Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Easy American Hamburger Goulash (aka American Chop Suey)
(354 calories | 9 9 5 myWW *SmartPoints value per serving)
Today I’m sharing a recipe I’ve been eating since childhood, my mom’s recipe for goulash. She learned to make this simple ground beef and macaroni skillet dish by watching her friend’s mom make it back in the 1950s in a small town in rural coastal Maine.
American goulash is one of those recipes handed down through the generations that can be made in a wide variety of ways.
What is Goulash?
American goulash is completely different from the Hungarian version. It’s a quick and easy skillet dish of ground beef, onion, tomatoes, tomato soup and elbow macaroni. Think homemade from scratch Hamburger Helper, that was known as American Chop Suey at my local school cafeteria.
Hungarian Goulash, by comparison, is a long-simmering meat and vegetable stew seasoned with generous amounts of paprika.
The two dishes couldn’t be more different.
Hamburger Goulash (aka American Chop Suey)
How To Make American Goulash?
There are lots of different variations of “hamburger goulash,” or “American Chop Suey,” out there. Some call for tomato sauce and others for jarred spaghetti sauce, but I don’t think they taste as good as this old-fashioned, classic version from my mom that calls for canned tomato soup. But, my tastebuds are biased because it’s the one they grew up on.
Mom’s hamburger goulash with elbow macaroni is comfort food at its best – quick, easy, tasty, and satisfying. I made it for my guys a few nights ago and Mac ate three servings. I can think of no better compliment for a cook.
It is also just the kind of food we can depend on in these uncertain economic times – simple, wholesome and inexpensive.
WW Friendly Hamburger Macaroni Goulash
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Classic American Goulash Recipe?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 354 calories and:
9 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
9 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan) (with whole grain macaroni)
9 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Curious about Weight Watchers new myWW Green, Blue and Purple plans? Watch this short video to learn more:
Hamburger Goulash Recipe Substitutions & Variations
Meat: Though ground beef is traditional, any ground meat—chicken, turkey, pork, lamb—may be substituted. It could also be made vegetarian with the addition of meatless veggie crumbles.
Pasta shape: Elbow macaroni is traditional but any small cut of pasta will work.
Bulkier: To add more volume to your goulash for few calories, add more vegetables such as mushrooms, corn, zucchini, etc.
Thicker: I like to make this old-fashioned Goulash saucy. If you don’t, use one can of diced tomatoes instead of two. It also thickens up a lot as it sits to make it ahead of time. Many like it better as leftovers the day after when it has thickened and the flavors have melded.
Spicier: There are lots of way to add more flavor to suit your tastes. Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, tomato paste, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, etc.
Southwestern/Chile Mac: For a spicy southwest/chile mac variation, add 1 cup of drained corn and 1-2 tablespoons chili powder when adding the tomatoes.
Cheesy: Stir in or top with your favorite grated or shredded cheese.
Vegetarian/Vegan: Substitute your favorite ground plant based crumbles for the ground beef.
What Should Your Serve with Classic American Goulash?
We always enjoyed our goulash with a simple green salad alongside. Most any vegetable makes a healthy accompaniment: zucchini, broccoli, green beans, corn, carrots, etc.
If you’ve made this hamburger goulash, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
Easy American Hamburger Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces) elbow macaroni (gluten-free if desired) (uncooked)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) tomato soup
- 2 cans (14-ounces each) diced tomatoes
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Pinch of sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.
- Meanwhile heat oil in a large skillet, or dutch oven, over medium heat. Stir the ground beef, onion, and pepper into the skillet, breaking up the beef into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often, until the beef is no longer pink and the onion and pepper are soft (5-8 minutes).
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato soup, cinnamon, and sugar. Simmer until heated thoroughly.
- Stir in the drained macaroni and combine well. (Alternatively, if your skillet isn't quite big enough, stir everything together in the pasta pan.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
*PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Easy Healthy Ground Beef Recipes for Weight Watchers
- Southwestern Hamburger Goulash – Inspired by flavors of the southwest
- Easy Taco Soup – easy and delicious soup with all the flavors of a taco
- Easy Hamburger Macaroni Soup – A simple warm and satisfying soup
- Easy Healthy Ground Beef Enchilada Skillet
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Hi, I'm Martha. Simple Nourished Living chronicles the easy and delicious Weight Watchers friendly recipes, tips & hints that help me balance my love of food and desire to be happy, healthy and slim. 
Stephen H
growing up in Maine myself, I have had this a million times and still enjoy it. almost the same recipe but I don’t use cinnamon and sugar, I like to put in celery seed and a dash of celery salt.
Martha McKinnon
So great to connect with a fellow friend from Maine!
David
I made it exactly as the recipe is printed. I’m from Maine and it reminds me of just exactly what my mother used to cook. Comfort food at its best. Excellent! I give it 5 stars!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks David! So happy to hear from another with connections to Maine! – Martha
Kay
Do you measure the 2 cups of macaroni before you cook it?
Martha McKinnon
Kay, yes the recipe calls for 2 cups of uncooked macaroni that you then cook according to the package directions. Hope this helps. – Martha
Catherine
Very easy and quick. I like the different versions. I used corn in mine.
Billie Lannom
I also put corn and red kidney beans in mine and it is delicious. I also use tomato soup and tomato juice.
sdramey
It’s simple to make and taste great.
Amanda
When do you add the olive oil? Sorry I’m new to cooking!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Amanda, It’s listed in Step 2 of the instructions!
Linda
Delicious. Tastes just like the goulash my Mom used to make.
Jodi
Michigan here! My mom made this also minus the cinnamon. Apparently in the 40s or 50s Campbells soup published these recipes. Same base also make spanish rice and chili. With the chili you added kidney beans and chili powder. We lived on a farm so we always used a quart of home canned stewed tomatoes.
LDG
Can this recipe be converted for use in a slow cooker? I need recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free, kid-friendly, and can cook on low all day. I know that’s a tall order! And I prefer lower carb, so I could use less macaroni. Thanks in advance!
Martha McKinnon
Hi LDG, I haven’t tried this in the slow cooker so not sure how it would turn out. I’m concerned that the macaroni would become mushy. ~Martha
Ellen M LaPlante
I’m from northern NY. My mother made this often and it was one of my favorite meals. It was the first meal I cooked as an adult. I made it occasionally for my kids but somehow forgot about it in recent years. I now live in Michigan and just had this same dish tonight at a diner (it was in the comfort food section). I googled it to see if other people knew about it because honestly I thought it was something my mother had concocted, lol. I’m going to buy some Campbell’s tomato soup and start making this again.
Vegan cook
To make it humane/plant based/vegan, just substitute the ground beef, for plant based ground. Then most people, on most diets, (vegetarian, vegan, traditional, etc.) could eat it, as most diets include plants. However, if someone is avoiding soy, then another plant based ground could be used, such as one made with pea protein, or, this might work, with brown lentils substituted, for the protein.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for the suggestion, Vegan Cook! ~Martha
Mike
Just like mom’s used to be.
Laura
Recipe was easy to follow and delicious! I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you : )
Martha McKinnon
So happy to hear it, Laura. Thanks for taking the time to let us know. ~Martha
Baby Kato - Gerry
Thank you for sharing your recipe. My husband enjoyed it very much, it was comforting and satisfying. It reminded him of the way his mother made this dish. Thanks for the memories. BK
Baby Kato - Gerry
Wow, was my husband a happy camper. This is just the same as his mothers version. He loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. Good thing that it makes a lot, it will feed his cravings for awhile to come, thank you. Quick, easy to throw together with ingredients often found in the pantry. BK
Martha McKinnon
Glad you liked it. It was on my menu this week too.
M Morrison
This recipe was given to me when staying with a close school friend after I told her that I preferred her version to the one my Mom always made! After standing at her elbow and watching her make it, I realized there was only one difference in the ingredients she used–but that one ingredient made a world of difference in the taste and texture of the dish. That one ingredient was the tomato soup! I brought my family up on my favorite dishes, and continue to make it using the exact ingredients, some 65 years later! It’s been a standard.
Dorothy King
Enjoy more of this type of food.
Deb
Hi Martha – looks like a great recipe. Could tomato sauce be substituted for the tomato soup?
Thanks
Martha McKinnon
Hi Deb, substituting tomato sauce will work fine though it will change the flavor a bit. ~Martha
Betty Taschler
Made this for hubby and me was fantastic we’re empty nesters so it’ll make for us a couple meals
aisling withershyns
Martha..my son loved this…I did too but unfortunately my points are like 12 because I used no yolk egg noodles 85 grams and used a couple left over turkey burgers ,,…uggh, the one beef I have with weight watchers is some of the point assignments do not line up with the calorie count. for instance 85 grams of noodles is only 310 calories for the whole batch…so if I half them the calorie count in 155 which is not bad… but the point given is 9 just the noodles..i added not sugar just 1/2 can soup…a table spoon of some left over pasta sauce and nutmeg with onion and bell pepper.. the points don’t seem accurate any suggestions??
Martha McKinnon
Glad you son like it! I’m not really understanding your points questions. I use the WW Recipe Builder to calculate the points on all my recipes. Points may be different depending on the kinds and brands of ingredients you use. Hope this helps. ~Martha