Carry Along Casserole–Instant Pot or slow cooker beef and cabbage with a creamy tomato sauce. A high protein, low calorie dinner that has lots of flavor!
Carry Along Casserole
Today’s recipe uses cabbage in the place of egg noodles to keep this dinner lower in calories and lower in carbs. It only has 211 calories per serving but it tastes so good and fills you up! This fed 3 hungry teenage boys and they all liked it…I didn’t tell them it was cabbage. The leftovers make a wonderful lunch the next day.
This recipe as adapted from Taming Frenzy. The original author said, “As a working mom, I used to make this casserole frequently because it made enough leftovers to take to work or for another dinner. I often made this dish on a Sunday evening so that I didn’t have to face that dreaded, ‘What’s for dinner?’ question at the end of a long day. It reheats nicely in the oven or in the microwave.”
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or lean ground turkey
- Onion–yellow, white
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder–or granulated garlic
- Smoked paprika
- Beef broth–or water and Better than Bouillon beef base
- Cabbage–I use green cabbage
- Tomato sauce
- Cottage cheese–or ricotta cheese
- Sour cream
- Cornstarch
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add in the cabbage and dump the tomato sauce on top.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
In a bowl whisk together the cottage cheese, sour cream and cornstarch until smooth. Stir a cup of the hot mixture into the dairy mixture. Turn pot to saute setting. Scrape the mixture into the pot and stir until thickened. Turn off Instant Pot.
Scoop into bowls and top with a bit of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side of garlic toast and a green salad with Olive Garden Italian salad dressing.
- Try adding in ¼ cup of sliced olives.
- You can make this with egg noodles instead of cabbage. Add in 3 cups of broth instead of a half cup of broth. And then instead of cabbage sprinkle in 8 ounces of egg noodles. Pressure cook for just 1 minute with a 5 minute natural pressure release. You can also do half cabbage and half egg noodles (3 cups cabbage and 4 ounces noodles, use 1 ½ cups of broth and a 1 minute pressure cook time with a 5 minute natural pressure release).
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with cottage cheese are Dropping Weight Casserole and Starbucks Egg Bites.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Carry Along Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot beef and cabbage with a creamy tomato sauce. A high protein, low calorie dinner that has lots of flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 6–8 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- Parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
- Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Add in the cabbage and dump the tomato sauce on top.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- In a bowl whisk together the cottage cheese, sour cream and cornstarch until smooth. Stir a cup of the hot mixture into the dairy mixture. Turn pot to saute setting. Scrape the mixture into the pot and stir until thickened. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Scoop into bowls and top with a bit of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Add to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the broth, cabbage and tomato sauce.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- In a bowl whisk together the cottage cheese, sour cream and cornstarch until smooth. Stir a cup of the hot mixture into the dairy mixture. Scrape the mixture into the pot and stir. Turn to high and let thicken for about 10 minutes.
- Scoop into bowls and top with a bit of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot Recipes with Cabbage…
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
This soup has the flavors of a cabbage roll with its ground beef, plenty of seasonings and lots of cabbage. It is a low-cal, high protein soup that satisfies!
Instant Pot Amish Cabbage and Potato Casserole
Seasoned ground beef with cabbage, potatoes and a creamy sauce.
Instant Pot Cajun Chicken, Sausage and Cabbage
Bites of chicken and smoked sausage with potatoes, onions and cabbage flavored with cajun seasoning.
Instant Pot Buttered Cabbage
An easy side dish recipe with only 3 main ingredients. Buttered cabbage is just what it sounds like! Braised cabbage with butter. It’s delightful and even if you’re not a cabbage lover you might be surprised at how tasty this cabbage is!
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
It was tasty with ground pork. Per your notes, I used 4 cups of cabbage and 4 oz. noodles. At the end, added some garlic salt and a bit of basil. It was good topped with the parmesan and a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes.
Yum! Sounds so good!
Can you substitute the cabbage for something else?
You can make this with egg noodles instead of cabbage. Add in 3 cups of broth instead of a half cup of broth. And then instead of cabbage sprinkle in 8 ounces of egg noodles. Pressure cook for just 1 minute with a 5 minute natural pressure release.