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★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
Old-Fashioned Ground Beef Goulash is one of those nostalgic recipes your family may have grown up eating or maybe you've heard how beloved it is and want to give it a try.
Serve this American Goulash with a 5-ingredient cranberry-apple salad, homemade dinner rolls and try baking a Twinkie bundt cake for dessert!
A Classic American Recipe
This recipe seems to bring back fond memories for so many. "Goulash" is a timeless American dinner dish that has withstood the test of time. To this day, it's still a great little dinner to feed your family, especially if you have a larger family and you're on a budget.
Layers of Flavor
This particular Goulash recipe is flavorful featuring ground beef, bell peppers, onions, Worcestershire sauce and spices. I often hear that it tastes like the goulash they remember from their childhood.
One-pot Recipe
The cooking process is very simple and uses just one pot for easy clean up! Hooray for less dishes!
All the food groups in one dish!
I love a meal where you get the filling factor of carbs, hearty and flavorful meat, plus veggies all in one dish. It makes cooking and clean up super simple and I'm happy as mom because everyone gets some veggies with each scoop.
Budget-friendly
American goulash is a cheap and easy family dinner.
One of the reasons this recipe became so popular back in the day is that it's really affordable to make a big batch of this filling dish.
American Goulash is a great dinner option for feeding big families, house guests, growing children and teens, or for making extras to have lunch to take to work for the week.
Kid-friendly
Made with ground beef, it's hearty yet affordable and is typically well-liked even among picky eaters.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Traditionally, and with this recipes, here's what you'll find in American Goulash:
- Elbow macaroni. This classic pasta shape works well with this dish because the sauce and bits of meat get trapped inside the noodles in the best way making for perfect bites! However, if you want to use a different shape of pasta, by all means, you can.
- Ground beef. This is a great "Hamburger Helper" style recipe that's almost as easy as just adding some beef to a box. We are just incorporating some more freshness and texture vs. the boxed dinner with onion, mixed vegetables and tomatoes.
- Bell peppers. To me, the peppers are what really makes goulash goulash. Bell peppers add a subtle sweetness and depth of flavor that sets this dish apart from the more familiar spaghetti dinner.
- Onion and garlic. This tasty duo layers flavor into the sauce and compliments the ground beef nicely.
- Tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. You get lots of sauce but also a little but of a chunky texture when you combine these two to form the base for the sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce. This is almost like a secret weapon for literally beefing up the flavor of this dish. It's subtle but if you've been making Goulash without Worcestershire sauce and feel like it's been missing something, this just might be what's missing!
- A tablespoon of sugar. Because that's what grandma did and that's because it perfectly balances out the acidic tomatoes and peppers. Another subtle but secret weapon!
- Olive oil. I like to add a splash of olive oil to enrich the sauce. It seems insignificant but it really makes a difference in adding flavor and a silky smooth texture to the finished dish.
Did you know,scientifically speaking, adding a small amount of fat to a dish makes things taste much more flavorful because the fat actually helps the flavor stick to your tongue longer. How fun is that?
Optional Ingredients
- Black olives are an excellent topping for this dish, adding some saltiness and texture to each bite. Add as a topping to your finished dish or stir them in at the end of the cooking process if you want to heat them up a little.
- You could also add chopped artichokes, fresh or dried Italian herbs and/or Parmesan cheese. Add these as toppings when serving.
- Ideally, you'll want to let the olives and artichokes get to room temperature before adding as toppings.
- Bay leaves also add a layer of extra flavor. Add 2-3 bay leaves when you saute the meat and veggies. You can leave them in the sauce as it cooks. They are edible but you don't want to actually eat them as they are tough. So when serving, just pull them out if you accidentally scoop them onto your plate.
- Extra beefy flavor: add a teaspoon of beef bullion to your meat when cooking to boost the beef flavor.
- Thin the sauce: Add ½ cup of beef broth to thin the sauce.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This American Goulash Recipe is an easy ground beef dinner comes together in just a few steps and with just one pot!
- Boil the elbow macaroni according to package then drain and set aside.
- Cook ground beef, onion, garlic and bell peppers in the same pot.
- Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and salt.
- Return cooked pasta to pot and stir to combine.
Serve and add any optional toppings, as desired!
Quick and easy!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
American Goulash features ground beef and elbow noodles. It's more of a pasta dish. Whereas Hungarian Goulash is more of a soup made with chunks of beef and can incorporate potatoes and other vegetables.
This is a recipe for American Goulash which is quite a bit different than Hungarian goulash. If you're looking for Hungarian Goulash, check out this recipe by Spend with Pennies.
Different parts of the United States started calling this dish Goulash. It's popular where we live in the midwest and northeastern, particularly Pennsylvania and Ohio.
To further confuse things, some call this dish American Chop Suey.
Did you grow up eating American Goulash for dinner? Comment below with where you're from and what you called this dish growing up.
There are two main tweaks that will make this dish a little healthier.
Try substituting some or all of the ground beef with ground turkey which contains less fat. You can also choose a lean ground beef to reduce the fat this dish.
Try a protein or plant-based pasta. This will reduce carbs and add protein and/or vitamins.
I always say, go with what you have. This recipe works well with crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup or V8 + tomato paste. A combination of these would also work.
Try different kinds to vary the flavor a bit if you make this often. Experiment and find what you and your family like best. As long as you're working with a tomato-based sauce, you can't go wrong. Tomato paste can be used to thicken any sauce you find too thin.
Yes, this is a one-pot recipe. I do prefer to cook the macaroni noodles separately, drain, then combine the pasta with the meat and sauce. This allows better control over cooking the macaroni just right and you can drain away flavorless water.
However, you can cook the pasta right in the sauce if you add water. You'll end up with a thinner sauce since you'll need to add 1 and ½ cups of water in addition to the tomato sauce. Most of the water will get absorbed by the pasta but if you find your sauce is too watery, then you can add tomato paste to thicken it. If you find it too watery tasting, then try adding some beef bullion powder or Worcestershire sauce until it tastes just right. You may need additional salt as well.
So, up to you how you want to tackle cooking this. Some will argue that traditional goulash is all cooked in one pot and that is what makes it different than spaghetti. To me, the flavor is what sets it apart. Specifically the bell peppers and onions are what give this dish its unique taste, apart from spaghetti. I say, there is no right or wrong here. Go with what works for you!
If you're planning to cook everything in one pot, I'd recommend using a dutch oven. Cook the ground beef, peppers, onions and garlic first, then add the sauce, water and macaroni noodles. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until pasta is fully cooked.
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Leftover goulash stores well for 3-5 days refrigerated in an air tight container.
Yes. Goulash is freezer-friendly so you can make a bunch and freeze half for later. Or share with friends and family. Goulash makes a great make-ahead meal for new moms, sick friends, and new neighbors.
Store in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 4-6 months.
To reheat from frozen: Cover with foil and bake at 350˚ for about an hour and 15 minutes or until center is nice and hot. You can also defrost this casserole first and just bake for about 45 mins.
★ More Beef Dinner Recipes ★
Browse all my easy beef dinner recipes.
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This easy recipe for Old Fashioned Ground Beef Goulash was featured on South Your Mouth and Menu Plan Monday.
American Goulash
Equipment
Ingredients
Pasta
- 8 oz elbow pasta
Beef and Vegetables
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 bell pepper any color, seeded and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
Sauce
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 14.5 oz petite diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes for smoother sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Optional Toppings
- grated Parmesan cheese
- red pepper flakes
- Italian spices
- olives
- artichokes
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Instructions
- Cook pasta. In a dutch oven, cook elbow macaroni according to package, drain and set aside.
- Cook beef with vegetables. Set the dutch oven to medium-high heat and add ground beef, diced bell peppers and onion. Cook until ground beef is brown and peppers and onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic paste and cook for an additional minute.
- Make sauce. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, sugar and salt to taste.
- Combine. Add cooked pasta to sauce and stir to combine.
- Add toppings. (Optional) Offer Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, Italian spices, olives and/or artichokes as optional toppings.
Debi says
What really goes with this dish is to add diced green chilies 😋😋. It gives it a little kick, and I use mild but you can use to your preference 🙂
Angela G. says
Green chilies would be a great addition. Thanks for sharing!
Nancy says
My grandmother made this ..sooo good.she called it ..slum gully. Cleveland Ohio ...couldn't Believe I came across this dish as I was reading around.
Angela G. says
Hi Nancy, Slum Gully! Now that's a fun name. It's wild to me that this dish goes by so many different names! Thank for sharing!
Rick says
Do you drain the grease from the hamburger before going further with this recipe?
Angela G. says
Hi Rick, You may want to drain the meat if you're starting with a fatty blend of ground beef like 80/20. It's up to you. Draining away extra fat will lower the calories. You could also start with a more lean blend of ground beef and skip the step of draining. Hope this helps!
Linda says
I grew up in Michigan to a Connecticut Yankee and born and raised Kentucky mother.
We called it goulash. Growing up I had no idea that there was a Hungarian goulash. Everyone that I knew made this dish and called it goulash.
No matter what you call it I call it delicious!
This is my list of ingredients:
Ground beef
Elbow macaroni
Tomato sauce
Fire roasted diced tomatoes
Onion
Green pepper
Katchup
Chili sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Onion and garlic powder
Black pepper
Angela G. says
Hi Linda, thanks for sharing! Using fire-roasted tomatoes is a great way to add more flavor to this dish! And chili sauce sounds yummy as well.
Art says
@Linda, my mother also added ketchup.
Brian says
Please stop posting this and calling it traditional goulash. It is not. Goulash is Hungarian and does not look like this and has other ingredients most notably it must have Hungarian paprika. Call this what it is. American Chop Suey.
Angela G. says
Brian, People call this dish by different names depending on where they live. In Pennsylvania, people call it goulash. However, it's an American version that's very different than the Hungarian stew. Some people do call this American Chop Suey in other parts of the U.S. as noted in my post and in comments from others.
maxi says
@Brian, absolutely agree!! I grew up on this stuff. I'm 75 ....
Paul J. Roman says
@Angela G., we called it American goulash
Angela G. says
We always called it "goulash". It's American goulash.
Jacquie says
@Brian, My mother always called it American Goulash...Not Hungarian goulash. I am 71 and that is what I've always called it.
Rebecca says
@Brian, my grandmother was Hungarian and she called this exact dish goulash. And it is different than her Hungarian goulash. Never did she call this chop suey.
Susan Elizabeth says
@Brian, they call it goulash, we call it gulyas! They should try our gulyas. Simple ingredients and delicious. My m-i-l called it slubguillion.
Barbara says
Slumgullion was our name for it, too. No green peppers, but diced crisp bacon. And sometimes without the hamburger…just bacon and tomatoes and seasonings! An absolute DREAM of a memory! I actually liked it better without the hamburger! And some cheese, of course since we were poor and received some government food subsidies from time to time, which back then always meant dairy, including a block of cheddar AND, believe it or not, REAL BUTTER! Plus milk, of course! Our Polish household grew strong on mom’s slumgullion! Never knew anyone else called it that!
A sweet trip down our memory lane!! Many thanks!
Sharon says
I never have actually followed a recipe to make goulash but I followed yours tonight. I added fresh Italian parsley and fresh basil from my garden. We enjoyed it! Thank you
Angela G. says
Sharon, sounds yummy! Glad you enjoyed it.
Randy Sauser says
I cube up Velveeta cheese to it
Angela G. says
Sounds yummy.
Sarah Sauls says
I just love this recipe.., when my children were small I made it a lot.
Sarah Sauls says
Love this recipe,
Tamme Newton says
@Sarah Sauls, after searching for weeks for a Goulash recipe, settled on this one. It’s simple and my Dad always made a simple pot of Goulash, us kids loved it! Somehow, just reading your recipe and story I felt this was the one!! I’m making it tonight!!!
Sheryl says
I’m from Massachusetts, and when my mom made this it was called “American Chop Suey“
Angela G. says
I’ve heard it called American Chop Suey too. So interesting to hear what different parts of the country call this dish. Thanks for sharing!
Kathy says
80% lean hamberg, green pepper & onion.pour over casserole elbows and then a large can of whole tomatoes.salt only for day 1. Very simple but very good.
Kathy says
I use whole tomatoes and casserole elbows. Day 2 i may add hot red cherry peppers and some of the juice to spice it up.
Angela G. says
Sounds yummy! I like the idea of spicing things up with hot red cherry peppers.
Glenda Newton says
This is how I make mine except I put 1 can of mild Rotella. If you want it spicy use hot rotel.
Angela G. says
Hi Glenda, Rotel would be a great way to give this dish a little heat. Great idea.
Sandra says
I grew up
Eating this and I and my family love it
Patricia says
I absolutely loved this recipe. I’m not someone who likes very spicy food so this was the right amount of flavor for me. I didn’t use the garlic or other optional ingredients & my family really liked it.
Angela G. says
Hi Patricia, I’m so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this recipe!