Goulash is one of those ultimate comfort food, and it doesn’t take forever to make! This is one that’s too easy not to put into your rotation. Time to stock up on ground beef and macaroni noodles!
For more hearty comfort food recipes, try our Homemade Sloppy Joes.
Why My Recipe
- Total comfort food with ground beef, melted cheese, and pasta.
- Simple and affordable ingredients.
- One pot keeps it simple and makes cleanup a breeze.
Goulash originates from Hungary, dating back to the 9th century. This recipe is for an American Goulash, which dates back to the early 1900s and is generally made using ground beef and pasta in a chili powder and paprika tomato stew. There’s a reason why it’s been a comfort food favorite for over 100 years!
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef: Opt for ground beef with at least 80/20 fat content or leaner to avoid excess grease.
- White Onion: Has a mild and sweet flavor. You can substitute with yellow onion if that’s what you have on hand.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic provides the best flavor, but jarred minced garlic works in a pinch.
- Beef Broth: Choose a good-quality, low-sodium beef broth to create a flavorful stew base.
- Diced Tomatoes: We use canned diced tomatoes, but you can use fire-roasted tomatoes instead for a little more flavor.
- Tomato Sauce: This thickens the goulash and adds a concentrated tomato flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: Found at most grocery stores in the spice and baking aisle. You can also easily make your own with our Homemade Italian Seasoning recipe.
- Elbow Macaroni: Any short pasta like fusilli, penne, or bowtie works well. For a gluten-free version, opt for gluten-free pasta.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Use shredded mozzarella for a milder flavor or cheddar cheese for a sharper taste.
Meat Options
A traditional American-style goulash calls for ground beef. For a lighter version, you can swap the ground beef out for ground chicken or turkey. If you prefer pork, use ground Italian sausage.
Add Veggies
We love how easy it is to customize goulash! If you like additional veggies in your meal, you can add almost anything. Common favorites are sliced carrots, green beans, peas, and corn.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Reheat in a large saucepan over medium heat, adding a little water or broth if necessary to adjust consistency.
Microwave on high in 30-second increments.
I find adding a can of tomato soup cuts the acidity a little and gives a creamier sauce, substitute a can of tomatoes for the soup. Your recipes are always great!
Delicious. But it makes a ton of food. I hate when the elbow macaroni gets mushy. Any ideas on how to prevent this? Thanks!
To keep the elbow macaroni from getting mushy, try cooking it separately and slightly undercooking it. Then, stir it into the goulash right before serving.
My kids loved this meal. My daughter went back for seconds.
So good! Not my wife’s favorite dish due to lock of flavor but this was a winner. I subbed smoked paprika. I think toasting the herbs with meat made the difference.
Try adding some red pepper flakes…that’s what I’m going to do.
This is delicious
Delicious! One of my favorites.
I found cooking the noodles for only 7 to 8 minutes is perfect for aldenta…That’s my new e-mail
This was very good as all of the recipes here are. I did half the recipe as there is only 2 of us to cook for. Also, I had to make a couple of alterations due to being snowed in and not able to go to the store. I only used Tomato sauce and chicken broth. I do feel like the beef broth would’ve given a richer, beef flavor. It was still good nonetheless. And I used the sharp cheddar for the cheese. This is a real simple recipe with great flavor and super easy to make. Using 1 pot also is a plus 🙂
I have made this at least half dozen times it is a very good easy recipe. I change different things each time but it is great to make an eat . Thank You
This was a good base. Tastes will differ, of course. I found this to be too tomato sauce forward. I added more chili powder, more garlic, more salt, definitely more pasta, bell peppers, some red pepper flakes and some balsamic. Heat is definitely very personal. My opinion is to add more beef broth in place of tomato sauce in order to cook the pasta and curb the overwhelming plain tomato sauce component. I prepared as directed and then adjusted to my family’s taste. Thank you for the post, ladies.
Can I precook my macaroni?
Not so much starch that way.
Yes. You can precook it and add it in separately.
Made it per recipe and very delicious. Change from just macaroni, ground beef and pasta sauce which I usually make. Will be making regularly.
Keep your head up you’re doing justice to my cooking.