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!
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Nutrition
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I made this recipe exactly as written and it is the best goulash recipe I’ve made. It’s very flavorful and extremely easy to make. This is definitely a keeper.
Hi! This sounds so similar to spaghetti. What is the difference?
Would ths freeze well?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it yet. I would think the pasta would not be ideal frozen, but if you give it a try let us know!
The pasta doesn’t freeze well at all. I freeze mine in batches without the cheese or pasta and add them when I warm up a batch.
Made as written and my family LOVED it! Thanks for the fabulous recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Adorisa!
I’ve never really loved goulash. Made this at hubby’s request. OMG IT IS BEYOND!!! So easy and sooo delicious!
I just made this for dinner and it was perfect. My husband accidentally bought two cans of hot diced tomatoes (with jalapeño and habanero) so it added a LOT of kick. I also substituted sour cream with plain Greek yogurt and it was delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Sounds like a great way to kick up the flavor! Glad you all enjoyed it Ruth!
I made this for dinner yesterday and it was great. I followed your recipe exactly but since we like a little kick to our food I also added 1 teaspoon of black pepper. I will definitely add this to our dinner rotation but plan to cut the Worcestershire sauce in half bc it was a little too strong for my taste. Thank you for sharing with us! God bless you and your family!
Sounds great! So glad you enjoyed it!
My family has made this for years, and our secret family ingredient is a tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet when you add the Worcestershire. Adds a little something 🙂
Love that tip! Thanks Krista!
That sounds like a great idea, thanks!!
I am about to take a deep breath before I walk into the kitchen to begin cooking this recipe. Know how to make exactly three meals. If this works out tonight I will add it to my repertoire of four meals. I’m nervous and excited to try this out. Wish me luck. I’m hoping my bride of 39 years will enjoy this meal!
I sure hope you enjoyed it Rodney! 🙂
I’ve collected 3 recipes and yours is the one I decided to try tonight. I haven’t had goulash since I was a kid and my husband never has had it.
I gotta say, your blog is so cute! Love your menu bar icons and font.
I come from the land of hot dish where goulash is made all year round. Your recipe was DELICIOUS! Adding the beef broth and Worcestershire made a huge impact for flavor! Amazing!!
great recipe easy to follow an came out amazing brought back memories of midwestern winter meals with the family. I also added some probiotic yogurt instead of cheese in the end blended well.
Making tonight…what do think about adding ground sausage
Omg! So yummy! One question- what do you consider a serving?
For this recipe I’m thinking about a cup and a half is a serving. So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is absolutely delicious!!! Thank you very much for bringing me back to my childhood!! My grandmother made it all the time and I have always wanted to make it!! Thank you Shawn!! Blessings to you and your family!!
That’s wonderful to hear Sabrina! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Please adjust the prep/cook time. I started just after 6:00 pm. It is now 8:20 pm and we’re just sitting down to eat. I did not make any adjustments to the original recipe.
I do want to mention that the recipe is absolutely delicious.
Kid approved!
Yay! So great to hear Shannon!
Can I make this in an instant pot?
I haven’t test it in the Instant Pot yet, so I’m not sure.
It was Great, I never thought to add green bell peppers to mine before…
Made this tonight. Great recipe!!! We loved it. I cut it in half but added more macaroni since there were complaints of it being too much liquid. This was perfect and not runny at all. Definitely a keeper for another time. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Made this tonight smells yummy just waiting for my pasta to cook a little more!!!
Delicious! I only give it four stars because it was a bit soupy for my taste. I remedied that by cooking extra macaroni on the side and stirring it in before adding the cheese. I cut the recipe in half , it was a generous amount for 4 with next day leftovers. I will be making again !
I find that this dish actually gets thicker the longer it stands. Might make a difference in the future for ya! Or you can always just add a little extra noodles to the dish while it’s cooking. Glad you enjoyed it!
It looks delicious… may cut back on the liquids as I want it not too soupy… I will add beans and a little corn, and serve with my fabulous corn bread and butter!!! Cannot wait to try it!!!
Hope you enjoy it Nancye!
Why didn’t my noodles cook? I feel this always happens to me every time I mske goulash! I follow all directions
May be a dumb question, but did you bring the mixture to a boil?
By far THE BEST goulash that I have ever had!!! Super easy. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Delicious and oh so easy! Got a rave review from husband! It was so rainy and gray and snowy here today–this was the perfect comfort food! Paired with a small salad = perfect meal! Thank you!
This was my first dish I ever made. I did make a few tweeked for what I have in hands. It’s was a smashing hit! Even my very picky austim 10 years old granddaughter praised me for a frost time! I’m glad I found your recipe. Thank you Shawn. It’s a real keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Paul! Thank you for your comment!
This recipe was amazing; very simple to follow for someone whose not a good cook like myself and the flavour was amazing. I missed a few minor ingredients but it still tasted great. I am so happy to have stumbled on it and recommend it to any beginner cooks or anyone who wants a flavourful, hardy stew. https://www.RecipeGoulash.com
Made it as is and enjoyed it! Reminded me more of my grandma’s chop suey than my mother’s goulash (which tastes more spaghetti-ish). I agree with others that it was a little soupier than I’m accustomed to, but I think the leftovers will thicken up nicely.
I’m currently making a vegan version of this using Beyond meat. Smells amazing!
That’s awesome!
I made this last night. It is the best quick ghoulash
recipe I’ve ever made or had. So simple I followed to the T.
I’m so excited to go thru all your
recipes
I want to make this is in a very large quantity. If you had to guess about how many gallons was this recipe?
I would say that this is about 15 cups total. A gallon is 16 cups. So just shy of a gallon.
So I just made this goulash. I did exactly as the directions told me to and it looks and has the consistency of runny soup. In fact, I left out 1 can of the diced tomatoes thank goodness. I was really hoping for something alot thicker.
I have always made my goulash with tomato juice. Trying this tonight and not telling the family I switched it up . Fingers crossed lol. Momma of 8 teenagers and I work full time, so quick recipes are always a win over here lol
I hope you all enjoyed the recipe Cortney!
We don’t really use diced tomatoes, should I sub for more tomato sauce or broth?
Cookin this in Cedar City!! Thank you!
I made this for dinner tonight and cut the recipe in half, used sea salt and it was just wonderful! Thanks much!
Can this recipe be cut in half and still taste just as good?
Definitely! Try using the scale feature in the recipe box!
I am planning on making this recipe this week. I had 2 questions. What percentage of ground beef do you recommend, 90%, 85%, or 80%. Also your recipe calls for seasoned salt. Do you mean like Lawry’s seasoning salt?
I typically cook with 93% when I make a recipe, but it doesn’t really matter, cause you’ll drain the fat after you’ve browned it. And yes, Lawry’s seasoning salt is what I use. 🙂
Thank you so much Shawn. Making this right now for dinner.
Made this last weekend for the family and was an instant hit!! Trying your Italian Beef and Rice skillet tonight and I know it will be amaze!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Gretchen!
Can you use cut up potatoes instead of macroni noodles.
No, the consistency would be off if you did this. This is because the noodles absorb a lot of the sauce when it’s cooking. If you wanted to use potatoes instead of noodles, I would reduce the beef broth to maybe just a cup (if using cooked potato).
This looks so great!! I will definitely try this recipe!
Thanks Mehndi! I hope you enjoy it!
We made this exactly as written. Way too much Italian seasoning. 1 bay leaf would have been enough.
I will make it again but cut the seasoning in half.
Sorry you felt it had too much seasoning, next time I would try half like you mentioned, taste it and see if you like it. If it needs more, just add a little more at a time. 🙂
I think this would have been delicious if I had put in 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning instead of 2 tablespoons. I’m guessing it was a mistake in the recipe and wish I had caught it. Unfortunately, it ruined the pot
This recipe makes quite a bit of Goulash, so I feel the 2 tbsp is necessary. However, if you’re opposed to the seasonings, feel free to reduce to your personal preference! I hope you try it again!
Am Nigerian
Nd dz meal is fantastic
I’m so glad you are enjoying it!
We loved it. Will be better tomorrow.
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Great dish and great for leftovers. I always wondered what the difference was between this and America Chop Suey. Finally looked it up and it seems that us silly New Englanders call it American Chop Suey. So i learned that they are the exact same just a silly colloquial name difference.
Oh funny! So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!