Cole Cooks: Instant Pot Potato Goulash with Sausage
Goulash is a classic Eastern European dish. In my travels to Europe I have realized that different regions have their own unique take on goulash. This is a take on a Austrian potato goulash that can be vegetarian or cooked with sausage to make a hearty stew.
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My favorite goulash going back to when I was a kid is Hungarian goulash. However, when traveling in the Czech Republic I found they have their own unique version of goulash which I have since learned to imitate.
I was planning on cooking Czech goulash for a weeknight meal when I realized that we had been eating too much meat recently. This led me to research a vegetarian based goulash.
My research into “vegetarian goulash” led me to potato goulash which apparently is popular in Austria and parts of Germany. In Austria it is called Erdäpfelgulasch and in Germany it is Kartoffelgulasch.
There are all kinds of recipes online that I used to develop my version. After making it and doing some tweaks I got the idea to add sausage for nights when we did want meat.
I came across two recipes for potato goulash that add sausage. One was from Lil Vienna (Little Vienna) for a creamy potato goulash Erdäpfelgulasch with Polish Kielbasa. The other is from Strudel & Schnitzel, a site featuring Austrian recipes.
My goulash recipe has taken theses recipes for inspiration and adapted them for the Instant Pot.
With the Instant Pot this is a simple meal to prepare for a weeknight. It takes about 15 minutes to cut the vegetables and sauté them in the Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot is set to only 5 minutes. However, it can take up to half an hour for it come to pressure. That is why some recipes will even call for setting the Instant Pot on zero (the recipe is done when it comes to pressure). You can see more Instant Pot tips in our guide.
Compared with the traditional potato goulash recipes, mine adds more vegetables including red pepper and pearl onions. The pearl onions are kept whole, but I like to slice the red pepper and other onions into slices of various different slices. I think it adds a little variety.
A side note on pearl onions. To peel pearl onions you want to drop them into boiling water for a minute and cool them with cold water. OUr box of pearl onions came with this advice but they seemed to indicate you cut off the tips after boiling. Cut off the tips BEFORE boiling.
The Lil Vienna and Strudel & Schnitzel recipes call for ground caraway seeds. To keep it simple I used whole seeds. Either one works. Ground caraway will be stronger so do not add as much.
The paprika is generally the most important ingredient in goulash. Lil Vienna calls for two types of paprika. Strudel & Schnitzel calls for a mixture of hot and sweet paprika.
We often spring for fancy paprika, but for a quick weeknight meal I am not afraid to go with what we have on hand. The one thing I have learned is NOT to use Spanish smoked paprika in goulash. In experimenting with the recipe I have increased the amount of paprika.
As mentioned, this can be a vegetarian dish. However, to make it heartier I wanted to add sausage. This appears to be common in Austrian recipes. Following the advice of Lil Vienna I use Polish Kielbasa, l which our local market sells in 12-ounce links. Any sausage could be substituted, and of course left entirely for the vegetarian version.
One thing I have learned with this recipe is go easy on the liquid. The first-time making potato goulash I added too much liquid and the result was more of a soup. Vegetables have a large amount of water and I found this recipe only needs about 4 coups of extra liquid.
For more goulash ideas check out our take on Hungarian goulash. This has been a family staple for years.
Instant Pot Potato Goulash with Sausage
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yellow potatoes cut in 1-inch cubes
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 red peppers sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounce pearl onions
- 12- ounce cooked sausage link sliced into ¼ inch rounds (optional)
- 4 tablespoons Hungarian Paprika
- 2 teaspoon whole caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander ground
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups stock vegetable, chicken or beef
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
Instructions
- Heat Instant Pot on sauté. Add onions and red pepper. Sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add remaining ingredients. Set Instant Pot on high pressure for 5 minutes. Allow to natural release for 5 minutes and then manual release.
For more info on the Instant Pot check out our Top 10 Instant Pot Tips and our Top 10 Instant Pot Recipes
