Be a Dinnertime Hero With One-Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash!
Use pantry staples to create an easy yet filling ground beef and pasta meal that’s comforting and delicious.
Need something to make for dinner tonight that’ll please everyone AND please your wallet?
This old-fashioned goulash recipe is the ticket! It’s a comforting homemade made meal using simple ingredients you most likely already have on hand. It’s one of those meals you can definitely customize, season to taste and add to as desired. You’ll be the hero of dinnertime with this cheesy pasta ground beef goodness!
For starters, what is goulash exactly?
Goulash (stemming from Hungarian) is a dish originating from medieval Hungary. Traditionally, it’s a stew of meat and vegetables with spices. It’s not only a popular Central European meal, but it’s one of the national dishes of Hungary.
This old-fashioned American version here features a very comforting simmered tomato sauce seasoned with paprika, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. It features ground beef, onion, garlic, and elbow pasta to make it a tasty one-pot meal everyone gets excited about.
If you’d like to include more veggies simply chop up your favorites and sauté along with the onions and meat. I love the idea of adding chopped zucchini and bell peppers.
More tips for making the best Goulash:
- Money-saving tip: My grocery store has a section of clearance meat that is nearing the sell-by date. My ground beef was half off, making this family-sized meal under $20, which is great for a whole pot of goulash! Ground turkey or sausage would also be yummy alternatives instead.
- Topping this with cheese at the end is optional but definitely makes it over the top YUMMY!
- The consistency turns out a little thicker, more like a casserole than a soup.
- The leftovers are so tasty, as Goulash is one of those recipes that’s perfect to batch cook on a Sunday and send out as lunch leftovers during the week. I also like having extras for dinner served with bread and salad.
- You can even add flavors for an ethnic flair. For a taco-flavored goulash, add my taco seasoning blend recipe!
- Every time I open a bunch of cans, I have to mention my favorite safe-cut can opener from Amazon.com! It stays sharp and makes perfect cuts that are not sharp. It’s pretty amazing, and multiple Hip team members have also purchased it!
Old-Fashioned Goulash
yield: 6 SERVINGS
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 20 MINUTES
total time: 30 MINUTES
Make this easy goulash recipe that is hearty and filling! Kids love this pasta flavorful dish.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2- 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
- 2- 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, including liquid
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups elbow macaroni pasta, uncooked
- 1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby/Cheddar)
Directions
1
In a large pan on the stove, crumble and cook the ground meat along with onion and garlic. Drain the grease from the ground beef before proceeding.
2
Pour in the broth, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes.
3
Stir in paprika, Italian seasonings, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Add bay leaves.
4
Let simmer on low for about 20 minutes, covered.
5
Stir in elbow macaroni and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
6
Top with cheese and close lid to melt. Serve warm.
This easy budget-friendly goulash was so good and a big hit at my house!
What an easy and comforting family meal. The leftovers were yummy, too! My kids even like this, and it’s such a fun meal for busy weeknights. Enjoy!
Try this Sheet Pan Chicken Pot Pie next!
Now this dish sooo good!! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Lizz!
Thank you Lina! I’ve been trying to come up with some cheap & easy dinner ideas and this is perfect!
Me too, one pan and that’s it! Thanks Lina!
Sure! enjoy 🙂
Anyone have a good brisket in the crock pot recipe?
Never made it but I have heard the Mississippi roast on Pinterest is awesome!
Mississippi Roast is SO good!
Thanks! Making this tonight!
I’ve always wondered what goulash was. I’m not sure what I thought it was, but this looks delicious!
https://aneducationindomestication.com
I like to make this for Halloween! 🙂 I grew up with a similar version that includes pretty much whatever leftover veggies and pasta you have on hand.
We have “ghoul-osh” on Halloween too! 🙂
So cute!
Oh that’s a fun idea! Thanks 🙂
I made this Monday night! It was so good!
Oh yay! So glad to hear. 🙂
Any ideas for how to use the electric pressure cooker with this recipe?
I would saute the meat and onions until browned, then add the other ingredients. Cook on high for two minutes then quick release. Add cheese on top. (This would be my guess as the Mac n cheese recipe only takes 2 minutes in the pressure cooker.)
I’ve made this my whole life. It’s a one pot wonder! I add corn (more veggies) and served it as a complete meal to my kids. No fuss, no mess! One pot and some bowls!! Reheats even tastier and for that reason double the recipe in a big pot and have leftovers on hand and/or share. If you leave out all the spices and use only seasoned salt and pepper it is a dish you can take into any home with children and they will eat it right up! Great for helping out after a new baby comes home or mom is sick.
Awesome! Yes a agree a great meal to share 🙂
Thanks Dee <3
Oh that looks yum too! Thanks for stopping by 😀
I make this all the time but I didn’t know it was called goulash! I usually call it homemade hamburger helper. It’s a hit everyone is happy and fed!
My husband’s family called it gooshy-goosh (Iowa).
I use a packet of onion soup mix in place of the spices listed. Game changer!!!
Can you make this in the crock pot ? Any help?
This was one if my faves growing up, but my mom out only a pound of grains beef and added yellow squash, zucchini and corn. She named the dish after me cause I loved it sooo much, V’s goulash.
Oh that’s so nice! 😀
Thanks for the recipe making it for dinner tonight.
Made this last night….so good!
That’s so great! Thanks for sharing
OMG I would love to make this. Maybe I can cut it in half and make it for myself. My brothers won’t eat anything with tomato in it but I remember having this at my girlfriends house in Germany. It was my first American Goulash. Loved it. Wish I could find her and get her recipe. LOL
Yes! Also I forgot to add- leftovers of this are even BETTER!!! So you could just plan on having some leftover 🙂
My “grandma’s” recipe browns up 1.5 lb ground beef, onions and peppers seasoned with salt and black pepper. Add 1 large can of V8 juice and 1 large can of tomato juice. Bring to a boil and cook elbow macaroni according to box instructions. Leftovers will thicken overnight.
Any chance you have a “keto-friendly” version? I have keto family members I’d like to include to a Sunday dinner.
We do have a great keto goulash recipe here: https://hip2keto.com/recipes/easy-beef-goulash/
That’s not goulash, lol. Here in Kansas we add a can of green beans and a can of carrots 😉
My husband requests this. He remembers how his mom made this. She called it “all-in-one-pot”!
My Mom made this, it was so good, and the left overs were even better! Although being from the coast of Maine, she (and the rest of our New England relatives) called it American chop suey.
Yep, American Chop Suey. My mother had this in regular rotation made in the electric frypan in MA. Goulash was more like beef stew with veg served with buttered egg noodles.
I make Goulash all the time for my family. The recipe I use is a little different though. I got my recipe from Pinterest. https://pin.it/2jHOp3N
This is very similar to the goulash I make and all 5 of my kids LOVE it. I just don’t mix in the cheese to the whole pot, just individual bowls since I have a couple kids who don’t like cheese.
Since this was originally posted, cheese and beef are ridiculously expensive. To make this more economical, cut the amount of beef and cheese in half. If you want to make this more filling, add your favorite beans.
Thank for the helpful tip!!!🥰
Does the recipe use 2 cups of pasta like the recipe says OR 16 oz of pasta like the link?
2 cups like the recipe – I linked to a package but you wouldn’t use the whole thing as they expand.
I am going to try it without the tomatoes (my gang won’t eat them). My mom did her goulash with gravy. The packets I buy when I am visiting her has some tomato in it but nobody notices I guess.
Any ideas for beef broth substitutes? I am allergic to anything with natural or artificial flavors & colors. Thanks!
I don’t use beef broth in mine. I just boil the macaroni in water and then mix the tomatoes,juice and other ingredients and let it simmer 🙂
great idea!
Thank you… I will try without 🙂
For those struggling with the cost of groceries: there’s a product called Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) sold in health stores or better grocers that is made from soy. Bob’s Red Mill and NOW both make it. It tastes like nothing at all — but it absorbs the flavor of anything it is cooked with and has texture almost identical to ground beef. It’s perfect in thick stews and chilis. Look for the one that looks like crumbles (not chunks). Cut your beef way down so that it’s just for flavor (or eliminate it entirely) and substitute some TVP and your family likely won’t notice — we use about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of TVP in chili all the time, and everyone thinks it’s meat. A can of beans is also a helpful protein extender. Similarly, if you see any mushrooms that the supermarket has reduced for quick sale, pulverize them in a food chopper so they’re finally chopped and toss them in — they’ll add protein and flavor in a dish like this, and even kids who hate mushroooms won’t know that they’re there if they’re chopped small enough. Potatoes can also replace noodles.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share some helpful tips and tricks that you use with your family, Maggie! 🤗💓