Classic Goulash (American Chop Suey)

By Addie

"Easy recipe for making a classic goulash. Can also be done in a slow cooker."

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 largeyellow onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cupswater
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt, or to taste
• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (use rice macaroni for gf)

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 80mins
Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.

Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.
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Cook’s Note:
For slow cooker, preheat a slow cooker set on High heat. Make recipe through Step 1; place the ground beef-onion mixture into the preheated slow cooker. Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, seasoned salt, and macaroni until thoroughly combined. Cook on High for 1 hour.

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REVIEWS: (434)

This is not "classic" Hungarian Goulash but it is goulash or Chop Suey depending on what part of the country you grew up. For me it was western NY and we added canned corn. Made this tonight, exactly as written, for my very picky folks and we loved it; it was a taste of my childhood. Next time I'll add Jalapeno and bell peppers.

This is the classic goulash made in the mid-west, USA, not Hungarian Goulash. I grew up on this in Iowa, but we used Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce, no bay leaf, and a green pepper if we had one.

This one is classic AMERICAN style goulash. The picture depicts it. This is a dish that was mainstay for most of us and even served at school. @Pathunt: Nicely done! I made it just as the recipe states and enjoyed it but next time around I will add a diced green pepper to the meat as it's browning and probably a shake of garlic powder to remind me of school, and LOTS of fresh ground pepper.

Because we're on a super tight budget this week, I used only one pound ground meat (half ground beef, half ground pork) and threw in chopped veggies for the rest of the meat (red pepper, zucchini, spinach). To make a more tomato-y sauce, I used V-8 instead of water. I'm out of soy sauce so I used Worcestershire instead of soy sauce. I did not need the seasoning salt--we're watching our salt intake--and I also used organic canned tomato sauce, organic canned tomatoes and homemade Italian seasoning. Very economical and a good way for me to bend the recipe to add more healthy ingredients for my family, nevermind it filled the bellies of my three hungry men very well. There's plenty leftover for lunch tomorrow as well, which I appreciate.

This is delicious! It is near identical to a Paula Deen goulash recipe that I have been making for a few years. It is also easy to make as the noodles are added uncooked. The main difference it appears between this and that recipe of hers, that I use, is it looks like the ingredients here are doubled, so this recipe here will feed a lot! And, this recipe here uses tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and that one uses an equal amount of crushed tomatoes. Either way, Mid-western style goulash is a favorite in my home!

Being from Minnesota, I understood the term "goulash" as meaning "hot dish" as the two terms are more or less interchangeable in this state! I realize there is a Hungarian goulash which is completely different, but this is a regional term that I understood to be exactly what it is! Kudos! Yummy!

This made a ton..and I even cut it in half. Dinner was easy to make. I just think that the amount of seasoning is off a bit. Too salty and too much Italian Seasoning. I cut back on those to suit our taste. I also decided to cook the noodles separate, so I didn't add the extra water. Total cooking time was about 40 minutes. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

First of all, every goulash doesn't have to be from Hungary. Goulash also means a mixture, jumble or hodgepodge. This recipe is definitely that. This is a recipe that many, many of us grew up on which makes it a classic. I do add onions and green pepper to mine when I make it. If it is too juicy for you just add some tomato paste and be sure to drain the diced tomatoes well.

I am a bit torn over whether to rate this a four or five... I just mad this tonight for dinner and it was well accepted by my children. My husband and I also enjoyed it, however I felt that there was something missing. For the life of me I cannot put my finger on it. Still, it was easy to prepare, and on a winter day like today, it was warm, filling comfort food. We did sprinkle a bit of cheese on top. After all, everything is better with a bit of cheese! Thanks for sharing this recipe. We will definitely make it again!

Awesome!!! I have lived in Oklahoma all my life and this is a dish we used to have quite often as it was a family favorite. This recipe added a few more flavors but they totally work! Love it, love it! This is a classic goulash - classic for this part of the country! Awesome dish - thanks for posting it!! Better than mom's! (Dont tell her please) :D

My father used to own a restaurant and we had this every Wednesday for a special. We could never make enough! There is a couple of things we did differently though and here they are. Stewed tomatoes instead of diced, no soy sauce, no Italian seasoning, but added celery and green pepper, used veg juice instead of water and 1 teaspoon of chili powder to a recipe this size and also, 1 small can of cream of mushroom soup, this makes it a little bit creamier (sometimes do this and sometimes not). Otherwise, the prep and procedure is the same.