Our easy Goulash recipe is one of those yummy, budget-friendly dinners that saves the day on busy weeknights (time and time again).
It is packed with seasoned ground beef, macaroni, and a rich tomato sauce that tastes like it simmered all day, even though it comes together fast. Although the recipe originated in Hungary, we’ve added our American twist, and have been making this since we were kids.
What we love most about this soup or stew recipe is how simple it is while still being totally comforting. Everything cooks in one skillet, the flavors are kid-friendly, and it makes a big batch that is perfect for leftovers.
Serve this American goulash recipe with some Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots and some Roasted Vegetables for a great Sunday dinner idea.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- A simple dinner. This one pot meal is very easy and is one of our go-to beef dinner ideas. One pot makes for easy clean up!
- Easy to change up. Add the cheese, leave out the cheese, add extra veggies, or even change the noodles. This recipe is very versatile.
- Can be made in the slow cooker too! Just follow the directions below to make it in the crockpot.
Goulash Ingredients
- Ground beef (2 pounds, 80/20): Provides rich, hearty flavor. Use lean ground beef or one with higher fat content. Drain any excess grease that is produced. Replace half the ground beef with 1 pound of Italian sausage or completely substitute the beef for ground turkey or chicken.
- Minced garlic (3 teaspoons): Adds savory depth. See How to Mince Garlic.
- Water or beef broth (3 cups): Creates the cooking liquid and sauce base. Beef broth can be used instead of water for extra flavor. Increase the amount of broth to make this dish more “soupy” like the Hungarian goulash.
- Tomato sauce (2 cans, 15 ounce): Forms the rich tomato base.
- Diced tomatoes (2 cans, 14.5 ounce): Adds texture and extra tomato flavor.
- Soy sauce (3 tablespoons): Boosts savory depth and umami.
- Italian seasoning (2 tablespoons): Adds herb flavor.
- Seasoned salt (1 teaspoon): Enhances and balances the flavors. Add red pepper flakes for spice.
- Bay leaves (3): Adds subtle aromatic flavor while simmering.
- Elbow macaroni or other pasta (2 cups): Cooks directly in the sauce and makes the dish hearty. Macaroni noodles are a classic, but any similarly sized pasta will work such as shell pasta, penne, ditalini, or fusilli.
- Shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup, optional): Adds creamy, melty goodness on top. Or shredded mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, or omit.
- Optional veggies: Peas, red bell peppers, spinach, onion, green beans, or carrots (add more tender vegetables toward the end)
How to Make Goulash
MEAT. Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked, then drain. Add garlic and cook for about 5 minutes.
SAUCE. Add water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, and seasoned salt.
Stir this well; cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
PASTA. Add uncooked elbow macaroni to the skillet, stir well, then replace the lid and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
CHEESE. Once the 15-20 minutes are up and the noodles are all cooked, turn off the heat and remove the bay leaves. Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese right before serving, making this easy goulash recipe even more irresistible.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Drain excess grease to avoid a heavy, greasy sauce.
- Stir occasionally while simmering so the pasta does not stick or burn.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.
- Add a splash of broth if the pasta absorbs too much liquid.
- When serving, we love to top our individual bowls with a little extra cheddar cheese (each to our liking), for a little extra cheesy goodness.
- Crock pot directions: Sauté the ground beef in a skillet until cooked. Drain excess fat and add garlic. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Put the sautéed meat in the crock pot along with the remaining ingredients. Save noodles to add during the last 1 hour of cooking. Cook on HIGH heat for 3-4 hours or on LOW heat for 7-8 hours.
Best Goulash Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef, 80 percent lean/20 percent fat
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 cups water, or beef broth
- 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups elbow macaroni, or penne or shell pasta
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional topping
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté ground beef until cooked, 8-10 minutes, then drain off excess fat.
- Add garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt and bay leaves. Stir, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Add macaroni to the skillet, stir well and cover. SImmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves, and cheese right before serving.
Notes
- Drain excess grease to avoid a heavy, greasy sauce.
- Stir occasionally while simmering so the pasta does not stick or burn.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.
- Add a splash of broth if the pasta absorbs too much liquid.
- When serving, we love to top our individual bowls with a little extra cheddar cheese (each to our liking), for a little extra cheesy goodness.
- Crock pot directions: Sauté the ground beef in a skillet until cooked. Drain excess fat and add garlic. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Put the sautéed meat in the crock pot along with the remaining ingredients. Save noodles to add during the last 1 hour of cooking. Cook on HIGH heat for 3-4 hours or on LOW heat for 7-8 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Brown the ground beef, drain, and cool. Add the ground beef and other ingredients to a freezer Ziploc and freeze for 3-4 months. (Save the noodles and cheese to add later). Thaw and heat on the stove adding the noodles during the last 30 minutes. Top with cheese.
Place leftovers in an airtight container(s) in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
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This recipe was first shared April, 2017.
Going to try the goulash.
Let me know what you think 🙂
Cute, going ti make gor my grandaughter.
Great Recipe ! Easy to make. Delicious and filling.
Awe, thanks so much!! Love to hear that!
It’s a good recipe but you should boil the noodles first.
You can, but don’t really need to. They get well cooked 🙂
Yeah,but I like mine aldente and this might tend to overlook.
Apologies I was a bit harsh with that review. Okay so I think that you should consider instead of using beef, using lamb. Get some nice cuts of lamb – lean, cut it up into 1 inch cubes, cover the lamb in sweet paprika, and use red wine to help it stick to the chunks. Flash fry the lamb in a hot skillet so that it just burns slightly around the outside of the lamb but is very rare inside the chunks.
In terms of herbs, hungarian goulash will be using paprika. Unfortunately Hungarians have 3-4 different types of paprika none of which we can get here in Britain. You have to do the best you can and try and get sweet, the smoked paprikas are a little more tricky to work with. Along with the paprika hungarians will add caraway seed and this will add a coolness – almost mintiness to the flavour.
They will then take the flash fried lamb add loads of herbs and spices, along with fresh tomatos, a little cumin, salt, pepper, potatos, mushrooms and various other things, and add it to a slow cooker, they’ll probably add red wine into the slow cooker, adding too much liquid will dilute the taste, they may add stock – vegetable stock is fine, and rather than using onions, they would probably use leeks. Then they would slow cook the goulash for somewhere between 2 and 6 hours. Sometimes longer.
Hi, this looks delicious but it’s kinda a ‘mac and beef’. It’s not gulas. I guess it’s ‘American gulas’ but that’s not gulas at all. There’s no paprika in it! Gulas is from Eastern Europe and definitely isn’t pasta. So, I’m curious where the name comes from. Is American Gulash actually a thing? Or is this just named by Americans who have never been to Europe and never had actual gulaš?
Hope that question isn’t annoying. I’m curious where this comes from.
Thanks.
Paul
(American who once lived in Eastern Europe as was looking for actual Czech gulaš recipes)
It is American Goulash. My mom was a gourmet cook, well aware of what Hungarian goulash was, but we ate this frequently growing up. It is known as a comfort food and was a quick fix when she was working and going to night school, and running a household.
Looks so yummy! I am gonna make this at home! Is it easy to make?
Wow…
It looks great and it sounds easy to make:-)
I have added it on my need to make list.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I used 1/2 yellow because ground beef dinners are always better with onion and I halved the recipe for two people with leftovers for lunch next day.
Simple and delicious easy cleanup.
Perfect! Halving is great for two! Thank you for trying it & I’m glad you liked it!
This is delicious. I made a batch and froze for lunches. Definitely going in my keep file! Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Love to hear that! Great idea & thank you so much!