Instant Pot Creamy Baked Ziti

Prepping and portioning the measured ingredients ahead of time takes minutes,

which then makes it a breeze at dinner time to throw together and walk away!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or two frozen Dorot cubes).  You can also use 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
• 16 ounces uncooked ziti pasta or other tube-shaped pasta (I used rigatoni.)
• 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (Technically, you only need a 14.5 oz. can, but I like to use 16-18 oz. in the recipe to make it a bit "saucier," especially for leftovers or added ingredients (like veggies/meat)).
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil
*Instead of the oregano and basil, I omitted entirely and instead used 3 teaspoons of Italian Seasoning.
• 1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
•  Fresh basil, optional 

Directions:

*If you're adding meat to this recipe, which I highly encourage, see "optional" notes at the bottom and begin with that.  If not, proceed with steps below:

 

• Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 6-quart Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the broth (first) and cream (second) and add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Then, add the pasta; don't stir, but if it's mounded in the center, arrange into an even layer. 
  
• Pour the crushed tomatoes (again, I used 16-18 oz.) evenly over the pasta and sprinkle the oregano and basil (or Italian Seasoning) over the top. Don't stir.
• Secure the lid of the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and select "manual" or "pressure cook."  Dial up or down to the minutes needed as follows: Take the cooking time on the pasta package directions, cut it in half and subtract two additional minutes. For example, for pasta that cooks to al dente in 12 minutes, the Instant Pot cooking time would be 4 minutes (half of 12 is six, minus two additional minutes).  
  
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (meaning, set a personal timer and leave it ALONE for 10 minutes after the timer has ended), and then quick release the remaining pressure (meaning, manually open the valve to allow remaining pressure to release). Open lid and stir.  If adding a veggie, add during this step.  I left a 3/4 cup of peas out to thaw during the pasta's cooking process and they warmed immediately when adding to the finished, hot pasta.  This is when the added crushed tomatoes helps!
• The original recipe suggests adding the Parmesan into the Instant Pot and stirring thoroughly, but I didn't want to deal with hardened cheese aftermath in the Instant Pot. Instead, I added the Parmesan to each individual bowl after portioning.  Serve immediately with chopped, fresh basil, if desired.
  

Optional: Adding a pound of ground beef or Italian sausage is fantastic with this recipe (I used sweet Italian sausage).  Cook the meat in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting with a little salt and pepper, drain the grease, and proceed with the recipe.  (Just make sure when you add the broth in step one, scrape the bottom of the pot really well before adding the other ingredients.)

*www.melskitchencafe.com