Instant Pot Cabbage Recipe

Instant pot cabbage in a bowl with a spoon on the side.

Instant Pot cabbage is one of those side dishes that earns a permanent spot in the weeknight rotation. Four ingredients, done in under 20 minutes, and the garlic butter finish makes it taste like you put in way more effort than you did.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Pressurize 10

Total Time 17

Servings servings

Calories 82kcal

Ingredients

▢ 1 medium head green cabbage about 2 pounds
▢ 1 cup vegetable broth or water
▢ ¼ cup butter ghee, olive oil or vegan butter
▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
▢ Chopped green onions or parsley for garnish optional

Instructions

Cut head of cabbage in half from top through core. Lay each half flat on a cutting board and cut in half again. Then cut each wedge at an angle to remove the core.
Cut each wedge into 3-4 slices and then into smaller pieces depending on the size pieces you prefer. Break up thick pieces especially from the inside parts of cabbage.
Place cabbage in bottom of Instant pot with vegetable broth or water. Put lid on top, close pressure valve, and set cook for 2-4 minutes on high pressure. Use quick release as soon as it’s done cooking.
While the cabbage cooks, melt the butter in a small saucepan with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
Remove lid from pressure cooker. If desired, drain off most of excess liquid. Add the butter and seasoning mixture and toss to combine.

Notes

Need less cabbage? You can halve the recipe, but you still need one full cup of liquid to avoid a burn notice.
Cook in broth, not water. The cabbage absorbs whatever it cooks in — broth makes a noticeable difference.
Add the garlic butter after cooking, not before. High pressure heat turns garlic bitter. Adding it at the end keeps the flavor where you want it.
Always use quick release. Natural release keeps cooking the cabbage after the timer goes off. You'll overshoot the texture every time.
Don't overcook. Cabbage releases sulfur compounds the longer it cooks — that's where the smell comes from. Short cook time is the fix.
Make it ahead? Slightly undercook it. The cabbage will soften more when reheated, so pulling it a minute early keeps the texture right the second time around.

Nutrition