Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls

This Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls recipe is a pressure cooked version of a traditional family recipe. It's inspired by a Middle Eastern slow-simmered stove top stuffed cabbage that my family has made for generations. We love it so much I have even turned it into a slow cooker unstuffed cabbage roll casserole!

The sauce is flavored with crushed garlic, dried mint, tomato sauce, and a sweet pomegranate molasses. The stuffing comes out tender and juicy, with an abundance of flavor.

Instant Pot cabbage rolls are a favorite for holidays, especially Easter and Christmas. They are also a quick and easy dinner for large families or dinner parties, made in 1 POT! It's one of our favorite traditional family dinners, along with stuffed peppers and stuffed grape leaves.

This recipe uses a whole head of cabbage, so it makes a generous amount of cabbage rolls. You'll love how easy and flavorful it is without spending hours simmering it on the stove.

You need:

• a head of cabbage (plus 1 onion to reduce the gastric effect)
• ground lamb or beef
• white rice
• allspice
• tomato sauce
• pomegranate molasses (homemade or store bought)
• dried mint
• garlic cloves

Pomegranate molasses gives the sauce a subtly sweet taste. If it isn't readily available near you it's easily found online. You can make this without it and probably not notice too much of a difference. But once you make it with the pomegranate molasses, you'll never make it without it again!

My favorite stuffing for cabbage rolls is made with an all lamb, white rice, and allspice mix. You can use beef in place of the lamb and brown rice in place of the white rice if you'd like.

💡 For a keto-friendly version, use cauliflower rice.

How To Make Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls

This recipe works with a 6, 8 or 10 quart pressure cooker. Always make sure not to fill the pot over the fill line, no matter what size pressure cooker you're using.

STEP 1: Parboiling The Cabbage

The first step is to parboil the cabbage. Set the Instant Pot to saute for 20 minutes. Add 10 cups of water and 1 halved onion. Cut out the thick center of the cabbage and add to the water. When the water gets hot, set the timer for 20 minutes. Turn the cabbage over halfway through so all sides are parboiled evenly.

💡 Tip: Cover the pot to heat the water quicker.

STEP 2: Rolling The Cabbage

Remove the cabbage once it's parboiled and discard the water/onion. While it cools make the stuffing and sauce. Combine all stuffing ingredients in 1 bowl and all sauce ingredients in another.

Peel the leaves off the cabbage. Cut away the thick portion of the vein. Slice large leaves in half.

Fill leaves with 2-4 tablespoons of lamb stuffing, depending on how large the leaves are. Roll the leaves tightly like a cigar.

STEP 3: Wrapping Cabbage Rolls

There is no need to tuck in the corners of the cabbage as you roll. Just wrap it tightly and leave 1 inch empty on each side of the stuffing.

💡Tip: Layer ripped leaves on top each other and use them together. Ripped leaves are inevitable, but they don't need to go to waste!

STEP 4: Pressure Cooking The Cabbage Rolls

Add 1 cup of water to the pot. Place the stuffed and wrapped cabbage rolls in the pot, packing them in tightly. Stack them in the same direction to create as many layers as needed.

💡 Tip: Layer the cabbage with the larger rolls on the bottom and the smaller rolls on top.

Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Add a little more water if needed, to mostly over the cabbage. Seal the lid and set to pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.

Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quickly release remaining pressure. Remove the lid and let the cabbage sit in the sauce for 5 minutes before serving.

Remove the cabbage rolls with rubber-tipped tongs and serve with additional sauce poured over top.

Enjoy!