Instant Pot Ukrainian Casserole–pierogies with Kielbasa and cabbage in a yogurt and tomato sauce.
Instant Pot Ukrainian Casserole
I try not to watch too much news because it brings me down but lately I’ve been watching the coverage of what is happening in Ukraine and it has my heart sad. I am so sad for the people of Ukraine and pray for peace. It got me thinking about Ukrainian food. Some of the most popular foods used in Ukraine are sausages, varenyky (their version of dumplings like pierogies) and cabbage.
This Ukrainian Instant Pot casserole is a huge Ukrainian meal in one pot, including kielbasa sausage, cabbage and pierogi/perogy flavors! It is prepped in 20 minutes, and then the Instant Pot does all the cooking for you! Who doesn’t want a delicious Ukrainian dinner without having to spend a ridiculous amount of time making it? The only precooking required is sautéing onions. And there is only a 1 minute pressure cooking time with a quick release.
The combination of flavors is so good and it is a comforting meal that you’ll love. Even if you think you don’t like cabbage I really think you’ll love this dinner. The cabbage shrinks down a lot and absorbs the flavors of the tomato juice.
Ingredients
- Butter–or cooking oil
- Onion–or shallots
- V8–or tomato juice
- Cabbage–I used green cabbage
- Kielbasa sausage–or smoked sausage
- Frozen perogies–I used Mrs. T’s cheddar variety. Find them next to the frozen breads.
- Greek yogurt–or sour cream
- Flour–to prevent the yogurt from separating
- Dried dill–or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- Lemon pepper
Instructions
- Measure out yogurt in a bowl and set is on the counter so it can come to room temperature.
- Sauté onions in butter.
- Deglaze pot with the V8.
- Layer in the cabbage, sausage and finally pierogies. Don’t stir to prevent the burn error message.
- Pressure cook for 1 minute on LOW pressure.
- Quick release the pressure.
- Temper the yogurt.
- Gently stir in the yogurt, dill and lemon pepper.
- Serve!
Notes/Tips
- I like to cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then cut it into quarter inch slices so that it is more evenly distributed and in every bite.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in an 8 quart pot. You can halve the recipe in the 3 quart pot.
- Serve alongside a side salad or a fruit salad.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This recipe doesn’t freeze well.
- I love making homemade greek yogurt in my Instant Pot every other week or so. If you haven’t tried it yet you totally need to!
More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love…
- Instant Pot Pierogi Casserole
- Instant Pot Lazy Stuffed Cabbage
- Instant Pot Smoked Sausage And Cabbage
- Instant Pot Smoked Sausage Country Boil
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.
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Instant Pot Ukrainian Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Pierogies with Kielbasa and cabbage in a yogurt and tomato sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 1/2 cups V8 or tomato juice
- 4 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 (12 oz) package kielbasa sausage, sliced
- 16 frozen perogies (I used Mrs. T’s cheddar variety)
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tsp dried dill or 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1/8 tsp lemon pepper
Instructions
- Measure out yogurt in a bowl and set is on the counter so it can come to room temperature.
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in butter and let it melt. Add in the diced onion and sauté for about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the V8 and scrape bottom of pot so nothing is sticking. Turn off the sauté setting.
- Add in the cabbage, sausage and finally pierogies. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute on LOW pressure.
- When time is up move the valve to venting and if foam starts to escape move it back to sealing for 20 seconds and then try again to move to venting. Remove the lid once all the pressure has released.
- Turn off Instant Pot. Stir 1 Tbsp of flour into the yogurt. Stir a couple tablespoons of the hot liquid from the Instant Pot into the yogurt to temper it.
- Gently stir in the yogurt, dill and lemon pepper.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
- Category: Sausage
- Method: Instant Pot
*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.
Any way to lower the sodium content? 1600mg is alot!
I would try using low sodium v8 and low sodium sausage
Any tips on making this and freezing?
I worry about reheating it once it’s been frozen. Since the pierogies would be already frozen and then heated and then frozen again I don’t think they’d hold up.
Made this tonight, delicious! Did not use Kraut this time, we’ll try in the future. No lemon pepper on hand so, added about a teaspoon lemon juice and freshly ground pepper. Definitely will make this again!
Love that idea Laura!
I don’t have any V-8 juice but do have a freezer full of homemade tomato sauce that I’m desperately needing to use up. Could I use it —maybe diluted with water? What do you suggest to proportion it’s liquid and with other spices?
I would use 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pot and then add a cup of tomato sauce on top of the pierogies, don’t stir. This should be yummy!
Wouldn’t you know I had the ingredients in the instant pot when I glanced and saw you had responded to my question. I had followed Internet instructions and diluted the homemade tomato sauce with equal parts water and still got a burn notice twice. I let it sit for 15 minutes hoping it would still continue to cook, but the tortellini I had substituted was still half frozen. Having added more water as you had suggested, I decided to gently, carefully scrape the bottom of the pot before continuing the cooking process. This time – – success! Maybe it was because of the additional water but mine tasted a little bland. I added more seasonings and it was delicious!
I have only cooked with cabbage twice in my lifetime, this being the second time. I highly recommend this recipe and was more flavorful than I had expected. Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much for taking time to respond to my question. It means a lot. I hadn’t cooked much in years after my husband died because it was so hard on me physically. It was your posts and your sisters post that had me take a huge financial investment risk and purchase an IP when they were on sale. My only regret is that I could definitely use another one! I purchased the IP dual crisp plus air fryer. Love -– LOVE cooking again. Thank you so much for the sacrifices you make to continue to do these posts. We all— I’m sure— very thankful. Great job Karen!
Darlyne, that is so neat that you are cooking again. This is so heartwarming to read.
Tried this and the cabbage and progress and cabbage were a bit undercooked.
This was really good, I added an extra 1/8 tsp of lemon pepper because mine was older. Even my toddlers ate it. Delicious.
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks Jessica!
This sounds wonderful! I don’t have “cabbage” on hand but, do have sour kraut. Might add an interesting flavor.
I bet that would be awesome
This recipe sounds great. However, I don’t have an Instant Pot. As a single senior, I’m not going to buy one. Would you be able to share this for stove top or crockpot please? Thank you.
I would sauté onion on the stove. Add onions, v8, cabbage and sausage into slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours and then add in pierogis and cook on high for another 2 hours
ok….cooks in one minute. You didn’t mention that it takes 30 minutes to come to pressure at the low pressure setting.
so, dinner was late. It was ok…but a bit bland. Probably wont make it again. But God bless the brave Ukrainians1
★★★★
Wow that’s a long time to come to pressure. Mine didn’t take that long.
A pressure cooker ALWAYS takes time to come to pressure before the cook time begins. It’s in your instructions for your instant pot. Reading comprehension is a valuable skill. I had no issues. Dinner was on time and it was delicious. I used spicy V8 for a kick and garlic kielbasa. Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
Amazing, Karen, absolutely delicious! We just finished our dinner and I can’t thank you enough for probably one of the most delicious recipes I’ve ever made in my instant pot. 5stars, for sure! I added a bit more dill and lemon pepper (I always add a little extra seasoning) and wow, I can’t wait to make this when my children visit. Passing this on, so well deserved. In honor of the Ukrainians, thank you. ❤️
★★★★★
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Lisa! Thank you!
My IP-LUX doesn’t have a low pressure setting so I was worried it would overcook the pierogis on high pressure but I did zero minutes (comes to pressure and immediately stops) on high pressure and it came out great
This is really good to know. Thank you Emily!
I don’t eat beef, but I wanted to thank you for your thoughts regarding Ukraine! My heart breaks for for them.
I enjoy your recipes. Thank you!
Thank you Karen. It really is heartbreaking 🙁
Do the perogies need to be precooked?
nope, frozen is great!
If you use sour cream do you need to add the flour and hot liquid to temper it also?
Yes I would!
Do you need to add any water or broth to the pot before pressure cooking?
Oh, I guess the V8 takes care of it?!
Yes that’s correct 🙂