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This is the homemade goulash you wish you grew up with. Deep tomato flavor, beef, and elbow noodles, all made in one skillet. It’s nostalgic, cozy, and comes together in an hour.
Ready for the best-ever homemade goulash recipe?
Goulash is a traditional Hungarian stew. The dish has been taken from my Midwestern home cooks over the years, and each recipe can be different. In school, we would have goulash, a type of tomato sauce mixed with macaroni without much flavor. I was never impressed.
This recipe is what I wish I could have eaten when I was younger. The important part is adding rich tomato flavor with just a bit of herb. Four types of tomato are used: paste, juice, sauce, and diced. Each gives a distinct flavor and texture that makes this the best goulash.
Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Beef is the traditional meat when preparing goulash. I use 92% lean ground beef. For a vegetarian version, leave the meat and beef stock out.
- Tomato paste is added and cooked. During cooking, it is caramelized and darkens for a deeper and richer flavor.
- Paprika is a traditional spice added for flavor and color. The recipe uses sweet paprika if you want more heat use hot paprika.
- Dried oregano and dried basil are not traditional. They offset the strong tomato flavors with a bright herb note.
- Tomato sauce, tomato juice, and diced tomatoes are used to add flavor, but also each help give the correct amount of liquid for the macaroni to cook and be a correct texture once finished.
- Macaroni is the noodle that is often used when making a goulash recipe. Elbow macaroni traps sauce into the noodle and holds onto the flavor.
Here’s how to make this recipe.
- Brown the ground beef. To an oven-safe 12-inch skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of neutral oil. Then add in the diced onion, garlic, and ground beef. Let this mixture cook, breaking up the ground beef into small pieces, until the ground beef has browned.
- Add the tomato paste. To the browned ground beef, add the tomato paste. Stir the paste into the meat mixture and allow it to caramelize for about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the spices, liquid, and pasta. Once the tomato paste has caramelized with ground beef, add in the salt, paprika, dried basil, dried oregano, and black pepper. Work the spices into the meat mixture, ensuring everything is well incorporated before moving on. Then add in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beef stock, and tomato juice. Stir everything together and add in the macaroni. Stir the noodles into the liquid to ensure everything is evenly distributed, then cover it and let the mixture simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add cheese and bake. Once the macaroni has absorbed some of the liquid, the mixture is almost done cooking. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the entire top of the meat and pasta mixture, and place the skillet into the oven to bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. Once baked, serve immediately.
Pro Tips
- Caramelizing the tomato paste adds depth. Don’t skip this step—it’s what gives the goulash a slow-cooked flavor in less time.
- Use lean beef or drain the fat. If you are using ground beef that’s higher in fat, you may notice extra liquid in the skillet after browning. Just drain it off before continuing so it doesn’t dilute the flavor or texture of the sauce.
- Adjust the liquid if needed. Depending on your pasta and skillet size, you might need a splash more tomato juice or stock to keep things from drying out.
- Use oven-safe cookware. If you don’t have a skillet that goes from stovetop to oven, just transfer to a baking dish before adding cheese.
- No need to bake? It’s completely fine to skip the cheese and serve it right from the stovetop if you’re short on time. It’s still delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this recipe be made vegetarian?
Yes. Leave out the ground beef and substitute the beef stock for vegetable stock.
How long does this recipe last in the refrigerator?
Once prepared, the leftovers will last in the refrigerator for 10 days.
Would other types of meat work in this recipe as well?
The flavor of the ground beef stands up well against the intensity of the tomato flavor. Ground turkey, pork, and chicken will also work, but not have as much flavor.
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Easy Homemade Goulash
This is the homemade goulash you wish you grew up with. Deep tomato flavor, beef, and elbow noodles, all made in one skillet. It’s nostalgic, cozy, and comes together in an hour.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef (85-90% lean)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 2 tsp kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 ½ cups tomato juice
- 12 oz macaroni
- 6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large oven-safe 12-inch skillet, heat the neutral oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion, garlic, and ground beef. Break the beef into small bite-size pieces and cook until the beef is browned and the onion has softened, 8-10 minutes.1 large onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 lb ground beef (85-90% lean), 1 tbsp neutral oil
- Once the beef is cooked, add the tomato paste. Stir and cook the tomato paste until it is worked into the beef and is darker in color, 6-8 minutes.6 oz tomato paste
- Add the salt, black pepper, dried basil, dried oregano, and paprika. Stir the spices and herbs in and add the tomato juice, tomato sauce, beef stock, and diced tomatoes with their liquid. Pour in the dried macaroni and stir to combine.2 tsp kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal), 1 ½ tsp paprika, 2 tsp dried basil, 1 ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 15-oz can tomato sauce, 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, 1 ½ cups beef stock, 1 ½ cups tomato juice, 12 oz macaroni
- Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the pasta is cooked, 20-30 minutes. Simmering instead of boiling in water will take the pasta longer to cook than the box instructions indicate. While cooking, stir every few minutes to encourage the pasta to cook evenly.
- Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the heat. Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese and place in the oven. To prevent any drips in the oven, place the skillet on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the dish until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 10-12 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and serve.6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Notes
Caramelizing the tomato paste adds depth. Don’t skip this step—it’s what gives the goulash a slow-cooked flavor in less time.
Use lean beef or drain the fat. If you are using ground beef that’s higher in fat, you may notice extra liquid in the skillet after browning. Just drain it off before continuing so it doesn’t dilute the flavor or texture of the sauce.
Adjust the liquid if needed. Depending on your pasta and skillet size, you might need a splash more tomato juice or stock to keep things from drying out.
Use oven-safe cookware. If you don’t have a skillet that goes from stovetop to oven, just transfer to a baking dish before adding cheese.
No need to bake? It’s completely fine to skip the cheese and serve it right from the stovetop if you’re short on time. It’s still delicious.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 485kcal
Totally enjoy watching you. In your yard while planting. Also your kitchen making delicious meals. You are so talented and knowledgeable.
Thank you for being you Kaleb.
Kaleb, what kind of cover did you use to simmer your goulash? Looks like a type of spatter guard, but I don’t think it is. Like it.
I watched your goulash recipe and it looks delicious. We do love Goulash. When you were cooking it the stove you covered your cast iron pan with an all clad lid with handle. Can you tell me where you got the lid? I have a couple cast iron pans I got from my Mom and Grandmother that I need a lid for. It looks like it works well. Thank you
This was so good! And the fact that it was a one pot meal made it even better! It did take much longer for my pasta to cook however, I used elbows and it took 30 minutes at a low simmer. Also, I’ll halve the recipe next time (I had enough leftovers to fill three 32oz containers). Thanks again for another great recipe!
I love of your videos. They teach me a lot. thank you
Hi if I didn’t want to use the canned tomato’s would I just add equal amount of tomato sauce? I just don’t care for tomato chunks.
I haven’t made goulash in years but
This is the best Thank you. My husband Mr picket loved it
Phyllis Mangold
I, for the life of me, could not figure out how you fit all those ingredients in your skillet! I ended up having to transfer in a large pot but I think I will transfer to a ceramic baking dish.
Kaleb-once again you’ve knocked it out of the park. PLEASE publish a cookbook. This was easy to make, took about an hour total, price of ingredients was reasonable, flavors were excellent and the whole family loved it. I didn’t have macaroni on hand so I used penne and it turned out great, I maybe simmered an extra 5 mins or so from the estimate in the recipe. I’ve made several of your recipes and they are all outstanding. Your videos are helpful and so cheerful also. Keep up the great work, it’s appreciated!
I watched the video, it almost looks like he made a 1/2 recipe?
Absolutely delicious! Other goulash recipes have been a bit boring, but not this one. My husband and I feasted on it for three nights and it got better and better and the pasta wasn’t dried out.
This makes A LOT, so make sure you have a big enough pan. I put at least half of it into the freezer the first night. I grabbed the smoked paprika accidentally, and discovered it after most of it was in the pan, but there was no problem with the taste at all. And putting it into the oven is a nice touch.
Thank you, Kaleb!
Such a good comfort meal. Many thanks!
Hannah
This recipe turned out great! Flavorful, filling, and straightforward to make. Served it with a side of homemade jalapeño bread and it was a perfect middle-of-winter dinner.
Delicious! Thank you and I enjoyed the video.
This was very close to my mother’s recipe (we are talking many many years ago) with the added deliciousness of cheese. I used fire roasted tomatoes (bought the wrong ones when shopping for the ingredients) and all four of us who enjoyed the meal said it added a nice smokiness. Maybe add that in your notes? I am making it with regular tomatoes next time though so I can totally decide which way I like it the best. (Also made your raspberry crumb bars for dessert for the same dinner and they were delicious also.)
So delicious! I’ve made this several times this winter. My family has loved this since following Caleb.
Tonight it’s been cloudy & raining, in San Jose, so nice to have this in May. Cozy, filling, and comforting.
This was easy and delicious! Makes a large amount so lots of leftovers.
I just made this. My house smells fantastic and it tastes wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Grew up having Goulash but I never had a real recipe. Followed tyour recipe exactly and loved it! Adding it to my faves!
I grew up loving goulash. The flavor is so good.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fantastic! As a farm girl I have my own recipe but wanted to try something different (and one pot) and this was perfect! I did make a few adjustments just because it’s what I had on hand. I put in 2 green peppers with the onions, used beef consume instead of broth, and used ground oregano vs. dried. It really is a great recipe!!
The only thing you should mention is how much this actually makes! I will definitely have to freeze half of it or the 3 of us will have to eat it for breakfast, lunch and supper for the next week! 🤣
OMGOODNESS is what this Homade Goulash is!! I haven’t had a bite, yet. However the ingredients the combination of preparing. I’m in love with this recipe. It’s exquisitely the best I have ever prepared and can’t wait to eat. I had a fork taste test. WOW.
Well I tried to put in a picture, but it was so good, my hubby’s still at the table stuffing his face. He loved it!
This a a yummy family recipe and I will be making it for our daughters family when baby number 4 arrives. Thanks so much for sharing.
I couldn’t find tomato juice, so I used V8. This was delicious. Best goulash recipe I’ve tried. Thanks for sharing!!
I didn’t think I liked Goulash until I made this recipe. It is absolutely delicious!
Got your cookbook yesterday and made the Goulash tonight for dinner
Delicious!!
I used a WOK! I didn’t think my pan selection was deep enough and I don’t
have an iron skillet…yet. It came out fabulous! I did add a couple bay leaves though for that classic flavor.
A little on the thick side but added little extra V8 low sodium and a tad more beef broth. This is very hearty and a bowl will fill up the hungriest man.
The wok actually was much quicker and pasta cooked in 15mins.
I’m kinda goofy I also make spaghetti in a wok…..lol
Great Recipe!….thank you.
My family loved this! Had such great flavor. For my 1st time making it, I used garlic powder & onion powder, next time I will prepare as written. I had to add more broth as 1 family member doesn’t like chunks of tomatoes. Definitely going to make again. So much better than the goulash I grew up with!
The best goulash I’ve ever tasted! I’ve added more cheese on top though
Substituted Italian sausage for ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and put it under the broiler foya few minutes till the cheese was brown and bubbly. Outstanding! (Had to dump it from the 12″ to a 14″ skillet before mixing in the macaroni, as I was afraid it would spill over)
This is one of my go to recipes. So easy and so delicious. Thank you Kaleb!
I added half cup dice small green bell peppers and red pepper flakes to taste