This super easy Goulash Recipe is a comfort food classic! It’s filled with hearty ground beef and tender pasta in a rich tomato-based sauce and comes together in about 30 minutes!
I’m always looking for new and exciting ways to turn ground beef into dinner, but sometimes I just love the good old classics that bring me right back to my childhood. This Goulash Recipe is just that. It’s super affordable, quick to make and tastes like a warm hug on a cool evening.
Classic Goulash Recipe
Are you familiar with Goulash? If not, let me introduce you to this old fashioned recipe! This recipe is an American Goulash that’s great for busy weeknights, but I love to take this recipe to potlucks and parties because it makes a ton and is super affordable. It’s also great for picky eaters, I haven’t met one kid who doesn’t love this dish!
Goulash is filled with ground beef, onion and bell peppers along with macaroni noodles in a tomato-based sauce. I like to stir in some sharp cheddar cheese at the end to give it a creamy texture. My family loves it!
Goulash Ingredients:
- Onion – I like to use either a white or yellow onion
- Green Bell Pepper – you can use other colors of peppers if desired
- Ground Beef
- Garlic
- Tomato Sauce
- Diced Tomatoes – I love using the petite diced tomatoes here
- Beef Broth
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Seasoned Salt
- Italian Seasoning
- Bay Leaves
- Dry Macaroni Noodles – other small pastas would work too
- Cheddar Cheese
How To Make Goulash
- Start by browning the ground beef along with the onion and bell pepper. Drain any fat and then toss in garlic until fragrant.
- Pour in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes along with beef broth and Worcestershire sauce for some added depth of flavor.
- Add in the seasonings as well as dried macaroni noodles and let simmer until the noodles are cooked through.
- Finally stir in the cheddar cheese and dig in!
Tips and Variations:
- Make sure you use a big pot, as this recipe does make a lot!
- You can swap out the macaroni noodles for any other small pasta you have on hand.
- To make this an even leaner meal, you can use ground turkey in place of ground beef.
- Try adding in extra veggies like: corn, peas, diced carrots, green beans or even stirring in baby spinach at the end!
- Stir in a cup of sour cream at the end to give this recipe an even creamier base!
- The goulash is not quite soup consistency, but if you would like to add extra beef broth to make it more soupy you can definitely do that!
More Comfort Food Dinners
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Cabbage Soup Recipe
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Ground Beef Cheesesteak Pasta Skillet
Helpful Products To Make This Recipe
Here are some of my favorite tools to make this American Goulash Recipe:
- Cast Iron Dutch Oven (6 quarts)
- Wooden Spoon Set
- Cheese Grater
Easy Goulash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 lbs. ground beef, lean
- 3 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2 15 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
- 3 cups beef broth
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups macaroni noodles, uncooked
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Add olive oil to large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the onion, bell pepper and ground beef then cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess fat and return pot to stove top. Add in garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, bay leaves and dried macaroni noodles. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a light boil and stir occasionally until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and stir in the cheddar cheese just before serving. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE:
The sauce didn’t have enough time to cook because the noodles were done like 15 minutes in. The result was a pretty watery sauce full of crunchy diced tomatoes. Tomato sauce needs to cook for way longer than 20 minutes. I would cook the noodles seperately, and simmer the sauce for a few hours to allow it to reduce and for all the seasonings and veggies to meld together into the sauce. I’d also probably reduce the amount of worcestershire, as it was pretty overpowering, and add some sugar to combat the acidity of the tomatoes. This recipe is quick and easy but quick and easy doesn’t equal good. Overall not impressed.
Noodles were tender before it even got to a boil. Without the boil time, it’s more like a soup. Maybe try different noodles if we make this again
I was excited to follow the recipe, as I’ve tried many others. Very disappointed with the end result. Too tomatoy. After one helping for my wife and I, I dumped all the rest.
So wasteful throwing it out! I am sure you could have adjusted seasonings, etc to suit your taste, not that difficult. It is a great recipe that can be modified to your liking.
Great recipe
Used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Worked out well.
Love this stuff. My son asks for it at least weekly. I use bow tie pasta, and just think it comes out better that way, but regardless, great recipe!
Very good. I thought it would have been more of a soup considering how much sauce to noodles there were. But the noodles soaked it right up and was on the thicker side which I did not mind. Will definitely make again.
I made this same recipe and added some more broth and cut the amount of noodles to roughly 1.5 cups. Definitely soup like made this way. So good.
I made this word for word. Came out thick and delicious!
This made one of the best batches of goulash I’ve produced. Delicious flavor which unsurprisingly got better when I warmed up the leftovers a few days later. I might add some hot paprika to spice it up a bit next time, but it definitely wasn’t necessary
Made this for my family tonight and everyone loved it, even my 1 and 2 year olds. I didn’t have the bay leaves but it tasted fine without. I’ll be making this again for my family.
Very good, I added corn because that is how my mom made it.
Awesome! A little different than what my mom made growing up but it’s very good!
So good, I was nervous by reading the comments it would be too much ingredients but it turned out perfect if you follow the exact recipe. Chefs kiss!
This was outstanding! The whole family – including my 2 and 4 year old grandbabies – gobbled it up. Followed it exactly. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.
Triple the cheese & add a tbsp of salt & 2 tsps of pepper. You will NOT regret the results. Absolutely wonderful base recipe, though.
This recipe is great except for the 3 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce – 1 is enough. Can cook lonher than 1 hour and even better the next day.
My mom came to visit and I wanted to make some of the meals I enjoyed as a kid, she did not have the goulash recipe handy so I tried this one. Turned out incredible and have saved the recipe for the future. Be warned the quantity and weights in this recipe result in a massive pot of goulash more appropriate for a potluck or a family of 8-10 so cut in half if only feeding 2-4.
Easy to make but pretty bland. Won’t bother making again.
Add your own seasonings, it’s not that hard.
I made it with diced tomatoes with diced green Chile’s DELICIOUS also served garlic bread
Had the same idea
Absolutely my favorite
Made this for social hour after.church. Everyone loved it. I used pizza seasoning instead of Italian seasoning (I ran out) and it added a little kick. Never made this before but it was easy enough that I made it right before we went to church Sunday morning. Will definitely save this recipe.
Great recipe! The family loved it.
Can u do this in a crockpot
Delicious! My family loved this recipe. I will be adding a bit of cinnamon to the dish, as one person recommended, above. Having lived in Nortjern KY for 7 years, we loved Skyline chili and Goldstar chilis. Luckily Walmart has the canned versions of our beloved chilis. Having something that is similar to those chilis, would be great.
The large amount of Worcestershire nearly killed it for me. I fixed it by adding a tablespoon of brown sugar. I also added a few tablespoons of cream. I suggest starting with 1 tablespoons of Worcestershire, and increasing to taste. But everyone loved it when it was done.
How big is a serving size? 1 cup?
I’m going to make this tonight and have been trying to track calories.
It came out great
OMG! I love this. So easy and quick. It reminds me of home. Great winter dish.
A great recipe and 5-star worthy. But like everyone else, I would tweak certain ingredients to suit my own tastes. I add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of elbow macaroni since I like more pasta in my goulash. I also add 1 tsp of cinnamon as recommended by my friend from Cincinnati where their famous Skyline Chili features cinnamon as the “secret” ingredient. Otherwise this recipe is great.
For me, not 5 min prep time, 30 min cook. More like 30 min prep, 1 hour to cook.
This recipe was amazing! I usually don’t like goulash but it was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it still made a good amount. My 3 yr old and 10 yr old loved it!
Very good! Can this be frozen?
This was fun to make,was anxious to break in my new Dutch oven. I did add a good bit of heat. Love it spicey!
Wonderful to hear Todd! Thank you for your comment!
Way to much seasoning. Especially the bay leaf. That is pretty much all I taste. Next time I will only put one in and half the Italian seasoning.
You are correct. That is true, authentic goulash. But American Goulash is with pasta.
How constructive a comment can you make! Give us a break and furnish a truly authentic goulash recipe….
This was great. I took half of the pot to my grandson and his family. His wife loved it and the baby, 1 year old, as her mom said, “Tore it up.” The baby had some on her chin and her little tummy.
Even better, gonna try it tonight.
This is a delicious AMERICAN goulash recipe. Delicious, quick, and easy recipe!
I put this goulash together tonight because I was feeling nostalgic about my family & have been thinking of re-creating a goulash from dinners we had when I was younger (10-11 yrs old). My mom slowly got away from 1 pot dinners and casseroles after she remarried due to Dad’s preferences for meat & potatoes & veggies individually.
But, as I stated, I created this goulash dish tonight and after 50 years the filling & hearty flavors of widow’s penny pinching recipe came back and the comfort this dish brought to me was wonderful. I cannot describe the flavors or texture other than soothing to my soul.
This has been recorded so that my children will not have to wait 50 years to revisit a favorite.
Great recipe!!Made this tonight and everyone had seconds with still plenty left over and I feed a family of 5!Thanks for sharing
This is delicious! I didn’t have any tomato sauce, so I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of Rotel. Very good!
Made this tonight for dinner! It was delicious. I added sriracha, habanero hot sauce, a little crushed red pepper, as well as a packet of beefy onion soup mix. I also didn’t have enough tomato sauce (only 1 can), so I added some ketchup to make up for the rest.
How much is a serving? 1 cup?
Also, it’s far more than 5 min prep time. Still, it came out wonderfully!
Just coming off the range. Yum!!. . I’ve been tasting it as it cooks. Really good. Like someone else said, “Not mom’s but . . ” I will definately do this again . . and again . .!!
Just coming off the range. Yum!!. . I’ve been tasting it as it cooks. Really good. Like someone else said, “Not mom’s but . . ” I will definately do this again . . and again . .!!
Not like my mom’s but even better!