American Goulash

By Becky Hardin

Updated Jul 30, 2026

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This American Goulash is exactly the one-pot dinner you’re looking for, a comforting mix of ground beef, elbow macaroni, and a rich tomato sauce, all simmered together until tender in a single Dutch oven. It’s ready in about 40 minutes start to finish, and since everything cooks in one pot, cleanup is basically just a spoon and a pan. Fresh off the stove, it looks a bit soupy, which is normal and expected. Give it a few minutes to rest, and the macaroni soaks up the extra sauce, thickening into the hearty, spoonable comfort food you remember. It’s one of the few dinners my kids ask for by name, and it reheats the next day beautifully, so I always make the full batch on purpose.

What Makes This Goulash a Weeknight Staple

If there’s one recipe my kids request that I make time and time again, it’s this family-friendly pasta. When I need a quick, hearty meal I know everyone will love, I turn to this American Goulash. It’s not just my family who loves it: this recipe has over 500 five-star reviews from readers who’ve made it their own. If you’d rather let a slow cooker do the work while you’re out running errands, my Crockpot Goulash uses the same cozy, beefy flavors with almost no hands-on time.

I’ve made this goulash more times than I can count myself, and I always come back to the same two non-negotiables. First, a splash of soy sauce might sound out of place in a tomato-based sauce, but it deepens the flavor without tasting like soy sauce at all. I tested batches with and without it, and the difference was noticeable every time. Second, I never let the macaroni sit in the pot too long once it’s tender; overcooked pasta turns the whole dish gluey instead of saucy.

This is the Americanized, kid-friendly version some call American Chop Suey, built for weeknights instead of special occasions. You’ll know it’s done right when the sauce still looks a little loose in the pot. It thickens fast as it cools, so don’t be tempted to keep simmering past that stage.

Tips for Beginners

• Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Straight off the stove, the goulash will look loose, almost soupy. That’s just the pasta still absorbing liquid, so resist the urge to keep simmering it or add more macaroni to compensate. Give it 5 minutes off the heat, and it thickens into the right consistency on its own.
• Cook the pasta right in the sauce. I tested it both ways, and cooking the macaroni directly in the sauce lets it absorb all that tomato flavor as it cooks, plus it’s one less pot to wash.
• Set a timer once the macaroni goes in. Elbow macaroni goes from tender to mushy fast in this much liquid. Check it at the 12-minute mark. Once it’s overcooked, there’s no fixing the texture.
• Don’t skip the low-sodium soy sauce. It sounds like an odd addition to an Italian-leaning tomato sauce, but I tested a batch without it, and the difference was noticeable: the sauce tasted flatter and one-dimensional. Soy sauce adds a savory, umami backbone that rounds out the tomato and beef without making the dish taste like soy sauce at all.

Recipe Card

Easy Goulash Recipe (American Style)

Difficulty: Easy

4.67 from 656 votes

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4 bowls

Author: Becky Hardin

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Ground beef, tomatoes, and noodles make a delicious comfort food dinner you can make any night of the week in this American Goulash recipe.

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ¾ pound ground beef ground turkey, chicken, or pork, or ground veal or bison also work
• ▢ ½ yellow onion diced
• ▢ 2 cups low sodium beef broth chicken and vegetable also work
• ▢ 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes (1 can)
• ▢ 1 cup marinara sauce store-bought or homemade
• ▢ 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional, for a sweeter sauce
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning store-bought or homemade
• ▢ 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon seasoned salt or to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
• ▢ 1 cup dry elbow macaroni any short or tubular pasta works
• ▢ ½ cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese optional
• ▢ chopped fresh parsley optional, for garnish

Video

Instructions 

• In a Dutch oven, cook the ground beef and onion together until the onion softens and the meat cooks through, about 3-5 minutes.
  ¾ pound ground beef, ½ yellow onion
• Drain any grease.
• Add the beef broth, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, soy sauce, garlic powder, paprika, seasoned salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
  2 cups low sodium beef broth, 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes, 1 cup marinara sauce, 1 bay leaf, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground paprika, ½ teaspoon seasoned salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes, covered.
• Add the elbow macaroni and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 12-15 minutes. Don’t overcook.
  1 cup dry elbow macaroni
• Remove the bay leaves and adjust the seasonings to taste.
• Add the shredded cheese, optional. If you are using a Dutch oven, you can pop it in the oven and melt and brown the cheese if desired.
  ½ cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Garnish the finished dish with chopped parsley, optional.
  chopped fresh parsley

Equipment

• Dutch Oven

Becky’s Tips

• When the goulash is warm, it will resemble soup, but it will thicken as it cools.
• Cook the goulash in a Dutch oven or heavy-based pot. This will distribute the heat more evenly, so you are less likely to get hot spots, which can burn the bottom.

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 435kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 28gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 1191mgPotassium: 1017mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 670IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 185mgIron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave a comment!

How to Make American Goulash Step by Step

Gather all the ingredients together.

Brown the beef and onion: Cook ¾ lb ground beef and ½ diced onion together in a Dutch oven until the onion turns soft and translucent and the beef is no longer pink, about 3–5 minutes. Then drain off the excess grease. Leftover fat left in the pot will make the finished sauce greasy instead of rich, so don’t skip the draining.

Build the sauce: Stir in 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, one 14.5-oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup marinara sauce, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp paprika, ½ tsp seasoned salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper (plus 1 tbsp brown sugar here, too, if you want a sweeter sauce), then bring everything to a boil. The soy sauce is doing quiet work here: it won’t read as “soy sauce” in the final dish, but it deepens the savory flavor of the tomato base. The bay leaf works the same way, infusing the simmering sauce with a subtle herbal note, but it never actually softens or becomes edible, which is why it has to come back out before serving (a stray bay leaf is bitter and stiff enough to be a choking hazard, so don’t skip that step later).

Simmer and cook the pasta: Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the sauce simmer, covered, for 5–10 minutes. This short simmer gives the canned tomatoes time to lose their raw, acidic edge and lets all those seasonings actually meld into the broth instead of tasting separate and sharp. Stir in 1 cup dry elbow macaroni and simmer, covered, stirring every couple of minutes, for 12–15 minutes. Cooking the pasta directly in the sauce (instead of boiling it separately) is what gives this dish its signature texture. Watch it closely near the end: you’re looking for pasta that’s tender with a slight bite, not fully soft, since it will keep absorbing liquid and softening even after you take the pot off the heat.

Add the cheese, if using: Fish out the bay leaf and taste the sauce before deciding it needs anything else. This is the moment to add a pinch more seasoned salt or pepper if it needs it. Stir in ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, or, if you’re cooking in an oven-safe Dutch oven, pop the whole pot under the broiler for a minute or two to melt and lightly brown the cheese on top instead.

Garnish and let it rest: Top with chopped parsley if you like, then let the pot sit for about 5 minutes before serving. This short rest is what takes the goulash from “looks like soup” to the thick, hearty texture you’re expecting. It’s not a sign anything went wrong.

Storage & Freezing

Store leftover goulash in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The pasta will keep soaking up sauce as it sits, so leftovers are naturally a bit thicker than the day you made it. That’s expected, not a sign it’s gone bad.

Freezer

Let the goulash cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe bags or an airtight container. It freezes well for up to 3 months. The texture of the macaroni will soften slightly after freezing and thawing, since pasta continues to break down in the sauce. It’ll still taste great, just slightly less firm than fresh.

Reheating

Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, or in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each. If the sauce has thickened more than you’d like after storage, stir in a splash of broth or water while reheating to loosen it back up.

Make Ahead

Thaw frozen goulash overnight in the refrigerator before reheating rather than reheating from frozen, which helps it heat through evenly without drying out the edges. If you want to prep components ahead of a busy night, you can cook the meat-and-sauce base up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it. Just add the macaroni fresh when you reheat it so the pasta doesn’t oversoften from sitting in the sauce for days before it’s even cooked.

Serving Suggestions

Because this comes together in about 40 minutes in a single pot, it’s one of my go-to weeknight dinners when I don’t have the bandwidth for anything more involved. There’s no side dish required to round it out, and there’s almost nothing to clean up afterward. You can double it to feed a crowd. Use a larger Dutch oven or stockpot, double every ingredient, and give the pasta a few extra minutes to cook through since there’s more volume in the pot. Taste and adjust the seasoning at the end regardless. Doubled batches don’t always scale seasoning perfectly, so it’s worth a check before serving.

When I do want to round out the meal, I reach for a few go-to pairings. Classic cornbread is the traditional route. Its slight sweetness plays well against the savory tomato sauce, and it’s sturdy enough for scooping up the last bites. Soft dinner rolls work for the same reason and are an easy make-ahead side for a weeknight. For kids especially, I’ll serve it alongside creamy mashed potatoes or cheesy au gratin potatoes. Both add a milder, starchy side for picky eaters who want the goulash flavor without quite so much sauce.

More Easy Ground Beef Dinners You’ll Love

• Hamburger Casserole: closest in spirit to this recipe, with a similar ground beef and pasta base but a different seasoning direction.
• Cheeseburger Casserole: same one-pot, kid-approved comfort food energy, but built around cheeseburger flavors instead of tomato sauce.
• Taco Casserole: another easy weeknight bake that reheats just as well as this goulash does.
• Shepherd’s Pie: a heartier, slightly more weekend-project take on ground beef comfort food, topped with mashed potatoes instead of macaroni.

more Easy Beef Dinner Recipes

Beef Stroganoff Sloppy Joes

Beef Wellington Pot Pie Bake

Crockpot Pepper Steak

Taco Stuffed Shells