Classic American Goulash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Hungarian goulash and American goulash? ›

Hungarian Goulash is a thick meat and vegetable stew with a broth that's heavily seasoned with paprika, while American Goulash is a quick dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs, and elbow macaroni noodles. It also goes by the name of American Chop Suey.

It is made with simple ingredients like meat, peppers and root vegetables elevated to perfection by the use of Hungary's most famous spice: paprika. Goulash can be made with beef or pork but the traditional way of making it is with beef.

This hardy American Goulash Recipe is one of my kids' favorites. It is a classic dish from our childhoods similar to Hamburger Helper, with ground beef and elbow macaroni cooked in a savory tomato sauce and topped with cheese. It's so easy to make this comforting one-pot meal.

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

It's subtle but if you've been making Goulash without Worcestershire sauce and feel like it's been missing something, this just might be what's missing! A tablespoon of sugar. Because that's what grandma did and that's because it perfectly balances out the acidic tomatoes and peppers.

Hungary's most famous food, the goulash, is a crimson-hued beef soup laced with vegetables and imparting the sweet-sharp flavor of fresh paprika. The dish is named after the herdsmen in eastern Hungary – the gulyás – who prepared this hearty soup in large cast-iron pots.

While the mixture of ground beef, macaroni, and tomato sauce seems simple enough, thousands of users responded with a slew of different names. Beefaroni, goulash, slumgullion, Johnny Marzetti, American Chop Suey—the list goes on.

Sauce – This goulash recipe starts with jarred pasta sauce or marinara sauce and canned tomatoes. Water or broth are added to cook the pasta. Seasoning – Onion, garlic, Italian Seasoning, and bay leaf flavor the sauce.

Serve up a hearty goulash for the ultimate comforting stew on winter nights. Searching for the perfect accompaniment? Try mashed potato, dumplings or your favourite veg.

To prevent soft, mushy pasta, make sure the cooking water is at a full boil before adding the pasta. Also, make sure to keep it at a steady boil throughout the cooking time.

Why does my goulash taste bitter? ›

When cooking sauces, soups, stews or anything in a pot, as the liquid evaporates it leaves a residue on the side. This can burn and create bitterness in the end product. Using a pastry brush with a some water is a great way to wipe down the sides, keeping them nice and clean for high level cooking.

Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. When a gravy, sauce, soup or stew recipe calls for flour, use half as much cornstarch to thicken. To thicken hot liquids, first mix cornstarch with a little cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into hot liquid until blended.

American goulash is usually referred to in the midwestern and southern United States as simply "goulash". As a descendant, of sorts, of Hungarian goulash, the only real connection seems to be the name, and the inclusion of beef and paprika.

Hungarian goulash is very similar to beef stew, but there are some differences. While a typical stew consists of slow braising chunks of meat with root vegetables in a seasoned broth, goulash uses spices such as caraway, cumin, paprika, and peppers which really enhance and alter the flavor from a classic beef stew.

Is beef stroganoff the same as goulash? No, because stroganoff is a thick pasta dish where one of the main ingredients is some type of pasta noddle, whereas goulash is more of a stew without noodles but lots of potatoes and different spices.