-release the pressure as soon as the cooking time ends. Open the lid and gently stir in the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup mozzarella, Parmesan, and fresh basil over the top. Close the lid for 2–3 minutes to let the cheeses melt. Serve 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.
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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🙂