Grandma's Hungarian Goulash Recipe (2024)

Thanks Grandma! This recipe for Grandma’s Hungarian Goulash is a go-to recipe anytime of the year in our household. An easy and old fashioned goulash recipe with the added bonus that your pantry probably already contains the ingredients. A filling meal that feeds a family with no muss, no fuss ingredients and preparation and isn’t that why we love recipes from Grandma!

Grandma however was Irish. So how did Grandma from Ireland have a Hungarian recipe in her repertoire?

Two words: The Depression. Grandma and her husband were Irish immigrants raising five children and with seven mouths to feed and needed frugal and affordable meals. She passed this recipe along and Grandma’s Hungarian Goulash is a comfort food staple on our menu particularly for fall and winter.

I love to pair the Goulash recipe with this yummy Old Fashioned Bread Pudding Recipe for the perfect cozy comfort food meal from start to finish.

Old Fashioned Goulash With Spaghetti Instead Of Macaroni?

You will notice spaghetti is used in this recipe. I admit until a few weeks ago I thought Hungarian Goulash was made with spaghetti – imagine my surprise when I searched Hungarian Goulash on Pinterest and was presented with a huge selection of recipes.

But all the recipes used macaroni! Really! Obviously you can easily substitute macaroni for the spaghetti and add paprika or spices or garlic to suit your taste. Grandma wasn’t big on using spices so spice up this version of the classic recipe as desired.

One of the benefits of not spicing up the recipe is this recipe makes a satisfying comfort food that kids will enjoy.

How To Make Hungarian Goulash

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4.

One pound of ground round or ground sirloin

1/2 cup diced onions

1 14 ounce can of dark kidney beans

1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes

Spaghetti for 4 servings

Salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan Cheese optional (but highly recommended!)

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil enough spaghetti for four servings.
2. Reserve one cup of water from spaghetti to use later.
3. While boiling the spaghetti, brown the ground beef with the onions.
4. Once the ground beef is browned, drain the fat from the ground beef and onion mixture. This is optional.
5. Drain the can of dark kidney beans and then add to ground beef and onion mixture.
6. Add entire can of diced tomatoes to the pan.
7. Add spaghetti to mixture.
8. Bring the Hungarian Goulash to a boil then lower heat to simmer.
9. Simmer Hungarian Goulash for a minimum of 20 minutes. If the goulash needs additional liquid use the reserved water from boiling the spaghetti and continue to simmer.
10. Plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

What To Serve With Hungarian Beef Goulash?

Serve goulash with your favorite salad and freshly baked bread or rolls. I highly suggest sprinkling grated parmesan cheese on the goulash prior to serving, but that is optional!

Can You Freeze Goulash?

Absolutely! This is a dinner that freezes very well. I freeze single serve portions to pop in the microwave when ready to be served.

Goulash Kitchen Tip

Break the spaghetti into halves before cooking to easily enjoy this recipe.

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is the pasta measuring gadget I purchased years ago. I love this little pasta hack!

For some reason I am pasta measuring challenged. I’d have thought after years of making pasta I could eyeball the amount of pasta needed.But it always seems to be too much or too little pasta. No problems now as I rely on this dependable gadget.

More Grandma’s Recipes

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

Grandma’s Irish Soda Bread

Grandma’s Crustades (Mini appetizers)

Grandma’s Mac N Cheese