Instant Pot Goulash

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.