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Red pot with stew and a ladle full of stew, pot lid, and a basket with sliced bread on gray background.

Instant Pot Cabbage and Beef Chuck Soup (Kupus Kalja, Slatki Kupus)

Aida
Tender beef chuck with slightly crunchy and soft cabbage make this soup the most perfect sweater weather!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Bosnian, Croatian, Kosovo, Macedonian, Montenegro, Serbian, Slovenian
Servings 4
Calories 551 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil sub with canola, sunflower or coconut
  • 1 onion medium, peeled, diced, minced or grated
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled, minced
  • 2 carrots large, peeled, diced or minced
  • 1 pound beef chuck diced small, or veal, or beef medallions
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • (Optional) 1 tablespoon Vegeta, stock powder, or a beef stock cube with or instead of salt and pepper
  • 1 smaller cabbage head (or ½ of a large cabbage head) cut in bigger chunks
  • 3-4 potatoes large, peeled, diced very small
  • Parsley to taste dry or fresh

Instructions
 

  • Brown the meat. Select sauté on your Instant Pot and heat up the oil. Add onion, garlic, and carrot. Sauté until soft, occasionally stirring, (about 5 minutes). Add meat, and sauté for 5-10 more minutes, or until the meat browns. Continue stirring occasionally. (Add just a little bit of water if necessary.) Cancel the sauté option.
  • Pressure cook the first time. Add seasonings and 2 cups of water. Stir everything really well and secure the lid on the Instant Pot.  Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. (It will take about 5-10 minutes for Instant Pot to pressurize before the cooking begins.) After the time is up, release the pressure using the quick release method  (about 2-5 minutes). The float valve will drop and the lid will unlock and open when all of the pressure is out.
  • Pressure cook the second time. Open the Instant Pot, and add potatoes, cabbage, and 2 cups of water to the meat. Stir everything really well and secure the lid on the Instant Pot.  Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes. (It will take about 5-10 minutes for Instant Pot to pressurize before the cooking begins.) After the time is up, release the pressure using the quick release method  (this time it'll take longer, about 10-15 minutes). The float valve will drop and the lid will unlock and open when all of the pressure is out. Add parsley and serve.
  • Handling Notes: Cooked cabbage does not keep well! Therefore, it's best to serve it on the same day you make it, as this is when it tastes divine! If you must, store in the fridge for up to 2 days, and reheat using your preferred method (stovetop is best though). Note that each time you put it in the fridge or reheat it, cabbage soup will get soggier.

Notes

  • Why are we pressure cooking twice? 
This recipe calls for two different pressure cooking sessions (one after the other) because meat takes three times as long as cabbage to cook. To this end, we pressure cook beef chunks first, and then after releasing the pressure, we add cabbage and pressure cook a little bit longer. This ensures that the beef is perfectly tender, and the cabbage soft, but slightly crunchy too. 
  • Is this complicated or dangerous?
The process isn't complicated at all, nor dangerous! Just follow our steps, and make sure that the pressure is always completely released from the Instant Pot before you open it. 
  • Will it take too long? 
It will take about 10-15 minutes longer than if you were to put everything in at the same time. However, the difference in taste is incredible. Putting everything in at the same time causes either the meat to be hard or the cabbage to be mushy.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 4Sodium: 142mgCalcium: 113mgSugar: 10.9gFiber: 11.2gPotassium: 1786mgCholesterol: 101mgCalories: 551kcalSaturated Fat: 5.5gFat: 21.2gProtein: 41gCarbohydrates: 50.4gIron: 24mg
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