This Instant Pot stuffed cabbage casserole with ground beef and rice is a fun deconstructed to make dinner. Unstuffed makes it so much easier to make than the old fashioned traditional method in just 12 minutes.
Unstuffed cabbage as we called it was full of flavor, the cabbage maintained a perfect not too soft and not underdone consistency, and overall was a healthy meal for all 5 of us. Definitely one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes now!
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
I hadn’t ever had a stuffed cabbage roll at all until I met my husband. He raved about this dish his grandmother used to make so I gave it a whirl years ago and shared it here on my slow cooker stuffed cabbage post.
I didn’t always have the time to go thru all the steps to make that one so I started thinking outside of the box. If I used the same ingredients but didn’t roll them up it would be just as good but less work for me. So I went for it and unstuffed cabbage rolls was what we got!!
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
In the past making stuffed cabbage was quite time consuming, and my kids found it hard to eat. SO I thought a deconstructed version would be a bigger hit in our house. That is where this creation came about. 😉
I got to experimenting and boy did it come out great! On the first go around it was perfect, and thinned out with some more broth it makes a great soup reheated as well. Two meals out of one creation is my kinda one pot meal I tell you.
I thought about this dish the other night since I hadn’t made it in a while. A sort of deconstructed Instant Pot stuffed cabbage dish was what I wanted. It took only 12 minutes to cook and was great!
Ingredient Notes
I typically will use lean ground beef 80/20 or spicy ground sausage from Jimmy Dean. If I want just a bit of heat I will use half and half. You could use ground turkey if you rather but I will say that lower fat means not as much flavor so don’t count the calories on this one and just go with the good stuff.
For the main veggie you are going to need 1/2 head of cabbage, leaves cut into 1″ squares almost like cubed. I speak here about how to cut cabbage for a number of different dishes but cubed is how I would describe this one.
To make things super easy, for the sauce and liquid necessary I start with 1 jar spaghetti sauce (I just grabbed what was on sale). SO instead of using a bunch of herbs and tomato sauce etc….you just use Ragu + some beef broth to provide enough moisture to cook the rice to tender.
With that said let’s talk rice for a minute here. As far as the timing below is concerned you need to use long grain white or arborio rice works too.
Can you use brown rice?
I do not like to make this with Instant Pot brown rice as that takes too long and by that time the leaves will turn to mush. Now if that is all you have you could but with a few modifications. You would follow directions except don’t add cabbage. Timing would need to adjusted to 22 minutes. Then I’d boil cabbage separate to al dente, drain, and combine.
Can you use frozen ground beef?
Yes and no. There would be a process. You would first need to follow directions for Instant Pot frozen ground beef which defrosts it and then you can drain that water and saute to brown. Then follow instructions below to make this dish with it.
Tips
The cabbage cut up into little squares works perfectly when you’re ready to eat and makes it the perfect consistency once it is done. I don’t like it too wilted and soft or super crunchy either. This timing made it turn out perfectly. Even the kids said it was a winner of a dinner. 😉
Make sure you do a quick release at the end or else the cabbage will become too soft. Also, this will thicken quite a bit as it cools and sits in the pot. Initially it will be a bit thinner. Just allow the cooked rice and cabbage to sit after pressure cooking to get thicker. Consistency in the photos is approx. 5-10 after taking lid off.
Instant Pot Stuffed Cabbage Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef, or ground sausage
- 3 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup rice, white, uncooked
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 20 oz
- 1 can tomato soup, 10 oz
- 1 dash hot sauce, optional
- 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 pinch salt, to taste
- 2-3 c cabbage, cut into small chunks 2×2 pcs
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute, normal. Add a bit of olive oil, ground beef and diced onion. Cook until beef is not pink and onions soften
- Turn Instant Pot OFF/cancel button and deglaze your pot. Important step so pot does not overheat and can cool off while draining grease and adding other ingredients. If you do not turn it off in between you may have an error/burn code come on as it senses it is overheating.
- Add in all other ingredients except rice and cabbage. Do not stir.
- When all other ingredients are added pour uncooked rice in, do not stir.
- Break up chunks of cabbage and add to top of your mixture, gently push down into the liquid. (make sure pot is not more than 3/4 full or it may not reach pressure)
- Put lid on and close steam valve.
- Push rice button, or if you don't have that then choose pressure high for 10 minutes.
- Allow to naturally release steam for 2 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Lift lid carefully, stir, and serve! Can top with chives or even parmesan cheese!! It will thicken more as it sits.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other 30 minute pressure cooker recipes you’ll love
If you love Instant Pot casseroles we have a few here on our site so after you’ve tried and love this you should head on over and make our Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole too. 😉
Then I made this pressure cooker cabbage soup we loved. It’s now included in our list of Instant Pot soup recipes
If you want to make a similar dish but on the stovetop, try our unstuffed cabbage casserole recipe here. I have also made a slow cooker stuffed cabbage soup that was amazing but of course took all day to cook
If you’re looking for more easy Instant Pot sausage recipes we have more to enjoy!
If making this you can opt for ground beef or I like a mixture of 1/2 lb. spicy ground sausage and 1/2 beef. You really can use anything though that will give it more flavor. Diced ham after the holidays is another great choice.
Unstuffed cabbage casserole really is a complete meal. Other than a dinner roll I don’t serve it with much.
You could but the consistency of the leaves will be a bit mushy when reheated. I suggest storing in the fridge and reheating in the next 2-3 days for the best results. 1 min. in the microwave should do it.
The directions say ” Press Rice button and it will automatically set it to low for 12 minutes “, the video says ” 12 minutes High “. I’m going to try the Rice button but would like to see this clarified.
I tried this recipe. Didn’t know at the end of 12 minutes when it’s said and done, press cancel and then quick release ! I left it on for an extra four minutes.
So ? How did it turn out ? It looks like Cabbage Casserole Soup and I’m not sure if this step made the difference. As well unsure if using the ” Rice ” button was a good idea or if I should have pressed ” High ” and the outcome dish is because one of these two elements. So far sitting before it cools down to serve wondering if it’ll thicken up.
I have same question & one additional.
1. Rice setting or Steam
Temp ?
2. High or Low Setting
I have made cabbage before & the recipe called to pressure cook cabbage for 12 minutes & this was quartered & was far to mushy for my liking. More like 3 minutes needed for cut up cabbage but not enough time to cook the rice.
On this basis would it be better to cook the mixture at high for 12 minutes then do quick release & then add your cabbage & cook on high for 3 additional minutes?
Did this without the rice and broth. Hubby is doing low carbs. Tastes great without rice, but i had rice on the side to add if anyone wanted. It does make it taste like the cabbage rolls I’ve made which take hours and a lot more effort and time.
Glad you liked it, like stuffed cabbage soup then!
Can you use riced cauliflower to cut carbs? What adjustment(s) would have to be made?
Yes but I don’t know the timing, I haven’t used that.
Did you just substitute water for broth?
Yes
I don’t have the IP. I have a power pressure cooker. I made this recipe and it is great. It reminds me of the time consuming cabbage rolls my Mom made when I was a kid.
I am going to try it today. I’m using my homemade spaghetti sauce which I made in my IP. I love my instant pot. I use it every day. Always trying new recipes. I’ll let you know how I do. I always read the comments to get all the hints.
Awesome!
Burn notice came on three times. All was in pot for about 20 minutes. I did a quick release. Cooked except for some of the cabbage core was still a little tuff. There was a little burning but not enough to affect casserole. I too followed directions, so not sure ? what went wrong. Tasty ? nonetheless.
Remember to turn your pot off and deglaze the pot after cooking your ground beef, that will trigger the burn error.
I cut the cabbage core out of it too when chopping in to pieces.
5 stars all around!! easy peasy, no problems and so flavourful. Followed the recipe and was very happy.
This was my second time making this recipe. I wanted to make a double batch, so started with 2 lbs ground beef and doubling all the rest. I discovered that the pot would be too full, so I removed half the contents to cook separately.
As many have noted, my pot wouldn’t come to pressure due to burn warning. Had to restart three times, and finally got it going. When I emptied contents in order to do 2nd batch, there was a thick layer of burned rice on bottom. After thoroughly cleaning and letting pot cool, started batch #2 and was careful to barely push rice and cabbage down. This time everything worked great and the consistency was much better.
My family loves the flavor of this dish. Thank you. Deducting 1 star due to learning curve of recipe.
So, this is the 2nd time making it. First time, I used brown rice, added a little more time and it was perfect. This time I did the same exact thing and kept getting the “burn” light. I tried to switch it to rice mode, but it still said burn. I dumped everything into a regular pot and put it on the stove to get the rice to cook. There was burned rice on the bottom of the instant pot. I am not sure what I did wrong- I let it cool, I didn’t stir, and used the same exact ingredients. The rice cooked slowly on the stove and it tasted fine. I will have to try it again, because we love this recipe.
A few others have said this has happened to them and I honestly don’t know. I have made it a few times and have never had an issue with it reaching pressure or saying burn so I’m stumped. I do think some pots/models are a bit more sensitive than others when it comes to the burn message but since it hasn’t happened to me so I’m not sure why.
I think the problem some have had may have something to do with the liquid amounts and thickness. Some types of rice need to absorb more moisture and spaghetti sauces are of different consistencies. I am a new Instant Pot fanatic and have never had a problem stirring ingredients before cooking provided that there is enough, thin, liquid in the pot. It is easy to thicken a too-thin dish later by taking the lid off and setting it to sauté, or adding a mashed potato.
Good insights!! Quite possibly. I have never had an issue with it and it turns out amazing.
I attempted to make this tonight, I failed! I kept getting the burn message. I followed your directions to a “T”. I made sure that there wasn’t anything stuck on the bottom after draining the greese. What happened?
You need to make sure your turn the pot off and deglaze the pot after cooking the ground beef so it doesn’t trigger the burn message.
How do you deglaze?
There’s a link to directions above the recipe card.
I tried this for the first time. Delicious!!! The only thing I did different was use tomato and roasted red pepper soup. That was all I had handy and it worked great.