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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Thank you!! I made it for dinner today and it was delicious!!
Can you freeze the left over goulash?
pasta does not freeze well.
Will it freeze well of I cook with pasta out and add it when I thaw?
I freeze pasta dishes a lot. Yes, there is a subtle difference in texture but not enough that causes you to think there is. I have frozen it and am quite happy!
This is the best recipe. My family asks for it all the time. Sooooo many people have repinned it. I love it.
I only make half and there is never any leftovers.
This recipe was AMAZING and couldn’t have been easier to make. Everyone raved about how good it was and sad there weren’t many leftovers. It’s basically a recipe similar to one I make on the stove but somehow in the instant pot it had so much more flavor! Looking forward to trying more of your IP recipes!
I made this tonite. It was so good. I did some tweaking of ingredients which I picked up in the comment section. I used spaghetti sauce since I didn’t have tomato sauce. I also was without diced tomatoes. I used Chili ready tomato’s. I used rigitoni pasta since I didn’t have elbow pasta. I forgot about the cheese but it was so good anyway.
So yummy!! Added a little sour cream with the cheese at the end for even more deliciousness. Used ground turkey instead of beef and halved the recipe. Turned out fantastic. Will be adding this to our regular menu.
This was delicious. Very close to my own American Chop Suey recipe. I may play with the ratio of tomato sauce to beef broth in the future, but otherwise, you nailed it! Thanks so much!
So since I found this recipe I have made it three times. The first time I messed it up which was totally my fault I wasn’t paying attention and added to many noodles(I did half batch). The next two times it came out perfect and OMG so good! haha. the only thing I dont do is add the Oregano and Italian seasoning and i always do a half batch since there’s just two of us. Thank you for the recipe and it will be made many more times that’s for sure.
Very good! I shared with friends who liked it too. I used 1 lb burger. Unless sharing, I would cut in half the noodles, tomatoes, tomatoes sauce, & other liquid. I accidentally released pressure before 1 minute but noodles were done.
This was really good. Cooked as directed but halved the recipe. After cooking, I did add a little more salt, pepper and garlic powder. Be sure to serve right away because the noodles absorb all the sauce. Definitely a keeper. Great weeknight dinner.
Why does the instant pot goulash – say cooking time 25 minutes – but then in the instructions say set high pressure for 1 minute and quick release? Help?
Because it will build up pressure for 24 minutes probably.
I was wondering the exact same thing…
I think that includes the cook time for the hamburger and it takes time to get up to pressure.