Instant Pot Goulash

What do you need for cooking Goulash in Instant Pot?

Flavor Enhancing Ingredients – We developed this Goulash Recipe during a challenging time of Human History. So, if you don’t have any of the flavor-enhancing ingredients, feel free to skip or substitute them with whatever you have on hand.

Pasta Choices – We used Ditali for this recipe, but pasta such as Elbow Macaroni or Conchiglie (Shell Pasta) will work fine.

Unsalted Chicken Stock + Water –  If you don’t have unsalted chicken stock, you can use 4 cups of water in total. You can also use 4 cups of unsalted chicken stock if you have plenty on hand.

Don’t have Crushed Tomatoes? – You can use an immersion blender to smash up some diced or whole tomatoes to make crushed tomatoes.

Let’s address the unusual suspects…

Fish Sauce and Soy Sauce – High-Quality fish sauce doesn’t taste fishy at all! Both Fish Sauce and Soy Sauce are extremely umami-filled. A few spoons of these will truly kick your American goulash game up a notch. Some poor quality fish sauce doesn’t taste good, so make sure to use a good quality brand of fish sauce or just substitute with another tablespoon of regular soy sauce. 

Red Boat Fish Sauce | Premium 40°N Fish Sauce made with just 2 ingredients in Vietnam | Keto,...

• JUST TWO INGREDIENTS: We use only sea salt and black anchovies caught off of the crystal...
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Red boat 40N fish sauce is thus far our favorite not only from our blind taste-test. It also comes out on top in many other blind taste-tests documented online. We’re not spokespeople for Red Boat, nor did they sponsor this. We just think this Fish Sauce is full of awesomeness. 🙂

Let’s get cooking with Goulash in Instant Pot!

Step by Step Guide: Instant Pot Goulash

Prepare ingredients for cooking Goulash in Instant Pot:

Tools for Instant Pot Goulash

• Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
• Wooden Spoon
• Pyrex Measuring Cups
• Mixing Bowl

Brown Ground Beef in Instant Pot

First, press “Saute” button to “Sauté More” function to heat up Instant Pot. It will switch to “ON” on the screen.

Wait until it says “HOT” on the screen (takes roughly 8 minutes).

*Pro Tip: Make sure Instant Pot is as hot as it can be in order to induce a maillard reaction.

Now, season the ground beef generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add 1 tbsp (15ml) olive oil in Instant Pot, then swirl your pot around to make sure the oil is coated over the whole bottom of the pot.

Then, add the ground beef in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.

The ground beef will start to release moisture. At the 5-minute mark, remove the ground beef juice.

*Pro Tip: The ground beef juice is fatty, but it contains a lot of flavors. So it’s up to you to discard or reserve it for later use in the recipe.

Continue to allow the ground beef to brown in Instant Pot, then stir occasionally until they are slightly crisped and browned (~5 – 7 minutes).

Lastly, taste and adjust the seasoning with more kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Sauté Onion and Green Pepper

*Pro Tip: If your ground beef is very lean, you may need to add in 1 extra tbsp oil at this point.

Add diced onions & green pepper in Instant Pot, then saute for 3 minutes.

Sauté Garlic and Spices

Add 1.5 tsp (1.8g) dried basil, 1.5 tsp (1.2g) dried oregano, minced garlic cloves, and 3 tbsp (45g) tomato paste in Instant Pot, then saute for another minute.

Deglaze Instant Pot

Now, pour ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot (as shown in the photo below).

*Pro Tip: Make sure to deglaze really well for this Instant Pot Goulash!

Pressure Cook Goulash

First, add 1 tbsp (15ml) fish sauce, 2 tbsp (30ml) regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp (15ml) Worcestershire sauce, and the previously reserved beef juice (optional) in Instant Pot. Give it a quick mix.

Add 1lb (454g) elbow macaroni or ditali in Instant Pot.

Then, pour in 1½ cup (375ml) unsalted chicken stock and 2 cups (500ml) cold water.

*Pro Tip: Make sure all the pasta are fully submerged in the liquid.

Finally, pour in 1 can of crushed tomatoes with all the juice on top (as shown in photo below). Do not mix!

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure cook using the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button:

• Pressure Cooking Method: High Pressure for 4 minutes + Gradual Quick Release

*Pro Tip – Gradual Quick Release: Use a wooden spoon to turn the venting knob just a bit so the steam starts to come out gently. This pressure release method prevents splatter, and it’ll take longer than a normal Quick Release.

When the floating valve drops, turn the Venting Knob to the Venting position. Open the lid carefully.

Stir and Season

*Note: It will look a bit too saucy at first, that’s normal! Once you start stirring, it’ll all come together nicely & tasty. 🙂

Taste and season with more salt if necessary (for reference: we added roughly 1 – 2 pinches of salt to open up the flavors & season the dish properly). 

Serve Instant Pot Goulash

If you have some parsley on hand, finely slice them, then garnish the Instant Pot Goulash.

Serve & enjoy your comforting & deliciously flavorful goulash!

More Instant Pot One Pot Pasta

Instant Pot Spaghetti

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese