Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Classic American Goulash Recipe
Tomato sauce settles into every curve of the macaroni in this American goulash. The beef gives it substance, with sweet pepper running through the pot. It's an easy dinner to settle into when a generous bowl of familiar flavors sounds especially good.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Original yield
- Serves 8
- Ingredients
- 12 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Beef
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Brown the beef first
Cook the beef with the onions, pepper, and garlic until the meat is no longer pink. Breaking it up well now gives you a better texture through the whole pot.
2. Drain, then build the sauce
After browning, drain most of the fat before adding the tomatoes, water, Worcestershire, herbs, and salt. That keeps the sauce from feeling greasy while still leaving plenty of beefy flavor.
3. Add the macaroni uncooked
The elbows go in dry after the first simmer, then cook right in the tomato mixture. Stir occasionally so they don’t clump or settle too firmly on the bottom.
Get to know the ingredients
Use the beef called for
The recipe uses 85/15 ground beef, which gives enough fat for flavor as it browns with the vegetables. You’ll still drain most of the fat before the sauce ingredients go in.
Chop the aromatics
The onions, green bell pepper, and garlic are chopped and cooked right with the beef. They soften early, so their flavor has time to spread through the sauce before the pasta goes in.
Tomatoes do the heavy lifting
Both tomato sauce and diced tomatoes go into the pot before the first covered simmer. Together with the water, they make the saucy base the macaroni will cook in later.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 8. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Classic American Goulash Recipe
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Give it a final stir
Once the macaroni has simmered under the lid, stir through the pot before serving. It helps loosen the elbows, fold the sauce back together, and catch anything that settled while it cooked.
A little more help as you go
Keep the lid on for the simmers
Both simmering stages are covered. That matters here because the sauce needs enough liquid left for the uncooked macaroni to soften in the pot.
Stir now and then after adding pasta
Once the macaroni is in, don’t leave it completely alone. An occasional stir helps the pasta cook evenly in the thick tomato-beef mixture.
A few questions you might have
Do I cook the macaroni before adding it?
No. Add the elbow macaroni uncooked after the sauce has simmered. It cooks in the covered pot with the tomato mixture during the final simmer.
Should I drain all the beef fat?
Drain most of it after the beef is no longer pink. The recipe doesn’t call for rinsing or removing every bit, just enough so the finished sauce isn’t overly fatty.
Why does the sauce simmer before the pasta goes in?
That first covered simmer gives the tomatoes, Worcestershire, herbs, salt, and browned beef time to come together before the macaroni starts absorbing the liquid.
How often should I stir after adding the macaroni?
Stir occasionally during the final covered simmer. The recipe doesn’t need constant stirring, but a few stirs help keep the elbows mixed into the sauce.
What heat should I use once it boils?
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce it to low heat for the covered simmer. Keep it low again after the macaroni is mixed in.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinnerthendessert.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
