We’ve reached the “one pound of meat isn’t cutting it for our family of 5 anymore” portion of the program. First of all, Gwen can put it DOWN. Girlfriend had two PB&J sandwiches plus an entire bagel as a warm up for lunch the other day, and the boys are well past receiving “kid-sized” portions of whatever I make for dinner.
Translation: we are blazing through groceries and so I’m always looking for ways to stretch meat, especially. I’ve been using frozen riced cauliflower and broccoli a ton lately, and my mushroom hack is still a go-to, but stretching a pound of ground beef with a little help from the pantry can also create amazing results. The proof is in the OMG-Good Goulash!
All I really need to say about this goulash recipe is that it tastes like homemade Beefaroni. Fellow Xennials: if you’re anything like me, this is very exciting news. đ That is to say, OMG-Good Goulash is saucy, savory, and super comforting, plus making it from scratch is almost as easy as opening a can.
This “American-style” goulash recipe is gluten free pasta simmered with ground beef, shallots, onions, tomato sauce, broth and seasonings until thick and savory and SO GOOD! I didn’t name it oh-my-gosh-good-Goulash for nothing! You will go back for bite after bite, and leftovers will be fought over. This is the first dish I’ve made in a long time where all five of us ate with zero complaints, everyone was comfortably fed with just one pound of meat, and our meal was ready in just 30 minutes.
Winner, winner, easy ground beef dinner!
I also have to say that this base goulash recipe can easily be turned into different variations. I have plans of stirring in shredded mozzarella, sliced olives, and chopped pepperoni to make OMG-Good Pizza Goulash. I reheated a bowl the other day with shredded cheddar cheese stirred in. Add chili powder to that and you’ve got Chili Mac. I know you’re going to love this goulash!
How to Make This Recipe:
Start by browning a pound of lean ground beef with chopped shallot or onion, garlic, worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is gluten free in the states – if outside the states, please read labels carefully!) homemade seasoned salt, and pepper.
Next add a can each of tomato sauce and petite diced tomatoes, chicken or beef broth (whichever you’ve got in the cupboard,) plus dried Italian seasoning, more homemade seasoned salt, and a bay leaf. Gently simmer for 10 minutes to help marry the flavors and help remove any tinny taste from the canned tomatoes.
Last step is to add gluten free elbow pasta then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 12-14 minutes.
Two Tips:Â
- I find a corn/rice blend gluten free pasta works well in dishes where the pasta gets cooked within the sauce (versus boiled separately.) It tends to hold up better compared to brown rice pasta, for example, which can absorb too much liquid and turn to mush. I like Barilla and HyVee’s GF pastas for this dish.
- Make sure you keep the sauce at a gentle simmer to ensure you have enough liquid to cook the pasta all the way through.
That’s all she wrote! Scoop into bowls then serve with a side salad or roasted vegetables. Oh my gosh, I just know you’re going to love this OMG-Good Goulash – enjoy, enjoy!
Similar Recipes:
- Pizza Pasta Bake >
- 3 Cheese Skillet Lasagna >
- One-Pan Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta >
- Vegetable Beef and Rice Soup >
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OMG-Good Goulash
Description
One bite of my OMG-Good Goulash recipe and you'll go back for more and more! This easy, hearty, one-pan dish is made with kitchen-staples in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1lb lean ground beef
- 1 large shallot or small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 8 shakes gluten free worcestershire sauce (~1/2 Tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon + extra dash homemade seasoned salt (see notes)
- pepper
- 1-1/2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 15oz can tomato sauce
- 15oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup uncooked gluten free elbow noodles
Directions
- Heat a large skillet or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add beef, shallot or onion, and garlic then break beef up with a wooden spoon. Season with worcestershire sauce, a dash of homemade seasoned salt, and pepper, then brown. Add remaining teaspoon seasoned salt, broth, tomato products, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf then turn heat up to bring to a bubble. Turn heat down to medium/medium-low then gently simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add elbow noodles then continue to simmer, stirring often, until noodles are tender, 12-14 minutes, turning the heat down slightly near the end to maintain a very gentle simmer. Remove bay leaf then taste and add additional seasoned salt and/or pepper if desired. Serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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This looks very good! I make a super simple goulash: GF pasta, 1 can tomatoes, onions and a can of GF tomato soup. We’ve eaten that goulash since childhood!
Love it!! I plan on my kids growing up with this dish too!
I hear you on the one pound of meat problem! My kids are 12,9, and 4 and now I always make 2 pounds of chicken (we always have some leftovers) and tacoâs or hamburgers I always make 1.5 pounds now.
I will make the goulash this week! We have everything and even my son could make this!
So, so simple – I hope you all love it, and he has fun cooking it! :)
You’re not draining the grease before adding the tomatoes, etc.?
I personally don’t, but you could spoon out any excess grease if you wish. I’d avoid turning the whole pan out into a strainer because you run the risk of losing the worcestershire sauce flavor, shallots/onions, and garlic.
Thoughts on doubling this? Can I double everything or do I need to be cautious of some of the salty stuff like the seasoning salt/worcestershire?
I think you could double everything and be just fine!
Keep the âhow to stretch a pound of meatâ recipies coming! My littles have a big appetite and meals I used to count on for leftovers now only make it one meal. This one looks fast and easy!
Same! I always used to count on leftovers for lunches. Not happening as often anymore!
Iowa Girl Eats comes through again! Got this in my email and immediately texted my family âdinner tonight??â It was a positive response all around!
Will report back tonight!
Wooo! I hope you guys loved it, Carolyn!
This is one of our Sunday night favorites! As my kids have grown and tastes have matured, I now swap out a can of HOT Rotel for the diced tomatoes. The heat is wonderful in this goulash.
Yummm – great idea, Tanya. I’ll keep that one in my back pocket!
Would ground turkey instead of the beef be OK in this dish?
For sure!
Looks delicious – pinned for future reference! đ Iâd love to hear more about your recipes using frozen riced cauliflower & broccoli (Iâm trying to get more veggies in and that sounds like a perfect way!)
I will always throw at least a cup of crumbled frozen cauliflower into any ground meat or rice dish I make. You cannot tell, AT ALL. Another easy favorite of mine is to saute frozen crumbled cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potato (all in the freezer aisle) in extra virgin olive oil with either chopped shallot and garlic OR the minced dried version of both of those if I’m feeling really lazy, then toss that with cooked pasta, homemade seasoned salt (https://iowagirleats.com/homemade-gluten-free-seasoned-salt-10-ways-to-use-it/) and a little bit of butter. Couldn’t be easier and all my kids love it. You could add chopped chicken or shrimp, or chickpeas for protein if you like!
Oh how I WISH my 3 kids under kindergarten would eat ground beef! Only my youngest will wolf it down but only plain. No sauce! Crazy huh? But I hear you on how other meals just donât have leftovers anymore because theyâre eating more. You know I used to split the Costco 3 pack of 4 lbs of organic ground beef into actually 1 lb packets but I imagine once my kids actually start eating ground beef, I wonât have to anymore. Now I know why Costco packs them as 1.3 lb packs. Ha. I love a good ground beef recipe. Will try this week. Thanks!
HA – yes, there’s got to be a reason behind it! Sounds like it will come in useful for you hopefully soon!
Made this recipe tonight. It was absolutely delicious!
I made this recipe
As easy to make as it looks and so good. My husband wants me to make it again tomorrow night.
This looks awesome, I am absolutely making it for my nieces (and me, I love Beefaroni!). My mom was a goddess of meat stretching. She could feed me, my 6 siblings and my dad who, to put it kindly, enjoys his food. She would sometimes use textured soy protein and we never knew under she told me years later.
I made this tonight and everyone absolutely loved it! Thanks!
Delicious!! will have to try it out
This makes me so happy! My almost 4 year old and I have a running joke that every time she asks me what’s for dinner I say Goulash. I don’t know why since I’ve never tried it before. It will be so much fun to actually make her Goulash! I just may not tell her it’s actually Goulash until she’s tried it :)
Ok that’s amazing!! Let me know how it goes over if you end up making it!!
What do I do if I only have brown rice pasta?
Hi Gracie! It will still work – leftovers might just not hold up quite as well. :)
Kristin – you did it again! I’m out of town with my three young kiddos for the summer. My husband is only coming out on weekends and it’s been … a time of growth for me ;) This is my first recipe dinner since we arrived two weeks ago and I just tried my first bite. It’s a total winner! Snuck some chopped carrots in at the beginning because we basically had snowcones for dinner last night. Off to serve it! Thank you!
Just made this today for my picky ass nieces and my sister who isn’t picky and they all loved it! I did as well, definitely going into regular rotation.
Hungarian Goulash is typically made with sliced or diced meat. This is not attempting to be Hungarian Goulash.
SO good. My crew of boys (5, 6, 8) and my husband loved it. Definitely will be making it again!
This was delicious and easy to make. I did dice up three carrots to add to it. As I was taking my last bites, it occurred to me that some celery would have been good too. My family loved it too. I didnât take a picture. I was too busy eating. At the end end I almost threw in some frozen mixed vegetables, but I didnât.
Loved this!! So very tasty. I do not need GF so just made with regular ingredients. Very pleased with the outcome. And one pan is also a definite plus!
This goulash is sooo good! And what makes it even better is how easy it is to make…basically my only dish was the Dutch oven and cutting board. I bought no salt added tomato products and they were perfect!
I made this and all I could taste was the Italian seasoning. Thought it overpowered the dish. If I were to make it again I would completely eliminate or cut back to maybe 1/2 tsp. Could you post a pic of the seasoning you used.
Hi Mary! I just made this for dinner a couple nights ago after a few weeks off and did a double take of that 2 teaspoon measurement too, but it is correct and turned out just as it always has for me. I use this Italian seasoning blend: https://www.tones.com/product/italian-seasoning-blend What seasoning did you use?
I made this last night for dinner. Loved it! Tasty & filling. Great recipe.
Not sure why, but my mom always added a can of green beans to our goulash. It seems odd in a dish with Italian seasonings, but itâs actually really good!
Ooo, I like that idea!
This was excellent! The only changes I made were swapping ground turkey for the beef and using regular pasta instead of GF. Super easy and turned out perfectly!
this was WOW, i doubled, i would recommend adding maybe 1/2 cup less of the broth if doubling!!! Put some in the feeezer and made a couple lunches out of it. Also i did not use gluten free products
I love all your recipes. I just made this and my 2yo who we struggle to get him to eat dinne is eating it. THANK YOU.
I can relate! My picky 2 year old inhales this too! Happy you could find a recipe that works for your family, Susanna!
We will be having this every week!
I saved this to my bookmarks when you posted it but never made it. I was browsing them today looking for something to make for supper when I settled on this. I wasn’t sure I had all the ingredients, but turns out I did! The diced tomatoes were Italian style, and I added a little riced cauliflower to the meat to see if the kids could tell. They were a little tired from their day but both ended up eating it! I’ve been following you for years and just want to say thank you for creating meals that are healthy, easy to follow, and taste yummy!
SO happy to hear this, Lindsay! This is a dish I turn to often as well because I always have the ingredients, and my kids inhale it! Thanks for your feedback!!
I made this recipe last night, adjusted the oregano to my taste, and it turned out fabulous. My husband commented on how the sauce was rich in flavor and he wants me to make it again.
Hi, I had a problem with the pasta cooking. I used penne instead of elbows. could that be the issue? It’s taken longer then the time you’ve stated in the recipe. thanks!
Hi Michelle! Penne usually takes 9-11 minutes to cook while elbows are generally in the 6-8 minute range.