Mom’s Classic American Goulash is an old American standby that only has the slightest resemblance to its namesake, Hungarian Goulash; both types of Goulash contain beef and both have noodles and that’s pretty much where the similarities end.
A classic pairing!
This Classic American Goulash is a casserole of ground beef, noodles, tomatoes, and a few seasonings, sometimes topped with a little cheese. Simple, tasty, cheap, and filling, Goulash is familiar to generations of Americans and is comfort food in many families; just plain “home cooking.”
About Mom’s Classic American Goulash:
According to Wikipedia American Goulash just recently celebrated its 100th birthday last year, being published in cookbooks as early as 1914. I got a kick out of reading this article from Delish about the history, various names, and variations of “Goulash.”
I’m guessing most people of my Mom’s generation never had a “recipe” for Goulash or looked it up in a cookbook; it was just a kind of back-pocket recipe that people made. I learned how to make this Goulash by watching Mom. Of course, every family has their own little twists and for us, it was adding Parmesan Cheese to the top, which gives it a little cheesy crunch.
Now that I’m down at the folks helping out, we revisited this old recipe last week. We were right smack in the middle of holiday preparations, knee-deep in cookies, candies, decorations, and planning (with a lot of direction from Pat, my Stepmom, and sporadic runs for batteries and lightbulbs) and it turned out that Goulash was the perfect dish for a busy weeknight.
Variations:
I’m guessing these days, a lot of people might find the taste of goulash a little bland.
- Some of the families I know cube up cheese & stir it throughout to melt into little pockets of cheesy goodness, or add Cheddar to the top and jazz it up in various ways, especially with more garlic salt and/or chili powder.
- If you go too far, you’ll be morphing this into another recipe, altogether, Chili Mac, which is almost a combo of goulash and Macaroni & Cheese with lots more chili flavor. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s how Chili Mac came about. 🙂
Easy Cheesy Chili Mac – Instant Pot or Not. Coming soon!
Making Mom’s Classic American Goulash:
It’s hard to go wrong with this simple recipe. A little trick I learned as an adult was to make this quickly without a lot of dilly-dallying (which I’m prone to do in the kitchen) and pop it in the oven when the noodles and ground beef are still hot. It doesn’t take as long to warm through and it comes out juicy, bubbly, and delish.
I like to use whole tomatoes (because that’s how Mom did it) and it gives the casserole just the right amount of moisture without being overly tomato saucy. I crush them by hand and always remove the hard, almost inedible stem pieces; maybe because when I was a kid, I particularly hated them, tried to push them around on my plate, and inevitably was forced to eat them?
We always topped the casserole with a little Parmesan (and yes, it really should be from a “can” – it’s all a part of the spirit of the dish) and that cooks into a bubbly little crust as the casserole bakes. It’s really the best part, that crispy “crust.”
Saving Money on Mom’s Classic American Goulash:
Most of the ingredients in this dish are simple pantry/freezer items and are items you should never pay full price for.
Macaroni:
- Stock your pantry when pasta is at a low, taking advantage of the many sales throughout the year; there’s usually a great sale at the grocery at least once a quarter.
- Discount stores like Aldi and Lidl have great prices, and so do buyer’s clubs.
- Freeze any item like pasta that contains flour for three days and you’ll avoid any possible future issues with “peskies.”
Ground Beef:
- Ground Beef is on sale often and freezes well – there’s no need to ever pay full price.
- The best prices at your grocery are before the Summer Holidays. Aldi and Lidl have great sales and your buyers club is worth checking.
- Each percentage drops to a low about once a quarter; being versatile gives more options for savings. The higher the fat percentage, the cheaper the cost, and the deeper the sales.
- Take advantage of sale priced family packs – check the price per pound. Divvy up and freeze; most recipes call for one pound; some recipes can get by with a little less.
Canned Whole Tomatoes:
I find the best value for canned tomatoes to be whole in the larger 29-ounce cans. My pantry is stocked with them. Unless the outcome of a recipe is specifically dependent on another tomato product, I substitute with the canned whole tomatoes.
- About once a quarter, there will be a stellar sale at the grocery. Stock up then. Aldi and Lidl both have great pricing. Buyers clubs offer “fancier” options at a decent price.
- Extremely versatile, the whole tomatoes can be used as is, crushed by hand for recipes like this, pulsed in the blender for “crushed” tomatoes, and whirred up to use as a tomato sauce. The quality is usually better than crushed, diced or sauce you might buy.
- If the larger cans are too much for a recipe, toss the remainder in a Ziploc, label with the amount, and freeze. Try to put items away in the same place in your freezer every time and they’re easier to find and use later.
Classic American Goulash – let it sit for a few minutes right out of the oven.
Mom’s Classic American Goulash
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Casseroles
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of dry macaroni, small-sized, cooked al dente
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes with juice, crush tomatoes by hand
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Cheddar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a Dutch oven or large casserole, add hamburger, onion and green onion. Cook, breaking up the beef until cooked through, drain. Add garlic and stir together. Add tomatoes and chili powder, stir and heat through. Add in macaroni noodles and toss together. Taste – add salt if desired.
Sprinkle top with cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until bubbly and the top has begun to brown a bit.
Allow to sit for several minutes before serving,
I’m sharing Mom’s Classic American Goulash at Throwback Thursday and Fiesta Friday this week – FF is hosted by two Johanne@French Gardener Dishes and Liz@spades, spatulas & spoons.
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