When the temperature drops, a pot of Hungarian Goulash is always on our menu. It is made with tender beef, sweet onions, and a savory broth that fills the house with the best cozy aroma.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich and hearty with sweet onions and tender chunks of beef in a delicious paprika broth.
- Technique: Cooking the soup low and slow tenderizes the meat.
- Budget Tip: Hungarian goulash is a great way to turn a less expensive cut of meat into a tender and delicious meal. Adding potatoes and carrots will stretch the meal further.
- Recipe Note: Hungarian Goulash is very different from an American goulash recipe, which is a pasta and ground beef dish!
Ingredient Notes For Goulash
- Paprika: Hungarian paprika is made from ground dried peppers that range from mild to hot, so its flavor varies by region. Paprika can be smoked, sweet, or hot, but this recipe usually uses the mild or sweet varieties.
- Vegetables: Families often customize this dish with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, peppers, or tomatoes. Some Hungarian Goulash recipes use only onions or serve veggies on the side.
- Beef & Broth: Use chunks of either stew beef or chuck roast.
How to Make Hungarian Goulash
- Sauté onions in butter until soft, then sear the beef until browned.
- Add broth to deglaze, then mix in tomatoes, more broth, and spices.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer (full recipe below) until the meat is tender.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the goulash on its own or over homemade egg noodles, elbow macaroni, or mashed potatoes. Top it with a dollop of sour cream and fresh parsley.
Add a side of crusty artisan bread and butter, 30-minute dinner rolls, or biscuits to soak up any leftover gravy.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, warm over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of beef broth if it is too thick. Or, reheat single servings in the microwave in short intervals, stirring occasionally, and adding liquid if needed.
Must-Try Soups and Stews
Did you make this Hungarian Goulash? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salted butter oil, or lard (preferred)
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1½ pounds stewing beef or chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth or water, divided
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes drained
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Optional
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced, optional
- 3 medium carrots diced, optional
- chopped fresh parsley and sour cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in caraway seeds and paprika.
- In a bowl or zip-top bag, dredge the beef with flour and shake off any excess. Add the beef to the onion mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add ¼ cup of beef broth while scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining broth and diced tomatoes. Add potatoes and carrots if using. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for about 1½ -2 hours or until the beef is fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Hungary© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I turned the crock pot to high and melted the butter, added the onions, spices, dredged beef, and gave it a couple good stirs to mix everything together nicely. Then added liquids and cooked for 6 hours on high. Added the potatoes and carrots for the last 2 hours. Texture of everything was perfect! Need to get an authentic Hungarian paprika next and cut the beef in thicker cubes…thanks Holly for this delicious recipe!
Not a fan of caraway. What else could you use. The pictures look delicious.
You can leave it out.
Instead of adding potatoes to cook with the stew, I boiled separately until just tender enough to get a firm slice after draining. . Mix in with olive oil , garlic, salt, pepper and bake in oven until
brown and crisp. Serve on top of the stew. Deelish.
Made this recipe today. It is amazing. Only changes I made was slow cooking onion, beef and sauce 3 hours. Then in the last hour putting carrots and potatoes in. Beef was tender, vegetables soft yet all had a nice firmness also. Don’t like when vegetables and meat are turned into moosh. Spicewise I added a little fresh garlic and cumin. Otherwise recipe ingredients and proportions as listed. Great comfort food with plenty of flavor without being to spicy for the rest of the family.
Made this tonight, it was delicious! Did everything according to directions, I also added in minced garlic(about one tablespoon), carrots, and two bay leaves. Cooked for 2 hours, came out perfect. After cooking for 1.5 hours, I made a corn starch slurry(1tbsp corn starch,1tbsp water) and added it to thicken.
This ghoulash is amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and used a Hungarian paprika that was a little spicy, so it gave it a little kick. Everyone wanted seconds in my house; this dish is definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
Sorry, forgot to mention I didn’t cook the carrots and potatoes as long. Cooked them around 45 mins.
This looks wonderful with one exception, I can’t stand caraway seeds! Can you please recommend an alternative? (Please don’t say cilantro!)
You can just leave them out Wally, and while it will alter the flavor, it will still be delicious. Enjoy!
I too don’t care for the seeds but do like the flavour. I got some caraway seeds. What I’m thinking of doing is crush them so I have the flavour, just not the seeds caught in my mouth. Do you think that will work? Should I reduce the amount?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but it should be just fine. I would start with the same amount. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
If you like the taste but not the seeds themselves maybe try putting them in a teaball or those little fabric pouches.
Can this be done in SLO Cooker?
Hi Sandy, we haven’t tried this recipe in the slow cooker but I would suggest 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 on high. Let us know how it goes. We do have this delicious crockpot Goulash that you may enjoy too!
Exactly like my M-I-Al’s. Deleted. Have never added carrots. Sounds good.
What a winner of a recipe!! My husband loved this, he even had a second bowl and he is the pickiest eater i know. I used chuck roast for this one and cut the beef a little bigger, it cut easily with a fork, it was so tender. Great work!!
My husbands grandad is Hungarian and makes an amazing goulash, however, due to his age and finding it tricky to write down the recipe I thought I would find an alternative and this looks amazing! I am in the UK and buying beef broth here is quite expensive… can I use beef stock in water ? broth here costs between £6-£8 for one meal!
Even better with diced tomatoes with chili peppers in it.
Can you confirm that the values listed in your summary of Nutrition are for the total quantity of 6 servings, I wish recipes would be specific about this qualification.
Just a suggestion, I encounter this problem with many published recipes. Attention to the detail is everything to me. Thanks in advance for this clarification.
Hi Ian, our nutrition information is an estimate calculated using a program and generalized ingredients (not brand specific). I would suggest using a program and entering your specific ingredients to get the most accurate information. Nutrition information on Spend With Pennies is for one serving, so the total recipe divided by the number of servings. Hope that helps.
Love it i make all the time.
You rock❗️
Yeah, really tasty recipe. It gets my vote
Love the Hungarian goulash!
What do you mean by American Chop Suey!
Sometimes a Macaroni Goulash or American Goulash is referred to as American Chop Suey.
Great recipe! I would just note that the potatoes and carrots may only need a max 40-45 min of cooking, so I would add them toward the end. Adding parsley and dill at the end also brings out great flavour!
Has anyone used leftover roast beef? What did you change? Thanks!
Hi Linda, we haven’t tried this recipe with leftover roast beef but would love to hear how it turns out for you! If the roast beef is already cooked you will want to reduce the cooking time to avoid overcooking it.
Answer Yes! Did it today with leftover beef joint from yesterday! Works really well. Need to find Hungarian paprika though to get it more tasty.