American Goulash

This classic American Goulash is easy, home-style, comfort food! Made in one pot. Perfect for feeding a crowd or hungry family. Loaded with beef and pasta.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword beef recipes, dinner recipes, goulash recipes, ground beef recipes, macaroni recipes, pasta recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings People

Calories 392kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

2 pounds ground Beef 80/20
1 large yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic minced
3 cups water
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes juice included
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
2 cups cheddar shredded (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large pot, brown the meat (2 pounds) over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks into small pieces. Continue to cook until the meat is cooked through and there's no longer any pink.
Stir in the onions (1 large) and garlic (4 large cloves). Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent.
Stir in water (3 cups), tomato sauce (2 (15-ounce ) cans), diced tomatoes (2 (14.5-ounce) cans), soy sauce (3 tablespoons), oregano (2 tablespoons), basil (2 teaspoons), bay leaves (2), seasoned salt (1 tablespoon), and black pepper (1/2 teaspoon). Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the pasta (2 cups), cover, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until the pasta is tender about 25 minutes. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves. To serve, ladle into individual bowls and top with cheddar (2 cups).

Notes

Herbs (Oregano, Basil, Bay Leaves) - Don’t let dried herbs scare you off. If you want your dish to have a bright burst of flavor, you use fresh herbs; but if you want a mellow, warm-and-cozy build of flavor, you use dried herbs. What makes this dish stand out from others are the Mediterranean-inspired spices — the bay leaves, oregano, and basil. If you don’t have all of those, you can swap in 1-2 tablespoons of good ol’, reliable Italian seasoning.
Seasoned Salt - My grandma was a master of balancing flavors, and one trick she loved was using seasoned salt. Seasoned salt is a great multi-purpose flavor enhancer, and its versatility is endless! Sprinkle it on French fries, zest up roasted veggies, add a shake or two into sandwiches — it adds spices like paprika, turmeric, onion, and garlic, and even a sweet twist of sugar.
Cheddar Cheese - Shredded versus block cheese. I am a bit of a cheese purist. Those bags of pre-shredded cheese available at the grocery store may look tempting and may save time, but there’s something so much creamier about freshly shredded cheese. Obviously, there is NO judgment if you choose to use the pre-shredded cheese for convenience's sake! To take this goulash pasta recipe over the top,I generally buy a block of cheddar cheese and hand shred it. American goulash with cheese is totally irresistible!
Add Vegetables: this is great with a can of drained corn stirred in when you add the pasta.
Add Beans: A can of drained and rinsed kidney beans or black or pinto make this an even hardier dish and stretch the recipe to feed more people.
Keto-Friendly: You can substitute the pasta for angel hair shredded cabbage-like in the recipe Low Carb Goulash by Lindsey at The Little Pine. I’ve tried her recipe and it’s actually, really delicious!

Nutrition