The Ukrainian word for cabbage rolls have a lot of different spellings when it’s transliterated into English. Holubtsi, holubchi, holubchy, golubchi, golubtsi. Why the h and g? Regional differences, I suppose.

In my family, holubtsi are more often meatless than meaty. This applies especially to Sviata Vechera, the meatless 12-dish Christmas Eve dinner. In this version, they are also gluten-free and could go vegan by swapping out the butter for vegetable oil.

While you could finish the rolls in the oven, this recipe in the Instant Pot helps you save some time by speeding up the fillings and the final cooking.

This recipe saves almost 2 hours of cooking time!

Jump straight to the recipe

Do you have a sour cabbage head? Check out my recipe for Sour Cabbage Rolls – Holubtsi.

Dissecting a cabbage head

Make sure you choose a head of cabbage that will fit in your Instant Pot.

Then, you need to remove the core. This is just pulling out the hard centre on the cabbage to make sure it steams nicely. The first step is to work your way around the stem at an angle with a small knife.

After you’ve got a start, grab a melon baller and remove more of the solid areas of the core.

On a typical cabbage head, you’ll be melon balling out about 4 inches of cabbage core.

Once you have a cored cabbage, place it core-side-down in the Instant Pot on the steamer insert. I’ve found that pressure cooking the cabbage head means you can’t observe the cooking process – and all cabbage heads are unique. When I’ve tried pressure cooking, I’ve had overdone outsides and raw insides. So, steam it is. After the cabbage head is steamed and softened, you’ll make the rice and onions while the cabbage cools.

Sushi rice?

For several years now, I’ve replaced pearl rice with sushi rice in cabbage rolls. Pearl rice is the standard choice – it’s a short-grained rice. It’s supposed to be stickier than long-grained rices. But, I find it’s difficult to find pearl rice.

When I was eating sushi – specifically nigiri – I noticed that it was the same size and shape as a cabbage roll. It holds together incredibly well – because it’s just another short-grained rice.

Ensure the rice is rinsed thoroughly. I use cold water and spend at least 4 or 5 minutes rinsing the rice until the water runs clear.

With the Instant Pot, it’s really easy to make rice turn out every time. This recipe undercooks the rice. So, do not follow these instructions to make actual sushi rice. But, the Instant Pot fundamentals for good rice stay the same – 1 part rice to 1 part water.

Combine the semi-cooked rice with fried, chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remember the rice will cook again as a cabbage roll!

Rolling! Rolling!

The first thing to start making cabbage rolls is to unfurl the leaves off of the steamed head of cabbage. If the centre isn’t softened enough, toss it back onto the steaming rack to go a bit more.

Let’s look at the anatomy of a cabbage leaf:

There’s a stem at the centre of the leaf. While some people make big cabbage rolls with the entire leaf, that stem isn’t so great. It can be tough to roll.

With a small knife, cut out the stem. You’ll be left with two semi-circles of cabbage.

Press the rice filling mixture into a nigiri-sized ball. It’s less than ¼ cup of rice mixture. Place it close to the stem-side of the cabbage leaf.

Roll up the stem edge about one-third of the way to cover the rice ball.

Trim any ends that aren’t fitting with a small knife. Fold in the left and right ends and continue to roll away from you towards the edge of the cabbage leaf.

Now that the cabbage roll is rolled, give it a gentle squeeze to get any air out of it.

As you go along, some leaves won’t have the right shape or will tear. Save them! They come in handy later.

Putting it all together

At this point, you could assemble the cabbage rolls into a buttered casserole dish. You could freeze it and bake it later for about 2 hours in a 325°F oven. If you take this path, you’ll cover the top of the cabbage rolls with some large cabbage leaves to protect them from burning in the oven.

If you’re going to cook them in the Instant Pot, it’s the reverse. You layer cabbage leaves on the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Now, you’ll arrange the cabbage rolls on top of the leaves.

Pour the tomato substance of your choice on top.

Equipment

Instant Pot (any size as long as it’s smaller than your head of cabbage)
Small knife
Melon baller
Fine mesh sieve
Steam rack/insert
Steam lid
Medium-size casserole dish with a lid or foil to cover (if you’re baking them in the oven)

Time saved!

How long does the traditional recipe take? There’s still the manual labour stays the same but…

Cooking onions: 1 hour on the stove now 15 minutes in the Instant Pot
Rice: 30 minutes on the stove now 5 minutes in the Instant Pot
Baking: 2 to 2.5 hours at 325°F now 45 minutes in the Instant Pot

* Instant Pot times are estimates but include pressurization, cooking and depressurization on the Instant Pot.