Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Cabbage

Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Cabbage is the dish that gets cabbage haters to try – and like – cabbage for the very first time. You get a sweetness from the applesauce and the vinegar makes it tangy. Both turn plain cabbage into something you can’t stop eating.

Cabbage Cooks Perfectly in Your Instant Pot

I love cabbage because it’s inexpensive, easy to get your hands on, and is the perfect candidate for electric pressure cooking and slow cooking. And it’s good for you too!

In the summer we eat a lot of cole slaw, but I like to change it up by mixing in some cooked cabbage too.

While cabbage softens when cooking, it keeps it’s delightful taste and texture. I learned to love that texture in Indian food and now I love it in most dishes.

Cabbage is a Beautiful Addition to Your Plate

There are so many different varieties and colors that you can choose from. But in my experience all heads of cabbage taste good. We’re using red or purple cabbage for this recipe, but you could use green if that’s all you have.

This red cabbage recipe got cut from The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot. But the book’s loss is your gain!

In the book, it was served as a side to some potato-stuffed pierogis.  I can’t give the pierogi recipe, but for a hint you can take vegan dumpling wrapper add a heaping tablespoon of mashed potato or other veggie. Then wet your finger and go around the edges to seal. Steam for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

Make an Easy Full Meal All at Once

1. Cook some chopped potatoes either wrapped in foil, or in a Pyrex dish or stainless dish covered in foil, on top of the cabbage. From there you can make mashed potatoes. Or you could start off a little different and toss the potatoes with dill and paprika then cook them. Both will make this a filling meal.
2. Make cauliflower steaks by cutting 1/2 inch thick slices from the middle of a head of cabbage. Cook these over the cabbage wrapped in foil. Season with fresh dill and lemon juice.
3. Add in some vegan sausage sliced into rounds for a one dish meal.
4. Cook 4 pieces of lightly steamed tempeh in with the cabbage. The steaming make it less bitter.

4.12 from 9 votes

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Instant Pot Sweet and Sour

This is the dish that I've used to get cabbage haters to try - and like - cabbage for the very first time. The sweetness of the applesauce and the tang from the vinegar turns plain cabbage into something you can eat by the bowlful.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Plant Based, Vegan

Keyword cabbage, sweet and sour cabbage

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

estimated time to come up to pressure 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 80 kcal

Author Kathy Hester

Ingredients

SAUTE INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon water or broth
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 4 cloves garlic minced

PRESSURE COOKER INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups chopped red cabbage
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup applesauce or the same amount chopped fresh apple
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Use the sauté setting over normal, or medium heat, and warm up the water or broth. 

2. Saute the onion until they become transparent. Then add the garlic and sauté a minute more.

3. Add the pressure cooker ingredients listed above and put the lid on and make sure that the vent is closed.

4.  Cook on pressure cooker/manual setting on high pressure for 10 minutes.
   

5. Carefully move the pressure valve to release the pressure manually.

Nutrition Facts

Instant Pot Sweet and Sour

Amount Per Serving

Calories 80

% Daily Value*

Sodium 42mg 2%

Potassium 410mg 12%

Total Carbohydrates 19g 6%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 11g

Protein 2g 4%

Vitamin A 30.2%

Vitamin C 95.9%

Calcium 7%

Iron 7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Why Do Cabbage Haters Love this Sweet and Sour Cabbage?

My sweet ad sour cabbage uses flavors that hide some bitterness that cooked cabbage sometimes has. Also when cabbage is overcooked it can have that unpleasant smell just like cauliflower.

The trick is to no overcook the cabbage and to add some sweetness and a little bit of tart from the apple cider vinegar. Red cabbage and apples is a traditional dish that uses its ingredients to show off how wonderful cabbage is.

More Recipes to Try

• Vegan Instant Pot Steamed Vegetable Dumplings
• Vegan Instant Pot Bouillon with No Added Salt or Oil
• Plant Based Instant Pot White Beans with Tomatillos and Poblanos
• Kathy’s Famous Spicy Instant Pot Cauliflower Queso