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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
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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.
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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?
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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).
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
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This American Goulash recipe looks absolutely delicious! I love how it’s a one-pot meal, perfect for busy weeknights. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you! Yes, this goulash is made for busy days! 🙂
This American Goulash recipe looks amazing! I love how easy it is to make everything in one pot, and it’s the perfect comfort food for fall. Can’t wait to try it out with my family this weekend!
Hi! Thank you! Yaaay, let us know how it turns out. Happy weekend 🙂
My hubby and I like this dish. I’ve made it several times. It’s easy to pare down for smaller families although leftovers are wonderful if you make the full quantity. Tonight I had to use tomatoes with green chilies because that was all I had on hand. It was quite good if you like a little kick. Thanks for an awesome flavorful recipe.
Hey, Carmen! Yaaay! We’re happy you like this goulash, your version with green chilies sounds so perfect! Thanks for the positive feedback 🙂
This is the perfect goulash recipe. I only had 3/4 lb if beef on hand so I adjusted the other ingredients to 1/2 the amount. I liked being able to cook the macaroni in the pan with the beef instead of boiling it and dirtying up a saucepan. This recipe has great sauce, not too thick and not too watery. Will make again!
Yaaay! I’m so happy you like this goulash, Carmen 🙂 Love your version too! Thanks for the positive feedback and 5 star review 🙂
Grew up on American goulash. This is way better than me mum’s. She agrees. Thank you.
Wow, thank you so much. I’m so happy you and your mom loves this! I appreciate it 🙂
I haven’t made this yet, but it sounds like my sister’s, which is delicious. I would like to receive more recipes from you if there is no cost involved. Seniors often live on so little. I don’t subscribe to these sites, but your recipes sound so good and you are so kind in your answers. Thank you so much.
Hi, Janet! Thank you sooo much! I hope you’ll love this goulash as much as we do! Subscribing to our email list is free, would you like to?
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this recipe! I’ve been searching for a comforting, one-pot meal to warm up my family on chilly evenings, and this American Goulash fits the bill perfectly. The addition of the Tuscan seasoning is a game-changer – it adds such depth of flavor! I’m definitely making this again soon!
Yay! That’s awesome! Thank you so much for the feedback. I gotta try this with Tuscan seasoning next time 🙂
I am 75yo, retired merchant mariner residing in Costa Rica. When I was a child I knew most of the “Old Country” Bohemia (Czechoslovakia). My great Grandmother told me that Goulash is basically “put whatever you have and put it into the pot”. Here in Costa Rica some things like seasoned salt are hard to find, so I make do with whatever is on hand.
I use this recipe as a base, and it always works out.
What a yummy recipe! We made half a recipe as there are only two of us. Cut the salts a bit for my own health reasons, but otherwise followed the instructions. Perfectly balanced seasonings! Great for a California cold winter evening.
Thank you… This is going in my regular recipe file – a new favorite!!
Thanks, Marsha! I’m glad you like this. Yes, it’s perfect this weather! Stay warm 🙂
I make this recipe often and its a winner with the family. The only thing I change is subbing beef broth for the water. Its simmering on my stove right now!
So glad you enjoy this family favorite. Thanks for your comment <3
Hi Kathleen, hi everyone! Just wanted to share that I have made this recipe off/on for a couple of years now. I never change a thing. It’s exactly as described, “hug-in-a-bowl” yummy goodness. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Thank you so much too, Heather! 🙂
Make this all the time!! I just sub soy sauce for wosteshire sauce. I like the tangyness it gives!
Thanks, Heather! I’m glad you like this goulash 🙂
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.
Thank you today is the first time cook it but it look good
Hey, Cristeen! You’re awesome! We’re glad you like this goulash! Happy cooking 🙂
Thanks for the positive feedback and the 5 star rating 🙂
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! 🙂
My aunt made this but with a can of French onion soup and no cheese (which I added myself after the fact). Not my favorite food of all time, but it definitely reminds me of home.
Wow, that sounds delicious! Thanks, Rowi!