Instant Pot Goulash recipe is a delicious take on a traditional Hungarian goulash recipe made easy in an electric pressure cooker with lean ground beef, macaroni pasta, and a tomato-based sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
American goulash is usually made with ground beef, elbow macaroni, and tomatoes (either tomato sauce, tomato soup, or tomato paste). You love that this is a hearty and comforting dish, but it’s also perfect if you are trying to eat on a budget.
- Simple ingredients: Mostly canned or shelf-stable ingredients are needed.
- Enough for the family: A Hearty meal that makes enough for a large family.
- Made quickly: Only 25-30 minute cook time at high pressure.
- One pot: Everything for this delicious meal can be made in the Instant Pot. Dinner made with fewer dishes, in less time.
“My family enjoyed this recipe. Even my picky kiddos liked it!” — Kristen
This is the Stove Top Goulash recipe if you want another way to make our Grandma’s BEST Ground Beef Goulash! The perfect comfort meal.
Key Ingredients:
Lean ground beef is our go-to option, but you can use ground turkey in place as well.
Diced onion and diced green bell pepper are the only other fresh ingredients needed for this Instant Pot recipe.
Canned items you will need are canned corn (drained), tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes (undrained).
For pantry ingredients, use brown sugar, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce for the best flavor combination.
Season the goulash with salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder.
We like to use uncooked elbow macaroni for the best pasta texture, but most any thicker small-shaped pasta will do.
Add beef broth or beef stock for added flavor and cooking liquid for the pasta.
See below for a detailed list of ingredients!
Equipment Needed:
How to Make Instant Pot Goulash (Step-by-Step and Pro Tips):
- Press the SAUTE button on the pressure cooker. When the inner pot is hot, add the lean ground beef, onions, and diced green pepper, cooking everything in the inner pot until the beef is no longer pink. If desired, drain the grease, but not 100% necessary; also the peppers will continue to get tender during the pressurized process.
- Add in corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the browned meat mixture.
- Add the uncooked macaroni noodles on top, then pour beef broth on top of the macaroni. DO NOT STIR, but press down the macaroni so that it’s all covered in liquid as much as possible. The pasta will get tender during the cooking cycle in the excess liquid, so do not cook it ahead of time.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the knob to SEALING (not venting).
- Press the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer for 4 minutes.
- Do a QUICK RELEASE of the pressure when the timer is done (move the knob to VENTING to let out all the steam).
- Open lid and stir everything together. Turn this into a creamy pasta dish by adding heavy cream now if you want a new way to serve this great recipe.
- If desired, you can serve this with shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Avoid the Burn Notice
- Deglaze after sauteing the meat. This will not only avoid the burn notice but add even more flavor to the sauce.
- Don’t stir pasta into the sauce. When the tomatoes get towards the bottom of the Instant Pot, there is a higher chance of them burning because the thick sauce doesn’t circulate well.
- Ensure to add 1 ½ to 2 cups of thin liquid. Using a thin liquid is essential for cooking the pasta and not burning everything else.
- Keep the contents below ⅔ full to allow for room to have the heat move around.
Tips and Recipe Notes
If you prefer a tangier, less-sweet sauce? Halve the amount of brown sugar and use a little low-sodium broth and soy.
Add even more spice with a little red pepper flakes when combining the seasonings.
Storage Instructions
Store the leftover bread bowls in an airtight container on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 – 5 days for or place them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQ’s for Goulash
This recipe works well with a thicker pasta like elbow noodles, penne, or rigatoni. We would not suggest using egg noodles as they might break up during the cooking process of this recipe.
To get the traditional taste and consistency for goulash, we would not recommend using a jar of sauce as it will be a lot thicker than needed. You can use tomato paste with water to replace the tomato sauce if needed.
To get the best texture for pasta in an electric pressure cooker, here is the rule of thumb to follow:
Cook time = ½ the box time, minus 1 minute. Always quick-release for pasta.
Side Recipes to Serve:
30 Minute Dinner Rolls, Easy Homemade French Bread, or Easy Homemade Cornbread are perfect for dipping in the tomato sauce of this pasta recipe.
7 Layer Green Salad is another great option for a healthier side dish.
Instant Pot Ground Beef Goulash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 15 ounces canned corn, drained, (1 can)
- 29 ounces tomato sauce, (1 large can)
- 30 ounces diced tomatoes, (2 15oz cans), undrained
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 ½ Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt, (or more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, (more or less to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1-2 cups beef broth
Equipment
Instructions
- Press the SAUTE button. When the pot is hot, add in the ground beef, onions, and green pepper.
- Cook until beef is no longer pink. If desired, drain grease.
- Add in corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add uncooked macaroni noodles on top, then pour beef broth on top of macaroni. DO NOT STIR, but press down the macaroni so that it's all covered in liquid as much as possible.
- Place the lid on top of the Instant Pot and turn the knob to SEALING (not venting).
- Press the MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer for 4 minutes.
- Do a QUICK RELEASE of the pressure when the timer is done (move the knob to VENTING to let out all the steam).
- Remove the lid and stir everything together.
- If desired, you can serve this with shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Video
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
My family enjoyed this recipe. Even my picky kiddos liked it!
I love making your instant pot pasta recipes. They are so easy and good. Also your rib recipes! Yum!
Hi Olivia. Thanks for your sweet comment. We are so glad to hear that you are enjoying our Instant Pot recipes. We have more coming. Have a great weekend!
Why does it say beef broth is divided?
Why does it say pressure cook 4 min and then later says 14 min, and then again later in rec 4 min.
I figured it out, total cook time 14min
It cooks for 4 minutes – that is what you set your Instant Pot cooking time for. But it will take about 10 minutes for your instant pot to pressurize before it starts counting that 4 minutes so that is why it says cook time will feel like 14 minutes. Just follow the recipe instructions and you will be fine. Hope this helps explain things.
This is so easy to prepare and has become a favorite. It’s just my hubby and I at home now so I froze some to have for future meals. It was nice to just pull this out of the freezer for dinner last night. I’m trying a lot of new recipe and making my hubby rate them. He said this was definitely a five star.
We love having a supply of freezer meals. So glad to hear that you liked the IP Goulash!
Can this be made in a crock pot? Looks delicious but I don’t own an insta-pot
Can this be made in crockpot
It would take some adapting, but we also have it on the stove top – https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/grandmas-delicious-goulash/
How can I make this without an IP?
Absolutely! if you search “Six Sisters Goulash” our grandma’s original recipe for the stove top will come up! Happy cooking!
I’ve made this a few times and have since shared the recipe with family and friends! It’s packed full of flavor and super easy to make! I double the recipe to feed my “army”😊😂
We love to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Sarah!