This Instant Pot Cabbage is an easy side dish that tastes delicious!

We Love This Cabbage Recipe!

All you need is just a few minutes of prep to make this easy cabbage side dish. The high pressure makes the cabbage tender and soft, and you really can’t go wrong with classic flavors like minced garlic, onion, and butter.

I was sold on the instant pot after making instant pot mac and cheese or the first time and couldn’t wait to try more recipes.

Cabbage in the instant pot is surprisingly delicious! If you love buttered cabbage or are looking for a new low carb side dish, this recipe will be your new favorite.

The instant pot cooks it in a fraction of the time and the cabbage comes out perfectly tender and delicious every time.

You can find the full recipe and instructions at the bottom of the post, but here is what you need to make it.

instant pot mac and cheese

Ingredients & Notes

Green Cabbage: red cabbage would not be a good substitute here as it is more bitter
Yellow Onion – sweet and mellow flavor that pairs perfectly with the buttery cabbage
Garlic – minced fresh whole garlic cloves are always best
Unsalted Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter so that I can add salt to taste
Salt & Pepper – to taste. You really want to use fresh ground black pepper if you have it

cooked buttered cabbage in the instant pot

How to make cabbage in the instant pot

Step 1: Remove the core from the cabbage and roughly chop it into pieces. Set aside.

Step 2: Turn the instant pot to sauté and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the minced garlic and sliced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Watch it carefully to avoid burning it as the pressure cooker cooks fast.

Step 3: Add the vegetable broth and remaining butter to the instant pot, then place the chopped cabbage on top.

Step 4: Place the lid on the instant pot and set to sealing. Cook the cabbage on high pressure for 7 minutes. Hit cancel, then do a quick release.

Step 5: Once the pin has dropped completely, remove the lid safely from the instant pot and add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir and serve the buttered cabbage with a slotted spoon.

sliced onions, minced garlic, and butter inside an instant pot

Cabbage Size

For this recipe, I used a small sized head of green cabbage. As you can see from the picture above, it only reaches about half way up the instant pot.

If you have a larger head of cabbage, here is how to adjust the recipe:

Cook time: stays the same. It will just take a little longer to come to pressure.
Vegetable broth amount: stays the same. There is plenty of broth in this recipe.
Butter: if you have a bigger cabbage head, consider adding another 1-2 tablespoons of butter to add more flavor.

a spoon taking a scoop of buttered cabbage from the instant pot

Cook Time

This buttered cabbage cooks perfectly in around 7 minutes on high pressure in the instant pot.

For firmer cabbage: decrease the instant pot time by 1-2 minutes
For softer cabbage: increase the pressure cook time by 1-3 minutes.

Substitutions

Onion: I do not suggest using red onion as it has a harsher flavor. Any variety of sweet/mild onion will work best in this recipe.
Broth: You can substitute any kind of broth for the vegetable broth. Just use what you have on hand!

More Instant Pot Recipes

Notes

1. If your head of cabbage is larger, you can add 1-2 more tablespoons of butter, but the vegetable broth should still be fine at 1 cup. 2. For softer cabbage, cook an additional 1-3 minutes on high pressure. For cabbage with more crunch, you can lower the time to 5-6 minutes, if you want.