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Goulash Soup is a rich and delicious beef and macaroni soup, made with a hearty tomato-beef broth, tender macaroni & vegetables. It’s classic comfort food and a hearty, satisfying meal that’s ready in under an hour.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make – Saute ground beef, add veggies and broth. Simmer until it makes you happy!
- Full of Veggies – My kids are not usually happy when there are vegetables on the table, unless it’s in soup form. They will pound that soup and ask for seconds without batting an eye.
- Warm and Comforting – Isn’t soup just the ultimate comfort food? It’s nice and warm on a cold night, it’s hearty and satisfying without being overly filling. It’s just the perfect meal.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef – I use ground sirloin (90/10) since it’s leaner than other types of ground beef. But you could use whatever you normally buy.
- Onion and Garlic – To flavor the meat.
- Spices – Italian seasoning and bay leaves.
- Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Paste
- Beef Broth (or beef stock)
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables – You can also use fresh or canned veggies. I use a frozen mix of carrots, peas, corn, and green beans.
- Elbow Macaroni – Traditional for Amercian goulash, but small shells, orecchiette, ditalini, or small noodles will work.
How To Make Goulash Soup
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Cook the ground beef with some onion and garlic and then drain. Add the Italian seasoning and bay leaves and cook for another minute.
Add tomatoes, broth, and veggies. Pour in diced canned tomatoes, beef broth, and a dash of Worcestershire for a deeper, richer flavor. Add 2 cups of frozen vegetables and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat.
Simmer. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Cook the pasta. While the soup is simmering, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water. Drain and set aside.
Serve. Add a scoop of macaroni to each individual bowl. Ladles the hot soup over the macaroni. Garnish with fresh parsley.
What Are the Different Types of Goulash?
There are two different types of Goulash – the American version, which is made with ground beef and noodles. Hungarian Goulash is more like a stew made with slow simmered chunks of stew beef, heavy on the paprika, and served over egg noodles.
Storage
Store the macaroni and soup separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in a pot on the stove, and add the macaroni to the simmering soup for 5 minutes.
This soup will freeze beautifully in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and heat on the stove. Don’t freeze the pasta, make some fresh when you reheat the soup.
Expert Tips
- Cook pasta separately – I recommend cooking the macaroni separately and adding it to each individual bowl as you serve. Pasta tends to continue to soak up liquid even after it’s been cooked and cooled, so keep that in mind.
- Vegetables – To keep it simple and easy, I use frozen mixed vegetables. If you want to use fresh veggies, you want to saute them separately from the ground beef.
Try These Hearty Soups Next
Beef & Tomato Macaroni Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion diced (about ¾ cup)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes with the juice
- 32 ounces beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh chopped parsley option, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain off any excess grease.
- Stir in Italian seasoning and bay leaves and cook for one minute.
- Add beef broth, water, tomatoes, Worcestershire and tomato paste to the pot. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Pour in frozen vegetable and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small pot, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside. (We cook the macaroni separately so the starch doesn't thicken the soup, but you can cook it in the soup if you prefer).
- Add macaroni to the soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
So Yummy in the winter months.
I tried your recipe today. The instructions left out when to add the vegetables and the Worcestershire sauce for someone new to cooking this could cause some confusion. It would be nice if that was added to your instructions.
Thanks, I updated that!