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Slumgullion (also known as American Goulash, American Chop-Suey, or Beefaroni) is a classic -and incredibly cheap – comfort meal. But make no mistake, this slumgullion recipe is anything BUT cheap-tasting. Who knew basic ingredients like pasta, ground beef, onion, and tomato sauce could make such an easy, delicious dinner?
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What is Slumgullion?
If you’ve heard of American Goulash, American Chop Suey, or Beefaroni – then you know what slumgullion is. The word slumgullion literally means “cheap meat stew”. The slumgullion recipe typically includes pasta (usually macaroni elbows), ground beef, and tomato-based sauce.
What’s the Difference between American Goulash and Hungarian Goulash?
This slumgullion recipe makes a delicious American Goulash. But before we start, keep in mind that American Goulash is NOT the same as the Hungarian Goulash you might find at restaurants.
In its most basic recipe, slumgullion is made out of beef, macaroni, and some sort of a red sauce. Hungarian Goulash, however, is the dish that features slow-simmered beef chunks in a paprika sauce.
But.. if you’re here for a classic American comfort food, you’re in the right place.
Let’s start!
What You Need to Make Slumgullion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 lb pasta, cooked (I used penne, but you can use macaroni or any other types of pasta)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 (14 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp bouillon, chicken or beef
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp rosemary
- salt and pepper, as needed
- 1 tbsp red chili flakes (optional)
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
How to Make Slumgullion
- In a large non-stick pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add in onions and saute until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Stir up the ground beef with your spatula to break it into chunks, and stir until meat is fully cooked.
- Mix in the tomato sauce and bouillon. Reduce the heat to low, and mix to combine. Allow the mixture to cook for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Add in the cooked pasta and stir the mixture to combine.
- You can serve the slumgullion as is at this point, or you can mix in the cheddar cheese.
- Sprinkle some chopped parsley and the slumgullion is ready to serve. ENJOY!
Looking For More Comfort Food Recipes?
- Super Easy Quaker Cornbread
- Qdoba Grilled Chicken ( Copycat Recipe )
- 1-Pot Vegan Cauliflower Curry (GF, DF, VG)
- The BEST Copycat Chick Fil A Cookie Recipe
- Baked Parmesan Zucchini (GF, V)
- Instant Pot Chicken Wild Rice Soup (GF, DF)
- Extra Cheesy Hot Nacho Dip (GF, V)
- Cinnamon Swirl Pound Cake
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If you make this Slumgullion recipe, please drop a comment below! I’d LOVE to know what you think! Or take a picture and share it on Instagram by tagging @dwellbymichelle!
Slumgullion (American Goulash)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ pound ground beef
- 1 pound pasta , cooked (I used penne, but you can use macaroni or any other types of pasta)
- 1 onion , chopped
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 (14 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp bouillon , chicken or beef
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp rosemary
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 tbsp red chili flakes (optional)
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese , shredded (optional, but highly recommended)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a large non-stick pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add in onions and saute until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Stir up the ground beef with your spatula to break it into chunks, and stir until meat is fully cooked.
- Mix in the tomato sauce and bouillon. Reduce the heat to low, and mix to combine. Allow the mixture to cook for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Add in the cooked pasta and stir the mixture to combine.
- You can serve the slumgullion as is at this point, or you can mix in the cheddar cheese.
- Sprinkle some chopped parsley and the slumgullion is ready to serve. ENJOY!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
I have eaten this for years, the only adjustment is that I add a small can of corn and I use canned tomato pieces. You could add almost anything. My family loves it. Thank You
Really interesting post!
We made this often when feeding the boys/girls swim team the night before a meet. There were never any leftovers!
If you were brought up poor that is in a poor family seven children two adults you would know slump Gullion as a large pot of everything left over from the refrigerator and grains and beans and rice and if you were lucky chicken or beef perhaps. You may have been lucky and had beef or chicken but more probably wild meats squirrel groundhog venison pork rarely
How much ground beef does this recipe (Slumgullion) call for? I don’t see ground beef in the ingredient list.
Hi Ann! I realized that I didn’t copy over the ground beef amount to the recipe card, but if you scroll up to the “what you need to make Slumgullion” section in the article, you’ll see that it is noted as 1 1/2 pound ground beef. Thank you so much for pointing this out, I will make sure to update this in the recipe card.
Yes, I tend to “jump to the recipe” and didn’t notice the duplicate recipe info. Thank you! It’s looks good, I’m going to make it soon!
i’d eat this even if it wasn’t cheap! comfort food at its finest.
Very good recipe to feed a crowd!
WOW. So simple to make yet its seriously my new favorite pasta recipe. I will be saving this and making it again.
Husband made too much spaghetti last night so we used that to make slumgullion (instead of penne) and it still turned out great. love all the flavors and it’s very cheap to make too!
Fabulous recipe, my whole family loved it!
Hi Michelle! Does the bouillon need to be dry, or would Better Than Bouillon paste work?
Hey Cary! I personally use Better Than Bouillon, so that will work! 🙂
Hi Michelle. First, thank you for this recipe! I’m not much of a chef but enjoying my efforts to follow some online recipes. I made this recipe for slum gullion once, but I don’t quite understand what’s meant by one tablespoon of bouillon. Can it mean three cubes of bouillon dissolved in water? Or one tablespoon of liquid bouillon? 🤔🤷
Hi Bob! If you follow the Amazon link for the Bouillon on the ingredients list (linked here), you’ll see that the one I use is a powder bouillon 🙂 Typically, a bouillon cube is 1 tsp, so you’ll need 3 bouillon cubes!