Better-than-Mom’s Stovetop Goulash with Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Ground Beef

When you need some homemade comfort food, this Better-than-Mom’s Stovetop Goulash with Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Ground Beef will do the trick! This easy recipe is kid-friendly and freezes well. Use Pasta Recipes to find more recipes like this one.

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A couple of weeks ago I confessed on Twitter that I was making a recipe by Paula Deen, and even though this Stovetop Goulash with Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Ground Beef seems like a pretty light recipe for her, this delicious goulash was pure comfort food for me.

The recipe starts with lean ground beef, onions, tomato sauce, and canned tomatoes, all pretty low-glycemic fare, but then the macaroni is simmered with the other ingredients for 30 minutes, so even using Dreamfield’s Macaroni won’t keep the Glycemic Index low in the finished dish. Still, everyone needs comfort food once in a while, and since I’m currently sorting through and packing up twenty-five years of accumulated stuff in preparation for the move to my new house, I’m not going to be too hard on myself for enjoying it.

I remember my mom making this kind of dish, but mom’s goulash was never like this.  It’s hard to say just what makes this recipe so lick-the-plate delicious, but Jake and I could not stop remarking on how good it was when we tested the recipe.  I changed up the seasonings a little and also cut the recipe in half so I wouldn’t be able to overindulge too much, but if you’re actively trying to lose weight on the South Beach Diet, I recommend that you file this away for Phase 3!

Heat a little olive oil in a large non-stick pan and brown the ground beef until it’s well-done, about 6-7 minutes. Then push the beef over to the side of the pan and cook the onions until they start to brown, about 5 minutes more.  Add the garlic and cook a couple minutes more.

Add the water, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, Italian herb blend, bay leaves, soy sauce, garlic powder, steak seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste and let the mixture simmer covered about 10 minutes. Add the macaroni, stir it into the sauce, cover the pan, and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Paula Deen says to let the mixture sit another 30 minutes before you eat it, but we only managed to make it about 10 minutes.  Serve hot, with a dollop of low-fat sour cream.

More Tasty Comfort Food Recipes:

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie ~ Jeanette’s Healthy Living
Ground Turkey and Barley Soup with Mushrooms and Spinach ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Baked Ziti ~ Simply Recipes
Sausage and Kale Mock Lasagna ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Mushroom Barley Soup ~ The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Print Recipe

Better-than-Mom's Stovetop Goulash with Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Ground Beef

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

When you need some homemade comfort food, this Better-than-Mom’s Stovetop Goulash with Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Ground Beef will do the trick!

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. extra-lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz.) petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 T Italian Herb Blend (I love the mix from The Spice House, but any Italian Seasoning blend will work.)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning (or use your favorite purchased steak seasoning)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup macaroni (I used Dreamfield’s Macaroni, although after it cooks in the sauce for 30 minutes it’s not really a low carb macaroni.)
• low-fat sour cream for serving, optional

Directions:

1. In a large non-stick pan, heat the olive oil, add the ground beef, and cook until it’s well-browned, breaking apart with the turner as it cooks.
2. Push the beef to the side of the pan, add the onions and cook until the onions start to brown, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the minced garlic and cook about 2 minutes more.
4. Add the water, tomato sauce, petite dice tomatoes and juice, Italian Herb Blend, bay leaves, soy sauce, garlic powder, Montreal Steak Seasoning, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir the mixture together, then cover the pan and simmer about 20 minutes.
6. Add theDreamfield’s Macaroni, cover the pan again, and simmer 30 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaves, and let the mixture sit for a few minutes before serving.  (We only made it about 10 minutes, which was fine.)
8. Serve hot, with a dollop of low-fat sour cream if desired.

Notes:

This recipe adapted slightly from Bobby’s Goulash by Paula Deen.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
I was thinking more about comfort food than I was about carb-conscious eating when I made this, and even though it’s mostly made of low-glycemic ingredients, simmering the macaroni in the tomato sauce mixture for 30 minutes means this recipe is probably best limited to Phase 3 for South Beach dieters, even with Dreamfields or whole wheat macaroni. This is not a low-carb dish, so it would be a definite splurge for low-carb diets, but you could make a more carb-conscious version by using more beef and less macaroni.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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