This post is sponsored by Conagra, but opinions expressed are my own.
Hearty, flavorful, and cooked in only ONE POT, American Goulash with Manwich sauce is the perfect old-fashioned recipe that your family will love for quick and easy meals.
I grew up on casseroles and comfort food. My love language is a combination of one-pot meals and my Mom’s Mashed Potatoes. American Goulash is comfort food, simple and delicious, just like my mom made it! As we start out this new school year, I’ll be pulling out this classic recipe alllllll the time. American Goulash is a busy mom’s back-to-school dream. It’s the whole package: dinner and side dish all wrapped up in a one-pot recipe of perfection.
AMERICAN GOULASH WITH MANWICH SAUCE
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This year, the Back-to-School season is certainly different than any other year. Whether your kids are headed back to in-person classes, online distance learning, or you’re choosing to homeschool, this time of year is full of new and stressful things. I want to remind you, however you’re choosing to do back-to-school, you’re doing it RIGHT by your family. Whatever your choice, it’s the right one, so take some of the stress off you and your kids by giving them the “Feel-Goods”!
What exactly are the “Feel-Goods,” you ask? They’re exactly what we all need a little more of these days – delicious foods and snacks that are simple, easy, and bring us joy. They make our lives easier and tastier.
This year (more than ever), our kids need us to help them de-stress and find joy in everyday life. School looks very different these days, we can help navigate that new normal by offering our families Feel Good food. Walmart and Conagra have teamed up to give us some tasty, easy grocery staples that make our stomachs, our hearts, and our stress levels have the Feel-Goods!
What is American Goulash?
American Goulash is a simple, one-pot dish that is bursting with flavor and warmth. Pasta, ground meat, and a spattering of other pantry staples make this dish a busy mom’s dream come true. Sometimes it’s called American Chop Suey, but no matter what you call it, it is the ultimate comfort food for kids and adults alike. I promise you, you can’t go wrong serving this dish. It gives me all the Feel Goods just thinking about it!
Ingredients for American Goulash
The thing I love most about this recipe is that you really don’t need anything “unique” to make it work. Most of these ingredients are found in your pantry already, just grab some ground meat (we use ground beef typically, but will sometimes opt for the leaner option of ground turkey) and you’re ready to go!
- Ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Manwich Original Sauce
- Beef broth
- Diced tomatoes
- Soy Sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Italian seasoning
- Seasoned salt
- Pepper
- Bay leaves
- Elbow macaroni
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Fresh parsley
If you want to keep this meal a little lighter, you can swap out ground turkey for ground beef. I do it on the regular and it’s just as delicious. And if you don’t have beef broth on hand, you can get away with chicken broth or vegetable broth in a pinch. That being said, this recipe tastes the best with beef broth.
How to Make American Goulash
Grab your favorite pot, a spoon to stir, and a strainer. That is ALL you’ll need for this quick and easy recipe!
- Start by placing a large pot over medium heat. Next, you’ll add in the ground beef, onion, and garlic. Cook that for 9 t0 10 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are nice and tender. Be sure to stir often and break up the meat as it cooks.
- Once the meat is ready, drain off any excess grease from beef. If you’re using ground turkey you don’t need to drain the pan juices.
- Next, using the same pot, add in the Manwich sauce, beef broth, diced tomatoes with the juices from the can, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Then you’ll mix it up to combine everything. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce has simmered, go ahead and pour in the pasta and stir into sauce. Cover your goulash and simmer for another 20 minutes… or until pasta is tender. Give the pasta a stir occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of your pan.
- After the pasta is done cooking, using a spoon to remove the bay leaves and discard them. (Nobody actually wants to bite down on a bay leaf.) If you’re adding in shredded cheddar cheese, do that now. Then give the goulash another stir until the cheese has melted.
- Now you’re ready to portion the goulash into serving bowls and garnish with some chopped parsley on top.
Like I mentioned, the cheese is totally optional. American Goulash tastes great with cheese, it also tastes great without it. If you’re trying to cut out some calories or want to keep this recipe dairy-free, leave it out!
Giving your Weekdays the “Feel Goods”
Food should be fun and we’re switching it up this school year by having some fun food-themed weekdays. I threw a few of the Conagra feel good food items into my Walmart Grocery Pick-up Order and here’s how we’re using them to make every weekday a feel good day this school year!
Manwich Mondays – we love Manwich sauce over here. We use it for quick and easy Sloppy Joes, as an added kick to some meatballs, and of course, to make my favorite American Goulash! It’s that delicious, messy flavor that the whole family loves. We particularly love the Thick & Chunky variety, but you can mix it up with the Bourbon BBQ kind too! Try them all and see what your family likes best.
Trouble-Free Tuesdays – for whatever reason, Tuesdays are the days that I typically find myself in a cooking rut. That’s why I save my favorite frozen and quick-cook meals for Tuesdays!
Whether it’s the frozen lasagna I’ve had in the bottom of the freezer for months, or simply pasta and sauce, Tuesdays are for keeping it simple. I picked up some of Banquet Country Fried Chicken Mega Bowls and I’m not kidding, my boys ate them in 2 minutes flat. These hearty bowls have everything you need for an easy comfort meal – chicken, mashed potatoes, creamy gravy, and corn. What’s not to love?!
We Did It! Wednesdays – we made it halfway through another week… we’re celebrating! Our family’s go-to celebration food is an Ice Cream Sundae Bar. I’m taking all the toppings, all the flavors, all the yums. Whatever your family’s fun treat of choice, turn that mid-week slump into a CELEBRATION!
Breakfast For Dinner Thursdays – weekday mornings in my house have always been rough. I’d love to be that mom who had a fresh batch of eggs fried up for the boys to eat before school, but I just can’t make it work most days, so cereal it is! BUT, just because I can’t get it done in the morning doesn’t mean all that yummy breakfast food goes out the window! We LOVE doing breakfast for dinner.
We always have a pack of delicious Odom’s Tennessee Pride Sausage Biscuits in the freezer waiting for a delicious Thursday night meal. These fully cooked sandwiches just need to be popped in the microwave to create the ultimate breakfast-for-dinner meal. Top each biscuit with an egg and some added favorites (I’m talking avocado slices, fresh salsa for some huevos rancheros, the options are endless) and you’ve got yourself the perfect family dinner.
Family Favorite Fridays – each week one family member gets to pick out a family favorite recipe for us all to enjoy together. My oldest always chooses make-your-own pizzas, my youngest typically chooses something based around pasta, my husband is a total wild-card. I love Fridays because the person who picked the meal gets to help with (or fully take over) the cooking!
Now that you’ve got some inspiration for how to make your back-to-school dinners more fun, here’s one of my family’s favorite Manwich Monday recipes!
Whether your kids are in school five days a week, at home distance learning, or some combination of the two, I hope that your school year is fun, engaging, and gives you ALL the Feel-Goods! Check out Conagra staples for back-to-school this fall at Walmart.
Need some other comfort foods to give you all the Feel-Goods? Check out these other Real Housemoms favorites!
- Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Cheesy Sausage, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Pasta Bake
- Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Onion Dip
- Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Sloppy Joes
- more DINNER recipes
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 15 ounces Manwich Original sauce
- 1 ¼ cup beef broth
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ tablespoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ cups elbow macaroni pasta (8 ounces)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded (optional)
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Place large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion, and garlic to pot. Cook for 8 to minutes until meat is no longer pink and onions are tender. Stir often and break up meat as it cooks. Drain excess grease from beef.
- To the same pot add Manwich sauce, beef broth, diced tomatoes with juices, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in pasta and stir into sauce. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir occasionally.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaves and discard. Stir goulash once. If desired, stir in shredded cheddar cheese until melted.
- Portion into serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley for garnish. Serve warm.
Nutrition
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