A quick and easy ground beef, macaroni and tomato skillet meal. Stir in 1/2 cup of cubed Velveeta for a cheesy version.
Classic Ground Beef American Goulash
This recipe is a basic American goulash - one of those easy to throw together, I'm in a hurry and need to feed my family quick skillet meals, sort of akin to a simple homemade Hamburger Helper meal, really.
Not to be confused, as it so often is, with its kissing cousin, Hungarian Goulash (gulyás), a hearty, saucy and thick dish that falls somewhere between a soup and a stew of beef, potatoes and onion, much like our beef stew, except that it's usually fairly heavy on paprika.
American goulash is known around the country by a variety of names, mostly depending on where you live - including Slumgullion, or some version of that name, American Chop Suey and other names, adopted by individual families.
A classic, one pot meal, it's so easily done in just a couple of very basic steps:
1. Brown the ground beef, drain off any excess fat and add the vegetables. I'm using onion and garlic, though sweet bell pepper or a mild hotter pepper would be good too.
2. Add the remaining ingredients - the seasonings, stock (or water) and tomatoes and let that simmer covered, for about 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the elbow macaroni, or any other short cut pasta you have on hand, cover and let that simmer another 15-20 minutes, until the pasta is nice and tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Easy!
Variations
- It's easy to adapt too, and I've included a few of those variations in my cook's notes with the recipe.
- For a cheesy variation, cube 1/2 cup of Velveeta and stir in just before serving, until melted and creamy.
- For a juicier goulash, increase the tomato sauce, or add an extra can of tomatoes, or even a can of condensed tomato soup.
- Want to kick it up a bit? Use a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (like Rotel), to fire it up!
- Transform this into a chili macaroni by adding in some chili seasonings and finish off individual servings with sliced green onions, fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream or your other favorite chili toppings.
- While American Goulash is so easy on the stovetop, the Instant Pot is even easier. I've included that variation too.
- This is one of those dishes that you can stretch by adding more pasta and increasing the liquid accordingly, or just double or triple the entire recipe easily for a potluck, church dinner on the grounds or for a funeral meal.
- Add in other vegetables for a little extra nutrition too!
- Hey, while we're talking variations here, be sure to pop by to see my "Deep South" variation of goulash, where I added some Deep South flair to a basic goulash. Just click the link to go there and check that one out to see the differences!
- 1-1/2 pounds ground chuck
- 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (like Lawry's), or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning, or to taste, optional
- 1-1/2 cups water or beef stock/broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1-1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
Sauté the ground beef until cooked through; drain off excess fat, if needed.
Add the onion and garlic and continue sautéing about 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, seasoned salt, Cajun seasoning and bay leaves; blend.
Add the tomato sauce and diced tomato, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the water or beef broth and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan.
Add the macaroni, stir, cover and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until pasta is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, taste and adjust seasonings and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve. Dig in!
- Inexpensive.
- Easy to make.
- One pot.
- Comforting.
- Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Skillet Chili Mac
- Cheesy One Pot Taco Spaghetti
- "Broken" Skillet Lasagna
- Ground Beef Mac and Cheese Casserole
- Hamburger Hot Dish Casserole
Shown here made with ridged pasta.
For more of my favorite pasta recipes, check out the collection on my Pinterest page!
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