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
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I was looking for something easy and hearty. This checked the boxes! I will definitely be making this again!
Terrific goulash recipe and great flavour. This recipe makes a big pot so it’s great for a family. We made with ground turkey and turned out fantastic; I highly recommend this dish with a slice of rye bread for a meal. We will definitely do this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your comment!
Delicious, very simple to prepare, and a definite family pleaser.
Made this today for my family of 4. Made enough to feed us all with extras and some leftovers. Super delish and room to customize with the spices. 10/10 recommend for busy families
Thanks for the comment Ashley! So glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe. I love it.
Very tasty and very easy to do. Just right for a damp chilly night. Did not have any green pepper on hand. So I subbed one of the cans of diced tomatoes with Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies. It did add a little heat but everyone enjoyed
I love that you added some heat to it! Sounds like a great addition.
Wow!!!
This recipe is excellent!!!
This is the only recipe I will ever use to make Goulash!
I’m so happy to hear that Jan!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. We make it every other week or more often. So easy, so delicious!!!! Thank you — Everyone loves it. It make great leftovers too.
Wonderful to hear this! Thank you for your comment!
This recipe is perfect! We make it on repeat with gluten free noodles.
This is fantastic! All I can say is if this recipe didn’t turn out delicious for you, then you didn’t do it right! I have made it several times and it turns out perfect every time. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you so much for your comment. I am so thrilled you loved the Goulash recipe!
My whole family loves this
Very good! I didn’t find it to be too watery at all. I also cut the recipe in half. I’ll definitely make this again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Pam!
Way too mushy. I cooked exactly how this was and the noodles became incredibly mushy and just not very good. All I could taste was tomato sauce. Won’t make this again
Sounds like you overcooked the noodles in the goulash. Make sure you follow the instructions and you’ll be golden!
Clearly not the recipe I used last time. Idk how this one has such good reviews. I agree with some others. Way too much liquid, and the taste was not good. It was borderline tasteless.
Did you cook your pasta before adding it to the meat sauce?
Sounds like something definitely went haywire in the process. Is it possible you cooked the noodles before adding them to the goulash? That would account for excess liquid. Also, make sure you’re seasoning as you go, add more if you feel it needs it.
Delicious
My family absolutely loves this!!
This recipe is yummy, but my goodness it is entirely too much liquid!! I had to add several heaping scoops of masa and almost a whole bag of shredded cheese to thicken it up. Both of my kids did really enjoy it though. Adding a scoop of sour cream to the bowls at the end cooled it down and made it nice and creamy, and we have lots left over to snack on throughout the rest of the week. I’m just frustrated about how much I had to do in order to make it look like the pictures here.
Yes I agree!! I’m here stirring it on a light bowl thinking it’s very liquid
I did not find it had too much liquid. In fact, I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough liquid for the pasta. I did cut the recipe in half and my ground beef was more 1.25 pounds than just a pound.
I didn’t add as much of the beef broth and drain the tomato’s
My first time making, and my family was very pleased Thanks for the recipe
Mine is bitter. What would cause this and how do I fix it?
Sugar! Try a little , taste, add more if needed.
Any goulash needs a can of cream style corn added. The taste difference is amazing.
Ez to make. I left out green pepper. Served with crusty French bread. Delicious
I liked very much , will make again
I made this to the letter. Tasted so much like tomatoes and was bitter. It may have been the kind of cans/brands I used. Checked the comments and added some paprika and brown sugar about a quarter cup. It’s pretty yummy now. Gonna add mushrooms and serve my family. Basic recipe and with some bat wings (items added) it’s pretty good.
Add a tsp or 2 of sugar.
This is the best recipe for Goulash that I’ve made. My husband really loved it and so did I.
Everyone eats several helpings, and any leftovers are always gone the next day. Such a great dish for everyone in the family, good for kids, good for adults, good for seniors, just delicious. I always serve with warm soda bread and butter which makes a great pairing.
3 Tablespoons of Worcestershire seemed like too much. Tasted like Sloppy Joe. Back off one tablespoon. 20 minute simmer is to much as well. Noodles become over done. 10 minutes max. I will try these tweaks and some of the other suggestions from above.
Hi Ho,
Good basic recipe and nice as comfort food. But to take it up a notch add some paprika which is traditional in goulash and add some cumin. When serving top it with the cheese instead off melting in the pot. And for a real kicker sprinkle either fresh parsley or my favorite cilantro.. Yummy.. well enjoy and I hope you like my suggestions.
Chow
I swore off Goulash after eating a very weird version my sister made me 10 years ago. Saw that I had most of these ingredients and gave it a try. This is now my go to cozy one pot meal. Makes a lot and freezes well. Love this one
It’s awesome!
Good recipe. I always add a small can of corn and some sliced mushrooms. That’s what makes it goulash to me. Most of the time I won’t use Worcestershire, but if I do it’s only a dash. Italian seasoning and a lot of Worcestershire don’t go together to me, but a little bit doesn’t hurt or change the deliciousness of the overall goulash. I also cook the pasta separately in beef broth to al dente and then add the noodles to the meat sauce for a couple more minutes before serving. Good stuff!
I found the flavor to be more like spaghetti sauce than goulash, but it was good. Definitely hearty, and a stick to your ribs sort of dish.
I subbed ground bison for the hamburger, and used tomatoes from the garden instead of canned tomato sauce. (It’s just what I had on hand.)
I didn’t measure the seasonings or Worcestershire – just tossed some in – but it turned out fine. I’d make this recipe again.
My hubby likes it, he says, “it’s spaghetti done right!” That’s the thing, though, it tastes like a very, very delicious spaghetti, but not really a goulash… So the 4 stars is because it’s not really a goulash lol, but it IS very simple and delicious!
I really liked this alot. Great recipe and really easy too.
Add some chili powder. It takes the goulash away from the spaghetti taste
I make this recipe all the time for my family and friends, it packs so much flavor and it’s very filling.
I like to use fresh shredded sharp chedder. It doesn’t stick to the pot as much and it just incorporates better in the soup.
10/10 i will make this for the rest of my life.