This pressure cooker goulash is American-style comfort food: ground beef, tomatoes, elbow macaroni, peppers, and onions cooked together in one pot.
About 30 minutes. One pot. Pasta goes in before the broth, and you do not stir.
Why This Recipe Works
- Everything cooks in one pot. Brown the beef, build the tomato base, then cook the pasta right in the sauce.
- The layering matters. Pasta goes over the tomato mixture, then broth goes over the pasta. Do not stir before pressure cooking.
- The timing is built around the pasta. I use half the box cook time minus 2 minutes as the starting point for pressure cooking.
American Goulash
This is American goulash, not Hungarian goulash. The version here is built around ground beef, tomatoes, and elbow macaroni, with peppers and onions for extra flavor. It is the familiar one-pot American comfort-food version.
Pressure Cooker Pasta Timing
The pressure-cooker pasta timing I use is simple: divide the box cook time in half, then subtract 2 minutes. If the box says 10 minutes, I cook it for 3 minutes at high pressure.
That guideline has been reliable with the pasta I have tested, but different shapes and brands can cook differently, so use the package time as your starting point.
How to Make Pressure Cooker Goulash
Step 1: Brown the beef, peppers, and onions
Using the sauté setting, add the ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Cook until the beef is browned, breaking it up as it cooks.
Step 2: Add garlic and Worcestershire
Add the Worcestershire sauce and minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two.
Step 3: Build the tomato base
Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, remaining 2 teaspoons of salt, and sugar. Mix well.
Step 4: Add the pasta
Spread the dry elbow macaroni over the tomato and beef mixture.
Step 5: Add the broth. Do not stir.
Pour the chicken broth over the pasta and leave the layers alone. Keeping the pasta off the bottom helps reduce the chance of a burn warning while it cooks.
Step 6: Pressure cook and release
Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 3 minutes for the pasta used here, or adjust from your box time using the guideline above. When the cook time is complete, quick-release the pressure.
Step 7: Finish and serve
Stir in the parsley, then serve. The sauce will continue to tighten as the pasta sits.
Expert Tips
- Use lean ground beef when you can. With beef around 90% lean, there is usually no need to drain it. If you use a higher-fat grind, drain off some of the fat after browning.
- Do not stir after adding the pasta and broth. The layering helps keep pasta from settling against the bottom of the pot.
- Gluten-free pasta can work. I have used it successfully with this method, but brands and shapes vary. Rice-based gluten-free pasta can also absorb more liquid as it sits, so leftovers may need a splash of broth when reheating.
- The sugar is for balance. It takes the edge off the acidity of the tomatoes. You can leave it out if needed.
FAQs
Can I use ground turkey instead of beef? Yes. You can substitute ground turkey without changing the basic pressure-cooking method.
Can I use gluten-free pasta? Yes. I have used gluten-free pasta successfully with this method, but brands and shapes can behave differently, so use the package timing as your starting point. Rice-based gluten-free pasta also tends to absorb more liquid as it sits.
Why is there sugar in the recipe? The sugar helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes. It is optional if you prefer to leave it out.
More Pressure Cooker Recipes
Try my Instant Pot Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, Instant Pot Dry-Rubbed Baby Back Ribs, Instant Pot Cornbread, or Instant Pot Ham with Apple Cider and Brown Sugar.
Did you make this Pressure Cooker Goulash?
Please leave a star rating and tell me how it turned out!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot American Goulash
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper diced
- 3 tsp. sea salt divided
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. garlic minced
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 16 oz. tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Using sauté setting - add beef, onions, peppers, 1 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper to cooker. Cook until meat is thoroughly browned, stirring frequently to break up meat.
- Then add Worcestershire and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
- Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of salt, and sugar. Mix well. Finally, add pasta, then chicken broth. DO NOT STIR. Close lid and set manual timer for 3 minutes at high pressure. (Time could be different based on the pasta you choose. Divide time on box in half, then subtract 2 minutes.)
- Once cook time is complete, quick-release pressure and open lid. Add parsley and mix well. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Spread the pasta over the tomato and beef mixture, then pour the chicken broth over the pasta. DO NOT STIR. Keeping the tomato mixture and pasta from being stirred down against the bottom helps reduce the chance of a burn notice.
- I recommend using lean ground beef for this recipe, meaning no more than 10% fat. And the reason for that is so that you don't need to drain the beef after it's browned. However, if you use ground beef that's 15% or higher in fat, you may want to drain off about half of it.
Sandy Olson
The pasta was perfectly cooked. This is an excellent recipe and will be added to our regular meals. I will probably tweak it a bit with spices and veggies.
Donna
The directions were straight forward, easy to follow and the recipe came out great. When I first released the pressure and stirred the pot I thought it was on the soupy side, but as the contents cooled, the extra sauce must have been absorbed by the noodles and was perfect :-).
Barbars
This came out so delicious.
Gary White
Glad you enjoyed it!
Robert Zoshak
This was so delicious, I definitely recommend this recipe
Joseph
Just made it turned out perfect lots of flavor think I'll have another bowl thanks again love the ninja foodie
Matt
Maybe......just maybe you should add the full instructions to this? I mean according to your instructions this should take under 10 minutes! However, the Cook Time says 25 minutes. You need to add to the instructions. They suck.
Gary White
Thanks for your feedback. The cook time includes the time it typically takes for the pressure cooker to come up to pressure.
Jean Benton
So good and so easy!
Wendy Lindquist
RUH ROH Just made it to exact directions and it is soupy and the pasta is al dente! Should taste great because it smells great BUT I can't serve a soup to a 6 year old! Sigh...
Gary White
Hmmm, I'm not sure why that happened. That's the first I've heard of this issue. Thanks for your feedback!
Randy
We had the same exact issue...any suggestions??
Gary White
I'm really not sure. Could possibly be related to elevation. We are in Florida, so basically at sea level. The higher in elevation you go, I know it affects pressure cooking - meaning some things need more time. Where do you live?
Ian
I ran into the same thing when following the exact recipe. Good flavors, but very soupy. Next time I'm only going to add 3 cups of broth.
Gary White
I get it Ian, it can be a little soupy. The difficulty with a recipe like this is that all pastas absorb different amounts of liquid, and if you don't add enough broth, you will certainly end up with a scorched bottom and a burn notice. Tread carefully with reducing the broth.
Cindy
My family loved this. My daughter even asked for it as her birthday dinner over chicken Parmesan or chicken cordon bleu. That is big.
Mary
Just tried this minus the sugar and it’s fabulous! I put less salt in but added some better than beef bouillon. Also added some Italian seasoning. Macaroni turned out perfect
Michele
This one is a keeper! I recommend using a favorite spaghetti sauce in place of the crushed tomatoes. I also use regular beef broth anytime I use beef in my recipes. One of the gals commented that hers burned every time she made it. It's a rule of thumb to never mix anything tomato with the liquid but rather pour on top of all the ingredients before cooking. So, in this case, put all the ingredients in the PC and then the tomato ingredients on top.
Nancy K Ghilarducci
Is there a particular brand of pasta that works better than others in the instapot? Is there a rule of thumb for the ratio liquid to pasta? I am very new to this and trying to find some sort of conversion for ratios.
Gary
I've found that all brands of pasta seem to work about the same, with the exception of gluten-free pasta since they're usually made with some rice. And as far as pasta to liquid ratios, every recipe is different. I can only speak for ones I've tested.
Jennifer
I love the flavors in this recipe. But I’ve made it 3 times now and every time I get a burn notice... then it doesn’t come up to pressure fully. It ends up being fully cooked, but very soupy. Any idea why it’s doing that???
Gary
Sorry to hear that. We've never had that happen. You could try adding the chicken broth at the same time as the tomato sauce and mixing. Then, add the pasta last, and mix gently just so that it's submerged, but not so much that it touches the bottom of the pot. Good luck!
Michele
Hi Jen,
Never mix any tomato sauce with the liquid. Put in last on top of pasta, and it won't burn!
Toka
I also got the burn— I gently pushed the pasta aside for the broth to migrate to the bottom and restarted. Pasta was a tiny bit softer than I like,but certainly tasty
Craig
Looks marvelous!
Connie
Do you pre cook the pasta first or just put it In from the box?
Gary
Don't pre-cook the pasta. Add it in from the box.
Sharron
What setting do you use once everything is combine? Beans. Chili, stew, slow cook?? And what number for pressure 40, 50????
Gary White
What kind of pressure cooker are you using? We used an Instant Pot pressure cooker for this recipe. On the Instant Pot, you would hit the "Pressure Cook" button, and set time to 3 minutes using the + or - buttons. It should also be set to high pressure- use the "pressure level" button to adjust if on low pressure.
Linda
I would love to make this recipe. What would be the cooking time if I used gluten free pasta?
Thanks
Gary
The rule-of-thumb for any pasta in an Instant Pot is this... divide the cook time in half, then subtract 2. For example... if it says 8 minutes, then it's (4-2) or 2. We do it all the time since my wife is gluten intolerant.
Rebecca
I'm still not used to the convenience of cooking pasta in the instant pot, but I'm getting used to it. My mother used to make something similar when I was growing up and it's always been a favorite. I love this recipe! I used 1 cup of onions as I don't like green peppers and it turned out great. Easy and fast and so good!