Old-fashioned Instant Pot goulash is a classic family dish that comes together easily in your pressure cooker. Whether you call it goulash, Johnny Marzetti, or American chop suey, you have to agree that this recipe is simply THE BEST!
Pressure Cooker Goulash Recipe
Readers have been begging me to create an Instant Pot version of my popular Old-Fashioned Goulash recipe.
Therefore, I’m SO happy to be sharing this incredible Instant Pot goulash recipe with you today!
This is the most popular recipe on my blog, and thousands of Pinterest users have tried and loved this easy family recipe!
Our Instant Pot goulash recipe is SPECIAL and UNIQUE! In other words, It’s not just pasta, meat, and a jar of sauce.
It’s loaded with quality, real ingredients that come together to make a flavorful family meal.
PRO Instant Pot Tip: How To Fix The C6L Error On Your Instant Pot
How to Make Instant Pot Goulash
Note, this is American goulash. Sometimes it’s also called American chop suey or for Ohioans like me, Johnny Marzetti.
Are you looking for Hungarian-style goulash recipe? Then check out this one.
Certainly, I love easy recipes. I’m not above using a jar of pasta sauce!
However, you just can’t beat the depth of flavor achieved when using my special combination of delicious ingredients.
If you’re saying to yourself, enough talk already, just SHOW ME THE RECIPE, then just scroll down toward the bottom of the page to get our complete Instant Pot goulash recipe! :)
Cook the ground beef
Firstly, set the Instant Pot to sauté. When hot, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic; sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and brown until no pink remains. Spoon off any excess liquid.
Add the additional ingredients
Secondly, add the one cup of beef broth and stir to deglaze. Add the 2 cups of water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and the remaining seasonings. Stir well. Stir in the elbow macaroni.
Cook on high pressure
Finally, put on the lid, set to sealing, and set to high pressure for 1 minute, with a quick release. After that, when all the pressure is released carefully remove lid and stir. Make sure to turn off the keep warm function to prevent the pasta from overcooking. Serve your Instant Pot goulash IMMEDIATELY for best results! Top with shredded cheese, optional, but honestly… who wouldn’t? :)
Tips for Making Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash
I make this goulash recipe in my 6-quart Instant Pot. You will need to use a 6-quart or larger pot to accommodate this recipe. I’ve been thinking about getting an 8-quart pot, myself. Do you have one? Do you love it?
In addition, be sure sure to break up your ground beef well during the sautéing phase.
Important note about cooking time. While it may seem like 1 minute at high pressure is not enough time, trust me, it is. Keep in mind that the pasta will be starting to cook while the pot comes up to pressure.
I find that the 1 minute with a QUICK RELEASE produces a JUST al-dente pasta that will hold up on day two and three. If you want your pasta to be even closer to true al-dente, you could cook for 0 minutes at high pressure with a quick release.
Moreover, if find the pasta is still too tough for your liking, it’s a very simple fix. Put the lid back on and let it sit for a minute or two. You can make your pasta softer, but you don’t want to go too far and have mushy pasta hence the 1 minute cook time!
Finely grate your own cheese (like in my picture) for the most luscious results. You can use the bagged stuff too, of course! :)
I am SUCH an IP-recipe junkie. In fact, I just tried Jessica’s Instant Pot Baked Ziti, and y’all, it’s SO GOOD!
More Delicious Recipes
Did you make this recipe? It really is the BEST! If you loved it and want to really help this site, consider leaving a rating, comment, and pinning this recipe to your favorite Pinterest boards. Your support helps us so much! :)
- Classic Old-Fashioned Goulash (stovetop version)
- Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Beef Stew (really good!)
- Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
- Chicken Cobbler
Instant Pot Goulash
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 large yellow onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 cups of water
- 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté. When hot, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic; sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon and brown until no pink remains. Spoon off any excess liquid.
- Add the one cup of beef broth and stir to deglaze. Add the 2 cups of water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and the remaining seasonings. Stir well. Stir in the elbow macaroni.
- Put on the lid, set to sealing position, and set to high pressure for 1 minute, with a quick release. After all the pressure is released carefully remove lid and stir. Make sure to turn off the keep warm function to prevent the pasta from overcooking. Top with shredded cheese, optional.
Notes
- Remove the inner pot after cooking is complete to allow for faster cooling.
- Serve IMMEDIATELY for best results!
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Nutrition
Did you make this?
I would love to hear from you! Make sure to leave your review below and follow on Pinterest for more!
Fast, easy, and delicious. What’s not to like? Lot’s of flavor and a recipe that is about as simple as it gets. This recipe does make a ton. Right up to the max line on a 6 quart, but no problems. One clarification: Sometimes it’s hard to tell what the recipe is calling for with measurements. Some might equate 2 cups to 1 – 16oz box. In this case, a full box would be WAY too much pasta, so measure out the 2 cups.
We are new to the Instant Pot world and are trying out different recipes. Your Goulash looked delicious so we tried it. What an awesome dish! There had to be variations, as we don’t have a well stocked kitchen – like I used speghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce – but for the most part I cut the recipe in half with great success! My boy loved it. I added it to my Pinterest page. Thanks for sharing it.
My first instant pot recipe and I loved it. I halved it and even though I got the burn notice, I just hit cancel and released pressure. By letting the food cool in the instant pot, the noodles cooked a bit longer and are perfect.
First, let me say this turned out amazing. Totally my kind of meal. But…. no way can it be done in a 6-qt IP without exceeding the max fill mark! I cooked the macaroni separately and left out the 2 C of water and 1 can of the tomato sauce to compensate for the liquid that would be absorbed by the pasta. Combined the two pots after done cooking and it was great. Next time I’ll half the recipe, but will miss out on leftovers.
Donald, I’ve made it dozens of times in my 6-quart. It does come right up to the fill line but doesn’t go over. Maybe you had a little too much of something.
This was the best tasting goulash we have ever had. I just can’t figure out how you got the noodles to cook so quickly! I started at 6 min and ended up cooking a little longer. I used 2 cans of tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes and I didn’t add the cheese at the end. We used Parmesan cheese on top. My family loves this recipe and we will use it from now on! Thank you!
I have a 6qt IP it turned out great. So delicious
Whaaa???
What do you consider lean ground beef? 85-15, 90-10 or 95-5?
This was absolutely amazing and easy to make. Best part is I didnt have to keep reminding my 7 and 4 yr old to eat. They didn’t put their forks down. First thing I’ve ever made in my newly acquired insta pot and it was a huge success thanks to that easy peasy recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Made this tonight and EVERYONE liked it! That’s a big deal when all three kids like it! Served a family of 5 with a just enough leftover for my hubby’s lunch tomorrow. Really enjoyed it! Will prob add some hot sauce next time to give it a bit more spice! But it was easy and delish!👌🏼
I have 10 people in my home, I have an 8qt IP. can I double this recipe???
What should I do different if I want to half the recipe
Just half all the ingredients.
This isn’t my recipe but I noticed that you didn’t get a reply. In instant pot recipes to increase or decrease a recipe, you adjust the ingredients but keep the times the same. So, you would halve all the ingredients but times stay the same. Hope that helps.
For me the macaroni was still too tough, so I put it back on again for 0 minutes. Then it was perfect. This tasted amazing! Even my picky husband liked it.