Now you can make this easy Beef Goulash in 45 minutes using only one pot. It can be a large, heavy pan, an Instant Pot, or a slow cooker. Combine ground beef, tomato sauce, macaroni, some spices and lots of Cheddar. Try it tonight. You probably already have what you need in your kitchen.
Updated 3/15/2020.
Is it Goulash or Chop Suey?
My mother-in-law used to make something she called Beef Goulash (not to be confused with Hungarian Goulash as explained below). She told me she cooked the macaroni and ground beef then added catsup and Cheddar. That’s it!
When I recently saw a recipe for “American Chop Suey” in Cook’s Illustrated, I was puzzled by the title. However, I recognized the food in the magazine picture as a first cousin to my husband’s beloved goulash.
Never before had I heard a mixture of beef, tomatoes, sauce, and macaroni called “Chop Suey.” Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?
I’ve learned this dish is known as Chop Suey in the northeast. Evidently, they traditionally add soy sauce to add umami.
Inspiration:
Between my mother-in-law’s unwritten recipe and Cooks Illustrated, I came up with my own recipe and published it 9 years ago on this blog.
After revisiting the subject recently, I decided the recipe should be simpler and faster. So, I made it easier (hello onion and garlic powder) with fewer ingredients. I cut the recipe in half and added an option for using the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
This recipe may not be quite as sophisticated as it was before, but honestly, American Beef Goulash is not exactly gourmet cooking. It’s more of a what-can-I-throw-together-that’s-quick-filling-and-something-everybody-likes kind of dish.
Instant Pot vs. slow cooker vs. stovetop:
Using the Instant Pot takes about the same amount of time as cooking on top of the stove. The advantage of using the Instant Pot is that you can make this casserole ahead of time. When the cooking time ends, the Pot will automatically switch to “warm.” Whenever you come home, your goulash will be warm and ready-to-eat.
The slow cooker will take all day if you use the “Low” setting. Again, dinner will be ready and waiting for you at the end of the day.
All of these methods require only one pot. Winner!!
Ingredients and substitutions:
Beef: This is the perfect place to customize your goulash. Substitute sausage for the beef, or go half beef and half sausage. Use leftover roast beef instead of ground beef. Cut the amount of beef in half if you prefer. Vegetarians can leave it out completely.
Pasta: Macaroni is traditional. Ditalini (sometimes called salad pasta) is fun. If you only. have spaghetti in the house, break it into small pieces and use that if you want to.
Tomato sauce: Because I wanted this recipe to be something you could make without going to the grocery store, I called for tomato sauce. Substitute pasta sauce instead or even pizza sauce.
Water: Amp up the flavor by substituting 1/2 cup red or white wine for 1/2 cup of the water.
Worcestershire sauce: This magic brown liquid adds umami flavor to anything. If you prefer, substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos. Another way to add umami is with a dry mushroom seasoning like the one sold at Trader Joe’s. Alternatively, you can make your own mushroom seasoning mix with this recipe for mushroom seasoning mix.
Catsup is the defining feature of this recipe as we know and love to eat it. If you’re not a catsup lover, you might want to add an extra can of tomato sauce for sauciness.
Cheese: We like LOTS of Cheddar. Mozzarella or Velveeta would also be delicious and melty.
Onions and Garlic: Feel free to chop up fresh onions and garlic instead of using powdered. I often opt for “easy” with this recipe. After all, this is not intended to be a gourmet recipe. It’s first-degree comfort food.
Miscellaneous seasonings: We like a little kick, so I add red pepper flakes and a quick squeeze of Sriacha. Leave this out if you prefer your food milder or you are serving kids.
If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, improvise with oregano, basil, and a touch of thyme.
FAQ for Beef Goulash Recipes:
A typical recipe for Hungarian Goulash is a paprika-flavored broth full of meat and other vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. The consistency is more of a cross between a soup and a stew
Let prepared goulash cool completely in the fridge. Double wrap it and keep in the freezer no longer than 3 months.
Prepare recipe completely except for the final sprinkling of Cheddar. Wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When ready to eat, stir the casserole and microwave or heat in the oven until hot. (If the pasta has absorbed all the moisture, stir in some water or more catsup to make it saucy again. Sprinkle final cheese over the top and let it melt.
Try French Bread or garlic breadsticks, a green salad (I always have these on hand), and a green vegetable like broccoli or Brussel sprouts.
How to make Easy Beef Goulash:
1. Brown ground beef in a large heavy pot.
2. Add onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and red chili flakes.
3. Add 1/2 cup water and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, and remaining water.
5. Add uncooked macaroni and stir. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes or until the macaroni are soft.
6. Add catsup, Worcestershire sauce, and Sriacha, if using. Stir.
7. Stir in half of the Cheddar.
8. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar over the top when ready to serve. (If the goulash has cooled off a bit, pop it back into the microwave to melt the cheese on top.
Eating Beef Goulash brings back so many memories for us. Maybe this recipe will be the beginning of new memories at your house.
More recipes with ground beef:
Hearty Baked Beans: Baked beans made with canned pork’n’beans, ground beef, sausage, catsup, barbecue sauce and of course, bacon.
Scooter’s Baked Spaghetti with French-Fried Onion: Try this Pinterest-fave containing layers of spaghetti, cream cheese, and meat sauce. Top it off with French-fried onion rings for a crowd-pleaser you’ll be proud to serve.
Green Chili Enchiladas To Satisfy Your Tex-Mex Cravings: Easy enchiladas made with flour tortillas, ground beef, onions, cheese, and a homemade sauce. Serve with Beefy Refried Beans.
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If you make this recipe and enjoy it, consider helping other readers and me by returning to this post. Leave a rating on the recipe card itself underneath the picture. Although always appreciated, comments aren’t required. Thank you for visiting! Paula
Easy One-Pot American Beef Goulash
This easy recipe can be made in one pot in about 45 minutes on the stove. An Instant Pot version and a slow cooker version is included in the notes below.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 -1/2 cup water
- 1-1/2 cup (6 oz.) elbow macaroni
- 1/4 cup catsup
- a quick squirt of Sriracha
- 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (mild or medium)
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large heavy pot. Season with salt and pepper. Drain off excess grease.
- Stir in onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
- Add 1/2 cup water to the meat and scrape the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in macaroni. Stir in remaining water, tomato sauce, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until macaroni is tender.
- Stir in catsup, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha and half of the Cheddar.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Move to a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining Cheddar and let it melt before serving.
- If you are not eating immediately, you may need to add some extra water and/or sauce as the pasta absorbs moisture. This is especially true when eaten the next day or two after goulash is made.
Notes
Instant Pot Version: (Illustrated in the video)
- Cook ground beef on the Sauté setting. Proceed through step 3.
- In step 4, add the tomato sauce and tomatoes. Sprinkle macaroni evenly over the top. Pour remaining water over the top WITHOUT STIRRING.
- Seal pot and set to high-pressure cook for 8 minutes. (It could take 10-12 minutes for the IP to come to pressure.)
- When the IP beeps that cooking is done, do a quick release and proceed to step 5 above. Stir everything together. If not eating right away, you can leave it in the Instant Pot on warm for 5-6 hours. When ready to eat, go to step 6.
Slow Cooker Version:
Cook ground beef in a skillet on the stove. Add to a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for cheese. Stir and allow to cook for 8 hours. When ready to eat, stir in half of the cheese. Sprinkle the remaining half of the cheese over the top and allow it to melt before serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 626Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 702mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 3gSugar: 17gProtein: 48g
Mary
I grew up in Rhode Island, and here as in the rest of New England American Chop Suey was what some in the Midwest and south called Goulash… or at least that’s what some say. To me what I see in goulash recipes isn’t the American chop suey we were served in the school cafeteria, or what mom made a huge pot of when we went camping, or what a local grocery store used to serve up as a prepared food. There was no tomato sauce, probably canned chopped tomatoes in their juice, as it wasn’t saucy, there were onions, peppers, maybe Worcestershire sauce and some seasoning.. that is the mystery to me, whatever seasoning that provided the particular taste that was distinctive. It was closer to a sloppy joe flavor than anything else. If I know that I could fake my way to a better approximation :). I never got the recipe from my mom before she passed away, and haven’t found a recipe that delivers.
Paula
Very interesting, Mary. When I think of sloppy joe flavor, I think of prepared mustard and catsup mixed with a little Worcestershire sauce. Do you suppose your mom added any mustard?
Julie
This is becoming a forgotten dish sadly! I grew up on this (before hamburger helper found it’s way into my single mother’s hands, lol)…anyway, I have never tried to make it, but would like to try one day. Mostly because my last name is Losch, and oftentimes people have a hard time pronouncing it, so i always say, “It’s like goulash, without the ‘goo,’ ” which up until recently went over well. Now when I say it people just smile awkwardly sometimes. I started asking, and many people have NEVER even heard of it…imagine that! I’m going to be 27 this year, so I know it’s not that old…or is it? lol… Anyway, thanks for posting!
Paula
Julie,
Goulash is definitely not old. The name maybe, but the dish itself is a classic. Right?
Ravyn Guiliani
I was thinking about this simple American/Italian dish and wondered what you all grew up calling it? In south Jersey we called it American Goulash (or just goulash–small “g”-really not sure how the Hungarians figure in there), in school they called it Beef-a-Roni (which I thought was made by Chef Boy-Ar-Dee and came in a can…), but my husband’s Boston family calls it American Chop Suey (which makes NO sense to me at all!) So what do you call elbow macaroni in tomato sauce with ground beef and chunks of tomatoes and onions (and sometimes green peppers, or in the case of my school lunches chopped bacon pieces…)? This to me is the ultimate “comfort-food”.I get the “chop suey” or “goulash” thing being a thrown together kind of random left-overs type of dish—however this is not random. It is made with as much care and planning as most any pasta dinner, so I don’t understand that inference either.
I never had it with ketchup (is catsup also a regional thing?) but my mother always put a spoonful in her sauce (which my husband’s family call “gravy” even if it is made of tomatoes) instead of the sugar most other mothers I knew used. You might try it with the bacon pieces like my school lunch-ladies did–it gives it a sweet tang.
Paula
Yes Ravyn, I can imagine bacon would be a wonderful addition! Thanks for the suggestion.
Rob
Hi Paula,
I’ve spent the last 15 or so years trying to find my mother’s recipe for her goulash. We couldn’t get enough of it when I was a kid. I just stumbled on yours and couldn’t believe just how close it was to hers. However, she used a loaf of bread and a lot of tomato paste in hers and she did it in a 12 qt stock pot. The rest seemed basically the same so I tried it. A couple of variations such as an xtra 1/2 cup of water and 2 large cans tomato paste and…….PERFECTION. It was exactly what she used to make. I had tears in my eyes the first time I tried it. It brought back the days when we came home to a hardy bowl of Mom’s goulash. I can’t thank you enough. Peace be with you and thank you very much.
[email protected]
This is such a comfort dish for me. My Grandma used to make this, something between this and your mother-in-law’s recipe. It was simple and fantastic. My Mom always went to exotic and ethnic extremes (weird in the 70’s) but Grandma always made this and it was just what we wanted. I need to do this. THIS is goulash to ME!
`Suzanne
Paula, I didn’t know the name of this but this is what my mother in law makes all the time, but she throws in peas but no other vegetables. I can’t even say that I tired hers since I was a vegetarian for many years, but your recipe def. seems much healthier than the ketchup version or the no veggie version :).
Martha Ann
I’ve been fixing my salad in a jar ever since I saw your post and it has been just great until the last few times. I’ve been getting brown edges after less than a week – top is tight and well sealed. Any suggestions? There were a couple pieces of chard in this jar – do you think that would have made a difference?
Paula
Martha Ann,
The chard is indeed suspect. That’s why I do not add anything else to my lettuce because it will usually shorten the time you can use it. The only other thing I can think of is that your lettuce was not as fresh as you hoped when you bought it. pr
Gary
When I taught school, this was standard fare in the school cafeteria. I always gobbled it up (it was a small town and those ladies could cook!). I think they may have used tomato soup . . .
Mimi
My mother in law makes something similar and calls it slum gum. My mom also had a version that used tomato soup. What memories!
Mimi
Paula
Mimi, Slum gum? Haven’t heard that one before. Tomato soup seems like a pretty good idea–if you don’t mind the extra salt. 🙂 I use tomato soup in my tamale pie and love it. Have a great day! pr
tinafreysd
Nice sharing of recipe..I cant wait to try this..Thanks for sharing with us..
Mal @ The Chic Geek
My father in law makes something very similar to this, it’s so yummy!
TheKitchenWitch
My mama used to make this and I loved it! Thanks for the blast from the past!
cmichaelsny
Thanks for the recipe..I really appreciate this recipe..I cant wait to taste it..Hope you can share more..
Paula
Sometimes all you need is a little catsup…or a bbq sauce…or yes, Hot Chili Sauce!
Melissa B
I had Goulash alot when I was little, and loved it!
I really need to make it more often. =)
Love your recipe! thanks so much for sharing!
Nancy in NW PA
My family made this with stewed tomatoes and called it goulash. Later on, I lived with a Hungarian (who escaped during the ’56 Revolution) and discovered that REAL goulash was really a stew made with dried beef and little else – no macaroni, or cheese, or much beyond paprika – which is dried sweet or hot red peppers – and probably onions or garlic.
I discovered that some people call it Chili-Mac – which is more suggestive of its ingredients. As an extension educator I used to teach folks to use the same ingredients in a single pan (Yes, a one-pot meal) and it became “skillet lasagna” and it worked pretty well. People sometimes substituted other meats – like venison – for the ground beef and a can of spaghetti sauce was easier for some than straight tomato sauce. You browned the meat and onions, poured on the sauce and some extra water, dumped in the pasta, covered the pan over low heat and cooked it covered for as long as it took to make the pasta tender.
This is the original hamburger helper recipe and how it got to be called goulash is beyond me – but it still works and still tastes just fine.
Paula
Very interesting Nancy. I knew that my goulash not Hungarian since it has no paprika but didn’t know about the red peppers. What we used to call Chili-Mac had chili powder in it. My sister once made Chili-Mac for her boyfriend when he asked for chili. He was astonished to find macaroni in his chili.
Thanks for taking the time to write.
The Café Sucré Farine
Paula, who else could make goulash look so delicious!? I didn’t think I liked it but I just changed my mind! Love this photo!
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Paula,
I know three little people (and two other people ☺) that would love this! I ditto your 2. substitution. It is standard in my house as well.
Pam Spicer
My dad made this growing up and wished I had his recipe. Yours looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks Paula!!
Paula
Hi Pam,
Sounds like goulash is comfort food for you too. If you try it, hope it brings back lots of good memories.
Lorraine
Hi Paula! My kids grew up on this and my in-laws had it at every back yard cook-out. But, it has been YEARS since I made it and clear forgot about it.
Wow – look at that yummy photo! I can almost taste it : ) I’ll pass on the Hot Chili Sauce but will add the catsup. That is how my mother-in-law pronounced it too. We say ketchup.