If you've been looking for an Instant Pot Dolma recipe, this Instant Pot Unstuffed dolma casserole is the one you need. It's a great way to make dolmas-without actually having to roll up each grape leaf individually.
This dolma casserole tastes exactly like stuffed grape leaf dolmas, but it's an easy weeknight supper to put together. Try this and you may never make grape leaf dolmas in the traditional way again!
What Is An Unstuffed Dolmas Recipe?
What are dolmas really? Dolmas are essentially stuffed grape leaves and across the Levant, they are made in a variety of different ways. At the heart of it, you're looking at grape leaves or if you're in the Balkans, often cabbage leaves, stuffed with rice and usually some meat. The spices vary across regions.
Dolma means stuffed. But in each case, the grape or cabbage leaves are stuffed individually. You put down a grape leaf, you put in a mixture of raw meat and rice or sometimes bulgur, and you painstakingly roll each one up. You then cook the leaves until the rice and meat are cooked, a squirt of lemon juice, and you're ready to go.
Dolmas can be eaten hot or cold. I prefer mine--both ways, hah! Eat some hot and eat some cold, I say. Why choose?
How To Make This Unstuffed Dolmas Recipe
I love dolmas, but I hate rolling up each one. Given my lazy efficient disposition, I just can't even cope with rolling up 1000 grape leaves before we can eat. So most of the time I end up not making them.
I have been wondering for a long time though, WHY they need to be rolled? I mean sure, it's portable, it's traditional, and that's just how it's done.
But when was the last time I did things traditionally? Ground beef shawarma rice anyone? 30-minute butter chicken recipe? Butter chicken Pizza?
Yeah, I don't do things traditionally, BUT I need my food to taste authentic and traditional.
So I decided to just play with this Instant Pot Dolma recipe. If I were a hipster, I'd be calling this deconstructed dolmas. But I am not a hipster.
So I call it unstuffed dolma casserole because in fact, what I did was I used the traditional dolma ingredients, but I cooked it all in one go in one pot.
- With your Instant Pot on Sauté mode, add olive oil to the pot. Add garlic and onions and stir.
- Add the ground beef and break up any large pieces. You're just trying to break up the ground beef, not cook nor brown it.
- Add rice, grape leaves, parsley, ground allspice, salt, pepper, and water. Stir and immediately close the lid.
- Cook for 4 minutes high pressure. Allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 mins and then release all remaining pressure.
- Sprinkle lemon juice and chopped mint and stir with a light hand to incorporate the juice but not break the rice.
How To Cook Ground Beef In The Instant Pot
One thing that's different about cooking ground beef in the instant pot is that you do not need to brown the ground beef. Pressure cooking will brown and cook the meat just fine. So your job is just to break up the ground beef so it doesn't cook up as a huge lump of beef, and you are good.
In fact, if you're new to Instant Pot cooking, you may run into a few issues if you brown the meat. What happens is that the meat might make a brown fond at the bottom of the pot, and unless you very carefully deglaze the pot, you might well get a Burn message on your Instant Pot panel.
So why take a chance, and especially if it's not going to vastly improve the flavor anyway? I say skip it. I've been cooking ground beef without browning in a pressure cooker for years and I assure you, it's equally delicious without that extra step.
You can also substitute ground lamb or ground chicken for this Instant Pot Dolmas recipe if you'd like.
Getting the burn message and unsure as to why? Check out this article on Everything You Need To Know About The Instant Pot Burn Message!
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Minced Garlic
- 1 cup (160 g) onions, chopped
- 1 pound (453.59 g) Lean Ground Beef
- 1 cup (185 g) Basmati Rice, rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces by weight (8 ounces by weight) brined grape leaves, drained and chopped
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Dried Parsley, or 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Allspice
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup (250 g) Water
For Finishing
- 1/3 cup (81.33 g) Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup (11.25 g) Chopped Mint
Instructions
- With your Instant Pot on Sauté mode, add olive oil to the pot. Add garlic and onions and stir.
- Add the ground beef and break up any large pieces. You're just trying to break up the ground beef, not cook nor brown it.
- Add rice, grape leaves, parsley, ground allspice, salt, pepper, and water. Stir and immediately close the lid.
- Cook for 4 Minutes high pressure. Allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 mins and then release all remaining pressure.
- Sprinkle lemon juice and chopped mint and stir with a light hand to incorporate the juice but not break the rice.
- Serve with Tzatziki on the side.
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Nutrition
Originally Published June 25, 2018
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MJ
Did you rinse the grape leaves to remove brine prior to cooking?
Christin
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was delicious and such a time-saver. It was a big hit with our family, and I’ll be sharing this with other family members!
Chris Pierce
Yummy!! Tried it stovetop also and it was still yummy!
Bhumi
Hi
Can I use fresh grape leaves for this recipe? Does the grape leaves have to be blanched ?
URVASHI PITRE
You can't, brined grape leaves have a very different taste and texture.
Laura
OMG! at his tastes better than I expected...so easy. We made the stuffed grape leaves and had leftover leaves so we made this and it was so delish!! Thanks for sharing.
Sue
I have made this recipe two times. Both times I haven't had grape leaves ( I live in a small town in Idaho) so I have just used a half of a head of cabbage chopped roughly. The first time I didn't have tzatziki sauce and the second time I did. It makes a huge difference BUT I liked it both times. I had to cook it longer. I think the second time I made it I cooked it 13 minutes. I am new to the Instant Pot so was nervous everything wouldn't be done to my liking. It turned out great both times. I did add a heaping teaspoon of the allspice the second time. Thank you so much for the recipe. I think it is healthy and quick and just hits the spot for me! I used your recipe for the Tzatziki sauce as well and it was good. I added too much lemon though and then too much salt but when I put it on this it evened it out and it was good.
Kristin
Brilliant recipe! I've had grape leaves hanging out in my fridge for like, 100 years and knew this was the recipe they'd been waiting for. Only problem is, I wanted to make it without the rice. Costco frozen cauliflower rice to the rescue! I used about 2 cups and omitted the water. Only other change was a quick release. It came out PERFECT!!
Sarah
This recipe is so delicious! I love how easy it was to make as well. The mint and lemon juice at the end really elevate the flavors. YUM.
Ghazaleh
I love dolma and I’m so happy you have a recipe! What would a good veggie subsitution be, if I didn’t want to use meat?
Thanks!
Andrea
This is absolutely delicious! I cooked the meat and rice separately over the stove, using brown basmati rice. I also used ground lamb (instead of beef), and added dill, mint, and sumac in place of the allspice.