I needed some total comfort food when Mary Jo got back from France. I’d been eating fried chicken breast and grilled chicken breast and BLTs for nearly two weeks. Just thought I should make One Pot American Goulash, kind of like my Mom used to make.
I don’t think my mom used recipes…she just threw things together and we’d eat it. Well this is like her goulash and it’s a really simple recipe with common ingredients and tastes American. Not Italian or Mexican. The flavor of this just kind of glides into your mouth, gets to your stomach and says, “I’m comfort food.” Similar to some other recipes I’ve posted like, Tex Mex Ground Beef Casserole or Italian Sausage Lasagna Roll-ups.
You could easily have this any day of the week since it takes no time to make and you just need one pan. There’s no funky tastes in this so the kids will snarf it down. I added a little cayenne and even that is a subtle flavor boost.
I also used stewed tomatoes for this dish and they seem to have a heightened tomato flavor when compared to diced or crushed tomatoes. I just put the cans of tomatoes into a medium sized bowl and used kitchen scissors to cut up the big tomato chunks. It’s much easier to eat when everything is bite-sized.
Finish off your bowl of one pot American goulash with a little grated cheddar and some coarse chopped scallions.
Just remember…easy peasy and add this recipe to your monthly stable. It is fantastic comfort food.
Enjoy!
One Pot American Goulash
Ingredients
- 12 oz . ground round beef
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lg. yellow onion coarsely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper , coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 cups beef broth , (I used Better than Bouillon beef base)
- 2 15 oz . cans Del Monte stewed tomatoes , tomatoes cut to bite size
- 8 oz . pasta elbows
- grated cheddar cheese
- coarse chopped scallions
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot on medium heat , add the vegetable oil, bring it to 350° or to shimmering and add the ground beef. Break up and cook until browned, 6 mins.
- Add the green pepper and onion and cook to soften about 4 to 5 minutes, covered.
- Add the beef broth, spices and stewed tomatoes, stir in and bring to a boil, 2 mins.
- Stir in the pasta and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes until the pasta is softened.
- Serve hot with grated cheddar and chopped scallions
Nutrition
Mary
JOey, 2 tablespoons of paprika? This wrecked it for us. I will make this recipe again, only with alot less paprika.
Josie
Yum! Great one-pot comfort food on a rainy day!
Sandi
It does taste like Mom’s…love it!
Becky Bancroft
Joe, We finally made the goulash and loved it! I’ve never not prepared the noodles before adding to the rest, so loved how it turned out and one less kettle to wash! The flavor was excellent and will make this again and again.! I, too, grew up with goulash and it’s always been my favorite. My Norwigian grandmother made it, but we put sugar on the top, as it was dished up! Not bad!! We do like the sweets, ya know!!
Joe
Thanks for the nice comment Becky. Glad you liked it.
Alan Howie
This is a wonderful recipe that is close to what I grew up on also. My mom frequently prepared a “Goulash”, or a Hotdish, or a Casserole, to feed three growing boys plus my Dad. The ingredients were the same as your recipe (except for a larger group) and she usually used what was left in the refrigerator, which were called “Musgos”. She would look at things in the frig and if it looked like it “Mustgo” she would throw it in.
Joe
Thanks for the comment Alan. Wonder if I could come up with a recipe for “Musgo.”