Instant Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a great comfort food with seasoned beef, shredded carrots, and onions rolled in a steamed cabbage leaf then simmered in diced tomatoes. Pair this with my Perfect Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for a great meal.
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Prep the stuffed cabbage rolls
Stuffed cabbage rolls are long-time family favorite and an economical dish that makes a lot so you have plenty for leftovers. While they do take some time to make these are totally worth it. A great make ahead dish for the week. A popular dish in Europe in Asia this dish goes by many names and has lots of different variations. I hope you enjoy this one!
Combine well in a large bowl or mixer the ground beef, half of the diced onions, shredded carrot, salt, pepper, minced garlic, eggs, water, rice, and breadcrumbs.
Cut an “x” into the stem of the cabbage to steam or boil. You can prep the cabbage either by steaming in the pressure cooker with the trivet, one cup of water, and cooking on high pressure for ten minutes. Or, you can boil a pot of water on the stove and simmer the cabbage removing leaves every few minutes. This recipe makes around 15 cabbage rolls so you’ll need at least that many leaves. Once you have the leaves cut off chop up some of the cabbage and set aside with the remaining onions and your lemon cut in half.
How to make the rolls
Fold one of the cabbage in half, and cut off the very thick part of the stem…usually up to one inch. Take your knife and gently slice partial through the middle of the being careful not to cut all the way through. This will make it easier to roll.
Lay the cabbage leaf flat, and place some filling near the bottom. Fold one half over the meat mixture, and then fold over the other side.
Roll vertically, and set aside with the seam side down. Repeat the process until you’ve used up all your meat mixture.
Cooking the stuffed cabbage rolls
Set the Instant Pot to saute, and add a little oil to the pot. Add in one to two cups of the remaining onion and chopped cabbage. Cook stirring occasionally for about five minutes or until the cabbage has wilted and the onions are softened.
Turn off the saute function and add the brown sugar and several lemon drops. Stack the stuffed cabbage rolls in the in the pressure cooker. Add water to the pot and cover the top of the rolls with the diced tomatoes. Do not overfill the pot! At this point the pot should be filled almost to the 2/3 mark.
Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, and follow with a full natural pressure release (it took my 6-quart about 50 minutes to full release). If you don’t want to wait for the full NPR then follow with a 15-minute pressure release. The reason for the full natural pressure release is to get the same flavor as if you had simmered it on the stove for hours. 🙂
If you enjoyed this you might like Instant Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff, or Perfect Dutch Oven Stuffed Peppers!
Instant Pot Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup rice cooked
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 carrots shredded
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup water
Cabbage Roll Ingredients
- 2 cabbage heads steamed or boiled, leaves cut off, remainder chopped
- 1 onion diced
- 2 14.5 ounce diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 lemon several drops
- 2-3 cups water
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in the filling group together in a large bowl or mixer, and set aside.
- Cut an "x" in the cabbage heads. Steam in pressure cooker for 10 minutes on trivet with one cup of water followed by a quick release. Or, boil a large pot of water and boil cabbage head for ten minutes. Cut the leaves off, and set aside. Chop up one to two cups of cabbage and set aside with the other diced onion.
- Trim the ends of the cabbage leaves and partially slice the thicker part of the spine of the leaf. Place the meat mixture in the middle and fold both sides of the cabbage leaf over. Roll vertically and set aside seam side down.
- Put the Instant Pot on saute and put in the diced onion and chopped cabbage. Saute about 5 minutes. Turn off the saute function, and add the brown sugar along with several lemon drops.
- Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, and put in 2-3 cups of water. Pour diced tomatoes on top. Do not overfill the pot. It will be at or close the to the 2/3 mark in a six-quart pressure cooker.
- Seal and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and follow with a full natural pressure release for best results. If you choose not to do the full release then follow with a 15-minute natural pressure release.
- Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Nutrition
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I’m the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and one of the many taste tester’s at Monday is Meatloaf. I live in a sleepy Florida town on the out-skirts of the Tampa Bay metro area. Growing up I got the opportunity to see a lot of great family cooks in action, but I didn’t delve into the culinary world until later. My blog focuses on simple cooking techniques that maximize flavor across a variety of cooking disciplines that are totally do-able for the home cook.
