American Goulash is an easy one pot dinner made with ground beef, cavatappi and canned tomatoes, ready in 45 minutes. The pot serves six, with only fifteen minutes of active work. Sharp Cheddar melts in off the heat at the end.
The cavatappi goes straight into the sauce dry, so there is no second pot and no colander. Pasta cooked this way drinks the tomato and beef broth instead of water, which is where the flavor comes from. It also thickens the sauce as its starch releases.
The paprika goes onto the hot beef for a full minute before any liquid arrives, and you will smell when it turns. Then the tomato paste cooks two minutes more until it darkens from red to brick. Skip both and the sauce tastes like a tin, not a stew.
American Goulash
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalTwo cans of tomato go in, one diced and one sauce, which gives the pot both texture and body. Grate the Cheddar yourself on the large holes of a box grater, because pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and melts stringy.
Ingredients
- For the Beef Base:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon tomato paste
- For the Sauce and Pasta:
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
8 ounces cavatappi pasta
- To Finish:
4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded on the large holes of a box grater (about 1 cup), plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
Directions
- Soften the aromatics: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Brown the beef: Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink, about 8 minutes.
- Toast the spices and paste: Add 1 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper, the paprika and Italian seasoning and stir to combine. Cook until the paprika begins to toast and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste to coat, then cook until it thickens and deepens in color, about 2 minutes.
- Cook the pasta in the sauce: Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire and beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cavatappi and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Melt in the cheese: Remove the pot from the heat and gently stir in the parsley and Cheddar until combined and the cheese starts to melt. Divide among 6 bowls and top with more shredded Cheddar and chopped parsley.
No nutrition is published for this recipe, so the calorie figure is estimated from the ingredients at six servings. The 45 minute total includes about 30 minutes at the stove.
The name causes more confusion than the recipe ever will.
FAQs
Is this the same as Hungarian goulash?
No, and they share almost nothing beyond the paprika and the name. Hungarian goulash is stewed beef chunks and vegetables with no pasta in sight, while this American version is ground beef and macaroni. Older American cookbooks call this one slumgullion, which tells you how far apart they are.
Can I use elbow macaroni instead of cavatappi?
Yes, and elbows are the traditional shape for this dish anyway. Cavatappi is a corkscrew with ridges, so it holds more sauce and keeps a firmer bite in the pot. Any short tube works, but check the package time since it decides your simmer.
The pasta soaked up all my liquid.
Picture the pot ten minutes in: if it looked dry, the heat was too high and the liquid boiled off too early. Keep it at medium-low with an occasional stir, not a rolling boil. Add broth half a cup at a time if it tightens before the pasta is done.
Why does the cheese go in off the heat?
Pull the pot off the burner before the Cheddar goes anywhere near it. Cheese added to a simmering pot splits, and you get oily strings sitting on top instead of a creamy finish. The residual heat is more than enough to melt four ounces through.
How do leftovers hold up?
Refrigerating it three days works, though the pasta keeps drinking sauce and the pot sets almost solid overnight. Loosen it with beef broth rather than water when reheating, so you do not dilute what is there. Freezing is the weak point, because cooked pasta turns mealy, unlike these tomato simmered Italian meatballs.
Can I make it spicier?
A teaspoon of paprika is all the warmth in here, and sweet paprika brings none at all. Swap in hot smoked paprika, or add half a teaspoon of red pepper flakes with the Italian seasoning. For a genuinely hot cavatappi dish instead, this Calabrian chili pasta goes much further.
