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American Goulash is my kind of comfort food! It’s rich, savory, and full of that cozy, tomato-y goodness. It’s hearty, easy to make, and one bite will have you hooked just like my family is!
A Reader’s Review
Perfect. Followed the recipe! Tasted better than my Mom’s! Thank you for sharing.
How This Goulash Stole My Heart (and Fork)
- One-pot: Everything cooks together in a single pot, which means less cleanup and more flavor as the pasta soaks up the rich, seasoned sauce.
- Family-friendly: Kids love it, but it’s also packed with hearty, comforting flavor that adults can feel good about!
- Freezer-friendly: Perfect for meal prep! Make a batch, freeze it, and enjoy the same rich flavor and texture!
How To Make American Goulash
Making this classic American goulash recipe couldn’t be easier. Cook the beef and onion, and then throw everything together and let it simmer. You’ll have time to make my 1-hour rolls and green goddess salad to have on the side.
- Brown the Meat: Add 2 pounds of ground beef to a large stockpot over medium high heat. Cook and brown the beef for 7-8 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and drain, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons of grease in the pot.
- Cook the Onion: Add diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Make Soup Base: Return the cooked beef to the pot. Add water, beef base, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add Noodles & Simmer: Stir in uncooked noodles. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom. Just before serving, stir in cheese. Garnish your goulash with fresh chopped Italian parsley on top before serving!
What’s the Difference Between Hungarian and American Goulash?
Hungarian goulash is a hearty stew loaded with meat, vegetables, and plenty of paprika. Hungarian sometimes uses dumplings or potatoes instead of pasta. American goulash skips the extra veggies (aside from the tomato based sauce) and goes all-in with macaroni noodles and cheese. You might also hear it called “American chop suey.”
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Classic American Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large diced onion
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon beef base or bouillon
- 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (one petite diced)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups elbow macaroni noodles uncooked
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- fresh chopped Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add 1 large diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Return the cooked beef to the pot. Add 3 cups water, 1 tablespoon beef base, 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce, 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 3 bay leaves. Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in 2 cups elbow macaroni noodles. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom.
- Just before serving, stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley on top before serving!
Video
Notes
- Fridge: Store cooled goulash in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a labeled, airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: From fridge—warm on stove or microwave in 1–2 min intervals. From freezer—thaw overnight, then reheat on stove.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Hearty Soups to Try
When it gets cold outside, I love making a big pot of soup! It warms my soul as well as my heart! Here are some of my favorites!
EXCELLENT! Great tasting dish and pretty quick to prepare. I couldn’t find elbow macaroni at grocery store but used a small tubular pasta and it still came out awesome! Keeping this one!
So good! Very flavorful and easy to make.
I added mushrooms into mine as well. ?
I also cook my noodles separately because if not the starch from the noodles are too much. Plus I don’t like the taste of it if it’s not cooked separately.
My 2 brother in laws love it, so I make sure that I cook it once a month and take them each a huge container of it.
One eats it with the meat and the other brother in law eats it with the meat
I actually cooked some goulash a couple of days ago. In America it’s called spaghetti
because of the meat, stewed tomatoes, onions and noodles without a few of the ingredients is the reason it’s called spaghetti.
????
In American
heartland, it’s spaghetti if it has spaghetti…… noodles, elbow or other, it’s goulash!
My mom made this growing up and I’ve made it on regular rotation for the last 25 years. It’s so great and my kids love it. My parents called it Slumgulion – not sure where that name came from, but when I tell people American goulash – they know what I’m talking about – LOL
That’s what my mom called it too. This recipe is similar to hers, but I don’t remember her using too much tomato sauce or any broth. She used canned whole tomatoes(which had a good amount of juice) and she broke them up with a spoon. She also added green peppers, more cheese, and cooked the pasta separate, stirring it in during the last few minutes to heat through. Even as kids, we didn’t like mushy pasta. I still can’t eat it.
We made it just as the recipe says except we used beef broth instead of water, we used our own preserved tomatoes from the cold room for the sauce, and a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes. It was awesome, we did manage to over cook the pasta a bit, but it was very yummy, only the wife and I eating it here so we had to freeze some and use it up later, it thawed well and was enjoyed again. Might be an idea to turn off the heat a few minutes early, the volume of material and heat mass will finish the pasta.
Thanks
One of my go to suppers. My Mom called it “Slum-gooey” and we still call it that today ! Only difference is I add chopped green pepper to the onion to sauté. Gives it a little kick and crunch and color. Also, have used all different pasta, but always cooked the pasta separate. Serve with a side salad and a hunk of bread. Definitely will fill your family’ bellies !
Very good recipe, and easy to make your own! I used Worcestershire sauce in place of the soy sauce, then added some crushed red pepper to spice it up! I also seasoned the meat while it was cooking with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. We also used mozzarella instead of cheddar. With a dish like this, you almost can’t go wrong with small variations!
Quick question though- for the nutritional information, what would you say is a serving size? Maybe 1 cup?
Yes, about 1 cup. The nutritional information is just a guide.
I’ve made this a few times & it’s absolutely delicious & so easy to make. Last time I made it I added a can of red kidney beans & that was delicious too.
This is exactly how I remember my mom making it when I was a kid. I’m definitely making this one!
This was great. Only changes I made, was since I was cooking for 2 I halved the recipe & reduced the amount of salt. This definitely on old timey recipe.
It’s even better if you use homegrown canned tomatoes!
Absolutely delicious. I made it the first time this evening and everyone loved it to include the neighbors. Only thing I did differently was to cook the noodles separately and I didn’t add the water. Also, I added kidney beans and peas and made for a delicious meal.
Make this, cooking the pasta separately, but my family always called it American Chopped Suey. no idea why. I love your method of cooking the pasta with everything else. I’ll try that next time.
Wonderful recipe, but 1 tablespoon of seasoned salt is WAY TOO MUCH! It over-powered the entire dish. I’m revising it for next time to ½ – 1 tsp seasoned salt, and providing some at the table so if anyone wants more they can add it themselves. A great lesson learned: you can always add, but you can never take away.
Pamela. If u ever over salt again, add a raw peeled potato and let it cook. It will absorb a lot of the salt!!
HAGD❤️
Cathy