Warm up with a hearty serving of Canadian Goulash or a GMT which I like to call it. It's a comforting one-pot dish filled with Ground Beef, Macaroni, chunks of Tomatoes & Onions with Garlic in an incredible Tomato Sauce with a bit of Zest that brings it all together. This is my version of a One-pot Canadian Goulash recipe! It has impressive flavors that stay closer to the Hungarian style goulash, by using a Beefy Broth, Smoked Paprika. Peppered nicely too for some heat. It's a Quick Homemade Goulash. Perfect for busy weeknights, where a meal can be set at the table in about 30 minutes. Serve it with some Buttered Bread, Dinner Rolls or crumbled Crackers on top.Servings are about 7-8 at approx 300g a serving or more if additional ingredients are added.
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- 1 Large Deep Skillet
- 1 Digital Scale
- 1 Bowl For weighing out the pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef - 1/2 lb can be used in order to stretch out the ground beef
- 1 Onion - diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic - chopped or minced
- As Desired Bell Peppers, Carrots, and/or Celery - Optional, see notes
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 C Tomato Paste & Pimento Paste - each
- 1 Can Whole Stewed or Diced Tomatoes - 28 oz
- 2 Cubes Beef Bouillon
- 1 Tbl Smoked Paprika & Lemon Juice - each
- 4 C Water
- 300 g Macaroni
- As Desired Cheese Whiz - Optional for a cheese flavor.
Instructions
- Brown Beef over max heat with Onion, Garlic, Salt & Pepper. Then add Tomato & Pimento paste to mix through.
- Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta, to bring to a boil. If using whole stewed tomatoes, break them down a bit.
- Once boiling, add dried Macaroni. Stir while it comes to a boil again before reducing to medium heat. Keep stirring every so often, while scraping the bottom to ensure the pasta doesn't get stuck during cooking. Cook until the Pasta is tender to your liking, or about 13–15 minutes.
- Taste test the macaroni and cook longer if needed. If you want a bit more liquid, you can add more water or tomato juice/sauce as desired and mix very well. When done to your liking, plate with a dollop of Butter on top, if desired. This pairs really nicely with a slice or two of buttered bread or dinner rolls, even crackers crumbled over top. For a cheese flavor, add a dollop of Cheese Whiz to mix in before serving.
Notes
- Seasoning: Optionally add additional Herbs & Spices such as Italian Seasoning or Savory, Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper to taste.
- Vegetables: Optionally add in diced Bell Peppers, diced Celery, and/or shredded and chopped Carrots along with the Onions & Garlic.
- Weigh the Pasta: Always weigh out the pasta. Short Pastas weighs different across brands. With 300g being 2 or 3 C depending on the brand. For this reason, it is always best to weigh out the pasta and when doing so, it won’t matter what brand or even kind of short pasta.
- Spiciness: This recipe does have a decent amount of Black pepper. If you are heat sensitive, you may want to drop this by half, based on preference. If spiciness is what you are after, then a Hot Pimento paste could be added instead of sweet or the use of Hot Paprika or other heat sources like Cayenne Pepper or Chili Powder.
- Cheese: Stir in Cheese Whiz or shredded Cheddar Cheese at the end or sprinkle on top and cover off heat to allow the cheese to melt. You can also empty into a casserole to top with cheese and into the oven to broil just until melted.
- Serving: Serve with buttered bread, dinner rolls, or crumbled saltine crackers on top. A dollop of Cheese Whiz can be mixed in for a bit of cheese flavor.
- Leftovers: Leftovers can be portioned into Tupperware or freezer bags (about 300g) and refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw completely overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: Microwave leftovers with a dollop of Butter for added moisture and Salt & Pepper if desired. Optionally heat in a skillet over medium heat, just until heated through, you may have to add a splash of water.