This Instant Pot Sausage Cabbage Bowl with Quinoa is a fantastic meal of healthy comfort food. And you just can't beat the ease of a pressure cooker meal.
I never thought I'd say this, but I am on a cabbage kick lately. To be more precise my pre-30-something self would be floored that I said that. But I'd like to think that the old adage, "With age comes wisdom" holds some truth. My new found love for the crunchy vegetable all started with my Thai Chicken Salad recipe, one of my all-time favorite meals.
Next came the 5-Minute Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage - the perfect side dish - and a backyard barbecue hit, my Healthy BLT Slaw. While I tend to gravitate to Napa cabbage because of its mellow flavor and red cabbage for its pop of color, I set those two aside in favor of regular green cabbage for this Instant Pot sausage cabbage bowl
If you don't have an Instant Pot, stovetop directions are included below. If you have fallen in culinary love with your Instant Pot (hand raised here!), this is one to try. I regularly use my Instant Pot to cook vegetarian chili, curry and lentil soup, but this was the first time cooking quinoa in this handy pressure cooker. It took 3 minutes for the quinoa to reach a perfect level chewiness. Um, sold!
While I used raw chicken sausage in this recipe, pork or turkey sausage can be substituted, with an adjustment to the nutritional information. When cooked under high pressure in the Instant Pot, the sausage breaks down and incorporates almost seamlessly with the quinoa and cabbage. In the stovetop version, the sausage remains slightly chunkier, but tastes just as good!
As for the cabbage, 12 cups may seem like a huge amount but just like spinach, it cooks down to a miniscule portion of that volume.
If you're feeding just a couple of people, note that this Instant Pot sausage cabbage bowl keeps well in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, making it perfect for leftover dinners and lunches. It will become even thicker as the quinoa absorbs all of the liquid. I prefer it this way, but feel free to add in extra chicken broth if you would like a soupier texture.
Printable Recipe
Instant Pot Sausage Cabbage Bowl with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage raw
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup canned petite diced tomatoes
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- 1 ¾ pounds cabbage thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
- ¼ cup minced Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
In the Instant Pot:
- Set Instant Pot to Saute setting. Add the olive oil and allow to heat for 30 seconds. Add the chicken sausage (squeezed out of casings) and onion, and cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken broth and diced tomatoes, and stir to combine.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam vent and set to HIGH pressure using the manual setting. Decrease the time to 12 minutes. (It will take about 15 minutes for the Instant Pot to reach pressure.)
- Once the time is expired, carefully use the quick release valve (it may sputter a bit) to release the steam.
- Stir in the quinoa and pile the cabbage on top (don’t stir it in). Put the lid on the Instant Pot again, close the steam vent and set to HIGH pressure. Decrease the time to 3 minutes. Release the steam using the quick release valve.
- Stir in the parsley and season to taste. Serve.
On The Stovetop:
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat (if not nonstick, first lightly coat with cooking spray).
- Add the chicken sausage (squeezed out of casings) and onion, and cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes and quinoa, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the quinoa is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Stir in the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley and season to taste. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Alison
Will this dish freeze well ?
dannie
this is a delicious cabbage meal,I love the use of Italian sausage in the recipe gives it that meaty taste.
Shanna
We're vegan, so I made some changes using vegan sausage and no-chicken chicken broth. When I sliced my cabbage I noticed that something took up residence inside it so I ended up using kale instead. I can't wait to try it with cabbage. Absolutely fantastic recipe. The flavors just explode in your mouth. Thanks! 🙂
Desiree
We made this tonight and it was fantastic. We used red cabbage, and the only change was I threw in a diced jalapeno for some kick. Also, we had a ton of pre-cooked qunoa, so threw that in instead of dry quinoa. I was worried it would turn mushy, but it was perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Dara
Great idea to throw in some jalapeno! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Jessica | The Novice Chef
My Instant Pot has very quickly become one of my go to accessories!
Cathy Trochelman
Oooh yum! It looks a little like risotto, which I love!!
Amy @ Two Healthy Kitchens
I love every part of this recipe ! It's so great that it can be made an instant pot for a quick and easy dinner ... and despite being healthy and full of great ingredients, it's still great comfort food for the whole family!
Judy
I wish I had an INSTANT POT!!! I eat quinoa every day and love cabbage. I have an old PRESTO pressure cooker (4 quart), microwave (2), SLOW COOKER that I have NEVER used. I bought the big SLOW COOKER because I had a BIG FAMILY. Now there is just the 2 of us and it I think would be fun to have a new gadget. Or else I will have to substitute with my good old appliances, which my OLD BRAIN is used to doing. I guess it is a good mental workout, AGAIN! YOUR RECIPE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!
Most sincerely,
Judy S.,aged 83 yr.s
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet
I always enjoy the sausage-cabbage combo and the addition of quinoa is perfect - yum!
Dee
I used to hate cabbage when I was a kid, but sausage and cabbage is one of my favorites now. Love that you added quinoa!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate
This looks so comforting and cozy, which is exactly what I'm wanting these days. While I've never used cabbage in a bowl like this before, I'm excited to check it out!
Kelly - A Side of Sweet
I've been putting off buying an Instant Pot but I really just need to do it so I can make meals like this!