Instant Pot Mom’s 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 Mom’s 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 Mom’s 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 Mom’s Goulash
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Not an authentic version of “goulash” but what my mom would call goulash when I was growing up! Whatever you call it, it tastes amazing.
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 quartย Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. To make gluten free:ย 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
*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.
I don’t have an instant pot but this looks amazing. How can I make this without an instapot?
You could cook pasta on stove and drain. Then brown the beef and onions and add in seasonings. Stir pasta in with the beef. Add in the tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes and then add in the cheese and basil.
I’m from Ohio and this was a once a week dinner at my Mom’s house. This brings back so many memories and even more raising my own family. Love your recipe!! Thanks.
You’re welcome! Thanks for being here Dianne!
Made this for the first time tonight. I subbed paprika for the oregano. Most excellent! My wife said to keep it. It reminded me of what my Mom made and her of what her Dad made. Thank you!
You’re so welcome! good work!
I have made this twice, both times with ground beef. The first time it was excellent but the second, the pasta was not fully cooked. How do I make sure this doesn’t happen again and how do I complete cooking the pasta?
Thanks! Love your recipes!!
P.S. I would give it 5 stars for the first one and 3 for the second; hence 4.
★★★★
Did you use the same type of pasta both times?
yes; macaroni.
How weird. I would just turn the saute setting on (less) if it isn’t fully cooked.
My older kids absolutely did not like the flavor of this the first time we made it. It tasted like weird, canned ravioli. My littles liked it a little better.
The second time we made it, my chef son made 1.5x the recipe (big family) but only used 1/2T Worcestershire sauce. He still wasn’t a huge fan, but that fixed it for the rest of us. It was loved by some and liked by others, and only the chef himself still didn’t care for it.
This is now part of our menu, with that adjustment.
★★★
Easy, fast, tasty! Amazing!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Amy!
It’s AWESOME and very simple! My dad even loved it and he hates my cooking!
★★★★★
Haha! I hope your dad starts changing his mind. I’m glad he liked this one.
Both my husband and I loved this – he actually helped – used ground turkey and he cooked that while I got everything together – will make again for sure!
★★★★★
TEAM WORK!!! I love it ๐
Can this be doubled in the 6qt IP? I saw the previous comment about reducing time by 1min.. I have an 8qt – should I use that?? Thanks for a wonderful resource for all IP recipes! I’ve used several now, and all received rave reviews! You’re a BLESSING, Karen!
Thank you! I would use the 8 quart pot to double it and then reduce pressure cook time to 2 minutes.
Why would you reduce the time when doubling just because you use a larger pressure cooker? Curious. Still so much to learn about the IP
I havenโt tried this yet, but based on reviews I will be! Fairly new to the Instapot, still a little hesitant is this a natural release or quick release?
Thanks!
Irene
I used a quick release.
This Goulash was so Delicious! I used elbow macaroni and it came out perfectly (natural release). I added chopped celery with the leaves and more garlic cloves and Worcestire Sauce. I also used fire roasted tomatoes instead of regular. Such an easy recipe. So good! Thank you!
★
Did you mean to leave a 5 star rating instead of a 1 star rating?
We made this two nights ago and itโs now one of our favorites, but….. we had it tonight fried in some
evoo and it was so good!!!! We love crispy pasta and the flavors were even better. Thank you so much, Karen. We love your mamaโs Goulash.
Sorry,I forgot to rate it
★★★★★
yum! That sounds so great ๐
I can’t wait to try this! It looks delicious!! Thanks for sharing it!
You’re welcome!
Just made this tonight. My kids loved it, as did I!! My only other comments was that it tasted a bit too salty. Probably was the beef broth. Next time I might leave out the salt or use a lower sodium beef broth. But overall this was excellent…I can delete the rest of the similar recipes from my recipe software!
★★★★★
Haha! Glad you liked it. Yes maybe use low sodium broth. That’ll help
Probably one of my favorite recipes from you! Always a crowd pleaser on a cold night. I sometimes sub ground turkey instead of ground beef. I also use a full, 16 oz box of pasta without changing anything else and it turns out great. I think the bay leaf is part of what makes it so good!!
★★★★★
Glad you like it so much!
Thanks for the note about adding a whole box.
I made this goulash recipe exactly as listed, thinking I would โtweak โ if I made it again. It was so perfect as is that I would do nothing different! I used Trader Joeโs elbow macaroni because thatโs all I had and would use that again also! Texture was perfect. So glad I used your recipe!
★★★★★
Hooray! Thanks Marti.
This is the 2nd time Iโve made this and It tasted as wonderful as the 1st time! Both times they were made exactly as per your recipe, thank you for sharing, love your recipes!
★★★★★
So nice to hear this Rick!
Very 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).
★★★★
haha! love it
Made 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!
★★★★★
So glad it worked out okay! The jalapenos probably gave it some extra ooomph
Great recipe…very tasty!
★★★★★
Angela, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This 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.
★★★★★
Love the idea of mushrooms!
Who cares what itโs called if it is GOOD? LOL. Can this be doubled? If so! Time stay same?
Lol Helen! Yes double it and reduce cooking time by 1 minute.
Easy, fast and delicious…who could ask for more?!
★★★★★
๐
Although 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!
Glad you liked it!
I 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?
Sure why not? It’s one of those throw everything in type of meals!
As I understand it, Worcestershire sauce is soy sauce with the addition of anchovie.
Hello,
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.
No, add the pasta into the instant pot uncooked. That’s the magic!
Made 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!
★★★★★
I made this, for my picky boyfriend and his only complaint, is there wasnโt more! I put the diced tomatoes in thr cuisinart, as he doesnโt like chunks of them. This was so easy and delicious. It is going into regular rotation of meals.
★★★★★
Nice! I love it when you can please the boyfriend.
This 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.
Gotcha! I’ll have to try the authentic goulash sometime.
Yes, what I was going to say. It isn’t goulash if it doesn’t have paprika.
Karen could I please get the slow cooker version for the goulash?
Hi 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.
Karen if I do the stovetop recipe do I still use all the beef broth ? Or cut it down?
This 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.
I made this yesterday and it was so delicious, the flavors were unbelievable. I will be making this many times in the future.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked it Marilyn! Did you use ground turkey or ground beef?
I 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.
So glad!!