These Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls are my lazy unstuffed version where cabbage rolls aren’t rolled at all but made into a casserole instead! It’s a quick and easy one pot meal.
Reader’s Review
OMG – so good & so easy! I made sure to have fresh dill to add at the end as you state & a minced raw garlic clove. Just elevates the recipe even more! So delicious. 😋 Thank you.
Gayle Campbell
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Instant Pot cabbage rolls recipe lets you enjoy the ultimate comfort food from my Ukrainian grandma but with a modern twist made in an electric pressure cooker.
Sure, old fashioned cabbage rolls will always be special, and if you have the time and energy to put towards rolling them, go for it. But for weeknights I find myself making these deconstructed cabbage rolls in Instant Pot is the way to go!
Sometimes I also make unstuffed cabbage rolls on the stove and other days I make cabbage roll soup. All of them have signature flavors without all of the extra work!
Topped with sour cream and dill it’s a gloriously messy plate of absolute deliciousness, but again, the roll isn’t necessary!
Ingredients for Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
- Ground meat: Ground beef, pork, chicken, and turkey can be used. Ground beef is traditional, but I used ground turkey as a leaner choice. You can also use less meat and not change the recipe.
- Cabbage: Green, red (purple), napa, or savoy cabbage are all great choices. I have tried all of them. The color will be masked by the tomatoes anyway.
- Rice: Brown rice and white rice will both work, however, keep an eye out for the different cook times. You’ll use the same amount of water, no matter which type you use. If you use purple rice, treat it the same as brown rice. Wild rice is not recommended for this recipe.
- Tomato products: You can use 28 ounces of each or a combination of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. Then one small can of tomato paste adds a depth of flavor, especially if you use only diced tomatoes that contain more water.
- Spices: Dried herbs like thyme and oregano. If you’re not a fan of thyme, feel free to use basil or rosemary.
How to Make Cabbage Rolls in Instant Pot
I used a 6 quart Instant Pot and the entire batch fit in with no problem. The recipe was tested in 8 quart as well so you can definitely use it if that’s the size you have. For 3 quart, cut recipe ingredients in half and keep same cook time.
- Sauté onion and garlic first, just until fragrant. Then, sauté ground turkey and spices for about 4-5 minutes, crumbling up the turkey into small pieces as you go. Pink pieces are OK. It will continue to cook under pressure.
- Add cabbage and stir. This step helps to prevent the dreaded Burn and shrink the cabbage a bit.
- Add remaining ingredients: Pour in chicken broth, uncooked rice, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes, in that order. Do not stir.
- Cancel Sauté and cook: If you’re using brown rice, cook for 22 minutes. If you’re using white rice, cook for 10 minutes. On high pressure for both.
- Release the pressure using Natural Release by allowing the pin to drop down on its own.
- Season more with the freshly grated garlic clove (trust me, life-changing Ukrainian hack) and add fresh herbs like dill or parsley.
Tips for Best Results
- Shred cabbage not too thin: You want sturdy pieces so it doesn’t “dissolve” under pressure. Not too thick, however, so the deconstructed cabbage rolls texture is enjoyable.
- To avoid the Burn: Don’t stir after you add the tomatoes. This way you will not get the Burn message.
- Note different cook times for rice: Cook white rice for 10 minutes, brown rice for 22 minutes.
- If your rice comes out crunchy: Different altitudes, brands and types of rice may impact the cook time. What you could try doing is giving it a stir and allowing it to sit with the lid on. The residual heat will continue to cook the rice. Next time you could try adding a few extra minutes of pressure cook time.
- Reduce salt: If you are not using a can of low sodium tomatoes, add less salt to the recipe.
Serving Ideas
The best I advice I can give you is from my heart. The way we enjoy lazy cabbage rolls is with a generous amount of sour cream or plain yogurt on top and a slice of dark rye bread or the North American version which is toasted whole grain bread. That’s it! Literally the best way to eat them, pure and simple.
Don’t forget to sop up all that sauce at the bottom of the plate. That sauce is the best! If you are looking to add more protein to your diet, serve with my crusty Greek yogurt bread or Greek yogurt biscuits.
Make a Freezer Meal
Saute ground turkey, breaking into small pieces. Add all the ingredients, except chicken broth, to a gallon-size freezer-friendly bag (I love these reusable ones) with tomato products going first.
The cabbage will be kept separate in a 2nd bag just for the sake of saving space. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to cook it, cook from frozen with the broth following the directions as listed.
How to Store and Reheat
To store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Once completely cooled, transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 months. It freezes beautifully! Thaw on a counter for 6-8 hours or in the fridge overnight. Reheat from thawed.
To reheat: Simmer with a splash of water or broth on low heat. The tomato and spice flavor is so rich, a splash will not dilute the final dish.
More Cabbage Recipes to Try
- Instant Pot borscht
- Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage
- Cabbage roll casserole
- Instant Pot cabbage soup
- Cabbage stir fry
Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds cabbage, medium-coarsely shredded
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced + 1 clove, grated (divided)
- 2 pounds ground turkey , or other meat
- 2 teaspoons thyme, dried
- 2 teaspoons oregano, dried
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil, for frying
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 2 cups uncooked white or brown rice, rinsed & drained
- 6 ounces can tomato paste, low sodium
- 28 ounces can diced tomatoes, low sodium
- 1 small bunch dill, finely chopped
- Greek yogurt or sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- On Instant Pot, press Sauté and wait until display says Hot.
- Swirl oil to coat, add onion and 2 cloves of garlic; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ground turkey, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper; cook for 4 minutes, constantly breaking meat into small pieces with spatula. Meat won’t get browned and some pink pieces are OK.
- Add cabbage and stir.
- Add chicken broth, rice, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Do not stir.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Cancel to turn Sauté off. Then press Pressure Cook on High pressure for 10 minutes – white rice, for 22 minutes – brown rice.
- After let pressure come down naturally on its own until the pin drops.
- Open the lid, add 1 grated garlic clove and dill, then stir gently but well.
- Serve hot with sour cream or Greek yogurt and whole grain toast.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
- Freezer meal: Saute just turkey until small pieces. Add all ingredients to gallon size bags with tomato products going first, no broth and cabbage in a 2nd bag (too much to fit into 1). Freeze for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen with broth as per recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this following the recipe closely.. The rice never cooked at all after 18 min on high presure.(organic brown long grain). I had to cook for another 12 min on med pressure as not burn everything else) . Could it matter the make of rice? I usually cook this rice for 35 min on the stove. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Hmmm. Rice could be a bit tricky sometimes. It could be anything. Let’s troubleshoot.
1. Do you live at high altitude?
2. Did you see IP come to pressure? Maybe it didn’t due to sealing ring not in place properly or worn out etc.
3. What size IP did you use?
Sometimes make of rice could matter…Stove cooking time doesn’t matter with pressure cooking. Whole point is that it cooks food much faster, so 18-20 mins for brown rice is plenty.
I used diced cauliflower instead of brown rice, do you think it will still cook the same?
No. You will end up with a very watery dish because cauliflower will release more water and there will be no rice to absorb any water.
I cooked it just now. It’s my second dish after buying the Instant Pot, the first one was cooked corn on the cob. Both me and my husband loved it, and fresh dill really matters! One question though. I have Duo 6qt, and I never got Hot on the display when Saute. It was showing On. I got afraid that I would burn the pot by warming it up continuously without any food so I started the process of following recipe steps without Hot on display. It showed On all the time until I cancelled Saute to move to pressure cooking. Is it OK?
Hi there. If you waited a little bit longer you would see Hot. It takes a bit of time, I know. All it means is that your pot is hot enough to fry in it. Just like a skillet kind of. Just an indicator a skillet doesn’t have. It is ok you started sauteing before, might have been not that hot but just might take longer to saute. You wouldn’t see Hot after sauteeing because ingredients added “cool” off the pot. It is all good and so happy you enjoyed the recipe!:)
I see. So, the pot won’t be damaged if it is getting heated being empty? How much to wait until Hot? Is it about 10 min? I’ll try next time. Just didn’t want to burn my Instant Pot during the first day 🙂
It won’t get damaged if you don’t leave it for an hour like that.:) About 4-5 minutes. And it doesn’t beep when Hot shows up, so watch for it. That’s IP-DUO model, right?!
Love this recipe! I appreciate that it uses brown rice and turkey. I’ve made it twice and it is a big hit with the Family
So happy to hear!
Olena, if I wanted to make it with just 1 lb of turkey (cutting all ingredients in half as well), will the timing still be 18 min. or will it be less? Thanks! (I am from Kiev too, and I love cabbage rolls!!! 🙂 )
Just use 1 lb but DON’T cut other ingredients. Same time.
Thanks, Olena! And for the full recipe, with 2 lb of turkey, is it good for 6 quart Instant Pot, or needs to be the 8 quart? I only have the 6 quart, though… Thanks!
6 quart is good.
I just made the lazy cabbage rolls ( lazy golubtzi! 🙂 ) – wonderful! And what I especially like is that they are made with brown rice and turkey – so they are not just tasty, they are healthful too :). Thanks again, Olena!
You are very welcome.:) I never make real golubtsi anymore.
It came out perfectly, Olena! The ultimate comfort food on a cold day! :). Can’t get enough of it :).
Awesome!:)
I just made this and it was soooo good! Husband said it was amazing. We loved it. I made it with diced tomatoes and green chiles instead of all diced tomatoes since that was all I had and it turned out great.
Yay! Saves a lot of time this way. Oh, those tomatoes are amazing. Add flavour and spice. I never seem to have those on hand cause my tomatoes are from Costco. I should buy a few cans for fun. 🙂
What happens if you STIR it where you said to NOT stir it :\ Oops.
Might burn. But I mean at this point you have no choice. Turn it on but don’t leave the house until it’s done cooking.
Is the amount of the ingredients good for 6quart IP?
Yes. My 8 quart wasn’t that full.
Excellent. I’m use to southern cuisine being that the family is from Mississippi, I find most dishes lacking seasoning & flavor. I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I am trying to cook healthier and cut back on red meat when I found this recipe. It was very easy to make and I was very pleasantly surprised, it is very tasty & delicious. I loved it.
Yay. So glad to hear.:)
Absolutely amazing and so fast too!