This comforting and cozy Instant Pot Cabbage Soup with ground beef is ridiculously easy, yet so flavorful! It’s a healthy Whole30 soup packed with veggies.
Cabbage and ground beef are just the most humble combo that works so well together. They create such a wonderfully comforting flavor and texture, whether they are stir fried, braised, or simmered together in an easy Instant Pot soup recipe like this one.
What Typically Goes In Cabbage Soup?
There are many versions of cabbage soup but the typical ingredients of cabbage soup are vegetables like cabbage, onion, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and spices. You can add protein is you want to make it a completely meal.
Instant Pot Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef Recipe
This delicious Whole30 cabbage soup is cooked with ground beef, but is jam-packed healthy, hearty vegetables. While the cabbage is the main star of the dish, there are also onions, carrots, celery, and even diced tomatoes which add a yummy acidity to the soup.
Pressure cooking this Whole30 cabbage soup in the Instant Pot helps it come together easily and quickly, and I just love how all the veggies wilt down and become so tender. It’s just the perfect thing to cozy up with on a cold day.
What You’ll Need
All you need is an Instant Pot to make this cabbage soup. However, if you don’t have one, you can also make it on the stovetop! You’ll need a large pot if you are using the stovetop method.
Ingredients
This is a really great budget-friendly recipe and it’s easy to find all the ingredients at the grocery store. They are mostly staple kitchen items so you may already have them on hand!
- avocado oil: Or any of your favorite cooking oil works, like ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil.
- onion
- garlic
- ground beef
- salt & pepper
- dried oregano
- carrots
- celery
- green cabbage
- bone broth: If you don’t have bone broth on hand, you can substitute with beef broth.
- can of diced tomatoes
Step By Step Directions (Instant Pot)
- Turn on the Instant Pot to Sauté then add avocado oil.
- Once it indicates that it’s “hot,” add onion and garlic and cook stirring until fragrant.
- Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté until the meat is lightly browned.
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and add cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes. Stir to mix.
- Close the lid and set the pressure valve to Sealing.
- Cook on high pressure Zfor 15 minutes. Once it beeps to a finish, release pressure naturally for 15-20 minutes until the lid opens easily.
- Taste to add more salt, and serve hot.
Step By Step Directions (Stove Top)
- Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add onion and garlic, and stir cooking for 5 minutes until fragrant and translucent.
- Then add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté until the meat is lightly browned.
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes until soft.
- Stir in cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes, cover, and let everything come to a boil.
- Bring down the heat to medium low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add more salt if needed, and serve hot.
Soup Variations To Try
While this soup is delicious on its own, you can always swap out ingredients with what you have on hand.
- Meat variations: Instead of ground beef, ground pork, turkey, or chicken will also work well. Shredded chicken will be delicious as well.
- Try different veggies: If you want to bulk up or switch out the veggies, you can add cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, spinach, and/or even sweet potatoes.
- Make it vegetarian: This cabbage soup will still be flavorful if you omit the meat. If you aren’t doing the Whole30, you can even add rice, beans, or pasta.
Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef Serving Suggestion
This cabbage soup is delicious on its own. However, if you are looking for what to serve it with, here are some suggestions:
- Cornbread or bread to dip into the soup
- Alongside roasted chicken, roast beef, or pork chops
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Instant Pot Cabbage Soup
Sautéing the vegetables and the ground beef before pressure cooking results in a better flavor and texture. I’ve pressure cooked all the ingredients together without sautéing just from pure laziness, and I had a much better result when I didn’t skip this step. However, it’s not necessary.
You can substitute with different ground meat like turkey, chicken, pork, or even sausage. I just think ground beef tastes best with a cabbage heavy dish like this one.
Cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can enjoy this soup for up to 4-5 days if store properly in an airtight container. If you can’t finish it, I suggest freezing it using the steps below.
Not only is this a quick and easy Instant Pot soup recipe, it freezes well too! Here’s how you can freeze this cabbage soup with ground beef so you can have a hearty and comforting meal ready to eat when you are too busy to cook:
– Cool the soup completely.
– Place in airtight freezer-safe containers in individual portions. Leave about an inch of room at the top. The soup will expand as it freezes.
– Freeze for up to 3 months.
– Defrost each container in the refrigerator overnight so you can eat it the next day!
Other recipes you might love…
- Instant Pot Paleo Hamburger Soup (Whole30)
- Instant Pot Whole30 Chili with Spaghetti Squash
- Whole30 Sweet Potato Chili (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Stovetop)
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup (Paleo, Whole30, AIP, Keto)
- Paleo White Chicken Chili (Whole30, Keto)
Instant Pot Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 carrots chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 5 cups chopped green cabbage about 1/2 medium cabbage
- 4 cups bone broth or beef broth
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté and add avocado oil.
- Once it indicates that it's "hot," add onion and garlic and cook stirring for 5 minutes.
- Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté for 5 minutes until the meat is lightly browned.
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and add cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes. Stir together.
- Screw on the lid and set the pressure valve to Sealing.
- Cook on Manual at high pressure for 15 minutes. Once it beeps to a finish, release pressure naturally for 15-20 minutes until the lid slides open easily.
- Add more salt if needed, and serve hot.
Stove Top Method
- Heat avocado oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add onion and garlic, and cook stirring for 5 minutes until fragrant and translucent.
- Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté for 5 minutes until the meat is lightly browned.
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.
- Stir in cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes, cover, and let everything come to a boil.
- Bring down the heat to medium low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add more salt if needed, and serve hot.
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Delicious! I love that I can have a comforting meal of this hearty soup in less than an hour!
So comforting and easy! A great soup for winter, though I’ll probably be eating it during the summer, too… 😉
The perfect soup for cold winter nights! Hearty, delicious and quick to make!
I love a simple but healthy soup I can make in the IP! Brilliant 🙂
I’m always looking for new IP recipes so thank you for this recipe!
What a hearty and easy soup to make. Perfect for busy weeknights. Best it includes all things good for you!
What is a serving size (ie: 1 cup, 1.5 cups)? I’m cooking this tonight for 8 people (some are picky eaters) and need to know if I should double it. Plus, there are some of us calorie counting :😁
It will vary from batch to batch, but around 1.5 cups. Each batch makes 6 servings.
I just bought a head of cabbage for my dinner recipe this week. I love that it is so inexpensive to buy but I can hardly ever use the whole things. This soup will be a perfect way to use the other half!
This looks very comforting and convenient — I always have ground beef on hand. Have bookmarked to make this week in my Instant Pot! Thanks for the inspo!
Such classic good food! I love this soup, similar to one I grew up with but I do prefer the IP these days!!
This sounds like such a perfect winter’s evening meal! I am loving my instant pot right now, so I’m looking for any recipes I can to experiment a little with it! x
Is it possible to double this recipe with the same results. Also, only have chicken broth…
Yes, you can double the recipe without changing the cook time. And chicken broth should work fine!
This soup tastes amazing, everyone in my family loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I am doing my whole30 right now! I can’t wait to try this recipe
I like your recipe. Great and delicious. Its taste is amazing. I did it over the weekend. Everyone loves it. Thank you for your recipe so easy and effective. Yummy…
So quick and easy but very tasty. Perfect for cold nights!
Making this as I write this! Just wondering…when you say cook in “high” does that mean the manual setting or soup setting? I have an IP lux 8 qt…..
Sorry I just saw this. Manual!
I made this today in my instant pot. Delish!! My daughter and granddaughter (a fussy eater) loved it. So tasty, low cal, and low carb and economical
Thanks so much!
Omgoodness, this soup is delicious. I had to separate the recipe in half and cooked in 2 batches in my 3qt instant pot. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’m so glad it worked in a smaller Instant Pot!
Eating a bowl of this now! So incredibly good. My picky middle schooler loves it, too. Thank you!
Yay, thank you!!
Is it possible to sub out the hamburger for stew meat or steak? Would cook time change? Thank you!
Sure! For stew meat or steak, I would increase the time to 20 minutes.
What would you suggest to add a little authentic heat? A little cayenne? Thanks.
Yes, cayenne or even just hot sauce would work great!
Thank you for this recipe! One of the most delicious soups I have ever eaten! I froze the rest and ate it a couple weeks later since it made such a large batch in my Instant pot and it was just as delicious! I only tweaked a coupled things: I added 1-can of corn and 1- can of black beans, that added to the heartiness of the soup.Also, I used fresh oregano instead of dried (just personal preference). I feel like you could add just about anything to this soup and it would be great. Highly recommend this recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!! Love those additions as well. Thank you so much for your review.
Do I have to brown the ground beef or do I just add it raw to the soup? I liked the sound of this recipe because it sounds similar to a “stone” soup my dad used to make
It says it in the instructions. Brown first.
This is the most delicious soup. My mother in law has been very sick and this is the soup she is requesting to make to help her feel better and I don’t mind at all because it is so easy to throw this together.
Delish! Made as written in electric pressure cooker. Will certainly make this again.
So glad you enjoyed it!!
I used ground turkey instead of ground beef to lower the fat macros. Turned out delish! Thank you!
I love soup no matter what the season and this one just made it to my top ten for anytime! I admit that I made a few minor adjustments due to the lack of the required amount of vegetables but it all worked. So did my using Rotele Jalapeno and Rotele Habanero diced tomatoes. Love a soup with kick and these worked perfectly! Thanks for a very tasty soup!
Thank you! So glad it worked out with adjustments. 🙂
Thinking about trying this using venison! Will let you know when I do.
This was super easy to prep and make, (something that’s super nice with a toddler around! I even had him help me pour in the ingredients!)
It turned out delicious and added lime and jalapeños to my bowl. My partner and child really enjoyed it as well!
Thanks Jean!
This soup was extremely easy to put together. I only had ground turkey, so I used 2 TBSP of Italian seasoning and 2 TBSP of tomato paste to bump the flavour. I also used chicken stock. Overall a hit!
When reading some of the reviews, be careful – the timing in the recipe is more accurate. I was pretty darn hungry by the time the soup was finished.
That said, it was very good. The flavors and spicing were just right. I did not have a pound of burger on hand so I substituted a pound of stew meat and it worked great.