This goulash recipe is a scrumptious and traditional one-pan dinner that everybody loves! With satisfying beef, tomatoes, and elbow macaroni, it’s the proper dish to throw collectively on a weeknight.
Cozy beef goulash is reassuring like Hamburger Helper and a bit faster to cook dinner than beef bourguignon. Simply add a facet of selfmade cornbread!
I’ve made this goulash recipe 100 occasions, whether or not it’s a weeknight with the household or a last-minute banquet, and it’s all the time met with cleaned plates and rave opinions. As we are able to all agree, I believe, there’s simply one thing concerning the mixture of beefy flavors, wealthy tomato sauce, and tender pasta! Possibly it’s the elbow macaroni? It locations goulash alongside beefaroni as an all-time favourite consolation meals. Which might additionally clarify why we’re such followers of mac and cheese!
What Makes This Goulash Recipe a Consolation Meals Traditional
- Savory meat sauce. My goulash has an extremely savory, beefy sauce. It jogs my memory a little bit of Italian Bolognese, solely extra stew-like, with numerous tangy tomatoes and cheese.
- Prepared in 40 minutes. Rapidly sauté the meat and veggies, then let all the things simmer with the pasta and sauce till it’s time to serve. Goulash is the kind of hearty dinner which you can have on the desk in below an hour.
- Crowd-pleasing flavors. This American goulash recipe retains the spices delicate and the components family-friendly. You can even simply adapt the dish with additional seasonings, veggies, and so forth.
Goulash Components
That is an outline of the necessary components you’ll want for this recipe, together with notes. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card for the printable components checklist, quantities, and recipe particulars.
- Onion and Inexperienced Bell Pepper – Diced yellow onion and bell pepper, sautéed in oil, create the bottom of the tomato and meat sauce. You’ll be able to swap inexperienced pepper for any shade you have got available.
- Beef – I make my straightforward weeknight goulash recipe with lean floor beef. You need to use one other minimize of beef (see beneath) or, for a leaner possibility, make rooster goulash with floor rooster or boneless, skinless rooster.
- Garlic – Freshly minced. You’ll be able to substitute a recent clove with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder or 1 tablespoon of jarred garlic.
- Tomatoes – Canned chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce. You need to use selfmade tomato sauce in case you have it!
- Beef Inventory – For a deeper taste, attempt half beef inventory and half crimson wine, like Cabernet Sauvignon, or white wine, like Chardonnay.
- Seasonings – Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and a very good few dashes of Worcestershire sauce to spice up the flavors within the tomato sauce.
- Elbow Macaroni – The traditional alternative for goulash recipes. You need to use one other brief pasta, like cavatappi or small shells.
- Shredded Cheese – I like the warmth of Pepper Jack cheese, however sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, or freshly grated Parmesan will even work. You’ll be able to omit the cheese to make your goulash dairy-free.
The Finest Meat for Goulash
Made with floor beef, this recipe is fast and family-friendly. When you’d prefer to swap the bottom beef for one more quick-cooking minimize, I’d advocate sirloin steak, tip roast, or flank steak, such as you’d use for stroganoff. Lower the steak into even, ½ or 1-inch cubes.
When you’d choose to make use of a slow-cooking minimize, like beef chuck, it would want considerably longer to cook dinner. On this case, add the pasta to your goulash nearer to the tip of cooking so it doesn’t change into mushy.
Recipe Ideas
- Increase the flavors. Use a can of chopped tomatoes with inexperienced chilies (like Rotel) or fire-roasted tomatoes so as to add extra taste to the sauce.
- Add corn. Generally, I’ll stir in canned corn kernels on the finish of cooking. Be sure you rinse and drain the canned corn first.
- Stir often. Bear in mind to stir the goulash often whereas it simmers, making certain even cooking and stopping the sauce from burning in opposition to the underside of the pan.
- Watch the goulash whereas it cooks. The pasta absorbs among the liquid because the goulash cooks, making it thicker. If wanted, add extra inventory to make it extra “stew-like”.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Genuine Hungarian goulash is the spicier, soupier cousin of American goulash. It’s a stew made with beef chunks and greens, seasoned closely with paprika. In the meantime, American goulash is milder and thicker, made with floor beef, pasta, and tomato sauce.
Sure. If the plan is to freeze your goulash, take into account making ready the meat and tomato sauce, however leaving out the pasta. Let the sauce cool, and freeze it in an hermetic container. Once you’re able to serve, thaw the sauce, add the macaroni, and simmer till the pasta has cooked via.
Serving Strategies
Serve goulash with crusty bread slices, smooth dinner rolls, or Macedonian kifli. It’s filling as-is, however you may all the time clean up the meal with a chopped salad or a veggie facet, like ratatouille. When you’re in search of a wine pairing with this American-style goulash, I’d recommend a full-bodied crimson, like Shiraz, Zinfandel, or Merlot. When you choose white wine, attempt a Riesling.
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Make the bottom. Warmth the olive oil in a big pot set over medium warmth. Add the onion and bell pepper, and cook dinner, stirring for 4-5 minutes.
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Prepare dinner the bottom beef. Stir within the floor beef and cook dinner at medium-high warmth, breaking down the lumps with a picket spatula, till the meat is not pink, about 4-6 minutes. Drain the surplus fats, if any. Then return the pot to the warmth, add the garlic, and cook dinner for 1 minute.
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Add the remainder of the components. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef inventory, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and elbow macaroni. Season to style with salt and pepper.
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Prepare dinner. Stir effectively and produce the combination to a boil. Then, scale back the warmth and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often. If it is too thick on your liking, add a bit extra broth. See notes.
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Add cheese. Take away from the warmth and stir within the pepper jack cheese.
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Relaxation and serve. Let the goulash relaxation for five minutes and serve it heat.
- Spice it up. For some additional taste, you should use canned chopped tomatoes with inexperienced chilies.
- Add-ins. You can even add some canned corn on the finish of cooking. It will likely be a scrumptious addition.
- Pasta shapes. I used 4 ounces of elbow macaroni, however you should use different small pasta shapes like cavatappi or small shells.
- Cheese choices. When you don’t have pepper jack cheese, use cheddar cheese or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Stir. Ensure you stir the goulash whereas it simmers.
- Consistency. If wanted, add extra broth or inventory to your goulash. This recipe must be “stew-like”. The pasta will take in among the liquid, so keep watch over that.
Energy: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 25g | Fats: 10g | Saturated Fats: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 4g | Trans Fats: 0.3g | Ldl cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1153mg | Potassium: 917mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 569IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 4mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might fluctuate in line with the components and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Easy methods to Make American Goulash
Like my fast beef stew and one-pot spaghetti, I put together this beef goulash recipe in a single pot in a bit below an hour. These are the steps:
- Sauté the aromatics. First, add the onion and bell pepper to a big pot with oil. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring typically.
- Add the meat. Subsequent, add the bottom beef to the pot and cook dinner, breaking apart any lumps with a picket spoon or spatula. As soon as the bottom meat has browned, drain off any extra fats and stir within the garlic.
- Add the remainder of the components. Now, stir within the canned tomatoes and sauce, beef inventory, and seasonings. Add the macaroni and stir effectively.
- Prepare dinner. Deliver the pot to a boil, then decrease the warmth. Hold the goulash at a simmer for 20 minutes. Watch the goulash intently and add extra inventory as wanted, so the pasta doesn’t get dry.
- Add cheese and serve. Lastly, take the pot off the warmth and add the shredded cheese. Serve your goulash heat with thick hunks of bread.
Easy methods to Retailer and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer the goulash in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. Heat leftovers within the microwave or on the stovetop. When you discover that the pasta and sauce have change into dry, add a splash of broth or water.
- Freeze. You’ll be able to freeze the goulash with or with out the pasta added for as much as 2 months. When you’re freezing leftovers, chances are you’ll discover that the pasta loses some texture when it’s thawed and reheated, however the flavors will nonetheless be good.