Easy Beef Goulash

This easy one-pot beef goulash ticks all the comfort-food boxes. It’s filled with hearty ground beef, sautéed bell peppers and tender macaroni simmered in a rich tomato-based sauce. All of this comes together in about 40 minutes, it’s saucy and super delicious… and will definitely be a hit on a busy weeknight. Serve with lots of grated cheddar for a creamy finishing touch.

This meal is quite different than the traditional Hungarian dish. It includes tender sautéed bell peppers, hearty ground beef and the usual suspects like onion and garlic. Everything comes together with the help of beef broth, tomatoes and paprika. Then the macaroni goes in, and we’re almost ready. Finally stir in some sour cream and dinner is served!
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.

This recipe uses a few simple ingredients and  it’s a great way to feed a crowd, you can also easily double it. It needs only one pot which means less mess and it’s budget friendly, too.

RECIPE NOTES

• use penne, elbows, macaroni or wide egg noodles
• the sour cream is optional, but it adds a nice creamy touch
• to make this an even leaner, you can use ground chicken in stead of ground beef
• try adding in extra veggies like corn, peas or carrots
• serve with a big side salad for  some extra greens

Try These Next

• One Pot Tomato Beef Orzo
• Beef and Bell Pepper Spaghetti
• Creamy Beef Bolognese with Roasted Peppers

Cooking Video

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Yield: serves 4

Easy Beef Goulash

Print

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 bell peppers, red + green, diced
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.1 lb/500 g ground beef
• 1 tsp each: red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
• 1 ½ cups/360 ml beef or chicken broth
• 3 cups/800 ml puréed tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 oz/170 g elbow macaroni
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp sour cream, optional
• freshly grated cheddar cheese, for serving

Instructions

1. Get all the prep done before you start cooking: mince the garlic, finely chop the onion and dice the bell peppers.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, sauté for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes. Lower the heat if the peppers start to char.
3. Add ground beef, break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 6 minutes. Stir in spices, tomato paste and soy sauce. Pour in chicken broth and puréed tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
4. Add macaroni and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, or until the macaroni is al dente, according package directions. Stir in sour cream and parsley. Taste and adjust salt. Serve topped with lots of grated cheddar. Enjoy!

Notes

Calories Per Serving: 638 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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