Instant Pot Cabbage

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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 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 Instant Pot leftover corned beef and cabbage soup!

But don’t be fooled! You don’t need to cook cabbage with corned beef in order for it to be flavorful. This Instant Pot cabbage tastes delicious with just a few simple ingredients!

Check out the Instant Pot cabbage story!

Why this recipe works

1. It’s super flavorful! Using bacon fat is my secret ingredient and it adds so much flavor to cooked cabbage.
2. 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, the leaves turn out perfectly tender. 
3. You only need a few ingredients and the cabbage is ready in very little time. So, you can serve up this versatile side dish for dinner any day of the week!

Ingredients

You’ll need 1 head of green cabbage for this recipe. While there are different types of cabbage, this is one of the most common and readily available types and works best in this recipe. Look for a head of cabbage that is a good size and has leaves that are tightly packed.

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.

A ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar adds some tangy flavor to the cabbage. You can use regular vinegar, but it won’t have quite the same flavor.

For additional liquid to help steam the cabbage, I add ½ a cup of chicken broth to the Instant Pot. You can use store-bought or homemade chicken broth, or you can use vegetable broth instead.

You’ll want to season the cabbage with 2 teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper and 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme (a couple of sprigs).

Step by step instructions

Cut the cabbage into 8 pieces and remove the core.

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

*You can use melted bacon grease to pour over the cabbage, which makes it easier to evenly coat it.

Close the lid, seal the valve and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.

Naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes, then use the quick release.

Serve with a side of Dijon mustard. Add additional salt to taste.

Expert tips

1. 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.
2. Whatever type of fat you use, you can melt it and pour over the cabbage for more even coverage.
3. To keep the cabbage vegetarian, use veggie broth and vegan butter.
4. 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.
5. If you like your cabbage on the firmer side, you should quick release the pressure from the Instant Pot and skip the natural release.
6. 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.
7. Make sure to cut the cabbage into roughly equal pieces so it cooks evenly. 
8. 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.

Common questions

Serving options

Add some crushed red pepper for heat.

Add chunks of ham or sausage.

Sprinkle on some crumbled pieces of cooked bacon.

Pair it with other veggies like these air fryer carrots and oven baked lyonnaise potatoes.

Serve it with sous vide whole chicken, pan fried pork chops or slow cooker beef pot roast.

Other Instant Pot recipes

• Instant Pot Broccoli
• Instant Pot Brussels Sprouts
• Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
• Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
• Instant Pot Korean Pork Ribs

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!