Frozen Meat? No Problem

This is one recipe you will definitely want in your arsenal when you are having a day that just isn’t going right.

Did you forget to defrost something? That’s happened to me more times than I’d care to mention so I’m sure everyone knows what I’m talking about. When that happened, I’d get a take-out. That is until I found this recipe. If you’ve got a pound of frozen ground beef or sausage, then make this delicious ziti dish. Trust me that your family will love this. Convenient as it is, it also happens to be extremely tasty.

Baked Ziti In Your Instant Pot

Your Instant Pot is handy for so many things, but it really comes in handy when you’re pressed for time and want a delicious dinner.

Actually, I’ve been making this long before the advent of the Instant Pot. The recipe came with my old Wolfgang Puck multicooker. You can also use a stove-top pressure cooker if you have one.

I’ve made this recipe with Italian sausage. In fact, I prefer it with sausage, but it’s very nice with ground beef too.

Dinner is on the table in 20 minutes. but bear in mind that’s the time it takes once the pot comes up to pressure. If you start with frozen meat, it’s going to take a lot longer for the Instant Pot to reach that point, so realistically, we’re looking at at least 45 minutes in total time. It takes about 30 minutes starting with fresh meat or sausage. The great thing is, regardless of the time, is this is a set-it-and-forget-it meal. Throw in the ingredients, set the pot and that’s it.

Add The Cheese Last

I’ve been pressure cooking a long time and one thing I always noticed was that if you add cheese–regardless of the type–and let it cook with the other ingredients, it somehow gets lost in the translation.

Since this recipe uses mozzarella which is nice and soft and stringy, add this right before you serve. There’s enough heat to melt it to perfection and it will stay soft and stringy!

The Recipe

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Instant Pot Baked Ziti

Have this ziti dinner in a flash.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: beef, Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cooking with frozen meat, instant pot meals, quick baked ziti, superbowl party food

Servings: 6

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef or Italian sausage
• 2 cups beef or chicken stock
• 2 cups dry ziti or penne
• 26 ounce jar pasta sauce
• 2 tbs chopped fresh basil optional
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients, except the cheese, in the instant pot insert in the order listed.
• Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes.
• When cooking is complete, release pressure immediately.
• Using a large spoon, break up the ground meat, add the shredded cheese, and stir.
• Serve at once or leave on keep warm.

Notes

You can use frozen meat if you forgot to defrost.

Nutritional values calculated with ground beef.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 996mg | Potassium: 833mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 714IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 3mg

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