Name: Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cabbage
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 26 min
Ingredients: 2.5 lb Cabbage (chopped); 1/2 Yellow Onion (sliced thinly, about a cup); 8 tbsp Butter; 1 tbsp Chicken Better than Bouillon; 1 cup Water; 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (you can add 1 additional tbsp at the end, depending on your preferences); 2 tsp Garlic Powder; 3 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt (you can save this to the end and salt to taste); 1 tsp Black Pepper (you can save this to the end and add to taste); 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

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If you want to learn how to make Southern-style buttery cabbage in the Instant Pot or other pressure cooker like the Ninja Foodi, then this Instant Pot Cabbage recipe and video tutorial are perfect for you. Simply add basic ingredients to your cooking pot and have a delicious side dish in minutes. This recipe is the quick & easy alternative to my Crockpot cabbage. Plus, it’s a perfect addition to your St. Patrick’s Day menu.

Pressure Cooker cooked Cabbage topped with red pepper flakes, sea salt and black pepper in a large white bowl

Why Make This

Use your pressure cooker to make veggies: If you thought that the pressure cooker you love was just for pots roasts and ribs, then this recipe shows you how to use it for vegetables too!
Easy Side Dish: this requires a few ingredients that you mostly just place in the cooking pot, seal and set. It’s ready in less than 30 minutes (most of the time is actually the machine coming to full pressure).
Great for meal prep: make up to two large cabbage heads at once and simply eat this with a variety of main proteins throughout the week.

Ingredients Needed

Green Cabbage: I get a whole head of cabbage. They weigh about 2.5 lbs each.
Onions: I personally enjoy my cabbage with onions, but these are optional. Feel free to omit them if you wish
Broth Paste and Water: this concentrated broth paste tastes more flavorful than regular broth so I use it a lot in recipes (e.g., cauliflower rice pilaf, keto chicken soup, keto bbq sauce, and more). You can substitute it as well as the water in this recipe for regular chicken broth or chicken bone broth.
Butter: for the most flexibility with seasoning, you can use unsalted butter.
Apple Cider Vinegar: this adds a bit of an acidic flavor. I personally enjoy it with cabbage and even keto coleslaw. You can add apple cider vinegar to taste at the end if you wish. It has a milder flavor than white vinegar.
Spices: You’ll need to get garlic powder, red pepper flakes if you’d like a bit of spice, sea salt and black pepper. You can also use a dash of cayenne pepper or top the final dish with a bit of hot sauce for additional heat.

You can get the full list of ingredient amounts and instructions from the full recipe card at the end of the post.

ingredients needed to make instant pot cabbage

How to Make Instant Pot Cabbage

An Instant Pot is a type of pressure cooker. So, you can use it or another brand like the Ninja Foodi. The steps are the same because I’m just using the sauté and pressure cooker functions.

You should see the video tutorial for a more detailed step-by-step process.

Use the sear & sauté function to sauté the onions
Add the chopped cabbage, cup of water with broth paste, and other ingredients
Cover the pressure cooker, set it to “seal” (sealing position), and cook the cabbage on high pressure
For best results, use the Quick Pressure Release (turn the venting knob to the “vent” or venting position) to stop the cabbage from cooking when the timer stops

steps to cook cabbage in a pressure cooker

Top Cooking Tips & FAQs

Season to taste: you can save the salt and pepper to the end and salt to taste
Swap the broth paste and water for chicken broth, chicken bone broth or beef stock: just use the same amount of broth as water called for the in the recipe
Add meat like smoked sausage or ham. You can even add ground beef if you wish (just brown it with the onions in the first step).
Works and tested in both the 8-quart Ninja Foodi and 6-quart Instant Pot
Store leftover cabbage in an airtight container for up to 1 week. I also freeze my cooked cabbage for up to 6 months

How to cut the cabbage:

I remove the outer leaves. Then, I cut my cabbage into four wedges. After removing the core from the wedges, I chop my cabbage into bite sized chunks. This tutorial for how to cut cabbage helps.

I will say though, that you can’t really go wrong so as long as you cut the core out, it will work.

Do you have to use an Instant Pot to make Cabbage?

No. An Instant Pot is a type of electric pressure cooker. So, you can use it or another brand like the Ninja Foodi to make this recipe. The steps are the same because I’m just using the sauté and pressure cooker functions.

You can also make this recipe in a large dutch oven or pan. Just cover the pot with a lid and steam until the cabbage is tender enough for you.

buttery cabbage in the bottom of the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Best Pressure Cooker Cook Times

I like my cabbage to be pretty tender so 6 minutes as well as the time it takes to release the pressure were enough for me. But, if you’d like your cabbage to have more of a crisp bite, you can cook the cabbage in as little as 3 minutes on high pressure.

No matter what time you use, be sure to use the quick release since you can overcook cabbage if it’s allowed to cook for too long.

Recipes to Enjoy this with:

Air Fryer BBQ Wings
Keto Cornbread
Air Fryer Chicken Legs
Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
Air Fryer Pork Chops
Cauliflower Rice Pilaf: my favorite low carb substitute for brown rice or white rice

cooked cabbage topped with red pepper flakes on a large white bowl

More Healthy Vegetable Instant Pot Recipes

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