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Who grew up with Goulash? I did! It was a meal we had often. I adapted this classic one-pot dish so the next generation can enjoy it, too! Instant Pot American Goulash is a pressure cooker goulash that is a one-pot meal. You can make this on a weeknight in under an hour, and have the gang all fed with a big bowl of comfort food!
Instant Pot American Goulash
Mom made the best goulash, and I wish I had written down her recipe. Over the years I have just winged it, but when a lady from our church shared her recipe with me, I knew this was very close to my mom’s recipe!
I recently decided to try it in my Instant Pot. I like the one-pot simplicity, and not having to cook the macaroni in a separate pot! So now I make Instant Pot American Goulash more often than I made the traditional. It’s so much easier!
This is a pretty versatile goulash. If you want, you can throw in frozen mixed veggies in place of the corn. You can use a can of beans, and can serve it with or without cheese added. We rarely had good cheese, so I’m used to having it without. It’s optional!
Some people grew up with the soy sauce version, while others, like me, had the Worcestershire sauce version. A friend of mine told me the soy sauce version was called American Chop Suey in their house. Pretty much the same thing.
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Instant Pot American Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Olive Oil (only if using ground turkey)
- 1 lb Ground Beef or Ground Turkey (93% lean)
- 1 Onion, diced
- ½ cup Celery, diced
- 2 Bay Leaves
- ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt (or more to taste)
- 5 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 ½ Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce ( or Soy Sauce)
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 2 cups (9 oz) Small Elbow Macaroni (If you use penne, you will need 3 cups. Weigh your pasta if you can)
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- (1) 14 oz can Diced Tomatoes (with juice)
- (1) 14 oz can Tomato Sauce (or Marinara Sauce, 2 cups)
To Finish
- 1 ½ cups Corn, frozen or canned
- ¼ cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
Optional
- 1-2 cups Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Turn on the pressure cooker's Sauté setting. When the pot is hot add oil (if using ground turkey) or add the ground beef. Also add onion, celery, bay leaves. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, garlic, Worcestershire (or soy sauce), and green bell pepper. Stir, and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the broth and stir. Put a glass lid on the pot and let the broth heat up to barely a simmer. Then add the macaroni and paprika. Stir.
- Add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce, but do not stir.
- Put the lid on the pot and lock in place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the Sauté setting and press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial), Then use the + or - button (or dial) to choose 4 minutes (choose 3 if you like more al dente firm pasta).
- When the cooking cycle is finished, do a controlled Quick Release of the steam/pressure by turning the knob towards the Venting position in bursts, until you feel confident that no sauce will come out of the steam vent with the steam. Then turn the knob all the way to the Venting position to continue venting all of the steam.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid facing away from you. Then give the goulash a stir. Taste and adjust salt, if desired.
- Add the corn and the parsley. Stir in the cheese, if you are using it.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this tonight and my son enjoyed it so much that he had 2 full bowls!
Thank you for this recipe.
Wow, that’s awesome! Thank you!
This came out awesome… I’ve made a similar recipe many times in the past, but never included corn or celery… This is now my new goto recipe for American Goulash…
That’s great, Dave! Thank you for letting me know!
This was soooo good but since I didn’t have canned tomatoes I used fresh ones and used Italian sausages instead of turkey or beef. Guess what?? It was a hit!!!we loved it!
Awesome! Thank you!
If you double the recipe do you double the time and double all ingredients?
Double the ingredients, but keep the same cook time.
Hands down, the BEST goulash I’ve ever had! The whole family agreed. The spices are perfect.
Hi Erin, I’m happy that you and your family liked this recipe for goulash! Thank you for your review!
I made Goulash with 3 cups of elbow pasta and 3 cups of water. I also added a large can of tomato sauce, 2 cans fire roasted tomatoes and seasonings, hamburger and onion. I did high pressure cook for 4 minutes in the Instant Pot. Turned out very tasty, but the pasta was too soft. What can I do next time to avoid mushy pasta?
Hi Melanie, cook for 3 minutes and do a controlled Quick Release.
So I just made this tonight and it was probably one of the best meals I have had in a long time. I followed the recipe exactly only I added some diced zucchini (we have a surplus from the garden). My husband and two boys loved it!!
That’s great, Angela! I’m thrilled to know how much you liked this goulash! Thank you for your review!
Oh my goodness Sandy; this was delicious! I’m not a good cook, at all, my husband went back for seconds!!
That just doesn’t happen when I cook!
Plus he just said he wants the left overs for lunch tomorrow.
I did one small thing different and that was to use beef bullion instead of chicken bouillon.
This will be a regular for us!
Thank you so much! I also thank my sister for sending your website my way!
Hi Tammi, I’m so happy you liked this goulash recipe! I also thank your sister! I appreciate your review!
I have made this dish with both ground beef and chicken on the top of stove but I haven’t tired in a pressure cooker. I’m planning on trying it.
I hope you like it as much as your other cooking methods. I love the ease of it!
What type of cheese do you recommend..1-2cups?
Hi Debbie, cheddar or parmesan, depending on your mood!