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, pasta, and lotsa flavor!
Old Fashioned American Goulash
This American Goulash recipe has been in my family for 4 generations! Goulash has variations in many cultures, but they all center around bringing families together.
My grandmother’s sacred recipe ticks all the must-have boxes for “hug-in-a-bowl” pasta recipes: thick tomato sauce, zesty garlic, rich herbs, and as much cheese as I can stand.
My American goulash with ground beef is easy and quick to make and — best of all — it’s a one-pot recipe. You can have my grandmother’s goulash with minimal clean-up. If that isn’t comforting, I don’t know what is.
For a quicker version try my instant pot goulash. Want a chunkier style, you’ll love my beef goulash. If you’re more in the mood for soup, try my goulash soup! Looking for a traditional version, my Hungarian goulash is the authentic real deal!
Best American Goulash Recipe Video Tutorial
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What is American Goulash
An original American dish of beef, pasta cooked in a rich tomato sauce.
American Goulash vs Hungarian Goulash:
These two dishes are entirely different! Hungarian goulash is more like a thick rich stew with chunks of meat and a tomato broth seasoned with paprika. American goulash is generally made with ground beef, elbow pasta, and doesn’t have much if any paprika.
Important Ingredient 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!
Tips + Tricks
Storing/Freezing Tips, Serving Recommendations
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? An airtight container in the fridge is the way to go if you’re planning to finish off this pasta recipe in one to two days — but if you’re wanting to store it longer, you’ll want to transfer it to the freezer.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! Well, sort of. Pasta is notoriously fickle in the freezer (say that five times fast), as the water content in the noodles can do funky things to the quality. And if you store the sauce on top of the pasta, the noodles will continue to absorb the liquid, making them softer and softer over time.
- After freezing and thawing, this American goulash recipe will be a bit mushy, but that’s one of the beautiful things about comfort food — a little mushiness doesn’t stop it from tasting delicious! But if you only enjoy firm al dente pasta, it’s best to only freeze the sauce, and make the pasta fresh when you’re planning to indulge again.
- As for the American goulash sauce, you can freeze that for up to four months!
- Make-Ahead Tips: Thankfully, this recipe is very “make-ahead” friendly. Generally what I do is follow the recipe through step #3. Then I let the mixture cool to room temperature, place in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- When it’s time to serve, I bring the tomato-beef mixture to a simmer and continue on with the recipe at step #4 below.
Serving Recommendations
Serve this one pot American beef goulash is great to serve with a simple salad, southern cornbread, or my favorite crescent rolls.
Variations, Substitutes, + Additions
- 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!
Can I Make This In Crockpot?
To transition this to Crockpot, brown the meat first in a skillet. Transfer to the Crockpot, add the sauce ingredients, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
Add the pasta, set the crockpot to high, cover, and continue to cook until pasta is just tender.
Commonly Asked Questions
Can you make it with other meats? Yes! This is wonderful made with ground turkey. For an Italian spin, try Italian sausage!
Can the noodles be cooked separately? Yes, but when they’re cooked directly in the beefy tomato sauce they absorb a lot more flavor. Some people like to cook the noodles separately and store them separately so they don’t get too soft.
What is another name for American goulash? This dish goes by many names often depending on what region of the country you come from. Slumgullion, Johnny Marzetti casserole, of just plain goulash are among some of the names.
Difference between American Goulash and American Chop Suey: They’re the same dish with different names. When I got married, I was given my husband’s delicious family recipe for American chop suey. In our house now both are in our regular dinner rotation.
Step By Step How To Make
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Brown the meat breaking up as it cooks into small pieces. Continue to cook until the meat is cooked through and there’s no longer any pink.
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Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent.
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Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaves, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Boil, cover, and simmer.
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Stir in the pasta, cover, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until the pasta is tender about 25 minutes. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves.
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To serve, ladle into individual bowls and top with cheddar.
More Meaty Pasta Recipes
If you make this authentic American goulash recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
American Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Ground Beef 80/20
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 large cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups water
- 2 (15-ounce) canned tomato sauce
- 2 (14.5-ounce) canned 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)
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).
Fans Also Made:
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
Absolutely love this recipe! It’s my fall/winter go to. Tonight I enjoyed cooking and eating it with my four year old son, one year old daughter(almost 2) and hubby. Everyone loves it and now we have leftovers for another meal. Thank you!
Hi, Lauren! That’s fantastic, I’m so happy it was a hit for your family! Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
A great goulash recipe. Followed it as written but added green pepper for I enjoy the flavor.
Was hesitant cooking the pasta in the sauce, but happy I did for the pasta absorbed the flavors of the sauce.
Putting this recipe in my “Keeper File” for it is delicious.
Hi, Nancy! Thank you so much for your positive feedback 🙂 Yes, we’re used to cooking the pasta separately.
You have the Best Recipes of all time ….
Been following you for awhile.
Gillman
Thank you, Gilman! You made my day!!
28Jul22: I made half of this recipe and it easily serves 3-4 ppl.
Made per recipe and it’s so, so tasty.
I’m making a full recipe for new neighbors!
Definitely add this to your dinner rotation.
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Kay! I’m glad it was a hit. Enjoy this goulash with your neighbors! 🙂
This is my go to recipe! Thanks for sharing it! p.s. I gave a pot on the stove right now. 😊
Hi, Melissa! I’m so happy you like this goulash. Thank you for your positive review 🙂
Can I make this in the crockpot? I’ve made it before and it’s delicious! I want it to be ready I get home though.
Hi, Laura. To transition this to Crockpot, brown the meat first in a skillet. Transfer to the Crockpot, add the sauce ingredients, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Add the pasta, set the crockpot to high, cover, and continue to cook until pasta is just tender.
This is a favorite in our house! I grew up eating goulash, but it was essentially noodles, beef, onion and jarred marinara sauce. I LOVE the different flavors of this dish and the leftovers are just as delicious! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your positive review, Jen! 🙂
Good overall recipe but I will cut the salt in half next time. A tablespoon of seasoned salt and the three tablespoons of soy sauce resulted in too much salt flavor. I love the concept of cooking the elbows in the goulash.
So glad you enjoyed, John! 🙂