Easy American Goulash Recipe
This easy American goulash is a budget-friendly recipe that uses ground beef, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and elbow macaroni for a hearty family dinner that's ready in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 24 ounce pasta sauce
- 14 ounce Italian-style petite diced tomatoes undrained
- 16 ounce elbow macaroni
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Boil your macaroni in salted water according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
- While the macaroni is boiling, cook your ground beef, diced bell peppers, and diced onions over medium heat until they are no longer pink, and then drain any excess grease.
- Add the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes (with the juice), Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the pasta, sprinkle with Parmesan, and enjoy!
Notes
Variations:
- You can make this extra cheesy by adding in 1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese at the end.
- Add in some mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach when cooking the onions and peppers for more veggies.
- Try adding some spice with red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce.
- Make this meal healthier by switching out the ground beef for ground turkey.
- If you would prefer your goulash to be more saucy, you can add in some beef broth or extra pasta sauce.
- Prefer to cook it in one pot, add your elbow macaroni directly in the sauce with an extra 2 ½ cups of beef broth.
Helpful Tips:
- Be sure to drain the extra grease after cooking the ground beef so the goulash isn't too greasy.
- Make sure to simmer the sauce in the ground beef with the seasonings for at least 15 minutes so that the dish is more flavorful.
- Adjust the seasonings as needed.
Storage:
- Store your leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. (We love the leftovers!) This dish is even better the next day.