Instant Pot Goulash Soup
Instant Pot Goulash Soup is a delicious and quick dinner idea with all the flavors that make Hungarian food so amazing! And this tasty Goulash Soup recipe uses the ground beef you probably keep in the freezer.
PIN Instant Pot Goulash Soup to make it later!
Instant Pot Goulash Soup is a favorite recipe I’m urging you to try if you’re someone who enjoys Hungarian flavors! And I’ve become a fan of making soup in the Instant Pot for a dinner that’s quick and easy. But you can make this in any pressure cooker, or use the stovetop instructions to make it on the stove!
And whether or not you use the Instant Pot, Goulash Soup is all about the spicy paprika, so if you’re not a fan of that flavor it may not be for you. I use both sweet and hot paprika for this recipe, but if you don’t have any hot paprika (sometimes called sharp) use a bit more sweet and a tiny pinch of cayenne.
And if you love Hungarian flavors like I do, I hope you pull out the Instant Pot and make this delicious Goulash Soup right away!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- extra lean ground beef
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- red bell pepper
- onion
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Spanish Sweet Paprika (affiliate link)
- Sharp Hungarian Paprika (affiliate link)
- homemade Beef Stock or canned beef broth (affiliate link)
- petite diced tomatoes
- sour cream
What Paprika is best for Instant Pot Goulash Soup?
I urge you to use real Hungarian Paprika if you can; the flavor is so amazing compared to other paprikas. I’m a fan of Szeged Paprika (affiliate link), which I’ve been buying for years from Amazon, but any brand of Hungarian Paprika will be better than the paprika from the grocery store.
How low in carbs is this Goulash Soup Recipe?
The Instant Pot Goulash Soup has only about 5 net carbs per serving and 54 grams of protein!
What can make Instant Pot Goulash Soup extra good?
Personally I’d never get tired of the Hungarian flavors in this tasty soup, and I think serving Goulash soup with some sour cream to add at the table really makes it extra good!
How to Make the Instant Pot Goulash Soup Recipe:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute setting, heat 2 tsp. olive oil, and brown the ground beef, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.
- When the beef is mostly browned, remove to a bowl (or drain on paper towels if you see much fat on the meat.)
- While beef cooks, cut up the onions and red pepper.
- Add the other tsp. olive oil with the onions and peppers and cook 3-4 minutes.
- Then add the minced garlic and the sweet and hot paprika and cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring a few times. (Do not skip that step of cooking the paprika.)
- Put the ground beef back into the Instant Pot (affiliate link) with the beef stock (or canned beef broth) and petite diced tomatoes.
- Lock the lid, choose SOUP (low pressure on my model) and set the time for 15 minutes.
- When it stops cooking, let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes, then quick release the rest.
- Serve Instant Pot Goulash Soup hot, with a dollop of sour cream if desired.
- The sour cream added at the table is highly recommended by me, but this is dairy-free without sour cream!
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
Instant Pot Goulash Soup would be great for a low-carb meal, served with any of these tasty low-carb breads:
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Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe for Goulash Soup has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Instant Pot Goulash Soup
This Instant Pot Goulash Soup uses ground beef and peppers and it's a delicious and quick low-carb dinner. And I highly recommend serving the soup with sour cream added at the table!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs. extra lean ground beef (preferably less than 10% fat)
- 2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1 large red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and cut into short strips
- 1 large onion, cut into short strips
- 1 T minced garlic (minced garlic from a jar is fine)
- 2 T sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian paprika (I used Szeged Sweet Paprika, see notes.)
- 1/2 tsp. hot paprika, preferably Hungarian paprika (I used Szeged Hot Paprika, see notes. If you don’t have hot paprika, use a little more sweet paprika and a pinch of Cayenne pepper.)
- 4 cups homemade beef stock (or use a little less than 3 cans beef broth – 14 oz. can)
- 2 cans (14.5 oz. can) petite diced tomatoes
- sour cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot (affiliate link) to saute’, heat the 2 tsp. olive oil, and cook the ground beef, breaking it apart with your fingers as you put it into the Instant Pot and also with a turner as it cooks.
- When the beef is mostly browned, remove to a bowl (or drain on paper towels on a plate if the meat looks at all greasy.)
- While the meat cooks, cut away the stem and seeds from the red pepper and cut into short strips. Cut onion into short strips, same size as the red pepper.
- Add the other tsp. olive oil to the Instant Pot, add the onions and peppers and cook 3-4 minutes.
- Then add the minced garlic, sweet paprika, and hot paprika and cook 2-3 minutes longer, stirring so the paprika is all cooked. (DO NOT skip the step of cooking the paprika with the onions and peppers.)
- Add the beef stock or broth and petite diced tomatoes, along with the ground beef.
- Lock the lid and use the SOUP setting, changing the time to 15 minutes. (On my Instant Pot SOUP is low pressure. If yours is different use the MANUAL setting and choose LOW PRESSURE – 15 minutes.)
- When the cooking stops, let the pressure release manually for a few minutes, then use quick release to finish releasing.
- Serve the Goulash Soup hot with a generous dollop of sour cream if desired.
Stovetop
- If you want to make this soup on the stovetop instead of in a pressure cooker, use these ingredients but follow the cooking times and instructions for this tasty stovetop version.)
Notes
I used Szeged Paprika, both regular and hot (affiliate link) and homemade beef stock for this soup, but you can still get a good result with regular paprika and canned beef stock from the store.
Recipe created by Kalyn and Jake and inspired by a Goulash Soup made on the stove.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 348Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 152mgSodium 438mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 2gSugar 4gProtein 54g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Instant Pot Goulash Soup is a perfect recipe for low-carb and Keto diets, and it can work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet if you use low-fat ground beef and low-fat sour cream (if using).
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Instant Pot Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Goulash Soup made in the Instant Pot was first posted in 2017. It was last updated with more information in 2025.
13 Comments on “Instant Pot Goulash Soup”
I just want to say that this recipe is AMAZING! Only thing I added was sea salt. Holy smokes, it’s so good! Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, so glad you liked it!
Just got my Instant Pot today and decided to make this as my first recipe. Absolutely fantastic, thank you for such an easy introduction to this new gadget I now have!
How fun, glad you enjoyed the soup!
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I give two links after the recipe itself (where it says “Nutritional Information”) for suggestion of how to get that information. I’m not able to provide nutritional information for the recipes for several reason, including the additional time it takes, the difficulty in doing it accurately, and the sheer number of recipes on my site. That’s all I can do at this time. Thanks for understanding.
P.S. I just checked the link for Yummly, which says 6 carbs. They are not always accurate, but that seems about right for this recipe with no tomatoes or other high-carb ingredients.
So excited to see you talking about the Instant Pot! We are among those apparent millions who got one for Christmas, but ours is still in the box because it seemed somehow intimidating to jump into pressure cookers. Been following your fabulous recipes for years, so we will be happy to try this. Also, my husband is Hungarian but traditional Hungarian meals often take hours to make, so will be excited to try a quick version incorporating some of the same flavors. Thank you!
Hi Leslie, so glad you like it. I'm certainly not claiming this recipe is authentically Hungarian, but the flavors are inspired by Hungarian food!
This looks great, but I like the cabbage and jarred roasted red peppers (instead of fresh) from your original recipe. Would those 2 ingredients stand up to the 15 minutes of pressure in the Instant Pot? Or would I have to release pressure during that time to add one or both and bring the pressure back up again to finish (something I'd rather not do)?
I'm afraid I'm not enough of a pressure cooker expert to answer that, but what I would probably do is cook the soup for a slightly shorter time with the cabbage and roasted red peppers, then if it's not done to your liking when you release the pressure, just simmer in the pot for a few minutes until it seems right! Glad to hear you have enjoyed the original version!
Lydia I absolutely LOVE paprika, and even I don't use it all that often.