Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash

Name: Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 small yellow onion (or half of a large onion - could use white if its what you have, chopped); 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 pounds beef stew meat (cut into cubes); Salt and pepper (To taste - I like 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper); 2 large carrots (chopped); 2 red or orange bell peppers (chopped - I like using red, orange or yellow bell peppers because they’re sweeter); 2 tablespoons sweet paprika; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 cup beef broth (if you prefer a thicker stew-like consistency, use 1/2 cup); 2 bay leafs (my mom always did this. Be sure to remove before serving); 1/4 cup flour; 1/4 cup beef broth; 1/2 cup sour cream (or you can use plain Greek yogurt); Egg noodles (cooked according to package instructions (or serve over rice))

Sep 2, 2021 · 25 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash gives me all of the warm and fuzzy feels. It reminds me so much of my mom and my childhood. Growing up, my mom used to make goulash all the time on weekends. I can still so distinctively remember the smells throughout our whole house, so anytime I make it now, it makes me smile. When you make this meal in an Instant Pot (pressure cooker), it’s done in a flash and is a delicious comforting hearty meal.

My mom is German/Austrian/Hungarian, so these flavors are very much part of her heritage. The beef goulash (also known as gulyas) is made with a tomato based sauce and seasoned with sweet paprika (also known as Hungarian Paprika). This is such a family favorite recipe!

What ingredients do I need to make a Hungarian goulash?

Yellow onion
Olive oil
Beef stew meat
Salt and pepper
Carrots
Bell peppers – I like to use red or orange
Sweet paprika
Tomato Paste
Beef broth
Bay leaf

To thicken the sauce:

Flour
Beef broth
Sour cream

To serve:

Egg noodles – you can also use rice if you’d prefer

If my Mom wasn’t making this goulash, she would make this cheesy beef noodle casserole for one of our favorite comforting family meals. When we were kids, she would start this Hungarian goulash recipe early in the morning and that would be our Sunday night dinner.

Nowadays, I use an Instant Pot to speed the process up! I bet my mom would have loved this when we were kids. If you’d prefer to go old school, you can of course, use a slow cooker and cook it for 8 hours on low before adding the gravy.

Goulash is a hearty, comforting beef vegetable stew (well, kind of a stew). There are many ways you could make it and may different interpretations, this is one that was shared with me. There are also many ways to eat it – as a stew by itself or over egg noodles, that’s how we ate it, so that is how I prefer it to this day.

A key part of what makes this recipe so special is the perfectly ‘thick’ sauce that makes the dish so comforting. To thicken the sauce, you’ll mix in what’s called ‘slurry’ when everything is done cooking. Not only is it a fun name, but it will make the broth thick and creamy. Yum!

I was so excited for Nick to try this recipe because he has never had it. The verdict is…..he loved it! BUT, not at first. Little did I know, he was being funny and pretending not to love it at first, but later admitted that it was SO good. It’s just so comforting and tastes like home. And it was such an important part of my childhood that it was extra special to me that Nick loved it too.

The best part of making this meal was that as soon as I opened the lid to the Instant Pot, I couldn’t help but think “this smells exactly like it’ supposed to!”

Make this Instant Pot Hungarian goulash over egg noodles when you’re wanting a delicious and comforting meal!

Other recipes you might enjoy: