Home > Dinner > Goulash Goulash March 30, 2020 | 41 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. Hearty and comforting, American Goulash is an easy old-fashioned pasta and ground beef meal. Beef, peppers, and onions are simmered in a tomato-based sauce and then tossed with pasta and cheese to create an unbeatable savory dish ready in about 40 minutes! Pair Goulash with some veggies! These Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, or Italian Salad all make great side dishes. American Goulash: about this recipe American Goulash, sometimes called slumgullion, is an American comfort food made with ground beef, elbow macaroni, and onions in a tomato-based sauce. Where I’m at, in the midwest, American Goulash is usually just called “goulash,” but is not to be confused with Hungarian Goulash — the Hungarian version is made with stew meat and served over homemade dumplings (called Nokedli). Most American Goulash recipes cook in one pot — the pasta gets cooked in the beefy sauce. I personally don’t prefer this method for a few reasons — one, it’s easy to overcook the pasta and be left with an overly starchy meal. Two, it’s hard to keep leftovers. The pasta continues to absorb liquid and bloats, making the leftovers less pleasant, and, well, mushy. And finally, I’ve found it really doesn’t save time (a pot, yes, but time, no). So for this particular recipe, we cook the pasta separately. I think it makes for the very best Goulash! While the beefy tomato mixture is simmering, the pasta can be cooked and everything finishes about the same time to get tossed together and enjoyed. This Staub Braiser“>cast-iron pot is excellent for creating the beefy tomato sauce. VARIATIONS Recipe variations Cheese: Try adding in half mozzarella and half Cheddar cheese. You can also increase the cheese for a cheesier meat sauce. If you’re lactose intolerant, this Goulash is still delicious without cheese! Add extra veggies: We’ll occasionally add 1 cup frozen corn to the meat sauce. Other veggie ideas include adding a diced carrot or diced mushrooms with the onion and red pepper. Stir in spinach at the end of cooking time. Add beans: Make it more of a chili mac by adding a can of chili beans (pinto beans in chili sauce) or a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans. Fresh herbs: To add some freshness and color, add some finely diced flat-leaf Italian parsley to the finished dish. QUICK TIP Elbow macaroni is the classic type of pasta used in American Goulash. If you want to try other types of pasta, go with something fairly thick and smallish: small shells, ziti, and penne are all great choices. What to serve with Goulash Our favorite side is garlic bread! Homemade Dinner Rolls or breadsticks are also good sides. Since it’s a heavier main dish, add some light side dishes like a fruit salad or this veggie-packed Olive Garden Salad. Add some Roasted Vegetables or Roasted Asparagus on the side. Making ahead of time As the recipe is written, this meal is excellent prepared ahead of time; in fact, it gets even better as it sits (flavors intensify and meld together). I store the cooked macaroni separately from the cooked meat sauce. Warm the meat sauce gently in a pot or skillet, over medium-low heat, until warmed through. Warm the noodles through by tossing them with the warmed meat sauce. Freezing The meat sauce and noodles together don’t freeze and thaw well (the noodles become mushy), but the meat sauce alone does. To freeze, let the meat sauce cool completely and then place in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Date and label the package and freeze. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently warm through on the stovetop before eating. You may need to add in an extra splash of water or tomato sauce when reheating. Goulash recipe tips Good tomatoes make all the difference in this recipe. I highly recommend San Marzano® or Muir Glen® fire-roasted crushed tomatoes in this recipe. For even more rich tomato flavor, try using 15 ounces of Rao’s® marinara in place of the tomato sauce — yum! Lower-quality canned tomatoes have the tendency to be a bit acidic; so if needed, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to counteract that. Freshly grate the cheese: Pre-grated cheese has a cellulose coating to keep it from clumping together and doesn’t melt as nicely or smoothly. You can easily shred the cheese with a Microplane“>microplane grater like this one.Salt the pasta water generously: We don’t add salt to the actual Goulash since there are quite a few salty ingredients (beef bouillon and Worcestershire sauce), but we do want to make sure to salt the pasta water the macaroni cooks in. Salting the water is the only chance you have to season the actual pasta. (Read about how to properly salt your pasta water here.) Sauté the seasonings: Before adding the tomatoes and tomato sauce, the seasonings get sauteed with the meat and veggies. This helps to intensify their flavors, so don’t rush or skip this step. If you have extra time, allow the meat sauce to simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. While totally optional, it does intensify the flavors and result in a richer and deeply savory sauce. More ground beef recipes: Beef Tacos best beef taco mixture Taco Pasta in one skillet Beef Lettuce Wraps with coconut rice Taco Lasagna with pasta Egg Roll in a Bowl keto friendly! FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. American Goulash 4.53 from 23 votes - Review this recipe Hearty and comforting American Goulash is an easy old-fashioned pasta and ground beef dish. Beef, peppers, and onions are simmered in a tomato-based sauce and then tossed with noodles and cheese to create an unbeatable savory dish ready in about 40 minutes! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe American Goulash 4.53 from 23 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Hearty and comforting American Goulash is an easy old-fashioned pasta and ground beef dish. Beef, peppers, and onions are simmered in a tomato-based sauce and then tossed with noodles and cheese to create an unbeatable savory dish ready in about 40 minutes! Course Dinner, Main Course Cuisine American Keyword goulash Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 40 minutes Servings 6 -8 servings Calories 336kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $6.38 Ingredients▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil▢ 1 cup diced yellow onion (~1 onion)▢ 1 cup diced red pepper (~1 pepper)▢ 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (~3-4 cloves)▢ 1 pound lean (93/7) ground beef▢ 2 tablespoons tomato paste▢ 1 tablespoon italian seasoning▢ 1 teaspoon EACH: paprika and chili powder▢ 1/4 teaspoon EACH: garlic and onion powder▢ Salt and pepper▢ 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce▢ 2 cans (14.5 ounces EACH) fire-roasted crushed tomatoes▢ 2 large beef bouillon cubes (See Note 1)▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce▢ 2 bay leaves▢ 1 cup freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese▢ 3 cups uncooked macaroni US - Metric USMetric InstructionsPREP: Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and finely dice the red pepper. COOK VEGGIES: Place a large cast-iron pot on the stove and heat to medium high. Add in the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once oil is warm and shimmering, add in the 1 cup finely diced onion, 1 cup finely diced red pepper, and 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender about 5-7 minutes. If anything is browning too quickly or burning, lower the heat. Meanwhile, add another pot filled with water to the stovetop. Set heat to high and bring to a boil.COOK BEEF: Increase the heat to high and move the veggies to the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the beef to the middle of the pot and let stand for 30 seconds. Flip and stir, letting the other side stand for 30 seconds. Continue to cook the beef, using the wooden spoon to break it apart, crumbling into small pieces as it cooks. Cook until no longer pink. Drain off any accumulated grease. Lower the heat to medium. Add the 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, and pepper to taste. Stir until spices are fragrant, 1-2 minutes.TOMATOES: Add in the tomato sauce and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add in the 2 cans of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and stir together. Crumble in the 2 beef bouillon cubes, add in the 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and the bay leaves. Gently stir. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover partially with a lid, leaving a little bit of the pot uncovered. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and tender. (If you have extra time, simmer for 30-45 minutes for an extra-thick, savory meat sauce; otherwise, simmer until the pasta is done cooking.) Meanwhile, shred the cheese.MACARONI: By this time, the water should be boiling; season it with salt. (I add about 3/4 tablespoon salt to the water.) Add in the 3 cups macaroni and cook according to package directions. Once cooked, drain. FINISHING: Remove the meat mixture from the heat and add in the Cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. If the Goulash will be completely consumed the same day it's made, stir in the cooked macaroni noodles. If you plan for leftovers, add macaroni to individual bowls and stir the meat mixture into the bowls. This keeps the macaroni noodles from bloating when being chilled and stored (I like to store macaroni separately from the meat sauce). Recipe NotesNote 1:Bouillon: Here are the exact beef bouillon cubes I use. If sensitive to salt, just add one. If you opt to not use the bouillon cubes, make sure to season the meat sauce with salt to taste. Nutrition FactsServing: 8servings | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.7g | Protein: 22.4g | Fat: 11.6g | Cholesterol: 50.3mg | Sodium: 271.7mg | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 6.4g We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
This looks like a cold rainy day dish. So yummy and comforting. Definitely going to give this a try. Thanks so much for sharing. Reply
It definitely is! 🙂 Pure comfort food! Hope you love it Melissa, you’ll have to let me know what you think! <3 Reply
I am so glad I found you . You and your recipes are the best ! I bookmark all of them and this Goulash would go really well with your awesome cornbread I love so much ! Reply
Awe you made my day! Thanks so much Victoria! I hope you love this goulash! I do think the cornbread would be delicious with it! Reply
Last night, I made this recipe as written and using the recommended bouillon brand and John Muir brand tomatoes. It was delicious and flavorful. All my kids enjoyed it. Reply
Made this according to the recipe using the Rao’s Marinara! I added beef kielbasa because I have a meat guy! DELICIOUS!! Thank you! Reply
I’ve been looking for this recipe for a long time! I remember eating as a kid but couldn’t find the exact recipe until now! It was delicious. And all 4 picky kids enjoyed it!! Ps, the first line in Instruction says to mince the ginger. I’m assuming you meant garlic? Reply
Yay!! So glad this was a hit 🙂 Thanks Jama! And yes, you’re right thanks for catching that I just updated the recipe! 🙂 Reply
I must have made this a bizillion times over my lifetime but typically spends loads of time trying to tweak the taste. Seems like something is frequently missing. Not anymore! I’ll admit I was leery of using the full 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce as it’s so salty. I stuck to 1 tablespoon this time. Maybe 2 next time! I also added a minced green pepper as that’s a family preference. So pleased with this recipe 😋 Reply
I made your American goulash for dinner tonight and my husband absolutely loves it, this will be a new staple to my recipe cards. Thank you 😋 Reply
Excellent recipe. Followed the recipe exactly and was very pleased with the results. The Worcestershire sauce makes the perfect addition. Thank you! Reply
You have several adds directly in the middle of the recipe. Oh this long af page with nonsense. The page is more of a nuisance to scroll through. Reply
Sorry you didn’t have a good experience; the ads are how I can afford to host the site, pay for groceries to test recipes, and keep up with all the other expenses. You can always click “print” to be re-directed to a page with the full recipe without ads on it Reply
This was outstanding, and simple to prepare . This recipe cant get any better than it already is if you follow it , i guarantee your family will be asking for more and its plenty . You nailed it . Thanks for sharing. Reply
Did you use the Wyler beef bullion cubes? I tried to pull up the ones you have listed but a bunch of different brands came up Reply
I really wish people would stop calling CHILI MAC GOULASH. It is good, but stop stealing names of actual dishes. goulash doesnt call for macaroni OR CHEESE wtf. just stop this is disrespectful to my culture Reply
Another amazing dish, thank you! My husband requested goulash for dinner, of course I looked to see if you had a recipe. So glad I did, I followed your directions exactly. Knowing your recipes are so good and flavorful. I did add 1 cup of corn and finely diced carrots, as your suggestions stated. OMG, delish!!! Reply
Made this tonight. Very good, better than my usual bland goulash. The red peppers made a big difference, along with the addition of worcestershire. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the cheese (I usually don’t use) & chili powder or paste. I added the tomato sauce & big can diced tomatoes. It still was very tasty. Next time I’m adding cheese, paste & fire roasted tomatoes. Reply
