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.
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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 sautรฉ. When hot, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic; sautรฉ 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 sautรฉing 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
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- โ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to sautรฉ. When hot, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic; sautรฉ 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.ย
- 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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Did you make this?
I would love to hear from you! Make sure to leave your review below and follow on Pinterest for more!
Just made this today. Very tasty and super easy. Trust the process, 1 minute cooking time was perfect!!
This meal was Wonderful!! ย I made it as directed, but on this given day I had not regular ground beef, but meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal). But it just came out so tender and flavorful, probably because of the herbs. This recipe is a Keeper!! Thank you so much :-) Margy
Can this be doubled in an 8qt pot? Got a ton of people to feed and wondering if this might be too much to fit.
Btw Crissy your recipe is just like my Grandma’s.
@Katrina Johnson, make the whole pot and have it for lunch the next day goulash is better the next day anyway.
I came just to get the timing right. Goulash is my comfort food!
I canโt wait to try this but Iโll need to cut this in 1/2. Do I need to adjust the cook time?
Quick, easy and Delicious! I added celery and green pepper.ย
This recipe is amazing! My family loves it. I did use 1 cup of water and 3 cups of beef broth. Thank you!
Made once before, good but had to do 1 more minute afterward to get pasta right. ย 2nd time on Iโve allowed natural release for 5 min and pasta is perfect for my non-aldente taste. :) this is as close to what my mom made 40 years ago. ย Great!
To everyone going over the deep end over the 1 minute. It takes an instant pot 15-20 minutes to come to pressure, during that time its cooking the pasta as well. When you turn it off the liquid is so hot it will still cook the pasta even after you stir it. Anymore than 1 minute you risk mushy pasta. Elbow macaroni and shells don’t need much time