Instant Pot Baked Ziti

Instant Pot Baked Ziti is an easy one pot meal made with whole wheat pasta, spinach and cheese. The perfect meatless main dish for the family on busy weeknights!

I’m so excited to share this baked ziti recipe with all of you! I’ve tested this several times and got it just right! It’s an easy one pot pasta recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to make. I tried this out on my picky husband and he loved it, so did I! More one pot recipes like this you might like Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce or Instant Pot Turkey Meatball and Pasta Soup.

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So many things to love about this one pot dinner! Because this baked ziti cooks with the sauce, you honestly can’t tell the pasta is whole wheat. Of course, when it comes to whole wheat pasta, you all know the only brand I like is Delallo. The texture is so much better than other brands, it’s the first brand that got me to convert and I love that it’s organic. They have a variety of shapes in whole wheat, but I really love their whole wheat cavatappi for this recipe. To keep the calories low I suggest making your own homemade marinara with their San Marzano imported tomatoes or one that doesn’t have a lot of oil added.

There’s no meat in this dish, so for the protein (over 23 grams per serving) this dish has three cheeses – mozzarella, ricotta and Pecorino Romano cheese. If you want to add meat, use a meat sauce instead or add some leftover chopped up meatballs. The pasta cooks together in the Instant Pot (affil link) with the sauce at the same time all in one pot! All you Italians out there are shaking your head, I know! You’re supposed to boil pasta in a large pot of water, but guess what, I fed this to my Italian husband and he came back for seconds. Kids love it too!

Tips when making one-pot pasta:

Since the pasta is cooked right in the sauce, you will need to add water to the pot along with the sauce.
Make sure the liquid covers the pasta.
Once the pasta is ready, eat right away for al dente or the pasta will continue to absorb the sauce.
To make this on the stove, cook everything in a large pot with the same ingredients following the same method over med-low heat, covered about 16 to 20 minutes, or until pasta is cooked, stirring half way. Similar to this Spaghetti and Meat Sauce recipe.

More recipes you will LOVE:

Instant Pot Baked Ziti

452 Cals 24 Protein 64 Carbs 12.5 Fats

Prep Time: 4 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 24 mins

Instant Pot Baked Ziti is an easy one pot meal made with whole wheat pasta and spinach. Perfect meatless main dish for the family!

1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
2 cups chopped baby spinach
2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
10 ounces Delallo whole wheat pasta such as ziti or cavatappi, about 3 cups
2 cups homemade or jarred marinara sauce
1/2 cup part skim ricotta
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Using the saute button, when hot add the oil and garlic; stir 1 minute, or until golden.
Add water and salt to the pot to deglaze, making sure the garlic is not stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add spinach and pasta and stir.
Pour the marinara sauce evenly over the uncooked pasta, making sure it’s covering all the pasta. Do not stir.
Cover and cook high pressure 7 minutes.
Quick release, then open the lid, stir the pasta, dollop in the ricotta, top with Pecorino and the mozzarella.
Cover the lid 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese melts.

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Serving: 11/2 cups, Calories: 452kcal, Carbohydrates: 64g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 12.5g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 29.5mg, Sodium: 855.5mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 6.5g