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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.
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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
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I made this on 29OCT2022. It’s delicious, next time I will double the meat though. I love 💕 it! 😋
Great recipe especially for measuring and timing. I adapted my old polish recipe, and added a few slices of chopped bacon with the beef/onion mixture. Deglazed the pot with a bit of broth, and added another can of tomatoes and 2 cans of mushroom soup. Left out the tomato paste and sugar. It was yummy, and better the next day!
This Is a favorite of the fam, but trying to be mindful of portion size. What is the serving size, 1 Cup?
Also, I think I am going to do a half sausage mix next time!!
Yes, my portion sizes average 1 cup for casseroles and such.
Perfect flavor as is. I prefer to use ground lamb and like to serve with a little feta on top. So much less labor intensive than classic cabbage rolls! I have a mini IP, live alone so usually only make 1/3 – 1/2 recipe and cut back a bit on liquid to avoid overfilling the IP.
Really enjoyed this. I made some mods, of course with the meat and seasonings. Used veal, added caraway seeds, left out the sugar (because I’m sweet enough), and added extra tomatoes. Followed the actual cooking instructions, though, and the hubby and I are very happy with it. I think the youngling will very much enjoy the leftovers.
My family and I very much enjoyed this recipe! Very easy and delicious. My 7 yo even had seconds. Thank you!
I got up early to make dinner before I head to work. Easy and delicious! I can’t wait to taste it again after the flavors have melded all day. Thank you so much for this easy and economical recipe.
Question posed to recipe author and others: I got 3 burn notices on my IP from this recipe. And this never happens to me! I had to complete it on the stove in the pot, but I think the rice will now be overdone.
The only “oopsie” I made is that I accidentally stirred it before closing the lid. Could that have caused it to burn!
Hi, I’m sorry to hear about the burn error. Those stink! Yes, usually this error is caused by stirring. Certain IP recipes are better using the layering technique. Tomato products (lots of sugar in them), creamy ingredients, etc. do best layered on top and cooked that way.
I’ve made this twice now for my family and they love it. Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe!
I always try and recognize incredible recipes that I’ve tried as the author was kind enough to share it with the world. Well, BIG thank you! This is sooooo delicious! It’s like Golumpki in a bowl! Our only substitute was fresh cauliflower rice for regular rice. I thought the cauliflower rice would become mushy but it was perfect. The step by step directions were so clear and descriptive and I so appreciate that thoughtfulness. This is definitely in our meals rotation list now. My only silly complaint is I can’t seem to make enough, lol, Its a HUGE pot of food and there is never one ounce of left overs left as it is gobbled up immediately. Thank you again for a GREAT (and healthy) family recipe! Kia
It was AMAZING and easy to make, I followed the steps and just added an extra cup of broth and servidor with hot sauce. Has anyone tried making it with brown rice instead? How does it change the cooking time? Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it! Brown rice has a longer cook time, depending on which variety you use. I would add about 15 minutes to the cook time. If it is still a little too firm, just put the lid back on and let it sit awhile.
I have made this recipe a dozen times for my 3 picky eaters…and they LOVE it!!
I would highly recommend it!
I love unstuffed rolled cabbage and try almost any recipe I can find. This one was great. It’s a little different from the recipes I generally use/see but decided to follow it as is (except as stated below) and see how it turns out. We loved it. And it’s so fast. I made my rice outside the IP because I only had a long grain blend and wasn’t sure how to adapt for the liquid. I did take liquid down to 2 1/2 cups of broth. Can’t wait for leftovers. Thanks so much. A real winner.
I’m not a big cabbage fan, but I had a savoy cabbage in the back of my veggie drawer (thought I’d make a new england boiled dinner, but never did), and had to use it up. I also needed to go grocery shopping. There was not much in the house, but I had a pound of ground pork in the freezer and all of the other ingredients, except the tomato sauce (which I simply omitted) and the beef broth, but I had chicken broth. So, all in all, I followed the recipe except for the tomato sauce, but had to use the ground meat and broth I had on hand. I can’t say what it would have been like with the beef and beef broth, but it was FABULOUS with the pork and chicken broth. The ratio of everything was spot on. I was a bit nervous about the balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire, and almost left that last one out, but am so glad I followed your instructions and added it. I’m not a fan, but I could not distinctly taste the Worcestershire, and the broth (sauce really, it didn’t come out souply) was delicious. I’ll have to try this recipe again with the beef, but don’t hesitate to try it with pork and chicken broth! Thanks for helping to feed the family when I thought there was nothing good available to feed the four of us!
Just tried this, made a few minor changes. No bay leaf, oregano, tomato paste or sugar. Used minute rice, 28 oz. Of diced tomatoes and I can of tomato soup. Followed instructions with the above changes. Fantastic. Loved it. This will be a go to recipe.