One-Pot Goulash with Ketchup: A Comfort Food Classic
Sneak Preview: This one-pot American goulash serves 4 and cooks in about 45 minutes. Ground beef, elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, ketchup, and Cheddar simmer together in a single pot for a nostalgic, family-friendly dinner with minimal cleanup.
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Growing up, I always loved the kind of recipes that didn’t need measuring cups or fancy instructions—just a good cook and a big pot. My mother-in-law made her goulash that way. I’m not sure she ever wrote a recipe down, but I remember how generously she added the ketchup and how the cheese always showed up at the end.
Since she’s no longer here to walk me through her version, I pieced together the flavors I remember most. The result is this comforting, weeknight-friendly goulash that tastes like something you’d find on a stovetop in a busy, happy kitchen. If you crave those old-school meals that feel like home, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Ingredients and Substitutions
• GROUND BEEF: Swap in ground turkey, sausage, or plant-based crumbles.
• PASTA: Macaroni is classic, but any short pasta works.
• TOMATO SAUCE: Use pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or crushed tomatoes in a pinch.
• KETCHUP: The secret ingredient that makes this dish uniquely comforting.
• CHEESE: Cheddar is our favorite; mozzarella or Velveeta also work.
• SEASONINGS: Italian seasoning, garlic, onion, and Worcestershire sauce bring depth. Sriracha sauce adds some kick!
Step-by-Step Photo Gallery: How to Make One-Pot Goulash with Ketchup
⬇️ Jump to the recipe below for exact amounts and detailed instructions.
?Tips That Make a Difference
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat with a splash of water or broth to refresh the sauce.
- Make Ahead: Cook it earlier in the day and leave it warming on low in a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
One-Pot Goulash with Ketchup: A Comfort Food Classic
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1½ cup (170 g) elbow macaroni (6 oz)
- 1 8-oz can (227 g) tomato sauce
- 1 14.5-ounce can (411 g) diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup (60 g) catsup
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 squirt Sriracha
- 1 cup (120 g) mild or medium Cheddar cheese, grated (4.2 oz)
Instructions
- Brown meat: Brown 1 pound (454 g) ground beef in a large, heavy pot. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Drain off excess grease.
- Add seasonings: Stir in 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes.Add ½ cup water to the meat and scrape the bottom of the pan.
- Add macaroni and sauce: Stir in 1½ cup (170 g) elbow macaroni (6 oz) and another 1 c water, 1 8-oz can (227 g) tomato sauce, and 1 14.5-ounce can (411 g) diced tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the macaroni is tender.
- Finishing: Stir in ¼ cup (60 g) catsup, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 squirt Sriracha, and half of 1 cup (120 g) mild or medium Cheddar cheese, grated (4.2 oz).Add more salt and pepper as needed after tasting.
- Serve: Move to a serving dish for a fancier presentation and sprinkle with the remaining ½ c Cheddar cheese, letting it melt before serving.
- Making ahead: If you aren't serving immediately, you may need to add some extra water and sauce as the pasta absorbs moisture, especially for leftovers the next day or two.
Notes
- 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, 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.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat with a splash of water or broth to refresh the sauce.
- Make Ahead: Cook it earlier in the day and leave it warming on low in a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Equipment
Nutrition
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
FAQs
- How is American Goulash different from Hungarian Goulash?
- A typical recipe for Hungarian Goulash is a thick beef stew with paprika, while American goulash is a ground beef and macaroni dish with tomato sauce and cheese.
- What sides go well with goulash?
- Try French Bread or garlic breadsticks, a green salad (I always have these on hand), and a green vegetable like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or green beans.
Final Thoughts
Eating Goulash made with ketchup and hamburger brings back so many memories for us. I’m hoping this recipe will be the beginning of new memories at your house, too.
More Recipes for Ground Beef
In case you just bought a mega package of ground beef from Costco or Sam’s, here are some ideas:
- From one of my friends: Scooter’s Baked Spaghetti with Cream Cheese.
- For a Tex-Mex taste experience, try these enchiladas: Green Chile Beef Enchiladas.
- For your next barbecue, the crowd will go crazy for these Baked Beans with Sausage and Ground Beef.
Need help troubleshooting? Email me: Paula at saladinajar.com—photos welcome!
This is the best goulash recipe I have found. My husband asked for goulash with ketchup and that’s when I came across this recipe. I did make a couple adjustments- I only had spicy ketchup so I used that and omitted the Sriracha and added a couple tablespoons of sugar. It came out absolutely delicious!
Hi Lauren,
Goulash is so comforting–especially when it’s fairly simple. Glad you loved it.
This recipe is somewhat similar to the one I grew up with. I have never seen or heard of anyone making it the way I do which I learned from my mother and grandmother. The only ingredients we use are ground beef, macaroni noodles, ketchup, a little salt and pepper to season the meat, and a little diced onion and green pepper. Boil the macaroni noodles separately and then add them to the cooked ground beef (seasoned to taste), stir in enough ketchup until it is all evenly coated and let simmer until it no longer has the ketchup taste.
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for writing. Was your mom or grandmother from Texas? I’m curious. My mother-in-law (from Texas) made hers exactly as you describe. I applied the one-pot method just to save time and dirty pans. Wait! You didn’t mention cheese. My mother-in-law added lots of cheese.
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.
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?
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!
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!
Julie,
Goulash is definitely not old. The name maybe, but the dish itself is a classic. Right?
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.
Yes Ravyn, I can imagine bacon would be a wonderful addition! Thanks for the suggestion.
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.
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!
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 :).
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?
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
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 . . .
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
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
@Paula, Probably a shortened version of Slumgullion (a peasant stew-not the bird!) Whenever my dad made a giant pot of cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, corned beef and anything else he could find in the kitchen, he always called it slumgullion. I always thought it was a word he made up until I stumbled across it in the dictionary one day! Sorry, off topic, but great memories.
Love the story. What a strange sounding word!
Nice sharing of recipe..I cant wait to try this..Thanks for sharing with us..
My father in law makes something very similar to this, it’s so yummy!
My mama used to make this and I loved it! Thanks for the blast from the past!
Thanks for the recipe..I really appreciate this recipe..I cant wait to taste it..Hope you can share more..
Sometimes all you need is a little catsup…or a bbq sauce…or yes, Hot Chili Sauce!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!!
Hi Pam,
Sounds like goulash is comfort food for you too. If you try it, hope it brings back lots of good memories.
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.