Classic American Goulash Recipes

EASY CLASSIC GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot pot until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes; drain and discard grease. Stir onion and garlic into beef; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Stir tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, sofrito, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, and bay leaves into beef mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors blend, about 20 minutes.
• Pour macaroni into beef mixture, cover the pot, and continue simmering until pasta is tender and flavors are completely blended, about 25 minutes. Discard bay leaves.

CHEF JOHN'S AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground beef. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir until liquid is evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, Italian seasoning, and bay leaves.
• Cook and stir until flavors come together, about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and marinara sauce. Rinse out the jar with 1 cup water and pour into the pot. Add soy sauce, stir, and bring soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to let flavors intensify, about 30 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and bring soup to a simmer. Add macaroni; simmer, stirring occasionally, until just barely tender, about 12 minutes. Check for doneness after 10 minutes.
• Remove goulash from heat. Discard bay leaves; stir in parsley and Cheddar cheese. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Taste and season as desired.

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Brown ground beef, onion and pepper.
• Season with garlic salt and pepper.
• Add tomatoes and tomato sauce.
• Simmer 10 minutes while macaroni is cooking.
• Boil macaroni al dente, drain, rinse.
• Return macaroni to pot, add beef and tomato mixture.
• Serve in bowls with shredded cheese.
• Even better left over and reheated (add a little water or tomato juice when reheating, if too dry).

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add beef and onion. Cook 7 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is brown; drain, and return to skillet. Add garlic; cook about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika and pepper. Heat to simmering, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 16 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Stir in cream cheese until completely melted, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with shredded cheese; top with crushed croutons.

AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in a large stockpot. Remove from pan and drain. Leave about 1-2 tablespoons grease in the. Add the diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until tender. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
• Return ground beef to pot along with the water, beef base, cans of tomatoes and sauce, soy sauce, bay leaves, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, paprika, and black pepper. Stir together, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the noodles, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to the bottom.
• Just before serving, stir in the cheese. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

CLASSIC GOULASH

Steps:

• Cook and stir the ground beef in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
• Stir water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt into the meat mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir macaroni into the mixture, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.

CLASSIC AMERICAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Cook the elbow macaroni pasta (or other small pasta) in salted water until tender. Drain.
• In a dutch oven or large soup pot, put the oil and diced onion. Cook the onion for about 4 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the bell pepper and cook until just tender.
• Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
• Add the ground meat and cook until browned.
• Drain off any fat.
• Add the soy sauce (or use Worcestershire sauce), dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper. (Instead of salt I usually use bouillon.) Stir to combine.
• Add the tomatoes. If you want a stronger tomato flavor, add some tomato paste also.
• Add the drained pasta and mix well.
• You will probably need to add more salt at this time. Serve hot with grated cheese for garnish. I also sometimes serve sour cream on the side. This dish is often better the next day.
• Variations: Some people like to add corn or a can of condensed mushroom soup to their American goulash. You could also add taco seasoning mix and give it a Mexican twist.