This baked ziti is not only simple and quick, it is also one of our favorites. This recipe is almost always in our meal rotation and we do not get tired of it. There are many ways to do this recipe, so if you don’t have one or two ingredients you can always sub for something else that you have on hand. Get creative and make this baked ziti your own. Let’s get cooking!

Like we mentioned above there are various ways you can make this ziti. Personally, we often use frozen chopped onions, peppers, mushrooms, and artichokes. There is no need to thaw or defrost the frozen vegetables. Pre-chopped frozen vegetables are great if you are in a rush or you are simply not in the mood to be in the kitchen long. Although, the day we filmed the video the store did not have frozen peppers or mushrooms, so we used fresh. If you prefer fresh or that is all you have that is perfectly fine!

Throw the chopped onions, peppers, mushrooms, and artichokes into the Instant Pot. We use a 6 quart Instant Pot and it fits perfectly, but if you have a smaller one you can always half the recipe.

Next, throw the dry ingredients and spices into the pot. A hack to make this recipe even faster is to use a quart sized mason jar with the dry ingredients and spices already measured out, so you have it ready to go when you want to make this recipe!

Add the pasta to the pot as well. We recommend the red lentil penne pasta by Barilla especially for those who are gluten free. Wheat or chickpea pasta also work great, although they do become slightly tender. The only pasta we do not recommend is rice based pasta as it does not hold its shape very well and falls apart. An optional add in we love is crushed soy curls. The cheapest and best way to buy them is from the Butler Company Website.

We are almost done! Add the tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes to the Instant Pot. The pot is going to seem very full, that is okay! We suggest using the no added salt tomatoes and diced tomatoes, because there is already plenty of sodium from the tomatoes themselves. Stir everything in the pot well to create more room for the water.

Finally, add the water to the Instant Pot and stir well. If you are worried about the pot being too full, you can add half now and the other half when it is done (which will help cool it down a bit). Set the Instant Pot on high for 19 minutes.

After 19 minutes has passed you can manually release the steam from the Instant Pot. We recommend setting a towel on the top to avoid any juice being sprayed. After all the steam has been let out, open the Instant Pot and stir the contents well.

Scoop the ziti into a bowl and sprinkle on your favorite toppings. We love to add rinsed and sliced black olives, but you could add capers or cashew ricotta if you prefer. And that is all for this deliciously easy Baked Ziti recipe!

Don’t forget to download our FREE 5 Day Meal Planner with the full recipe and more! We hope you enjoy and show us how you made your baked ziti on our Instagram!