Time to ditch plain old spaghetti! Instant Pot Goulash is going to be your new favorite thing!
My 4-year-old son is obsessed with spaghetti. I mean we literally have it for dinner almost 3 time a week. I pretty much hate it now, but we we have both come to a manual understanding that if I want dinner to go off with out a hitch, I serve spaghetti. That is until I made Instant Pot Goulash!
I was able to pass Goulash off as small spaghetti to my little one who ate the whole bowl! Goulash (AKA American Chop Suey) is something that honestly I grew up hating. I never liked red sauce as a kid. One day as an adult, something just clicked and now I LOVE it.
Recently I revisited the idea of making Goulash at my husbands request and boy am I glad I did. It tuned out amazing thanks to the Instant Pot! It was so convenient to be able to brown my meat and cook everything in (four minutes I might add!!) right in the same pot! I will totally be making this again!
This is the perfect busy weeknight meal to satisfy the whole family! And, cooked in only 4 minutes, its faster (and cheaper than take out)! Save your self some time and money by throwing this on your weekly menu plan!
Instant Pot Goulash
Turn the Instant Pot onto saute. When hot, add ground beef garlic, salt, pepper, and onion. Cook until meat is browned.
When meat is browned drain fat then add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, soy sauce, water, noodles, and bay leaves.
Set your Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 4 minutes. When timer is up preform a quick release of pressure. Take out bay leaves and give everything a good stir. Top with Parmesan Cheese and enjoy!
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 15- ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 15- ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 cups elbow noodles
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 3 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
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Turn the Instant Pot onto saute. When hot, add ground beef garlic, salt, pepper, and onion. Cook until meat is browned.
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When meat is browned drain fat then add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, soy sauce, water, noodles, and bay leaves.
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Set your Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 4 minutes.
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When timer is up preform a quick release of pressure.
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Take out bay leaves and give everything a good stir.
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Top with Parmesan Cheese and enjoy!
If you are looking for another delicious and quick meal check out this Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice or Instant Pot Cashew Chicken!
Or check out these awesome Chicken Taco Bowls from Wondermom Wannabe! They are to die for and are perfect for larger families (it makes a ton)!
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Susan says
November 22, 2017 at 9:38 pmMade this tonight and my family loved it!. I added 1/2 chopped green pepper and only one 15 oz can of tomato sauce. I was afraid 2 cans would be too much. Also cut the water to 2 cups. Consistency was perfect! Thanks for the recipe. I’m new to the instant pot and trying different recipes.
Sandra Cunningham says
November 28, 2017 at 6:39 pmLoved this recipe. Didn’t have a lot of tomato sauce so I used 2- 8oz cans with 2 diced tomato cans and it was perfect. Also only used 2 cups of water. My husband had seconds. I can’t beliece how good this is. Thank you so much for a wonderful and quick recipe.
Paula says
December 1, 2017 at 12:37 pmDo you cook the noodles first or add in straight from.the box?
Ashley says
December 1, 2017 at 12:43 pmHi Paula! You toss them in straight from the box (uncooked).
suzi says
December 2, 2017 at 11:14 amI’m assuming the noodles are NOT cooked first?
Ashley says
December 2, 2017 at 1:07 pmRight! You toss them uncooked into the pot.
Terry says
December 16, 2017 at 7:56 pmEasy. Tastes great. Went with 2 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce instead of 2 15 oz cans.
Ann says
March 13, 2018 at 8:07 amMade this last night and it turned out great. Like others I did 2- 15oz cans diced tomatoes, 15oz tomato sauce and 2 cups water and the sauce part was perfect. Also did half ground beef and half ground sausage. After you vent I suggest putting it all in a large serving dish or it continues to cook and the pasta will get on the overdone side.
Karen says
March 14, 2018 at 7:50 pmI made this tonight to rave reviews! I increased to 5 minutes because I like my macaroni a little softer.
Kimberly says
March 15, 2018 at 7:56 pmI like a sweeter goulash so added tomato soup instead of tomato sauce. As well as a tblsp brown sugar. Soooooo yummy
Angela says
April 7, 2018 at 11:46 pmHi Kimberly! How much tomato soup did you substitute with? 🙂
Callie says
March 16, 2018 at 8:08 pmSo sad, it burned on the bottom and never came to pressure. Any suggestions? I didn’t add any water initially, should I have added water?
Ashley says
March 19, 2018 at 9:21 pmYes, you need to add the 2 1/2 cups of water the recipe calls for because the tomato sauce alone is to thick to come to pressure
Nikki says
March 21, 2018 at 5:54 pmDo you put in the water from the diced tomatoes as well?
Dolly says
April 11, 2018 at 11:55 amCan you use spaghetti sauce instead? I don’t have tomato sauce on hand and can’t go get it.
Ashley says
April 11, 2018 at 8:51 pmYou could!
Teresa says
May 2, 2018 at 9:22 pmMade on the stove with some adjustments. Used only one 8oz can tomato sauce, one 15oz can diced tomatoes, no water or bay leaves. Ground beef was pre-cooked the day before. Added some diced zucchini. Used one TBSP Italian seasoning and two TBSP Soy sauce. Added some crushed red pepper. Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again.
Jay says
May 23, 2018 at 7:25 pmLove Love this recipe!
In our home we use paprika in our goulash! thats about the only “tweak” we have done.
Have tried with all kinds of pasta , works great every time!
Best of all my kids and partner always finish the leftovers, making this mama extra happy!
Karen says
June 3, 2018 at 6:01 pmJune 03,2018
I have made the instant pot goulash over and over again it’s one of mine and my husbands favorite it comes out perfect every time , it’s fast delicious, thanks for the recipe 5 stars rating
Debbie says
June 10, 2018 at 3:56 pmWith 2 minutes of cooking left to go I wanted to quick release, R.I.P. the lid off my instant pot and dig in. This recipe surpassed my expectations
Melissa Grubb says
June 14, 2018 at 9:49 amI would love to make this BUT…have people who do tomato sauce never any form of tomato where you can see pieces. Could I sub 2-28 ounce cans of tomato sauce for both the 15 ounce cans of sauce and the 2 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes??? Thanks in advance!
Ashley says
June 19, 2018 at 8:47 pmI would think you would be able to take them out without having to add any additional liquid. I have not tried this but I really think it would work out.
Debra says
July 9, 2018 at 11:21 amI would use a jar of three cheese sauce or Alfredo sauce and see if they like that I have to do that for one family member who is allergic to tomatoes.
Michele says
June 18, 2018 at 12:43 amCan I double this recipe? One pound of meat is probably not enough for my family, and we like to have leftovers for lunch. If I double the meat, should I double everything, including the water? Looking forward to making this after reading the reviews!
Ashley says
June 19, 2018 at 8:43 pmYou can easily double the meat without having to double everything else. This makes a ton! 🙂
Katelin says
June 22, 2018 at 9:26 amHi! If I use a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce do I use the regular size jar? And would i still add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes? Thanks!
Ashley says
June 26, 2018 at 8:56 pmI have not tried doing that personally, but that should work. You could do without the tomatoes if you don’t like them.
Paula says
June 23, 2018 at 12:35 pmlove your recipes
Ashley says
June 26, 2018 at 8:49 pmThank you so much! That means a lot to me! 🙂
Ann says
June 23, 2018 at 3:28 pmYou have some great recipes that I would like to download and keep but not all of us use all the latest
technology. Why can’t you add email to your list of ways to share? It would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Ashley says
June 26, 2018 at 8:48 pmDone and done! Thanks for the feedback! I made sure email is now an option! 🙂
Pat says
June 23, 2018 at 4:44 pmHow about reducing recipe by half and using mini duo pot? Same cook time?
Ashley says
June 26, 2018 at 8:46 pmYes, same cook time.
Jane says
July 14, 2018 at 7:13 amOne of the most attractive things that I love from instapot is its recipes. Easy to cook, but delicious meals come from. This recipe seems to be yummy. I must try this at weekend for my friends to taste. Nice sharing.
Mona says
July 17, 2018 at 6:46 pmAbsolutely delish.. Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect!! My kids and husband said it is definetly a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
SandyToes says
July 29, 2018 at 9:07 pmI’ve been cooking in my Instant Pot for over 3 years and after one early and epic fail, was reluctant to try pasta again. But after seeing this recipe on Pinterest and reading about the many ways this goulash was altered to use what cooks had on hand, I decided to give it whirl. And your photo was so gorgeous I just had to try it!
I made a half recipe in my Mini, using 1 (15oz) can of whole tomatoes, pureed, and a cup of very thick pizza sauce that needed to be used up. I omitted the Italian seasoning (my pizza sauce is highly seasoned), but otherwise followed the recipe, adding enough water to cover the elbow macaroni (about 2 cups) and cooked it for 5 minutes. It worked! The pasta was firm and not clumped together, nothing stuck or burned to the pot. One thing I discovered is that I’m not a fan of elbows with tomato sauce, so wouldn’t use them again. Maybe spaghetti or rotini, both would be fine, I think.
Normally I wouldn’t rate a recipe that I altered so much, but I’m doing it in this case for the excellent advice you gave, and even more so to your followers for detailing their changes and showing me that Instant Pot pasta can be easy, using whatever I have on hand that’s even remotely close to the recipe. A big THANK YOU to you and to them, and if my comments and rating bring more people here to discover how easy it is, my work here is done. Now, with apologies for the length of my comment, I’m off to check out the rest of your recipes. Thanks again!
SandyToes says
July 29, 2018 at 9:17 pmI forgot to mention that even a half recipe made enough to feed 4, unless they’re really hearty eaters. We’ve got about half of it left to use for lunch tomorrow. Not a bad thing!
SandyToes says
July 30, 2018 at 4:18 pmOk, last comment, i promise. Last night this was ok, but I reheated some of this for lunch today and it was much better, really good! Isn’t that always the way with tomato-based pasta? The elbows had softened (no longer al dente) and the sauce was mellowed and was really good. Yeah, I’ll make it again anytime I have some tomato stuff to use up, but a day ahead next time.
Edie says
August 8, 2018 at 12:55 pmChanged ingredients::
1 Lb hamburger
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 T minced garlic
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 T Italian seasoning
8 oz elbows
1 can water
Skipped soy sauce and bay leaves. Made 4 servings.
Christina says
September 15, 2018 at 2:40 pmThis was delicious! Will definitely make this again!
Billie goodyk says
September 21, 2018 at 8:59 amLove the easy understandable recipes and direction
Joan E says
October 15, 2018 at 6:33 pmWOO HOO!!! I just used my instant pot for the first time and used your recipe for goulash!! Holy cow is that fast and easy. Can’t believe how fast I can feed the family!! I’m in love!!
Ashley says
October 24, 2018 at 9:07 pmSo glad you liked it Joan!
Erin says
October 18, 2018 at 8:46 pmThis was amazing!!! Definitely a new family favorite!!!!! I will definitely try some new additions the next time I make it.
Tina says
November 5, 2018 at 7:19 pmI am always tweaking recipes before I even taste the original so as I’m sure this recipe is amazing alone here is what I added:
1 Green Pepper
A few stalks of celery I had on hand
Some crushed red pepper flakes for added zing
Instead of the 2.5 cups of water I used 2.5 cups of beef broth I had leftover.
Recipe turned out awesome and is certainly one we will be making again.
That’s the fun thing about cooking you can add a little if this or omit a little of that and come up with a completely different flavor pallet depending on your personal preference.
Thanks so much for sharing this! The family loved it!
barbara shephard says
November 13, 2018 at 7:10 pmSo good. Halved the recipe exactly and used grated cheddar instead of parmesan. Excellent recipe.
Kim Jenkins says
November 14, 2018 at 7:35 pmLoved this! I used tomatoes with jalapeños, as we like spicy food. I would add some hot pepper flakes next time. I did add a teaspoon of Bourbon Barrel Foods smoked paprika. I used Bonza elbows, made from chickpeas, as the pasta. This will be a regular dinner.
Lora says
November 18, 2018 at 11:20 pmAbsolutely Yummy!! I used 5 minutes instead of 4:)
Jackie says
November 30, 2018 at 3:51 pmI used my own recipe but used settings from this and it turned out great.
Rob says
December 3, 2018 at 7:11 pmI was happily surprised at how we’ll this turned out. Instant pot recipes always have a bit of a surprise factor when you get to finally pop the lid. Wife and 17 yo loved it. 12 yo is a super picky eater and didn’t like the “flavor” but that could have been my liberal spicing with homemade Italian seasoning (equal parts basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram). Was super fast to throw together. Only did 2C water and “thickness” turned out well. Elbow macaroni was just right, not too mushy and not too al dente. Served with lots of finely shredded mozzarella cheese stirred into each bowl. From the time I plugged in the instant pot to eating dinner and then finally to a clean kitchen with dishwasher running and leftovers in a plastic container was just over an hour. Will definitely try to tweak this a bit for my finicky eater but as is for everyone else it’s a total keeper.
Teresa says
December 12, 2018 at 8:39 pmAbsolutely delicious. I used a pound of hamburger, one large onion, three garlic cloves, and halved all the other ingredients.
Meagan says
December 13, 2018 at 7:34 pmI have made this probably 10 times and it is now a once a week thing. My husband asks what’s for dinner and when I say Goulash, he said oh good- that’s my favorite! It’s one of my favorite too because it’s so easy. My instant pot needs a min or 2 extra cook time but that is seriously the only change I make. Thank you so much!
Jessica says
December 19, 2018 at 10:57 amI really enjoyed this recipe! I had some already browned leftover ground beef (with a hint of taco flavor) so it made prep time quick. I followed the recipe but added about 1/4 cup sugar to sweeten it. In my opinion, the ratio of liquid was perfect. I also had half a can of leftover black beans so I added those in as well. It was hardly noticeable. I will definitely make this again. I loved the flavor the soy sauce and bay leaves added. Plus I had all the ingredients in my cupboard so it was easy to throw together.
I think serving size, however, is way way off. I had at least 12, 1 cup servings from this dish which dramatically reduces the calories. I used 80% ground beef and calories per cup is 232. I had about 2 cups for dinner, plenty for lunches, and even enough to share with my neighbor. Thank you for the recipe.
Amanda says
December 27, 2018 at 6:55 pmNew Instant Pot user! Is this recipe for a 6-quart Instant Pot? Nervous the amount of pasta surpasses the recommended fill line and will eventually be too much pressure.
DENISE says
January 4, 2019 at 9:50 amOh my gosh, I’m going to try this as soon as I can, sounds delicious. So excited!
Tiffany says
January 4, 2019 at 7:22 pmGoulash was a staple when I was a kid. I’m excited to make it in my Instant Pot!
Recommendation if you like a little spice – my mom decided to live on the edge once and added a can of Rotel. I was SUPER skeptical, but it is DELICIOUS! Definitely give it a try 🙂
Celia says
January 5, 2019 at 5:17 pmWould ground turkey work with this recipe?
Ashley says
January 20, 2019 at 9:07 amAbsolutely!
Marisa says
January 6, 2019 at 3:24 pmThis dish is amazing, my husband loved it so did I, so quick and easy to make and so delicious. I couldn’t wait to make it again. Definitely our favorite so far
Fran says
January 8, 2019 at 6:24 pmSubstituted gluten free penne and it worked great! Kids loved it!
Peggy says
January 9, 2019 at 7:40 pmI made this as directed and it was good. It was very soupy and we ate it with a spoon but after dinner when I was putting away the leftovers, it had firmed up and was a perfect consistency. I will probably make it again and maybe add a touch of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Thanks for an easy,satisfying recipe!
Ashley J says
January 9, 2019 at 7:54 pmDelicious! Only thing that stops this from 5 star is the amount of Italian Seasoning. Next time, I will probably use half the required amount.
Kim says
January 14, 2019 at 4:50 pmI made this tonight and it was delicious, great recipe
Angela Hamilton says
January 16, 2019 at 2:50 pmMy 11 year old helped me make this for the family – everyone loved it, which is hard to do sometimes to get everyone love the same meal 🙂 We used ground turkey instead of beef to accommodate my tummy issues. Thank you for this great, easy and family friendly recipe! xo
Emily A Faith says
January 17, 2019 at 10:30 pmPersonalized it with a dash of celery salt and a can of mushrooms. It. Was. Perfect
5⭐
Kat says
June 1, 2019 at 12:30 amDelicious and so easy! I use ground turkey, whole wheat rotini, leave out 1 can of tomato product, only use 2 cups of water and sometimes add paprika or pepper flakes, chopped celery with the onions or add thawed frozen diced green pepper or drained canned green beans after it has cooked. I always put the water first on top of the meat and then the pasta, seasonings and the tomato products on top and do not stir before cooking. It is best to remove the pan with the food or the noodles may overcook sitting in the IP, especially if it is left on warm. It is good to have the ingredients on hand for a company dish that will impress.
Cat says
November 24, 2019 at 6:57 pmTiming was perfect for noodles, I used two jars of chunky garden Prego sauce and omitted the Diced tomatoes and soy sauce. Seasoned it just like I normally do! Thank you so much for converting this classic favorite to an instapot!