Make comforting, hearty Goulash in your Instant Pot! This American version of Goulash could not be easier or more delicious. It cooks perfectly every time and is done in only 30 minutes. Perfect easy dinner any night of the week!
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I truly did not think this comforting Goulash recipe could get any easier or more delicious, but ohhh how wrong I was! This Instant Pot version of American Goulash is AMAZING.
It is done in 30 minutes from start to finish, prep included. The pasta cooks absolutely perfectly and when you remove the lid for that first glimpse, you may get a bit weak in the knees. It is perfection!
The textures and flavors in this recipe work so well together and you truly just can’t find an easier, more comforting meal. This is a great dinner to make for busy week nights and also a perfect recipe for weekend guests or parties. This one pot meal is an all-purpose comfort food! It is super quick and easy and I promise it’ll become a new family favorite!
WATCH THIS QUICK VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT GOULASH!
HOW TO MAKE GOULASH IN THE INSTANT POT
STEP 1
Set Instant Pot to saute setting. Add the ground beef, garlic and onion and cook until meat is browned. Drain the grease from the pot, if needed.
STEP 2
Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, water, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt and uncooked elbow macaroni to the pot and stir.
Place the cover on the pot and set the timer to 4 minutes on high pressure (use the pressure cook setting). It will take the Instant Pot around 15 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
STEP 3
When cook time is up, do an immediate quick release and wait for the float valve to drop. Remove the cover and serve immediately! Top with shredded cheese just before serving, if you so desire.
RECIPE NOTES
- Replace the ground beef in the recipe with ground pork for even more meaty flavor!
- Add 2 bay leaves to the pot before cooking for extra flavor.
- Add a chopped bell pepper to the onion mixture for added texture and flavor. Red, yellow, orange or green peppers would all taste great.
- Replace a portion (or all) of the water in the recipe with beef broth for a more well-rounded flavor experience.
- This might sound weird, but I recently had a friend tell me that she added 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to this recipe and that it was super yummy.
- Feel free to swap out the elbow macaroni for a different variety of pasta.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH GOULASH
The great thing about Goulash is that it’s a one-pot meal. You’ve got pasta, meat and veggies all wrapped into one easy meal. If you’re looking for something extra to serve alongside this comfort food favorite, consider any of the following:
- A delicious chopped salad complements any meal perfectly!
- You can’t go wrong with garlic bread!
- Any side of vegetables would go great with this meal. Consider steamed broccoli or cauliflower or sauteed zucchini or mushrooms. Asparagus and Brussels sprouts would be great, too!
- Add a giant heaping spoonful of goulash over a baked potato.
- Roasted or grilled tomatoes would taste amazing with this dish and would complement the tomatoes in the recipe even more!
WHY DOES IT TAKE MY INSTANT POT SO LONG TO HEAT UP?
The time leading up to actual cook time may seem long and even confusing (“What is going ON in there?!”), but it’s an important part of the process! The Instant Pot is working on building up the appropriate amount of pressure that it will be cooking the food at.
It handles liquids and solids differently and also fresh and frozen differently, so the time can vary. Most recipes take between 10 and 25 minutes to build up pressure.
INSTANT POT BURN NOTICE
If you see that dreaded burn notice flash on your Instant Pot, do not fret! Know that your pressure cooker is keeping a good eye on your food. It has sensed that the temperature toward the bottom of the pot is too high and has therefore turned it off temporarily.
This can happen especially with recipes that contain thick sauces like this one because of the heaviness of the contents inside the pot. It can also happen if there is not enough liquid inside the pot.
If you see the burn notice, press CANCEL as soon as possible. Do an immediate quick release and wait for the silver float valve to drop. Transfer the inner pot to a hot pad holder. Scrape any bits of food that may have adhered to the bottom of the pot using a spoon.
If there are no burned bits:
- Add 1/2 cup of water or beef broth to the recipe to thin out the consistency.
- Stir the contents of the pot thoroughly and resume cooking.
If you see burned pieces in the mixture:
- Pour the contents into a saucepan and clean out the pot using soap and water, making sure any charred pieces of food are removed from the bottom of the pan. Remove visible pieces of burnt food and pour it back into the pot.
- Stir the contents of the pot thoroughly and resume cooking.
BEST RECIPES TO MAKE IN AN INSTANT POT
The list of recipes you can make in an Instant Pot is endless! It can act as a slow cooker, saute pan, steamer, rice maker, yogurt maker and pressure cooker. It can cook soup, chili, pasta, meat, potatoes, veggies, cake, beans and so much more. Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot recipes:
Instant Pot Goulash
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 15-oz. cans tomato sauce
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 16 oz. elbow macaroni
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded, for topping
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to saute. Add the ground beef, garlic and onion and cook until meat is no longer pink; drain, if needed.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt and elbow macaroni to the pot and mix well. Place the cover on the pot and set timer to 4 minutes on high pressure (pressure cook setting). It will take the IP around 17 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
- When cooking is done, do an immediate quick release and wait for the float valve to drop.
- Remove cover and serve immediately. Top with shredded cheese, if desired.
Could you swap out the noodles for white rice? So it would be Rice Goulash? If so, would you adjust the cook time or would 4 minutes be enough and quick release?
That’s a great question. I haven’t tested this myself, but plain white rice cooks fairly quickly, like noodles, so I wouldn’t adjust the time at all. If you are thinking to use a heartier rice, like brown rice, you would need to test that timing out. Please let us know what you find!
You clearly add water to this one. At least that is what the recipe says. 3 cups. I have it in the pot right now, so hope that is correct!
Yes, there is water in it to help the IP achieve pressure and help cook the pasta and make the meat and seasoning mesh together!
Didn’t have tomato sauce so added another can I’d diced tomato’s.. because I need heart healthy it was easy to use no sodium tomato’s and no salt. Very good recipe.
This is definitely one of those recipes you can throw anything in and it will still be good. I’m glad you enjoyed it – thank you for sharing!
One of the best goulashs initiative have ever tasted. 5 stars.
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to share!
Came out absolutely amazing! So glad I decided to give this recipe a shot.
Me too! I’m glad it was enjoyed!
Delicious! I make this regularly.
For the people getting a “burn notice”, I agree with others not to stir the pasta, and also make sure to deglaze or “clean” the bottom with a little of the broth after sautéing. If still having a problem with “burn notice”, it might be that your ground beef doesn’t have enough fat content. I would often get a “burn notice” when using veggie crumbles. I haven’t had a problem with this and other recipes since putting the “beef” on top of the pasta and tomato sauce. Hope this is helpful.
Thank you Elisa for those distinctions!
If you have an allergy to fish like I do, you can’t have Worcestershire sauce, I found subbing it out for a to taste mixture of soy sauce, hot sauce, and ketchup. I also subbed the tomato sauce and water for 3 12 oz cans of tomato juice and 1 12 oz can of v8 juice. I also used Adobo and ground pepper instead of seasoned salt.
Hi Sarah, Thank you for those tips! They all sound delicious.
Question-this is my first time using my instant pot. Do I put water in the bottom of it b4 I place the pot in and start cooking the rest? I’m so confused! Help
Do not stress! Water is needed to create pressure in any and all recipes made in the IP so just remember that. Most recipes that you prepare in the IP have water or sauce/broth for the actual recipe themselves. In this recipe, you’re sauteing the veggies first with the pot open, then you are adding the additional ingredients (no water in this case) but the steam will build and the liquid in the pot cooks your food. It’s going to be a game changer for you!! So, no water necessary in this one.
I add corn and green beans to mine. And I usually cook it with tomatoe juice or v8 to make it more soupy. Would that give me a burn notice, do you think? And would the cook time over cook the green beans and corn? I usually add those at the beginning of cooking on the stove. So I’m curious how that might work in the ip.
I love the addition of tomato juice or V8. Both work! The IP just needs liquid inside the pot to make it create the necessary steam to cook so those will definitely work fine. As for veggies that soften and cook quickly, sometimes I wait until the IP has finished, I reopen the pot and then add the veggies, shut the cover and let them warm/cook a few minutes because there’s a lot of heat still inside.
I swapped out the water and tomato sauce for 3 12 oz cans of tomato juice and 1 12 oz v8 juice
Could this be made in a slow cooker instead? If so how would you change the recipe. Thank you??
Leanne – great question! It certainly could. Step 1 is still to cook your ground beef and saute your veggies so they get a little flavor and soften nicely. Then toss all the rest of the ingredients with the beef and veggies into a crockpot. Cook on low 3-4 hours and add your pasta by stirring it in the last 45 min it cooks, watching it to make sure it isn’t too soft.
This recipe is awesome, I used beef broth, 1 green pepper and 1 cup,of frozen corn. I had no problem with burn warnings but I sprayed the inside of my pot before browning my beef. My family like this so much they d.said not to make my other recipe again! Thanks for the post!
Great additions and tips – thank you for sharing!
What is the serving size for the 391 calories that you have provided in the nutritional information? Thank you!
I would guess about a cup, cup and half.
I agree with Jeremy! I did not stir noodles after adding everything! Did not get Burn warning!! Add noodles last and Do Not Stir!
Thank you for commenting!
Do not mix with the pasta that is why there is a burn notice. This ruined the whole thing.
Just mix everything first and then add the pasta without stirring.
I’m sorry you had that experience. I have not but be sure to layer the pasta in between meat and sauce, then you just make sure there’s enough sauce for the sauce to soak up in the cooking of it.
I made this tonight. I followed the directions just as they were listed. I got the burn notice twice. I even added several cups of water to it after the first burn notice, and I got another one. When all was said and done, the noodles were really soggy, but it did have good flavor. Gonna have to scrap this one. ?
Amanda, I’m so sorry to hear that happened. There’s nothing more frustrating than following directions and not ending up with a meal to feed your family. What size IP do you have? Did you layer the ingredients in and stir or not stir? When you got the burn notice, did you notice burned bits on the bottom or was it just starting? I’d like to help figure out what happened because I’ve made this successfully many times and its so delicious and an easy go to meal!
This recipe was delicious as everyone else said I got. Urn notice twice but the second time it happened I just turned it off because it was done already anyway. My honey loved and said to make it again
I have the Cuisinart version of the electric pressure cooker. I followed the recipe exactly (used beef broth + green pepper) but did not have elbow macaroni. I used penne pasta and only put 1/2 the 1 pound box in the pressure cooker. It was plenty of pasta but needed an additional 3 minutes of simmering to cook the penne pasta. Definitely a keeper. Next time I use penne pasta I will cook 5 minutes.
Thanks for the tips! I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Not my absolute favorite goulash, but such a good, quick and easy weeknight recipe that I make it atleast 2-3 times per month. The cheddar cheese adds a lot of flavor. I also like adding green peppers and add a little more meat. My husband loves this!
Goulash can be made so many ways. I know some people who never add more than salt and pepper for seasoning! Thank you for sharing your tweaks and I’m glad you are able to have a good go-to for feeding your family!