BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (2024)

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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!

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (1)

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

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (2)

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.

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (3)

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! :)

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (4)

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? :)

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (5)

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. I recently got this tool to break up meat in my Instant Pot and it works better than a wooden spoon.

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)
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  • Instant Pot Beef Stew (really good!)
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BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (6)

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Old-fashioned Instant Pot goulash is a delicious family meal that your whole family will love! This reminds me of the Johnny Marzetti that my grandma used to make when I was a kid!

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 342Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 651mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 31g

BEST Instant Pot Goulash Recipe | Old Fashioned American Goulash (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Hungarian goulash and American Goulash? ›

Hungarian Goulash is a thick meat and vegetable stew with a broth that's heavily seasoned with paprika, while American Goulash is a quick dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs, and elbow macaroni noodles. It also goes by the name of American Chop Suey.

What is American Goulash made of? ›

This hardy American Goulash Recipe is one of my kids' favorites. It is a classic dish from our childhoods similar to Hamburger Helper, with ground beef and elbow macaroni cooked in a savory tomato sauce and topped with cheese. It's so easy to make this comforting one-pot meal.

Is Hamburger Helper the same as goulash? ›

Hungarian goulash is a thick soup with meat and vegetables, usually seasoned with paprika. American goulash is very different. It generally has tomato sauce, macaroni and beef. It's almost like a homemade hamburger helper.

What is true goulash made of? ›

It is made with simple ingredients like meat, peppers and root vegetables elevated to perfection by the use of Hungary's most famous spice: paprika. Goulash can be made with beef or pork but the traditional way of making it is with beef.

What is goulash called in the South? ›

American goulash, sometimes called slumgullion, is an American comfort food dish, similar to American chop suey. American goulash is usually referred to in the midwestern and southern United States as simply "goulash".

What country eats the most goulash? ›

Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country.

What do you serve with goulash? ›

Serve up a hearty goulash for the ultimate comforting stew on winter nights. Searching for the perfect accompaniment? Try mashed potato, dumplings or your favourite veg.

What is technically goulash? ›

Hungarian goulash is a dish of paprika-spiced stewed beef and vegetables that's typically served with buttered egg noodles (called csipetke, the Hungarian word for spaetzle). The paprika used in Hungarian goulash is a sweet paprika made from sweet peppers; it is often labelled Hungarian paprika.

What can I use to thicken goulash? ›

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

What is goulash sauce made of? ›

Hearty ground beef is cooked in an intense sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and many spices. Melty cheddar cheese is added for richness and texture. And of course, there's the classic elbow macaroni! Every time I eat old fashioned goulash, I'm transported back to my childhood.

Why is my goulash meat tough? ›

It wasn't cooked long and slow enough. That's simple, as stewing beef, like any beef cooked low and slow take hours to get it done right. Depending on the meat, I try to stick to the cooking time in a recipe as the meat cubes are MUCH smaller than say, a roast.

Why is American goulash so different? ›

American goulash is more of a pasta and ground beef dish

A comfort classic in the U.S., American goulash bears little relation to its Hungarian predecessor. Chunks of beef or pork are replaced by ground meat, drowned in a tomato sauce over macaroni.

What is another name for American goulash? ›

Slumgullion Versus Goulash

Some use the names slumgullion and American goulash interchangeably to refer to the same beef and noodle dish.

Are beefaroni and goulash the same thing? ›

Beefaroni (aka American Goulash) is a simple recipe most of us grow up enjoying, whether it was straight from a can or made from scratch. It's total comfort food. This is a simple recipe, made with ground beef in a homemade tomato sauce with just a few seasonings, plus elbow macaroni noodles.

What does Hungarian goulash taste like? ›

Hungarian goulash is very similar to beef stew, but there are some differences. While a typical stew consists of slow braising chunks of meat with root vegetables in a seasoned broth, goulash uses spices such as caraway, cumin, paprika, and peppers which really enhance and alter the flavor from a classic beef stew.

Why do Americans call it goulash? ›

Etymology. The name originates from the Hungarian gulyás [ˈɡujaːʃ]. The word gulya means 'herd of cattle' in Hungarian, and gulyás means 'herdsman' or 'cowboy'.

Is beef stroganoff the same as Hungarian goulash? ›

Is beef stroganoff the same as goulash? No, because stroganoff is a thick pasta dish where one of the main ingredients is some type of pasta noddle, whereas goulash is more of a stew without noodles but lots of potatoes and different spices.

What is the difference between Hungarian goulash and paprikash? ›

Both paprikash and goulash are paprika-based stews, but goulash is made with beef and vegetables, while paprikash is most typically made with chicken. Recipes vary, but goulash is usually not thickened with flour like paprikash is, and goulash typically isn't enriched with cream or sour cream.

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