Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash is an old family favorite recipe. Ground beef or turkey is browned and then simmered with a tomato-based sauce and macaroni noodles and then topped with grated cheddar. The perfect weeknight dinner to feed a family. Make it quickly in your electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash
I have an old ratty folder that has all the recipes that I took with me to college. I put it together as an 18-year-old knowing that soon I would be cooking for myself. It has the fudgy wudgy recipe, pasta primavera, zucchini linguine and many other recipes that are easy to make. I also included my mom’s recipe for goulash. Here’s how the recipe reads:
Goulash: cook hamburger with onion and salt and pepper. Macaroni. 1 can corn. 1 can tomato soup. Canned tomatoes. Cheese on top. Bake at 350 until hot/30 minutes max.
I laughed when I read that the other day. It’s so clear and instructive, right?! This truly sounds like a recipe from a mom or grandma…no measurements and very vague.
Well today I’ve written up a recipe that has actual measurements in it. Plus I adapted the recipe, that I knew and loved as a kid, to the Instant Pot.
We all loved this dish and loved the leftovers too. Instant Pot goulash is easy enough for any night of the week. Plus you probably have all the ingredients you need on hand.
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Ground beef or turkey is browned and then simmered with a tomato-based sauce and macaroni noodles and then topped with grated cheddar. The perfect weeknight dinner to feed a family. Make it quickly in your electric pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth (or 1 1/2 cups water + 1 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base)
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 oz cavatappi noodles, cellentani or elbow macaroni noodles (uncooked)
- 2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
- Optional: 1/4 cup fresh basil
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the ground meat. Use a wooden spoon to break it up (or a tool like this*). Brown the meat for about 3 minutes then add in the onion. Let the onion get soft and translucent, about 3-4 more minutes. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic cloves and Worcestershire sauce. Stir.
- Pour in the beef broth and deglaze the pot. Add in the bay leaf and the noodles. Then pour the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes on top, don’t stir.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes on high pressure.
- When the timer beeps indicating the time is up move the valve to venting. Once all the pressure is release, remove the lid. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Stir.
- Sprinkle in the cheddar and serve topped with fresh basil, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
To make gluten free: Double check the beef broth to be sure it does not contain gluten. Substitute noodles for GF noodles and decrease cook time by 1 minute in the IP.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 1280 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Protein: 27 g
Keywords: pasta, ground beef
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Jake Valentine says
May 15, 2019 at 3:40 pmVery good! …….but this is Chili Mac, not what I know as goulash. The good news is when my wife said she was making goulash I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but then I saw it was Chili Mac and loved it (with some hot sauce just like in the military).
★★★★
Karen says
May 15, 2019 at 9:40 pmhaha! love it
Regina says
May 14, 2019 at 8:14 pmMade this for dinner tonight and it was great. Still learning to use my Instant Pot, so followed the recipe except mistakenly opening the wrong tomatoes, opened the ones with jalapenos, but it didn’t matter. Husband loved it. Thanks for publishing this and all the recipes, I’ve saves tons of them!
★★★★★
Karen says
May 15, 2019 at 9:36 pmSo glad it worked out okay! The jalapenos probably gave it some extra ooomph
Angela C. says
May 8, 2019 at 7:07 pmGreat recipe…very tasty!
★★★★★
Karen says
May 9, 2019 at 8:51 amAngela, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Sharon says
April 24, 2019 at 7:59 amThis was very good. I used ground turkey, and to reduce the sodium, I used only 1/2 tsp. salt, and reduced sodium beef broth. Used a few shakes of dried basil in place of fresh, and substituted the cheddar cheese with mozzarella. This would be good with fresh mushrooms added and perhaps bell pepper too.
★★★★★
Karen says
April 24, 2019 at 9:35 amLove the idea of mushrooms!
Helen says
April 3, 2019 at 10:15 amWho cares what it’s called if it is GOOD? LOL. Can this be doubled? If so! Time stay same?
Karen says
April 8, 2019 at 3:27 pmLol Helen! Yes double it and reduce cooking time by 1 minute.
Gail Armstrong says
February 25, 2019 at 6:33 pmEasy, fast and delicious…who could ask for more?!
★★★★★
Karen says
February 26, 2019 at 10:35 am🙂
Brenda says
February 12, 2019 at 9:53 amAlthough not Goulash, this is so quick, easy and surprisingly very tasty! Especially the day after. I am usually wary of American style “dump” dinners but this was good!
Karen says
February 12, 2019 at 2:22 pmGlad you liked it!
Debbie says
February 11, 2019 at 3:47 pmI have red pepper, bell pepper and mushrooms in the fridge that need to be used soon. I think these would be a good addition. No Worcestershire though… I’m using ground beef- do you think a little soy sauce can be used instead?
Karen says
February 11, 2019 at 7:26 pmSure why not? It’s one of those throw everything in type of meals!
Neil says
January 27, 2019 at 12:00 pmHello,
Does the pasta get cooked per the instructions on the package and then get added after the sauce mixture is done? I wasn’t sure, thanks.
Karen says
January 28, 2019 at 3:16 pmNo, add the pasta into the instant pot uncooked. That’s the magic!
Molly says
January 21, 2019 at 9:53 pmMade this tonight and the family loved it! I used no salt added tomatoes, low sodium broth, and only 1/2 tsp of salt and it was wonderful! Thank you for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Kristen says
December 8, 2018 at 11:43 amI made this, for my picky boyfriend and his only complaint, is there wasn’t more! I put the diced tomatoes in thr cuisinart, as he doesn’t like chunks of them. This was so easy and delicious. It is going into regular rotation of meals.
★★★★★
Karen says
December 9, 2018 at 10:19 amNice! I love it when you can please the boyfriend.
Zsuska says
September 25, 2018 at 6:43 pmThis is more of a Italian meat and noodle soup. Goulash is a Hungarian dish with the main spice of Paprika. This is not truly a Old Fashioned Goulash recipe.
Karen says
September 26, 2018 at 1:56 pmGotcha! I’ll have to try the authentic goulash sometime.
Becky says
November 1, 2018 at 7:30 amYes, what I was going to say. It isn’t goulash if it doesn’t have paprika.
Lori says
September 18, 2018 at 12:39 pmKaren could I please get the slow cooker version for the goulash?
Karen says
September 19, 2018 at 2:37 pmHi Lori, I don’t have a slow cooker version. Pasta doesn’t do well in the slow cooker! You could definitely make this on the stove top though.
Lori says
September 23, 2018 at 4:01 pmKaren if I do the stovetop recipe do I still use all the beef broth ? Or cut it down?
Karen says
September 24, 2018 at 12:57 pmThis is how I would make it on the stove top:
10 oz cavatappi noodles, cellentani or elbow macaroni noodles (uncooked)
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
Optional: 1/4 cup fresh basil
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Brown the ground beef in a large pan over medium high heat. Add in the onions and cook until softened. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, worcestershire, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes over low heat. Then add in the cooked pasta and toss it all together. Sprinkle the cheese and basil on top and serve.
Marilyn says
September 17, 2018 at 11:37 amI made this yesterday and it was so delicious, the flavors were unbelievable. I will be making this many times in the future.
★★★★★
Karen says
September 17, 2018 at 1:34 pmI’m so glad you liked it Marilyn! Did you use ground turkey or ground beef?
Marilyn says
September 18, 2018 at 12:06 amI used ground turkey. I got most of the ingredients together a few days before I made it. Everything went so smooth and unbelievably delicious. Brought back memories when my mother used to make it.
Karen says
September 19, 2018 at 2:38 pmSo glad!!