Description
An easy, family-friendly Crock Pot American Goulash recipe that combines ground beef, pasta, and a rich tomato sauce for the perfect weeknight comfort meal. Simply brown the meat, add everything to your slow cooker, and let it work its magic!
Ingredients
The Foundation:
- 1 pound ground beef (I buy the 80/20 – leaner gets dry)
- 1 small sweet onion, diced small
- 1 green bell pepper, diced (skip if your kids hate peppers like mine do)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic from the jar
The Saucy Goodness:
- 24 oz jar pasta sauce (Prego’s my go-to, but whatever’s on sale works)
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
The Flavor Magic:
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning (the cheap McCormick stuff is fine)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
The Star:
- 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
Ground turkey works if beef’s too pricey. Celery instead of peppers if that’s what you’ve got. This recipe’s forgiving like that.
Instructions
Brown the Meat and Vegetables
Brown that ground beef with the onions and peppers in your skillet – don’t rush this part! Takes about 8 minutes but adds serious flavor. You want the beef actually browned, not just gray. Drain the grease well or your goulash gets greasy. I learned this lesson when my first batch was swimming in oil.
Transfer to Slow Cooker
Dump everything into your slow cooker. I use a 6-quart because my family’s huge, but a 4-quart works for smaller crowds. Don’t worry about making it look pretty – it all gets mixed up anyway.
Add Remaining Ingredients
Toss in garlic, both sauces, tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning, and that magic sugar. Stir it up good so nothing’s hiding at the bottom. I use my wooden spoon and really get in there.
Set Your Cooking Time
Set it and forget it:
-
- Low: 6-8 hours (my usual choice when I start it before work)
-
- High: 2-4 hours (when I’m impatient or forgot to start it early)
The low setting gives better flavor, but high works when you’re in a pinch. I’ve done both plenty of times.
Add the Pasta
This part’s crucial – add pasta with exactly 1 hour left. I learned this the hard way when I made pasta soup instead of goulash. Mushy noodles are the worst! Set a timer because I’ve definitely forgotten and ended up with mush.
Serve and Enjoy
Serve hot with whatever bread you’ve got. My kids fight over who gets the crustiest piece of garlic bread to soak up that sauce. Sometimes I just give them regular bread with butter and garlic powder if I forgot to buy the fancy stuff.
Notes
Keep your ingredients at room temp if possible, heats faster
Stop peeking! Every lid lift adds 20 minutes to cook time
Prep the meat mixture Sunday night, dump it in Monday morning for zero-effort dinners
If your crockpot runs hot like mine does, check it after 5 hours on low instead of 6
Always taste before serving – every brand of sauce is different, so adjust seasonings
Keep extra Italian seasoning handy because I always end up adding more
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American