Southern Beef Cabbage Casserole–a quick one-pot Instant Pot dinner made with seasoned ground beef, tender pasta shells, cabbage, tomatoes and melty cheddar cheese.
Southern Beef Cabbage Casserole
I love one pot meals like this! You got the meat, carbs and veggies all in your Instant Pot. Less dishes equals a big win! Plus this one is so tasty! I was super hungry and ate two large portions. The cajun seasoning adds flavor but it’s not too spicy for kids. The cabbage practically melts into the dish so you can’t tell the difference between it and the pasta. Try this one out tonight…it just might make your rotation 🙂
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion–or shallot
- Garlic powder–or 1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
- Paprika
- Dried thyme
- Black pepper
- Cajun seasoning–or Creole seasoning
- Worcestershire sauce
- Chicken broth–or beef broth
- Small pasta shells–or elbow macaroni
- Green cabbage
- Diced tomatoes–or fire roasted diced tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Carrots
- Cheddar cheese–or Monterey Jack cheese
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Cook beef until it is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the garlic powder, paprika, thyme, pepper and 1 tsp of the cajun seasoning.
Pour in the Worcestershire and broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
Sprinkle in the pasta. Then dump the cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce and carrots on top. Sprinkle the remaining ½ tsp of cajun on top.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the cheese.
Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a green salad or steamed collard greens and some garlic bread.
- You can easily add more vegetables like bell peppers, corn or peas for extra color and nutrition.
- If you have ground beef that has already been browned you can just add it and the raw onions straight into the pot with the other ingredients and skip the browning step. I love when I do these kind of shortcuts for myself, especially on busy weeknights.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 4 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This dish can be frozen, but the pasta may soften slightly after thawing. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Other recipes you can make with small shells are Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Soup and Square Dance Casserole.
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.
Southern Beef Cabbage Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A quick one-pot Instant Pot dinner made with seasoned ground beef, tender pasta shells, cabbage, tomatoes and melty cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
- 16 oz lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (with salt), divided
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz small pasta shells
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 medium carrots, shredded
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute setting. When display says HOT add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Cook beef until it is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease. Stir in the garlic powder, paprika, thyme, pepper and 1 tsp of the cajun seasoning.
- Pour in the Worcestershire and broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Sprinkle in the pasta. Then dump the cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce and carrots on top. Sprinkle the remaining ½ tsp of cajun on top.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 2 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the cheese.
- Scoop onto plates and enjoy!
- Category: Beef, Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot recipes with cabbage…
Instant Pot Amish Cabbage and Potato Casserole
Seasoned ground beef with cabbage, potatoes and a creamy sauce.
Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
A hearty beef and rice mixture is rolled up in softened cabbage leaves and cooked in your Instant Pot with a homemade tomato sauce. Comfort food!
Cabbage Fat Burning Soup
A flavorful soup with lots of veggies including cabbage, carrots and cauliflower. With only 87 calories per cup of soup you can eat this with no guilt!
Cabbage, Potatoes and Sausage
Instant Pot Cabbage, Potatoes and Sausage is such an easy and delicious one pot supper. With bacon and sausage it’s got lots of flavor. Plus you get your vegetables in with the cabbage, carrots and red potatoes.
*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.
Was sooooo EZ and very delicious!! As usual all I added was mushrooms (we love those things!). Thanks, K, for another all-around winner. You rock at our house!!! p.s. loved you had carrots in there
Mushrooms are a great addition! Glad you loved it Kim!!!
This sounds like something my family will like.
I don’t have a pressure cooker.
Can it be made in a slow cooker crock pot?
Yes, you can definitely make this in the slow cooker! I’d recommend browning the beef and onion first in a skillet, then transferring it to the crockpot.
Add the garlic powder, paprika, thyme, pepper, Cajun seasoning, Worcestershire, broth, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and carrots.
Cook on LOW for 4–5 hours. Then stir in the pasta and cook on HIGH for about 20–30 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the cheese at the end.
It turns out great this way!
Could you use skinny noodles instead of the pasta and would it still take 2 c of chicken broth (or liquid) with 8 oz of uncooked noodles and the same amt of time to get done? Is that a rule of thumb for cooking pasta in the instant pot- 8 oz pasta with 2 cups liquid and 2 minutes on sealing and then a natural release for5-10 min before Quick release? Sure hope you found the formula and I have cracked the code! Your recipes are so helpful for us inexperienced (but OLD!) cooks that just never got confident in the kitchen.
yes you can use skinny noodles. my rule is for every 8 oz of pasta I use 2 cups of broth. And the cooking time depends on type of noodle. Some noodles like orzo only take 1 minute, other types like fettucine would take maybe 6 minutes. Usually around 4 minutes works for pasta. Good luck!