Instant Pot Lazy Stuffed Cabbage

Instant Pot Lazy Stuffed Cabbage—all the flavors of stuffed cabbage in a super fast and easy stew. This is a delicious and healthy dinner that will fill you up!

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Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Lazy Stuffed Cabbage

After eating lots of treats all season long it was time for a healthy dinner. With lean meat, tomatoes, cabbage and brown rice this low-cal but filling stew fit the bill. It has plenty of protein and fiber. It is warm and comforting and comes together quickly with the help of a pressure cooker.

Stuffed cabbage rolls are delicious but they are a little labor intensive. This lazy stuffed cabbage solves that issue! If you think your family doesn’t like cabbage try this out anyway! The Instant Pot cooks the cabbage down so much and it’s so tender. You won’t even realize you’re eating it. I’m definitely going to be making this again soon! We all loved it and Skyler ate the last of this morning for breakfast.

What ingredients do I need?

• Ground meat–You’ll need a pound of ground meat. I used half ground pork and half lean ground beef but you can use one or the other. Try ground turkey or ground chicken as well. Another choice to amp up the flavor is ground Italian sausage.
• Diced onion–for convenience I love using frozen chopped onions. Find them next to the other frozen vegetables at your grocery store.
• Celery–other choices could be green bell peppers or diced carrots
• Minced garlic–or you can use a teaspoon of garlic powder
• Kosher salt and black pepper and Italian seasoning–for flavor
• Chicken or beef broth–or you can use Better Than Bouillon and water
• Brown rice–or you can use another type of rice, see below for how different rices change the cooking time
• Diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste–for lots of tomato flavor. You can also use tomato sauce in the place of crushed tomatoes.
• Bay leave–for flavor
• Worcestershire sauce–you can also use vinegar
• Cabbage–I used green cabbage. Purple cabbage would work, although the flavor will be slightly different and of course the color of the stew will be different.

How do you make unstuffed cabbage in the Instant Pot?

1. Brown the meat: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the pork and beef and break up. Add in the onions and celery. Brown for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. 
2. Deglaze: Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. This helps to prevent the burn error message.
3. Layer in the ingredients: Sprinkle in the rice, don’t stir. Dump in the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leave and Worcestershire. Finally add in the cabbage. Don’t stir. (Layering the ingredients and not stirring helps to prevent the burn error message).
4. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 22 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. 
5. Serve: Stir well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more Worcestershire, if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve. (I topped mine with a bit of cheese and fresh parsley)

Can I use another type of rice?

Yes you can! You will need to adjust the cooking time. Just look at the green chart below for how long to pressure cook and what pressure release to use. You can keep the same amount of broth as listed in the recipe. For example if you want to use long grain white rice only pressure cook the recipe for 3 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.

Is this recipe gluten free?

This recipe can be gluten free. Make sure to use gluten free broth and Worcestershire sauce.

How to lower the carbohydrates?

If you’d like a lower carbohydrate version of this recipe try using 2 cups of cauliflower rice (instead of brown rice) and only pressure cook for 1 minute with a 5 minute natural pressure release.

How to lower the sodium?

Try using no salt versions of the tomato products and cutting the amount of kosher salt that you add in.

What to serve alongside lazy stuffed cabbage?

This stew tastes amazing with a side of French bread or any fresh bread!

Can I freeze the leftovers?

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then warm on the stove in a pot over low heat, stirring every few minutes.

Can I double or halve this recipe?

Yes you can. Just double or halve all the ingredients and keep the same cooking time. If you’d like to double the recipe use an 8 quart pot to fit it all.

What the best way to cut up of cabbage?

1. Cut the cabbage down the middle, splitting it into two equal halves.
2. Place each half flat side down and cut down the middle. You should now have 4 quarters.
3. Locate the stem for each quarter. This is called the core. Cut off the core and discard.
4. Place each quarter flat side down. Cut it into slices.
5. Finally, cut the slices into squares.

Equipment I used

• 6 quart Instant Pot*
• Hamburger chopping tool*
• Saute paddle*
• Ladle*

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More Instant Pot Recipes with CABBAGE…

Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Soup

Instant Pot St. Patty’s Day Corned Beef And Cabbage

Instant Pot Smoked Sausage And Cabbage

Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls

Instant Pot Cabbage Casserole

Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup

Instant Pot Pork Quinoa Cabbage Bowls

You can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, soup recipes etc. Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.

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*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.