This recipe for Crock-Pot American Beef Goulash is a frugal, easy, delicious, meal that will bring back memories of your comfort food growing up!
Slow Cooker American Beef Goulash
I grew up in a pretty large family (I am the oldest of 6 kids) and my mom, the frugal woman that she is sometimes had to get pretty creative in finding ways to feed her large brood of children without breaking the bank.
One of her go-to recipes was an American Goulash recipe filled with ground beef, macaroni noodles, corn and everything was coated in a yummy tomato based sauce.
This recipe for American Goulash is pretty much my mom’s exact recipe with the only change being that I adapted it so that I could make it in my slow cooker.
Having 5 kids of my own means that I am not beyond needing to feed a large crew myself on a budget.
And frankly my kids love this recipe! This is classic comfort food to us!
Equipment Needed For Crock-Pot American Beef Goulash Recipe:
- 6.5 Quart Or 7 Quart Slow Cooker
- Medium Skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Can Opener
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Pasta Pot With Strainer
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to serve a much larger crowd this recipe is easily doubled and cooked in a large 18 quart Oster brand roaster. This would be a great option for taking to a potluck or large family gathering. In fact, I recently was asked to help out at our local homeless shelter and I made this recipe in my electric roaster (usually reserved for our Thanksgiving turkey or when my husband wants to make a ton of BBQ ribs) and it worked great!
Yes you can. In fact, my mom used to change up this recipe for us when we were kids by adding in a cup or two of cheese. She would use shredded cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese or mozzarella cheese. Or some good old-fashioned grated Kraft parmesan cheese.
If you want to add some cheese, just stir it in after it is all cooked and mixed together. Give it a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt. OR you could top the American goulash with the cheese and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt and get bubbly.
Whenever there are leftovers I usually just toss them in a food storage container and pop it into the refrigerator. Then if I want to reheat them for another dinner (ahem…leftover night) or for lunch I just reheat in the microwave or on the stove-top. If the noodles seem dry I might sprinkle on a little water to moisten everything up.
If you have a lot of leftover goulash you could also go ahead and make a casserole. Just put the goulash in a oven-safe/freezer safe casserole dish, sprinkle on some shredded cheese over the top and add a lid or cover in aluminum foil. Pop that casserole into the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven for about 45 to hour at 350° F or until warmed through and the cheese is melted. And voila you have a whole new dinner!
Special Diets
Low Calorie | Low Fat | Low Sugar
This recipe for Crock-Pot American Beef Goulash is Weight Watchers Friendly on the new Personal Points plan. You can see the WW personal points for this recipe here on the Weight Watchers website. Click here for MORE of our Weight Watchers Recipes
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Recipe Collections:
- 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker Recipes
- Beef Crock-Pot Recipes
- Entrée Recipes
- Ground Beef Slow Cooker Recipes
- Kid Friendly Slow Cooker Recipes
Crock-Pot American Beef Goulash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion (Peeled And Diced)
- 3 Cloves Garlic (Peeled And Miced)
- 72 Ounces Jarred Marinara Sauce (Three 24 Ounce Jars)
- 12 Ounces Canned Corn (Drained)
- 10 Ounces Canned Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles (Such As RoTel Brand)
- 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 ½ Pounds Elbow Macaroni Pasta
Instructions
- In a medium skillet on the stove top cook the ground beef, onion and garlic until the ground beef is cooked through and crumbled. Drain off the excess cooking fat.
- Add the cooked ground beef, onion and garlic mixture to the bottom of a 6.5 quart or larger slow cooker. Add the marinara sauce, corn, diced tomatoes with green chilies and Italian seasoning.
- Give everything a quick stir and cover and cook for 6 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH.
- About 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time (or before you are ready to serve) bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove top and cook the macaroni pasta according to the package directions until they are al dente (about 7 minutes). Drain the pasta and carefully add the cooked pasta into the slow cooker and stir to coat all the pasta with the sauce mixture.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese right before serving and enjoy!
Nutrition
can I double all the ingredients for my 18 quart Oster roaster/slow cooker?
We have never doubled this recipe but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work Scott! Be sure to let us know how it turns out if you give it a try!
Can you add the macaroni in the beginning uncooked? We are redoing our kitchen and are without a cooktop. Just curious
72 ounces of marinara sounds like a lot! Is that the correct amount? Is this like a stew?
Sounds good – I want to make it – just want to get it right!
Yes, this is the correct amount.
Corn? What are we, Farmers? I’m not a big fan of bell peppers, but in this dish, it’s practically obligatory! Personally, I use stewed tomatoes and add fresh bell pepper too. There are almost as many variations as there are cooks!
Yes Linda, in my family we always added corn. And yes my family come from a farming background. No shame in that game. Farmers are who feed us! Of course you are welcome to add or subtract to this recipe to suit your personal tastes.