If you're looking for an easy to make delicious comfort food recipe, you're going to love American Goulash.
Perfectly cooked ground beef cooked in a deliciously spiced tomato sauce, with tender pasta, and topped with Cheddar cheese.
American Goulash is quite different from Hungarian Goulash which is a beef and onion stew. And another great recipe for the colder seasons.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon VEGETABLE OIL
- 1 pound GROUND BEEF
- 1 medium ONION - diced
- 3 cloves GARLIC - minced
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons SOY SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon PAPRIKA
- ⅓ cup RED WINE
- 2 BAY LEAVES
- 14-ounce can DICED TOMATOES
- 1 RED BELL PEPPER - diced
- 26 ounces TOMATO PURÉE/STRAINED TOMATOES
- 16 ounces ELBOW MACARONI
- 1 cup CHEDDAR CHEESE - shredded
How To Make American Goulash
- Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic.
- Add paprika, soy sauce, and red wine.
- Add strained tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Stir in cooked pasta and cheese. Reserve 2 tablespoons of cheese. Once the cheese has melted, serve immediately. Drizzle with remaining Cheddar cheese.
Recipe Tips
You can make American Goulash as a one-pot meal. In which case you'd cook the pasta in the sauce.
I don't do that. While one pot pasta dinners are great in theory, I've never been a fan. Pasta emits starch during the cooking process. That in itself is not a bad thing.
In fact, using a cup of starchy water to make a delicious pasta sauce is a great cooking hack. It's how I make Shrimp Carbonara. But having all that extra starch mix with the goulash. It just doesn't work for me.
So in this recipe, I cook the pasta separately (according to package instructions). And afterward, add the cooked pasta to the goulash.
More Easy Comfort Food Recipes
- Beef Stew - classic, hearty stew recipe.
- Easy Cheesy Chicken Parmesan - pure comfort food
- Chicken Meatloaf - perfect for quick weeknight dinners
- Roasted Lemon Chicken - lemony, savory chicken dinner
- Roasted Salmon - versatile dinner
Ground Beef Goulash
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground beef 90/10
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 large red bell peppers
- ¼ cup red wine
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes
- 26 ounces tomato puree
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic.
- Add paprika, soy sauce, red wine, strained tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in cooked pasta. Add all but 2 tablespoons of Cheddar cheese. Stir until well combined and the cheese has melted. Serve and drizzle with remaining Cheddar cheese.