Pressure Cooker Hungarian Goulash

This Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash is a savory beef stew with spicy paprika and onions. This classic dish is perfect for learning how to use your pressure cooker!

If you are new to using your Instant Pot then you need to give this Hungarian beef goulash a try! It is the perfect instant pot recipe for beginners because Hungarian beef goulash is extremely simple in terms of ingredients and gives you chance to learn how to cook noodles, sear meat, and create sauce – super easy and delicious!

Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash Recipe

If you have never tried Hungarian goulash before then you are in for a treat with this delicious comfort food. This spicy stew is absolutely perfect for colder weather.

Traditionally Hungarian goulash is made without any thickeners. However, when cooked under pressure recipes can come out thinner than if they are cooked on the stovetop. This is fantastic for creating extremely tender meats, however, it can be a bit of a struggle when it comes to creating sauces.

To combat this with our pressure cooker Hungarian goulash we added cornstarch. Cornstarch, like tomatoes, does not cook well in an Instant Pot or other pressure cookers. If used under pressure thickeners such as tomatoes or cornstarch can cause you to get the dreaded burn notice. Because of this, cornstarch should always be added after your recipe has been cooked.

If desired you can completely skip adding in cornstarch or easily substitute it for another thickener. If you are already very comfortable with your Instant Pot I would personally suggest playing around with using tomatoes to thicken your goulash ?

How to Make Instant Pot Hungarian Goulash

Traditionally Hungarian Goulash uses Hungarian Sweet Paprika – it definitely is worth ordering online if you cannot easily find it in your stores. That said, if it comes down to it, this beef goulash recipe can easily be made with any type of paprika.