Instant Pot German Red Cabbage is a delicious vegetable side dish with a sweet and sour flavor. Popular for the wonderful red color, and the soft, comforting warmth of an Old World comfort food. Pressure cooker German reg cabbage is perfectly braised in your Instant Pot®.
Instant Pot German Red Cabbage
I have talked about my mom’s German cooking before, and today I am bringing you another childhood comfort food. We ate a lot of cabbage growing up. It was cheap, and mom could but several heads of it. Cabbage was a base for many of her delicious recipes.
Instant Pot German Red Cabbage has many variations, depending on where you live, or what the recipe creator liked in theirs. This recipe is easy to change up and customize to your taste.
Here are a few variations you can try
- Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
- Add more Allspice for more intense spice flavor.
- Fry some bacon and use the bacon fat instead of butter, adding the cooked bacon as a garnish.
- Add some raisins or other dried fruit.
- Toss a few sausages on top and cook with the cabbage.
Can I use Green Cabbage?
Green cabbage has a different flavor than red cabbage, plus it is not as soft. That doesn’t mean you can’t use it, just that the results will be a bit different.
Can I make this Instant Pot Red Cabbage recipe without the sugar?
Yes you can. You can replace the sugar with Swerve, honey, or just omit the sweetener completely. It will be more savory/sour, but you can add sweetener at the end if you need to.
Can I add meat and make a one-pot meal?
Yes, as long as the meat has the same cook time, and does well with a Quick Release. Also think of the flavor that the meat will add. Sausages would be great.
You’d probably have to use precooked sausages as uncooked would possibly take longer to cook (though that would depend on the size and thickness).
Adding some cooked bacon after pressure cooking would be delicious! It will add a nice smoky, savory edge.
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Instant Pot German Red Cabbage is a delicious vegetable side dish with a sweet and sour flavor. Pressure cooker German red cabbage is perfectly braised in your Instant Pot.
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Onion, sliced
- 1 (2 lb) Head Red Cabbage, shredded, thinly
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
- 1/8 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 1 Tbsp Sugar (or more to taste at the end)
- 2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and diced
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Have all of the vegetables prepared and ready to go before you start cooking.
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Turn on the Sauté setting. When the pot is hot, add the butter and the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to soften.
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Add the cabbage and stir. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up any clumps of cabbage that stuck together.
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Add the salt, pepper, and allspice. Stir well.
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Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Stir
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Add the apples, stir them in.
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Cancel the Sauté setting. Then press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then press the +/- button or dial to select 5 minutes. High pressure.
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When the cook time has finished, do a Quick Release of the pressure by turning the steam release knob to the Venting position. Turn off the pot.
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When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid. Stir the cabbage.
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Serve hot with pork, sausages, or any main dish you like.
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Yummy! Very similar to what my oma made. She added raisins to hers. I remember it cooking on the stove all day. Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Jocelyn, what a great memory of your dear Oma! Thank you for your comment!
Do you need to add any water/liquid prior to the pressure cooking for 5 minutes or will it build up enough steam from the water from the cabbage?
The vinegar and apple should create enough liquid to bring it to pressure. If it doesn’t come to pressure, you can add 1/4 cup of apple juice or water.
Before making your recipe I made red cabbage in a dutch oven which took 2 hours from prep time to cook time. The ingredients are so similar I decided to try the Instant Pot and used your recipe. This recipe and instruction for using the pressure cooking setting worked perfectly and I had delicious cabbage in no time at all!!!
Thanks for this recipe, it’s a keeper!
That’s so great, Jan! Thank you for letting me know.
This was absolutely delicious! We made a German Christmas dinner and this was a perfect compliment AND it didn’t take up any oven or stovetop space. I made it as directed. My son had 3 servings! Thank you! 5 stars for sure!
Turned out really good but not quite as tangy as I was expecting, how would I adjust this next time?
Add more vinegar.
Delicious, even cold.
Great recipe,as usual. My only addition was a few whole cloves, because my Grandma did. I make in 3 qt, and make a German pot roast with ginger snap gravy in the 6 qt. Mashed potato on stove top. Maybe I should buy another IP for the potato! 😊
Thank you, Sandy.