This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This classic American Goulash is easy, home-style, comfort food! Made in one pot, it’s the original one-pot meal. Perfect for feeding a crowd or a hungry family. Loaded with beef, pasta, and lotsa of flavor!
Old-Fashioned American Goulash
This 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.
For a quicker version, try my instant pot goulash. Want a chunkier style? You’ll love my beef goulash. Or, for an Eastern European version, German goulash is authentically delish!
If you’re looking for more easy, comforting meals like this, be sure to check out my full collection of ground beef recipes for even more family-friendly dinner ideas.
What is American Goulash
An original American dish of ground beef, pasta cooked in a rich tomato sauce, all in one pot. This has been served on American family dinner tables for 5-6 generations. This is wholesome, hearty, and American food at its best!!
American Goulash vs Hungarian Goulash:
These two dishes are entirely different! Hungarian goulash is an eastern European version of goulash that’s 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.
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.
American Goulash Ingredients
- Ground Beef: I use 80/20 ground beef.
- Olive Oil: We don’t add any oil to our recipe. We don’t drain the beef, but rather use the dripping to saute the onions and garlic.
- Onion: You can use a yellow or white onion. I most often use yellow onion.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic only!
- Canned Tomato Sauce:
- Canned Diced Tomatoes:
- Soy Sauce: We use soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce in our recipe.
- Dried Oregano: When you read the ingredients, you’ll notice we use a lot of oregano. No, it’s not a typo; that’s how we’ve made it for decades. If you’re concerned about the amount, start with half and add more if you’d like.
- Dried Basil: Adds a nice herbal sweetness.
- Bay Leaves: Adds subtle, aromatic flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: This is our foundational seasoning. We use table salt and fresh ground black pepper.
- Macaroni Noodles: I use elbow pasta. I like Barilla brand pasta. Ditalini is a great substitute for elbow pasta.
- Cheddar: We like sharp cheddar cheese. Feel free to use your favorite cheese.
American Goulash Recipe 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, use fresh herbs; but if you want a mellow, warm, and cozy build of flavor, use dried herbs. What makes this dish stand out from others is 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’s 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!
- We Use Water: Feel free to switch with beef broth. I think originally, my family was too poor, so we used water!
- Bell Pepper: Many recipes include bell peppers. My family didn’t use them in our goulash but I think this dish would be delicious with them included.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Refrigerator? An airtight container in the fridge is the way to go if you’re planning to finish this pasta recipe within one to two days. If you want to store it longer, you’ll need to transfer it to the freezer.
- Reheat Leftovers: In the microwave, covered with a damp paper towel. You may need to add some liquid to the leftovers, like chicken broth or beef broth.
- 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 affect its quality in unusual ways. And if you store the sauce on top of the pasta, the noodles will continue to absorb the liquid, becoming softer over time, and after you thaw them.
- 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 freeze only 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 it in an airtight container, and refrigerate.
- When it’s time to serve, I bring the tomato-beef mixture to a simmer and continue with the recipe in step #4 below.
Serving Recommendations
Serve this one pot American beef goulash with something fresh and crunchy like KFC coleslaw, broccoli salad, strawberry spinach salad, or carrot salad.
Of course, in my family there always needs to be a side of bread like authentic southern cornbread, or sweet Bisquick cornbread, my favorite crescent rolls, butter swim biscuits, cat head biscuits, or my quick and easy Bisquick biscuits.
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 makes this an even hardier dish and stretches 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?
If you’d like to make this in the crockpot, check out my crockpot goulash. Basically, the difference in this recipe and my crockpot version is the means of cooking and the amount of liquid used.
Commonly Asked Questions
- Can you make it with other meats? Yes! This is wonderfully 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, in a casserole version, try my Johnny Marzetti casserole, which is essentially a casserole version of this recipe, of just plain goulash are among some of the names.
How To Make American Goulash
-
In a Dutch oven, brown the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks into small pieces. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.
-
Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
-
Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, oregano, basil, bay leaves, seasoned salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, over medium-high heat, cover, and simmer.
-
Stir in the pasta, cover, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard bay leaves.
-
To serve, ladle into individual bowls and top with cheddar.
*****See full instructions below.
More Comforting Goulash And Stew
- Goulash Soup
- Meatball Stew
- Classic Beef Stew
- Cowboy Stew
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Pork Stew
- Chicken Stew
- Hamburger Stew
- Guinness Beef Stew
- Brunswick Stew
Tried This Recipe?
💌 Free recipe inspiration is just a click away! Sign up for my FREE newsletter so you never miss a cozy family favorite.
If you tried this American Goulash, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and share your kitchen creation with me on Instagram by tagging @gonna_want_seconds.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today — happy cooking, friends! ❤️ Kathleen
American Goulash
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)
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
On your phone? Check the web story here.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Trackbacks
-
[…] American goulash. A “newish” recipe that sounds exactly like the stuff I remember devouring from childhood. […]
Made this quite a few times now after finding the recipe on Pinterest. Delicious! Thnk you for sharing.
I’m making this as I type, it’s almost finished minus the letting it sit overnight. I kept messing up, but let’s hope it turns out anyway. However it tastes, my kitchen smells delicious!
This is my favorite comfort food of ALL time. My Mom would boil the onions in the water until soft, them crumble in the hamburger meat into the boiling water. Then she would “skim” off the foam (like you do with chicken stock). Then she would add all the tomatoes and sauces. She also added a teaspoon or two of bacon grease. If you are from the South, this makes perfect sense! Add the elbow macaroni and enjoy with saltine crackers. Ahh! The taste of home!
This was great (American Goulash)
So excited to taste this tomorrow as I drool watching it simmer right now! I used paste converted to sauce and diced tomatoes in Italian Seasoning, both bought on accident, but it smells soooo yummy! Comfort food for chilly January MN weather!
I wish I had a big pot of this waiting for me!!! Hope you enjoy 🙂
I love that your recipes come from your granma and your mom. We make a version of goulash at the deli I work at. In addition to bell pepper, we used Spicey V-8 for the tomato sauce. People love it, but I prefer the old standard. Thanks.
So glad I saw this (Pinterest!)! My mom always made “Goulash” for us growing up. It was a recipe she learned from her mom and we never knew anyone else who made it like this instead of the traditional Hungarian way. Our version is slightly different, though: ground beef, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomato PASTE, water, basil, oregano and shells instead of elbows. And it’s a sacred recipe in our family, too. So simple and so good! Nice to know we’re not alone anymore. 🙂
Hi I’m actually making this for dinner but after I read your comment about it being better overnight I think I’m going to do that. Do you have a particular time frame as far as leaving in the fridge overnight. I know I will have to let it cool before I put it in the fridge. Or do you think it’s possible that I could make it this morning and Stick it in the fridge and have it for dinner tonight. Either way I can’t wait to see how this turns out. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Amy. Ultimately, I think it’s better overnight when you have the time. It’s totally possible to make it the morning of, but the overnight in the fridge really does something extra for it. When you make it the day before it also becomes a little thicker because the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. If you want you can always add a little water or low sodium beef broth to loosen it up a bit. Low sodium is a must in this case. You really can’t go wrong with this dish! I hope you enjoy it!!!
what if i dont have a dutch oven?
You really just need a large, heavy bottom pan that will accommodate all the ingredients together while they simmer. 🙂
In the blog before the recipe you talk about cheese. I see nothing about cheese in the ingredient list or the instructions. Am I missing something?
Hey Mimi. Some people add grated cheese to the top of their hot goulash. You can use any you like. My son likes it with cheddar. I like just plain. 🙂
wow! My mom used to make a goulash for us when I was little. She passed away when I was 18 and I never learned how she made it, but I remember how it tasted. Over the years I tried to replicate it but always fell short. I believe this recipe could be it! I cannot wait to try it! I will be making it this weekend. Thanks!
I hope it comes close! Let me know 🙂
my grandmother made this, and of course she never wrote down a recipe. It was one of my favorite things that she made. I do remember that hers also had kidney beans in it. I can’t wait to try it!!!
This is the best American Chop Suey I have ever had. So amazing. I halved the recipe but I will be doing the full recipe next time. Oh my god thank you so much for doing this
Hey Angelica! Thanks for such wonderful feedback. You made my day!!! 🙂
My mother used to add a little sugar as her secret ingredient! She was a very good cook and her Banana Bread recipe made it into a cook book!
Hi Carrie! That makes a ton of sense. I often add a pinch or more of sugar to recipes that call for canned tomatoes to cut their acidity. Funny it never occurred to me in this recipe!
Kathleen
My Grandma made this and she would add a ill bit of sugar as well. I have never heard of anyone else doing that until now. I think it’s great! 🙂
I always add sugar to mine as well!
I made this thinking I could freeze some since it makes such a large batch. Oh no, my ‘non-leftover eating’ family ate it all in 2 sittings! Good stuff!!
Hi Julie! Thanks so much for sharing that with me. I’m so happy you liked it! I would freeze the casserole unbaked. I would try and put the casserole in the refrigerator the day before I wanted to serve it the let it sit on the counter at least an hour and bake it. Honestly, not sure how long it will take in the oven. It really will depend on how thawed it is when you put it in the oven. Hope that helps. Sorry I don’t know exactly. I’ll try it soon and let you know 🙂
Kathleen
Make this often..We love it great
Thanks for sharing Patti. We have it often too 🙂
Can you make this in crockpot, letting cook on low for the afternoon? Looking to serve w/garlic bread & tossed salad for a group, but doesn’t say how many servings?
I haven’t done it that way but I bet it could work out well. I’d first brown the meat and then the onion and garlic then add them to the crock pot. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the pasta for a few hours so all the flavors mingle then add the pasta to cook. This recipe easily feeds 8. I’m assuming there will be other food so i’d guess 10-12 would be more acurrate, obviously depending on the bowl size. Hope it works out well for you. Let me know!
Kathleen
I would be afraid that the macaroni would get soggy and split if it cooked that long!
Hey Dp Girl, ironically my pasta doesn’t split but it does indeed become very soft. Please skip this step if you prefer a more al dente style pasta. I’m just sharing how my family enjoys this 🙂 And yes potatoes sound great!!!
I have made this since college. I always cook the macaroni a couple minutes short of being ‘fully cooked’. Then add it to the finished goulash.
Great idea Maureen!
This recipe turned out amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
So glad you liked it!
I was wondering if you drain the grease from the meat before adding the tomato sauce and other ingredients?
Hi Sara, No I don’t. Feel free to customize the recipe to suit you. It would still be delicious as a lower fat version. You just have to be watchful because you add the veggies and they either need some fat or liquid so they don’t stick, or worse yet, burn. If I was going lower fat I’d cook the meat with a bit of nonstick spray then remove them it a plate when cooked. Then I’d cook the veggies in a little more cooking spray then add a bit of beef broth to prevent sticking as they cook. This is also great with ground turkey!
I always do.
My mom always put some bacon in. Yummy!
My grandma used a bit of bacon, as well. Yummers!
My mom did too
Bacon and cheddar cheese
She cooked the macaroni too.
No bay leaves or soy sauce.
I’m gonna try your way though. Mom didn’t spice or use a lot of herbs.
But hers is good too.
I forgot she would also chop a green pepper!
Sorry
My grandma always added Green bell Pepper as well along with corn & peas. AWESOME>
Instead of using the tomato sauce I use spicy V-8. Just gives it a sight kick because my wife can’t do anything to spicy.
Hi Ricky, the V-8 sounds like an interesting version!
Hi Kathleen,
I’m making your goulash for the first time for Christmas Eve tomorrow night. Got a question for you. The recipe calls for two cans of tomato sauce. Is that 15 ounces total or 15 ounces per can?
Hi Diane. It’s 15 ounces each, total 30 ounces total 🙂
Great recipe, I am sick and my 12 yr. old daughter made this for me tonight!!!! Love it
I am making this at the moment. It smells so awesome in my house! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My Mom used to make this for us when I was a child and I loved it. Before she passed away, I asked her for the recipe but she couldn’t remember because she had demitia. I really think that this recipe is just like hers, or at least very close. Thank you again! 🙂
I just made this for lunch… and it is amazing!! I just couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Thank you so much for the recipe.
OMG! I thought my mother invented this dish!! Too funny! We didn’t have alot of money and this was always a welcomed dish!
Yeah , Me to. I thought my Dad invented this and made the name up. Lol
You are SO lucky to have such a wonderful
tween! And I bet she was proud to serve you her American Goulash! Nurture her interest in cooking; she may one day have a blog of her own. 🙂
Of the many I have tried this one with longer cooking is sure to create a more refined flavor.
A similar dish my kids make is called Cheeseburger Mac. It is quick to make with what you have on hand and great for young people in first apartments or college I always give it to college kids with a note saying skip Hamburger Helper; this is much better and less expensive!