This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls is a deconstructed version of the classic cabbage rolls my mom made. They are inexpensive to make, and you can feed the family a nutritious, tasty meal for very little. This pressure cooker unstuffed cabbage rolls recipe is like a stew, and is very good.
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage rolls are a comfort food in many cultures, mine included. Recreating a comfort food from my childhood brings me back to our tiny little kitchen (I called it our 1-butt kitchen, lol!).
This recipe is rather old fashioned. Nothing fancy, except for maybe the balsamic vinegar! I was going to make this into more of a soup (and you can), but I really wanted the thickness of a casserole, and for it to be more like when you mash up a cabbage roll.
If you decide you want to make Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls into a soup, just increase the broth, and adjust the seasonings a little, to your liking. Easy!
Two questions I get asked about this recipe are:
1) Is the rice cooked or uncooked when I put it in? It is uncooked. Rinse it well before adding it to get some of the starch off.
2) Will I get the dreaded “BURN” error from this being thick? You shouldn’t. As long as you pay attention to the amounts of the ingredients, and don’t stir in the tomatoes before pressure cooking, it should come to pressure with no burn issues.
Instant Pot Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
Pin This Recipe
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef or Ground Turkey (93% lean), or use sausage or half sausage for added flavor.
- 1 large Yellow Onion, chopped
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 large cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 2 tsp Paprika
- 1 ½ tsp Coarse Salt (or 1 tsp table salt) more to taste
- 1 tsp Pepper
- ¼ tsp Oregano
- 1 small-med Head of Green Cabbage, chopped in 2" pieces
- 3 ½ cups Beef Broth,* low sodium (or chicken, if using gr. turkey)
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 cup Long Grain White Rice, rinsed, uncooked
- 1 (14 oz) can Diced Tomatoes, with juice
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tsp Sugar
Instructions
- Get all of your veggies chopped, and all other ingredients ready to go. Then turn on the pressure cooker's Sauté setting.
- If using ground beef, add it to the pot and start browning it. Then add the onions.
If using ground turkey, add some olive oil to the pot and add the onions first. Then add the ground turkey when the onions just start to turn translucent. - Add the bay leaves and garlic. Sauté, stirring frequently, for a minute.
- Add the paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, cabbage, broth*, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire. Stir well and let heat up for a few minutes.
- Add the rice and stir well.
- Pour the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar over the cabbage mixture, but don't stir.
- Put the lid on the pot and lock in place.
- Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the Sauté function and then press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial. Use the + or - button or dial to choose 4 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes (5 minute natural release). Then do a controlled Quick Release to manually release the remaining pressure. This will take a few minutes as the pot is full.
- To do a controlled Quick Release, use a spoon handle to gently push the steam release knob towards the Venting position, but don't turn the knob fully over. The reason is that with a full pot there is a risk of sauce spewing out of the knob with the steam. It make a huge mess, and could burn you. So just feather it and when you feel sure that only steam is coming out, turn it fully to Venting. If sauce starts to come out, just turn it back and feather it some more.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid carefully and give the contents a stir.
- Taste and adjust salt, if desired.
- Serve with some soft dinner rolls.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe and More
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
I love cabbage rolls but let’s face it -I’m never going to have the time to make them the traditional way. Seeking a “deconstructed” Instant Pot version I looked at many recipes but this seemed closest to my mom’s recipe. Made it tonight and it is FANTASTIC! Just like momma made with less than 1/3 the effort. Thank you!
It was snowing a little bit here in TN today….a perfect day for soup! I made your recipe without ever having tried cabbage rolls. I wasn’t sure how it would taste. My husband and son kept commenting, “Smells delicious!” as it was cooking. My daughter was adamant that she wouldn’t eat it, but she couldn’t help herself once it was finished. All of us enjoyed it. I’m taking leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Thanks for the comfort food!
That’s great! I love when the kids eat a healthier meal and actually like it! Thank you for your review!
How long do you brown the turkey? Until there is no pink? Thank you!
Yes, just until mostly done. The pressure cooking will finish cooking it.
Thanks so much! My family loved it, I have had requests for more batches ?
Great! Thank you for letting me know!
Any adjustments needed for brown rice?
Hi Sarah, yes, brown rice takes much longer to cook than white rice, and a different water to rice ratio. The other issue is that your cabbage may get overly mushy. That may not be a bad thing, but if it were me, I would cook the rice on the stove and add it at the end. If you are trying to keep this a one-pot meal, increase the liquid, depending on the type of brown rice you are using, and increase the cook time to about 20 minutes.
We love this thanks for the great recipe!
Awesome, Tim! Thank you!
I’m going to try to trim this down to fit in a 3 qt Instant Pot this week. Any suggestions for amounts are welcome. Thanks for the recipe.
You can cut the recipe in half and that should work in your 3 qt.
I halved everything except the can of tomatoes and made it in the 3qt Instant Pot. It was fantastic. I served it with a little shredded cheddar and hot sauce. It was amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Awesome! Thank you, Paula!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! My husband and my 2 younger boys gave it a “9” Lol I did make slight modifications: added an extra can of diced tomatoes and an 8oz can of tomato sauce. Definitely making this again!!!!
Hi Angela! I’m so happy that your family liked this recipe! Thank you so much for your review!
I am newish to my Instant pot and am always confused when doubling a recipe. I can see doubling the tomatoes but what about the broth? My recipes come out with too much liquid.
I would double everything and cut back a little on the broth, maybe by 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups.
I made this tonight using ground pork, stewed tomatoes and chicken broth. I omitted the Worcestershire sauce, just because I didn’t have it on hand, and used brown rice. It was delicious and the timing was perfect according to your recipe. Next time I think I will add more tomatoes for my own taste, but the recipe is great and, best of all, easily adapted. Thank you for sharing!
Dayna that sounds absolutely wonderful! Thank you for sharing your version of this recipe!
I doubled it and will be putting some leftovers in the freezer for lunches. Even the little ones liked this!
I’m so happy to know that the littles liked this, too! That’s always a win in my book! Thank you for your review!