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Why You’ll Love Instant Pot Cabbage Soup
If you’ve tried my Instant Pot lasagna soup, you know how easy it is to whip up a cozy, filling meal with this magical kitchen gadget.
This delicious Instant Pot cabbage soup recipe is cooked with ground beef and is jam-packed with healthy, hearty vegetables. While the cabbage is the main star of the dish, there are also onions, carrots, celery, and even diced tomatoes, which are the perfect complement, adding a tangy tomato flavor.
Pressure cooking this cabbage soup in the Instant Pot helps it come together quickly and easily (just like this Instant Pot chicken soup), and I just love how all the veggies cook to a perfect tenderness. It’s just the best thing to cozy up with on a cold day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This is a really great budget-friendly recipe, and it’s easy to find all the ingredients at the grocery store. They are mostly kitchen staple items, so you may already have them on hand!
- Ground Beef: You will need 1lb of ground beef for this recipe. Use whichever fat content/brand you prefer.
- Veggies: Onion, minced garlic, carrots, celery, green cabbage.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: You’ll need a large, 28oz can of diced tomatoes.
- Avocado Oil: Or any of your favorite cooking oil works, like ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil.
- Spices: Dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Bone Broth: If you don’t have bone broth on hand, you can substitute it with beef broth or beef stock. Chicken broth will also work in a pinch.
How to Make Instant Pot Cabbage Soup
Step 1: 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.
Step 2: Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté until the meat is lightly browned.
Step 3: Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.
Step 4: 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 for 15 minutes. Once it beeps to a finish, release pressure naturally for 15-20 minutes until the lid opens easily.
Recipe Variations
- Meat: Instead of ground beef, you can substitute chicken to make chicken cabbage soup. Use ground chicken, shredded chicken breast, or the meat from a rotisserie chicken. You can also try this recipe with ground pork or turkey or even my Instant Pot shredded beef!
- 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.
- Vegetarian: This cabbage soup will still be flavorful if you omit the meat and add cooked rice, beans, or pasta. Use vegetable broth in place of beef broth.
- Spicy: If you like spicier dishes, feel free to add red pepper flakes to give this soup a kick.
- Grains & Beans: You can add rice, beans, or pasta to add extra heartiness. Use cooked white rice, brown rice, or pasta, or add in a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans, white beans, or lentils. Make sure the beans, rice, or pasta are cooked before adding them to the soup.
If you love cooking with cabbage, try my reader favorite ground beef and cabbage stir fry, and these cabbage rolls with shrimp.
Storage Tips
- To store, cool the soup completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy for up to 4-5 days. If you can’t finish it, I suggest freezing it using the steps below.
- To freeze:
- 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!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, use a large soup pot or Dutch oven and follow these instructions:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Stir in cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes, cover, and bring to a boil. Bring down the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve alongside this gluten-free cornbread, sweet potato cornbread, or regular crusty bread to dip into the soup. This makes a great stand-alone meal, but also would be a great starter to heartier dishes like this whole roast chicken or this roast beef.
More Instant Pot Recipes
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Instant Pot Paleo Hamburger Soup (Whole30)
30 Minutes or Less
Instant Pot Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Paleo, Whole30)
If you make this recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment below! I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more delicious recipes!
Instant Pot Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, or your favorite cooking 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.2 tbsp avocado oil, 1 small onion, 4 cloves garlic
- Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté for 5 minutes until the meat is lightly browned.1 lb ground beef, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.3 carrots, 3 stalks celery
- Turn off the Instant Pot and stir in cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes. 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.5 cups chopped green cabbage, 4 cups bone broth, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 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.2 tbsp avocado oil, 1 small onion, 4 cloves garlic
- Add ground beef, salt, pepper, and oregano, and sauté for 5 minutes until the meat is lightly browned.1 lb ground beef, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano
- Add carrots and celery and cook stirring for 5 minutes to soften.3 carrots, 3 stalks celery
- Stir in cabbage, broth, and diced tomatoes, cover, and let everything come to a boil.5 cups chopped green cabbage, 4 cups bone broth, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
- Bring down the heat to medium low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add more salt if needed, and serve hot.
Notes
- 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 skip this step for the slow cooker as well.
- Serve it alongside this Cornbread or regular crusty bread to dip into the soup. You can also serve it as a starter to any of these entrees: roasted chicken, roast beef, or pork chops.
- To store, cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge. You can enjoy this soup for up to 4-5 days if stored properly in an airtight container. If you can’t finish it, I suggest freezing it using the steps below.
- To Freeze:
- 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!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yummy! Very satisfying.
Thank you, Great recipe!
You should join this Instant Pot Tips & Recipes Facebook group. I got a lot of new ideas and recipes. highly recommended! Here is a link to the group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/434020724110015/
Thanks for the instant pot cabbage soup with ground beef recipe.
http://lemy.site
What does it mean to “release pressure naturally for 15-20 minutes” Do you mean to release it immediately after the 15 minutes? or to wait 15 minutes after the 15 minutes?
I just made this in the instant pot with 99% fat free turkey breast. My husband and I had it for lunch. It’s very good and it’s only 1 WW point for me. It’s a win all around for me!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for leaving a review.
This Soup is DA BOMB!! I was NOT expecting all the flavor from the beef broth instead of chicken broth. I added turmeric a dash of garlic salt a dash of onion salt and a dash of cumin!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I made a vegetarian version of this wonderfully delicious soup! I used vegetable broth and omitted the beef. Absolutely delicious!
How wilted is the cabbage after 15 min in the pressure cooker? If I put it in after the 15 min and a quick release, will it still be okay? (it’s a texture thing for me)
It will be wilted, with a slight crunch. I’m not sure what texture you are looking for.
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.
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!