Instant Pot Cabbage

Say good-bye to mushy and bland cabbage when you cook it in the pressure cooker! This instant pot cabbage cooks quickly with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. You only need a few ingredients to make this flavorful and versatile side dish!

My Instant Pot pressure cooker is no stranger to cooking cabbage. We love this Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage for a hearty meal, and I purposely cook extra corned beef so I can make this leftover corned beef and cabbage soup!

But don’t be fooled! You don’t need to cook cabbage with corned beef for St. Patrick's Day in order for it to be flavorful. This Instant Pot cabbage is the easiest way to make delicious cabbage with just a few simple ingredients!

Why this instant pot cabbage recipe works

• It’s super flavorful! Using bacon fat is my secret ingredient and it adds so much flavor to cooked cabbage.
• No more mushy cabbage! It’s easy to overcook cabbage, and there is nothing worse than the texture of overcooked, soggy cabbage. When you steam it in the Instant Pot, you get perfectly tender cabbage. 
• You only need a few ingredients to make this easy and delicious recipe, and the cabbage is ready in very little time. It's great for easy weeknight dinners - plus leftover cabbage is great for meal prep!
• Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable, and has many health benefits! Cabbage is one of the best side dishes in my opinion because it's ultra easy to cook and healthy!

Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and amounts for this simple recipe is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

You’ll need 1 head of green cabbage for this recipe. Look for a head of cabbage that is a good size and has leaves that are tightly packed, with green outer leaves.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. You can buy bacon grease, render it from a pack of bacon you cook or you can substitute it with duck fat or butter.

Apple cider vinegar adds some tangy flavor to the cabbage. You can use regular vinegar, but it won’t have quite the same flavor.

Variations and substitutions

• To keep the cabbage vegetarian, use vegetable broth and vegan butter.
• You can buy bacon fat or render your own when you cook a pack of bacon. If you don’t have bacon fat, you can substitute it with duck fat or butter.
• For the chicken broth, you can use store-bought or homemade. If it’s unsalted or reduced sodium broth, you may wish to season the cabbage with more salt.
• If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can substitute with dried thyme. Just reduce the amount by one-third as dried herbs are usually more potent than fresh.
• Add some crushed red pepper for heat.
• Add chunks of cooked ham or sausage in the pot for a meaty flavor.
• Sprinkle on some crumbled pieces of cooked bacon on top.

Step by step instructions

1. Roughly chop the cabbage into 8 pieces and remove the core. *cut the cabbage in half, then in half again, then again until you have 8 pieces.

2. Place the chopped cabbage in the Instant Pot insert and add the remaining ingredients, sprinkling the salt and pepper over the top.

Close the lid, seal the valve (venting knob) and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then quick-release the pressure using the vent. Remove the lid carefully.

Serve this pressure cooker cabbage with a side of Dijon mustard. Add additional salt to taste. Serve it with a side of sous vide pastrami and/or these favorite sour cream mashed potatoes.

Expert tips to make instant pot buttered cabbage

1. Whatever type of fat you use, you can melt it and pour over the cabbage for more even coverage.
2. If you like your cabbage on the firmer side, you should quick release the pressure from the Instant Pot and skip the natural release.
3. Make sure to cut the cabbage into roughly equal pieces so it cooks evenly. 
4. While the cook time is just 5 minutes in the Instant Pot, you’ll also need to factor in time for pressure to build and release in the Instant Pot.
5. For added crunch, only cook for 2-3 minutes. For softer cabbage, increase the cook time to 7 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Other easy Instant Pot recipes for vegetable side dishes

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