Old Fashioned Goulash – The same American goulash recipe that you grew up with. A hearty recipe that the entire family can enjoy any night of the week.
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I grew up in the Mid-West where old fashioned goulash was a staple. My mom made it all the time growing up, and it was something that she grew up with as well. It is one of those recipes that just keeps getting made generation after generation. Kind of like the homemade brownies recipe that I have had memorized since I was 8 years old.
This American goulash recipe is the one I grew up with. You cook everything on the stove top, and then bake until all the flavors come together and it gets bubbly and hot. It goes by a million different names, but in Minnesota this is what we called it.
What is Goulash?
American Goulash is completely different from the rest of the world. It is a hearty beefy macaroni dish with lots of tomatoes. Depending on the part of the United States that you grew up in this also goes by the name Chop Suey or Slumgullion.
Hungarian Goulash is made with stew meat and vegetables that is seasoned with paprika and other spices. The two versions are very different!
How to Make Goulash
- The macaroni is cooked separately, so follow the directions on the box to cook that. Because you bake the pasta for a few minutes to blend all of the flavors together, you want to under cook the pasta by 3 minutes.
- I like to use a large skillet or even a dutch oven to brown the ground beef and onions together until the beef is cooked and the onions are soft.
- After the onions are soft stir in the garlic and cook for about a minute until it starts to get fragrant.
- Add in Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes and mix until everything is combined. You can really use any combination of tomato products that you have. If you don’t like chunks of tomatoes, just use all sauce. If you have fire roasted tomatoes in your pantry, use them!
- Add in the seasonings and taste to adjust. Start with just a little salt and add more if you think it is necessary.
- Once everything is cooked stir in the cooked pasta and cheese until everything is combined.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot and bubbly. If your pan is not oven safe transfer to a casserole dish to bake.
What to Serve with Goulash
- Caesar Salad or your favorite big salad
- Garlic Knots
- Cornbread is a great side dish
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Buttered Saltine Crackers – an absolute must for my grandpa
Can you Freeze Goulash
Yes, you absolutely can freeze it. This makes a ton of goulash, so if you have leftovers just let it cool completely and then store in an air tight container for up to 2-3 months. To thaw place in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the oven.
Leftovers are great in the fridge for 3-4 days as well. It is great to have for lunch all week long! Just reheat in the microwave.
If you want pure comfort food, something hearty and delicious you need to try this old fashioned goulash recipe. You will not be disappointed, and the leftovers are great for lunch for days!
Try serving it with buttered saltine crackers and let me know what you think!
Even More Comfort Food
- Homemade Calzones
- Crock Pot Chili
- Lasagna Soup
- Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Creamy Chicken and Rice
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Don’t forget Dessert Recipes!
Video by Inspo
Old Fashioned Goulash
Old Fashioned Goulash - The same American goulash recipe that you grew up with. A hearty recipe that the entire family can enjoy any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbs worchestershire sauce
- 2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans petit diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 Tbls Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook macaroni for 3 minute less than the box directions. Drain.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add ground beef and onions to the pan. Break beef apart, cooking for 6-7 minutes until browned. Drain any fat.
- Mix in garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add in worchestershire sauce, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Mix until combined.
- Stir in Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.
- Mix in cooked macaroni and cheddar cheese. If skillet is heat safe, you can place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. Or transfer to casserole dish and bake.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 500Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 115mgSodium 1397mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 4gSugar 6gProtein 39g
Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on dinnersdishesanddesserts.com should only be used as a general guideline.
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Sergio Fishreeler says
This dish is familiar from childhood, I prepared it for Sunday lunch, my family and I remembered how our mothers did such goulash in childhood. Thanks for the nostalgia and wonderful recipe!
Sportegan says
I hasten to inform you that this dish just saved me last weekend, my relatives arrived very unexpectedly. And I needed to feed 6 people quickly and tasty, I use your site in bookmarks. And voila! I made this goulash easy and fast. Thanks to everyone, it was tasty and satisfying!
LindaMarie says
Buttered saltiness crackers were a staple at our house. My favorite memory was eating at the beacb, Lake Michigan, near Manistee, MI. I dropped my in the sand. I called them sandwiches. I guess I like them best with Lake Michigan too! My mom had a hard time getting me to stop adding the extra crunch. I thought is was only my mom who did this!
Jim says
Pinned this recipe on March 24, 2020. It was such a hit that I have made it three times with four coming tomorrow. The only thing I do different is add diced red peppers – that was requested by my wife. (She remembers red pepper in her mom’s when she was a kid).
Marie says
Oh, thank you Jim!
I was thinking this recipe seems similar to my mom’s… (mom didn’t use cheese or do the baking in the oven bit) But something was missing – peppers! I believe my mom used green bell peppers, but red would be good too. Now I just need to make this using worchestershire sauce and then trying soy sauce to see which way tastes more like childhood 🙂
Thanks to Erin for posting this recipe! I’ve been missing goulash.
Charla Owens says
In my part of the country we call it Johnny Marzetti! It is an Italian dish. Just look at the ingredients. It’s Italian. So good! I make it a lot!
Susan Dubose says
I made this about a month ago but I made it in the slow cooker. It came out amazing. I am going to make it again tomorrow because it was so good. Thanks for the awesome recipe
MiMi says
Oh my heavens this immediately took me back to my childhood. I LOVED THIS STUFF! I havent had it since I was a kid living at home (uh, 50 years ago!?). Unfortunately my mom took all of her recipes to heaven with her. So I am going to make this for dinner tonight and the whole time I am making it my mom will be right there with me! Thanks for posting this, it melts my heart.
Nick says
The garlic was a little overpowering… next time I’ll only use 2 cloves instead of 3. Other than that, a very good recipe! I made it without the cheese to try and get it closer to how my grandma made it when I was growing up 🙂
Genie says
That was a trip back to childhood! Easy to pull together, full of flavour, & memories of my Mum making something very similar.
Thank you for an awesome recipe!
Lori says
This looks so delish! We will be eating this for supper this week!
Thank you!
Emily Stimpson says
A hearty recipe
Jane says
This is definitely Midwest goulash, yum! My grandma added cut up hot dogs to hers, finding them was like a treasure hunt for me. Mom made it too, but it wasn’t quite the same as grandma’s. After me insisting many times that grandma put in a can of cream of mushroom soup, mom finally relented and added that too. Then the family agreed it was perfect! We called it Saturday Hotdish 🙂
Ken says
Made this tonight as a “what can we make for dinner“. Excellent! Give it a 10 star rating. My 5 year old grandson, who mainly will only eat plain noodles, hot dogs or chicken nuggets, had TWO helpings of this!!
Donna Latimer says
Mine tasted too sweet. Wonder how I can fix that?
Erin S says
I have never had that problem before, I wonder if it was your tomato products. To reduce sweetness in a tomato based sauce you can add 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice to see if it helps.
Sandy says
Leave out the Italian spices. They ruin it for my family, we are from the south. Had to throw whole thing away. Will make again without those spices
Tammie Donaldson says
Thank You so much for this amazing recipe. My family loved it and will definitely make it again.
Angel says
So far so good! Its cooking in the oven now but my husband and I have already eaten a few spoonfuls (just taste testing of course). I’ve never had or made this so I changed a few things to our liking. I halved the recipe and it filled my largest cast iron skillets. Next time I think I’ll make it in my Dutch oven. So here are the changes I’ve made that work for my family:
-Put about 1/2tbsp italian seasoning in with my meat and onions as cooking.
-used one can of rotel and one can of petite diced tomatoes
-2 small (I think they are 5 or 6 oz) of tomato sauce with garlic. This is all I had on hand.
-more Italian
-about 3/4 cup of some leftover spaghetti sauce I had because my husband said it just tasted like tomatoes.
-chili powder i have no idea how much but I’d guess maybe a 1tsp
– I also used my tomato cans with water to fill my macaroni pot (does that even make sense??-take empty can fill with water, pour in measuring cup, repeat with all cans until I reached 6 cups of water)
I was also interested in using mushroom soup like a previous comment mentioned but I’ll have to do that secretly as my husband doesn’t like the idea of mushrooms lol
I hope this helps someone!
Jessica says
A substitute my mother used when I was young… if you don’t have cheddar cheese, use the cheese packet out of a Mac-n-cheese box. You can simmer it on the stove for 5-10 minutes and not use the oven.
Susan Dubose says
This looks absolutely tasty. A recipe with easy to find ingredients and cooked in one pan. Thanks for sharing.
Robin says
This goulash looks absolutely delicious. I use a combination of shredded parmesan and provolone in my recipe. Very tasty.
Kim says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, Erin! Goulash was one of my favorites growing up, and I always remember my mom making it. It’s so easy, tasty, and I love that nostalgic feeling it brings. I can’t wait to try your version!
Anthony Poland says
Can I make a suggestion? The font on the list of ingredients, the 3’s look like 8’s as in garlic cloves lol…. Anyway, it was still good! Thank you
ashok says
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Anne says
This is the goulash we grew up with in Minnesota. Nothing Italian about it. We never put cheese in it.
Kimberly says
Such a great classic comfort dish – quick and easy to make and always delicious!
Krystle says
So delicious and comforting! It reminds me of what my Grandma used to make.
Erik says
This totally reminded me of something I used to eat as a kid. Thanks for sharing!