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    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Instant Pot Goulash

    Published: Oct 23, 2018 · Modified: Feb 4, 2025 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 25 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    A bowl of beef goulash over noodles, with a bag of noodles and a canister of paprika in the background, with the text Instant Pot Beef Goulash | DadCooksDinner.com

    Instant Pot Goulash. Hearty Hungarian beef and paprika stew, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.

    A bowl of beef goulash with egg noodles and paprika in the background
    Instant Pot Goulash

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    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • How to Make Instant Pot Goulash
    • Recipe Tips
    • Instant Pot Goulash
    • More Instant Pot Recipes
    • 💬 Comments

    Beef Goulash is a classic recipe from Hungary, chunks of meat stewed with paprika and vegetables, usually served over noodles or with dumplings. An Instant Pot Goulash recipe is a natural, replacing the long stewing time with pressure. Here is my take on Certified Angus Beef's Goulash Recipe: Hungarian Goulash


    Thank you to my friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand for sponsoring DadCooksDinner. Please check them out at hashtags #BestAngusBeef and #SteakHolder for more beef recipes, or join them at the Certified Angus Beef Kitchen Community on Facebook.


    One thing is still bugging me. We have a lot of great Eastern European restaurants here in Northeastern Ohio, and I've been eating Goulash and Paprikash for years. But I have a question.

    What's the difference between Goulash and Paprikash?

    Both goulash and paprikash are Hungarian dishes, meat stewed with paprika and served with noodles or dumplings. The only consistent difference I could find is that paprikash has sour cream stirred late in the cooking process, and goulash doesn't. (The sour cream is served as a topping at the table with a goulash.) Other than that, the recipes were all over the place. A goulash usually has beef cubes, and a paprikash usually has pieces of chicken…except when they don't. If anyone is of Hungarian descent and knows the difference, please let me know in the comments.
    Whatever it's called, goulash is the definition of old-world comfort food and is easy to make in a pressure cooker. The Instant Pot recipe makes short work of the total cooking time, replacing hours of simmering with minutes under pressure.

    Ingredients

    • Vegetable oil
    • Butter
    • Beef Bottom Round Roast
    • Fine Sea Salt
    • Onions
    • Paprika
    • Caraway Seeds
    • Beef Broth (Homemade or Low-Sodium Store Bought)
    • Petite Diced Tomatoes
    • Water
    • Cornstarch

    How to Make Instant Pot Goulash

    Season and sear the beef: Heat the vegetable oil and butter in an Instant Pot over medium heat (Sauté mode set to medium in an Instant Pot) until the butter stops foaming. Sprinkle the beef cubes with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Sear the beef in 3 batches, and only sear each batch on one side. (Don't crowd the pot, or the beef will steam). Move each batch to a bowl after it is done searing.
    Sauté the onions: Add the onions to the pot and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 8 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits of beef.
    Everything in the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl. Sprinkle the paprika and caraway into the pot and stir to coat the beef. Stir the beef broth and tomatoes into the pot.
    Pressure cook for 15 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, and cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. ("Manual" or "Pressure Cook" or "Pressure Cook - Custom" mode in an Instant Pot), Let the pressure come down naturally for at least 15 minutes. (If you're in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
    Thicken, season, and serve: Whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Stir in salt and pepper: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Also, add ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Serve over egg noodles with a spoonful of sour cream on top. Enjoy!

    Recipe Tips

    • Goulash is a simple recipe: beef, onions, paprika, and tomatoes. Take the time to brown the meat and sauté the onions, because they add complexity to the dish.
    • The caraway seeds are traditional but also optional. If you don't have them, skip them.
    • Store-bought beef broth can be very salty; that's why I have two different salt amounts at the end of the recipe. Of course, Homemade Beef Broth is best, but Homemade Chicken Broth is also good, and store-bought broth comes after that. (Or you can use water, but the broth adds body to the stew liquid.)
    • The cornstarch slurry makes up for the thin sauce we get from pressure cooking. There's no evaporation, so the sauce doesn't thicken as part of the cooking process. It is also optional; skip it if you don't mind a thin sauce.
    Print
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    A bowl of beef goulash with egg noodles and paprika in the background

    Instant Pot Goulash


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 8 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    • Yield: 2 quarts of goulash 1x
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    Description

    Instant Pot Goulash. Hearty Hungarian beef and paprika stew, ready in about an hour thanks to pressure cooking.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 3 pounds of beef bottom round roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
    • 2 large onions, diced
    • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • ¼ cup paprika
    • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
    • 1 cup beef broth (homemade or low-sodium store bought)
    • 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
    • ½ to 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt (see instructions about canned broth)
    • ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

    Cornstarch slurry (optional)

    • ¼ cup water
    • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

    Accompaniments

    • Extra-wide egg noodles, cooked according to the directions on the package
    • Sour Cream

    Instructions

    1. Sear the beef in three batches: Heat the vegetable oil and butter in the pot over medium heat (Sauté mode set to medium in an Instant Pot) until the butter stops foaming. While the pot heats, sprinkle the beef cubes with 1½ teaspoons salt. Add ⅓ of the beef in a loose single layer and sear until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. (Don’t crowd the pot or the beef will steam, not brown). Transfer the browned beef to a bowl, add half of the remaining beef to the pot, and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl. Add the rest of the beef to the pot and sear until browned on one side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the bowl.
    2. Sauté the onions: Add the onions to the pot and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onions soften, about 8 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally to loosen any browned bits of beef.
    3. Stir everything into the pot: Stir in the beef and any juices in the bowl. Sprinkle the paprika and caraway into the pot and stir to coat the beef. Stir the beef broth and diced tomatoes into the pot.
    4. Pressure cook the stew for 15 minutes with a natural pressure release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (Use “Manual”, “Pressure Cook”, or "Pressure Cook - Custom" mode in an Instant Pot), or for 12 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes. (If you’re in a hurry, you can quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
    5. Thicken, season and serve: Whisk the water and cornstarch together to make a cornstarch slurry, and then stir the slurry into the stew. Stir in salt and pepper: If you used store-bought beef broth, add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt; if you used homemade beef broth or water, add 1½ teaspoons of fine sea salt. Also, add ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Serve over egg noodles with a spoonful of sour cream on top. Enjoy!

    Equipment

    Flat edged wooden spoon

    Buy Now →

    6-Quart Pressure Cooker

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    Notes

    The downside to pressure cooking is a thin sauce. The sealed pressure cooker lets us build pressure, but we don’t get any evaporation to thicken up the sauce. The cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and gives it the mouthfeel of a long-simmered stew.

    You can substitute chuck roast for the bottom round roast if that’s what’s available; everything else cooks the same.

    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    • Category: Sunday Dinner
    • Method: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: Eastern European

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    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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    Comments

    1. Peachyjo says

      June 04, 2022 at 11:37 pm

      I’d love to try this recipe but is it possible to substitute different cuts of meat for this recipe? I was hoping to use my beef chuck? Could I cut into cubes from the beginning, sauté it and continue on? Or is beef round the only cut of meat for authentic goulash?? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        June 05, 2022 at 8:58 am

        You can substitute chuck roast for the bottom round roast if that’s what’s available; everything else cooks the same.

        Reply
    2. Diana Solymossy says

      January 28, 2022 at 5:11 pm

      My Hungarian (born in Budapest) remembers that Goulash is always beef, and Paprikash is always chicken. And his mom (RIP), a great cook, always made Beef Goulash and Chicken Paprikash. So that's the authentic answer from this family! Thanks much for all your great recipes!

      Reply
      • Diana Solymossy says

        January 28, 2022 at 5:12 pm

        Sorry -- I somehow missed the word "husband" in my comment. It's my Hungarian (born in Budapest) HUSBAND, LOL!

        Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        January 28, 2022 at 5:30 pm

        Thank you for the Hungarian follow up!

        Reply
    3. Aurora says

      September 08, 2021 at 11:47 pm

      This is such a fantastic recipe. I've made it about five times now and it always turns out perfectly delicious. I never bother with the cornstarch slurry but I do sometimes add some carrots to the mix.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        September 12, 2021 at 8:59 am

        Thank you, glad you like it!

        Reply
    4. Yummy in my tummy!! says

      May 04, 2021 at 7:21 pm

      I love this recipe! I didn’t have caraway seeds so I just went without. I did add 4 carrots. Everything else I left as is. It was perfect!!!

      Reply
    5. Micki says

      July 23, 2020 at 3:04 pm

      Looks like a legit goulash recipe...very similar to mine. As others have stated, I use tomato paste as thickener and it works great! Also, I always add a couple of bay leaves to my goulash...it infuses the dish with great flavor. Just be sure to fish them out afterwards, as they're not edible (due to their texture).

      Reply
    6. Lori says

      June 02, 2020 at 9:08 am

      delicious! used a can of tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes and an extra 1/4 cup of water- no need to thicken after pressure release! Thanks, this one is a keeper 🙂

      Reply
    7. TJ says

      October 05, 2019 at 5:54 pm

      I modified the recipe with what I had on hand. Didn’t have tomatoes or beef broth. Substituted 1 red bell pepper diced and chicken broth. Also added half smoked and half sweet paprika, petite gold potatoes, garlic , 1 tsp of Marjoram, Bayleaf and a few Pepperoncinis. It is delicious. If you like it a little more spicy. I’m positive that the original recipe is very tasty as well, which I will try next time.

      Reply
    8. anja says

      August 29, 2019 at 2:45 pm

      Hi Mike,
      Why only sear the meat on one side?

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        September 01, 2019 at 3:05 pm

        It gives me the browned flavor I love without spending all day sauteing. If you want to brown the meat more, go right ahead!

        Reply
    9. Truly says

      August 03, 2019 at 9:29 am

      Fantastic a definite winner! So easy and superbly delicious without huge effort. Our guests were very impressed and went for third helpings. Thank you Mike! Another great recipe

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        August 04, 2019 at 12:54 pm

        You're welcome!

        Reply
    10. Gary says

      April 22, 2019 at 12:11 pm

      Hi Mike,
      Planning to try this in my stovetop Fagor Duo.
      Question: Do you drain the tomatoes or use the liquid as well?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        April 22, 2019 at 1:20 pm

        Use the liquid.

        Reply
    11. Carrie says

      February 20, 2019 at 8:35 pm

      Delicious! Easy! My husband who rarely compliments any meal loved this! Thanks for a great recipe, a keeper!

      Reply
    12. Nancy Miller says

      December 18, 2018 at 10:00 pm

      This was my first time using my Instant Pot. I am amazed at how rich and flavorful this dish came out, with a great texture too, meat tender and sauce just right thickness. Thank you so much!!!

      Reply
    13. Razzy 7 says

      October 24, 2018 at 9:53 am

      Nor Hungarian but here's what I found. "As nouns the difference between goulash and paprikash is that goulash is a stew of beef or veal and vegetables, flavoured with paprika while paprikash is a hungarian dish resembling goulash (a paprika-based potato stew), but without potatoes and using meat instead, often chicken and sometimes veal.
      Goulash vs Paprikash - What's the difference? | WikiDiff
      https://wikidiff.com/paprikash/goulash

      Whatever the difference, I say delicious.

      Reply
    14. Kathie says

      October 23, 2018 at 6:21 pm

      Thanks Mike for your timely recipe. I always make some version of goulash on Halloween, but call it "Ghoulash." I'm trying your Instant Pot recipe next Wednesday. Happy Haunting.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        October 23, 2018 at 7:41 pm

        Ha, I love it!

        Reply
    15. Ted says

      October 23, 2018 at 10:45 am

      My wife can't have seeds, so I'm going to drop in a half star anise. Should be easy to find and fish out.

      Reply
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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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