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.
Do you think I could use cole slaw mix for the cabbage?
Yes, sure!
Why can’t I pin this.?????
Top left corner red Save button on mobile. On desktop might have to hover over the image.
A great new take (a lazy one for a busy cook!) on an old Ukrainian favorite! Made it several times by now….
Yay. I agree. I just don’t have time or energy to roll them these days.
Thank you for this recipe! Made it today and it is incredible. Thank you for delicious and easy to follow recipes!
Awe, you are so welcome! So happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes!
I love this recipe! The recipe makes a lot of servings so I freeze half in single servings to take to work for lunch.
That is so amazing to hear! Glad you enjoyed my recipe, Melanie! In my house it’s one dinner and half lunch lol
I want to try this. I have a 3 quart. I’ve been told to halve recipes but leave time the same. Will that work?
Yes, correct. Half the ingredients and same cooking time.
So, what to do when Burn message is displayed? I opened the lid, and it’s all mixed up with tomato paste already.
I wasn’t following the recipe to the T (used tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes) so my bad. But what to do now?
Scroll to the bottom of the Burn post and see if you can fix it this way. If not, finish cooking on the stove in the inner pot.
Omg yum! And I am picky about my food. This is easily over eaten in my house. I could not believe that such a simple recipe could taste so flavourful. I added paprika due to the small percent of Hungarian in me. I loved how fast it was to make with the Instant Pot. Thank you!! Keep the recipes coming please.
Love “Hungarian in me”.:) Welcome and oh I will! I have so many ideas and tests. Every day!
Hi, I have a few questions if you don’t mind. First of all, I only have quick cooking brown rice (boil in bag), which takes 10 min on the stove as opposed to 45-50 min for regular brown rice. Do you think it would work in this recipe/IP or would it get too mushy?
Second, we usually add chopped celery & shredded carrots to golubtsi. Would it work here? Third, I have 1 lb of ground chicken, which cooks faster than turkey & tomato paste & tomato sauce, not diced tomatoes. Would anything need to be adjusted, like cook time? I’m new to IP cooking & not sure how to adjust my recipes to it, but if I could make golubtsi without rolling the cabbage & all that’s involved, it would be a game changer. Not sure if my mother would get behind this – she’s very set in her ways, but maybe I have a chance with my daughter who loves golubtsi. As far as I’m concerned, the less work the better & if the taste is close enough, it’s good enough for me. Besides, I much prefer stuffed peppers to golubtsi both taste wise & work wise – stuffed peppers are a lot less work & taste better to me. but if/when my mother makes golubtsi, I gladly eat them. And if I can make them this way, I might just be making them more often. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Quick cooking rice won’t work. Yes, you can add your extra veggies. No need to change time for chicken.
Especially since you are new to IP I would recommend getting comfortable with it by following recipes and then changing things. Just not to get discouraged.:)
That’s why I ask so many questions. I can wing it on the stove top, but IP is a whole new animal. Not sure what to do or how it will come out especially since my first two tries in it were not great. First thing was whole cooked chicken, which did not cook evenly, but I did add more water than the recipe called for. My bad. The second one was chicken bone broth, which was a disaster & I did follow the recipe with a lot of great reviews. Not sure what happened there. Now I make sure to ask a lot of questions especially if I need to substitute something. Speaking of which, what if I leave out the rice? Would I need to change anything? I might just cook it separately & add in after. I’m just trying to use up leftover cabbage & also I don’t know when I’ll be able to get my hand on regular brown rice. Also, I only have tomato paste & sauce. Would liquid amounts need to be changed?
Asking questions is good. Instant Pot is like baking. It needs precise measurements and testing.
Since no liquid evaporates, you can’t leave out the rice because then you will have all that extra liquid nothing absorbing it. You can’t cook it separately and add it after.
You can use tomato sauce in place of diced tomatoes BUT it has to be same 28 oz.
When wondering if substitution will work, think dry vs. water ingredients if it is going offset the ratio.
Honestly, I would just follow the recipes to a T until you get a hang of it. BTW, do you know I have Youtube channel dedicated to healthy IP recipes https://www.youtube.com/user/iFoodReal ?
Thank you for your help.. I used the correct size tin of diced tomatoes but they had a viriety of spiced pepper and a few other things in the tin.. I think the amount of liquid in the tin was very low compared to straight diced tomatoes.. I added a cup extra water and it worked fine..
Thanks so much fur the help..
Ah, yes. Gotcha. Glad it all worked out!:)