This recipe for a homemade Instant Pot Low Carb Chicken Bratwurst defies expectations in more ways than one.
For starters, when is Bratwurst ever made at home? Isn't this something you're only meant to get ready-made? All ready to eat while having a beer?
Whoever heard of Bratwurst made in a pressure cooker? What madness is this?
And where is the casing that all sausages come in? How are we making little meatballs and calling them Bratwurst?
Are we really going to make things worse now by making a bratwurst with ground chicken? Do we not all know that bratwurst is only ever made with pork?
But what if you really don't want to stuff sausages into casings? What if you need dinner on the table quickly along with a vegetable?
More importantly, what if you don't eat pork though? Are you meant to go through life never having tasted a good bratwurst? I think not!
Behold then, a homemade Instant Pot Low Carb Chicken Bratwurst and Cabbage dinner. This easy chicken sausage recipe makes meatballs that are very mildly spiced but flavorful, and sure to be very kid-friendly.
As to getting your kids to eat the cabbage, they are steamed in, however, well, there you may be on your own! Although I will say, steaming that cabbage with a little milk and butter as I did for this steamed cabbage is one of the best ways to eat it.
The History of Bratwurst
Brats have a long and gloried history and are often eaten in Germany as a snack. Often accompanied by mustard, bread, potato salad, and other yummies, these sausages vary by region as to the particular flavorings used in them.
While I'm sure there's not one definitive thing that makes a Bratwurst a Bratwurst when you taste these chicken bratwurst meatballs, I think you'll agree they taste a lot like the Bratwurst that is widely available in the United States.
Other Chicken Sausage Recipes
I have an old Thai Chicken Sausage Recipe, and I just need to redo the pictures so it looks as good as it tastes. I also like to cheat sometimes and just make these Chicken sausages meatballs. or make Chicken Sausages with Bok Choy.
The Steps to this Instant Pot Low Carb Chicken Bratwurst with Cabbage Recipe are:
- Mix ground chicken with spices
- Lay half the roughly-cut cabbage into the Instant Pot
- Scoop chicken meatballs on top
- Cover with more cabbage
- Pour Milk and butter on all of it
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to help the pot come to pressure.
- Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes, QPR
Want More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes?
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken- My most famous recipe.
- Low Carb Garlic Chicken- Has a sauce good enough to drink.
- Chicken Tikka Masala- Delicious Indian meal.
- Instant Pot Chicken Biryani- Comfort food at its finest.
- Chicken Korma- Just like your favorite restaurant.
- Chicken Vindaloo- Perfectly spiced in under 30 minutes.
If you love these Instant Pot Brats as much as I do, make sure you share them with your friends on Facebook and Instagram so they can try them too.
Ingredients
For the Chicken Meatballs
- 1 pound (453.59 g) Ground Chicken
- 1/4 cup (60.5 g) Half and Half
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground caraway seeds
- 1/2 teaspoons (0.5 teaspoons) Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoons (0.25 teaspoons) Ground Allspice
For the Cabbage
- 4-6 cups (280 g) thickly chopped cabbage
- 1/2 cup (122 g) Whole Milk
- 4-5 (4) pats of butter
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Water
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 30 minutes if possible. (Of course I often skip this step).
To Assemble
- In the inner liner of your Instant Pot or pressure cooker, lay half the roughly chopped cabbage.
- Using a small scooper, scoop up half the chicken into small to medium size meatballs and place over the cabbage.
- Follow with the remaining cabbage and chicken.
- Pour over the milk, place butter pats here and there, sprinkle salt and pepper.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to help the Instant Pot come to pressure.
- Close and cook at high pressure for 4 minutes. Quickly release pressure when done.
- Serve the meatballs on top of the cabbage.
- You can definitely substitute ground beef or pork for the chicken, just check internal temperatures to ensure they're cooked through.
- You can also broil or air-fry the bratwurst meatballs at the end for a browner look
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Nutrition
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Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.
Julie
I've made this recipe several times in my 8 quart instant pot and it's always yummy! It seems crazy to put the meatballs in raw, but they really do come out cooked all the way through. I've always used chicken stock instead of the milk because I just like the taste of it better than the milk. This is a great recipe to have a helper for - one person doing the meatballs, the other burying them in cabbage. I don't have a scooper, so having my son do the cabbage while my hands are dirty is fun. I'll put in a few meatballs and he artfully arranges some cabbage on top, and we just keep building and building. I'm pretty sure I put way more than 6 cups of cabbage (it's tasty so I put a lot), I often get almost up to the max line. But it's still done and cooked down in 4 minutes like magic!
Thanks for another good one, Urvashi. 🙂
Ligia
No water or other liquid is required before laying down the cabbage leaves? Won’t they burn? I know the recipe says to add milk, wouldn’t that also burn?
URVASHI PITRE
It doesn’t burn no. But the recipe calls for 1/4 cup water as well that should go in with the cabbage
Debbie
Can I use Chicken broth instead of milk?
Looking forward to trying many of your recipes. I just got my instant pot!
John M.
Urvashi- HELP!
I planned to use this recipe for a big party TOMORROW, which had the theme, Austrian/Hungarian food, and from all the comments from the group I was with, BRATWURST and SAUERKRAUT were two of the top food choices..... so I decided on this recipe as a 'lighter' version of same. However, I find I have 'already made' sauerkraut, not raw cabbage, and as I am cleaning and cooking all day, can't go out to get raw cabbage..
Can you help me substitute the already prepared/packaged authentic German Sauerkraut (from Germany) with this recipe? Or will it not work????
Vielen Dank,
URVASHI PITRE
It will totally work. Don’t worry. Just cook it as directed with the sauerkraut and it will be yummy. Enjoy!!
Bhavna
Can we use Almond milk?
URVASHI PITRE
yes you can