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American Goulash is my kind of comfort food! It’s rich, savory, and full of that cozy, tomato-y goodness. It’s hearty, easy to make, and one bite will have you hooked just like my family is!
A Reader’s Review
Perfect. Followed the recipe! Tasted better than my Mom’s! Thank you for sharing.
How This Goulash Stole My Heart (and Fork)
- One-pot: Everything cooks together in a single pot, which means less cleanup and more flavor as the pasta soaks up the rich, seasoned sauce.
- Family-friendly: Kids love it, but it’s also packed with hearty, comforting flavor that adults can feel good about!
- Freezer-friendly: Perfect for meal prep! Make a batch, freeze it, and enjoy the same rich flavor and texture!
How To Make American Goulash
Making this classic American goulash recipe couldn’t be easier. Cook the beef and onion, and then throw everything together and let it simmer. You’ll have time to make my 1-hour rolls and green goddess salad to have on the side.
- Brown the Meat: Add 2 pounds of ground beef to a large stockpot over medium high heat. Cook and brown the beef for 7-8 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and drain, leaving about 1-2 tablespoons of grease in the pot.
- Cook the Onion: Add diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Make Soup Base: Return the cooked beef to the pot. Add water, beef base, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add Noodles & Simmer: Stir in uncooked noodles. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom. Just before serving, stir in cheese. Garnish your goulash with fresh chopped Italian parsley on top before serving!
What’s the Difference Between Hungarian and American Goulash?
Hungarian goulash is a hearty stew loaded with meat, vegetables, and plenty of paprika. Hungarian sometimes uses dumplings or potatoes instead of pasta. American goulash skips the extra veggies (aside from the tomato based sauce) and goes all-in with macaroni noodles and cheese. You might also hear it called “American chop suey.”
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Classic American Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large diced onion
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon beef base or bouillon
- 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes (one petite diced)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups elbow macaroni noodles uncooked
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- fresh chopped Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add 1 large diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Return the cooked beef to the pot. Add 3 cups water, 1 tablespoon beef base, 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce, 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, 2 teaspoons paprika, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 3 bay leaves. Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in 2 cups elbow macaroni noodles. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom.
- Just before serving, stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Garnish with fresh chopped Italian parsley on top before serving!
Video
Notes
- Fridge: Store cooled goulash in an airtight container for 3–4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a labeled, airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: From fridge—warm on stove or microwave in 1–2 min intervals. From freezer—thaw overnight, then reheat on stove.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Hearty Soups to Try
When it gets cold outside, I love making a big pot of soup! It warms my soul as well as my heart! Here are some of my favorites!
It was awesome noodles got a little mushy. Should have taken it off @ 20 minutes. Flavor was great.
i brown onions along with the haburg and green and red peppers than i use couple jars of spaghetti sauce but i boil the acaroni buy itself
I have made this dish multiple times for my picky toddlers. They love it. Generally, I halve the recipe. It works just the same. Its really good with cheddar cheese sprinkled on top!!!
My husband usually makes goulash so I was a little panicky when I had to make it. This recipe was so good! My husband loved it and said it was better than his and trust me that is a compliment. He doesn’t usually like to change up his tried and true favorites. Looks like I’ll be making the goulash now! (Hmm what have I done lol!)
I used to Love my Dunkirk (NY) High School Cafeteria when “Goulash Americana” was on the menu, back in the 1965-’68 era…When “Goulash Americana” was on the lunch roster…I made sure i was IN School, that day,…..food makes fond memories…and the “Goulash Americana” sure made fond High School memories for me….I really wish i had that recipe..
Great….My tweeks….1. Drained the diced tomatoes. 2: used beef broth vs water and bullion 3. added a touch of hot sauce. I didn’t think the cheese really added to it. but it tasted like chili – next time I’ll skip the pasta – add beans – and make the ground beef a little chunkier. Oh and for you KETO folks – skip the pasta and at the end put it over zoodles (zoodles taste much better uncooked – and are more like pasta in consistancy)
That all sounds great! Thank you for sharing! I am so glad that you could make it your own! Thank you for sharing! XOXO
IS IT A SIN TO POUR THE GOULASH OVER RICE INSTEAD OF ADDING PASTA?
haha, the pasta is in the goulash. I haven’t tried it with rice yet. Let me know how it turns out.
You would need to omit the water if you don’t use the pasta. As it is, I cook the pasta separately and leave out the water because the pasta tends to get too mushy if you don’t take it off the heat at the exact right time. I also add bell peppers.
This was delicious, but it was SOUP. I followed the recipe exactly. I tried to cook it down to thicken it, but the pasta started to fall apart. Was I supposed to drain the tomatoes? The recipe doesn’t indicate that. Even the melted cheese didn’t help.
This was very good! I mixed in a small can of tomato paste after I sauteed the garlic and onions and let it toast a little bit. I didn’t have beef bouillon, so I used 3 cups chicken stock instead of the water. I also didn’t have seasoned salt, so I used salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and chile flakes. At the end, I put in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to brighten it up. Very, very good!
Amazing!! This was one of my favorite dishes as a kid that my grandmother use to make. Unfortunately I was too young to think about getting the recipe. Since then I could never figure out how to make it. Authentic Goulash is a VERY different recipe. I chalked this up to me mis-remembering or her making up a name for her dish. However when I saw your recipe for American Goulash – it hit me! That’s what her dish was – a 50’s translation of an old world dish. Thank you for posting, it really brought me back. And now I am able to share one of my favorite dishes (from when I was young) with my son.
just forgot to rate..
Followed recipe no changes, was delish. Hubby really loved it.
I will make this again with some changes. We enjoyed the recipe but it was pretty salty in my opinion. Are you sure a tablespoon of seasoned salt is correct? I also only used 2 tblsp of soy sauce. I added kidney beans which everyone enjoyed. Besides being salty it was yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
You are welcome to lessen the salt if you feel it is too salty. Hope that helps! XOXO
Just wondering if you do any weight watcher friendly meals as I noticed you had keto recipes. Love your recipes, keep them coming.
To lessen the salt, I used beef stock instead of water and omitted the bullion. Wonderful recipe!
Some Italian seasoning mixes have salt in them, so that might have added to it. I am on a low salt diet so I mix my own seasoning mixes.
Soy Sauce is really salty.
I always use low sodium soy sauce regardless of what a recipe calls for. Easy healthier adjustment.
Best Goulosh EVER!!!
For some reason my other review only left 2 stars and I meant 5!
Loved the American Goulash recipe. I added a couple of T of brown sugar which we thought was a goodimprovement.
Thanks for your posts…I get lots of good recipes and ideas
I used to make Goulash for my family of 12 years ago. i also liked to add red kidney beans in it. Was a favorite of my young ones.
Hi Rose, thats how my ma used to make it too.
I love dark red kidney beans where called for or not.My mom’s gone now, and I sure miss her delicious meals unfortunately I didn’t get her recipes. I tried to replicate her recipes but it’s not the same. Happy cooking, by the way, my ma’s sisters name is Rosella.
Winter will soon be here, I’ll be cooking all the hearty dishes that warm the tummy.
Nice to talk, take care, judy
Glad you mentioned beans! I was just about to suggest them. Can’t really taste them, but they add nutrition.
The real Gulyas is only 5 ingreadients and it is great! Don’t play games!
Agi, what are the ingredients…simple is better for us. I started reading the ingredients and wow ! that’s a lot more stuff than I thought it had ! Sheila
Agi remack, nowhere did this claim to be real gulyas. It clearly says in the recipe that this is American goulash, which is an entirely different dish than the Hungarian one you are talking about.
also call American Chop Suey in some locales….jus saying.Let it be known that it’s just damn good…OOooh I forgot…also Named Slumgullion to some folks so call it what ya may but it’s Damn Good.
Absolutely as a senior we grew up with slumgullion ?
In America it’s called spaghetti
????
I absolutely love love goulash ?❤?