WW Recipe of the Day: Southwestern Ground Beef Goulash
(224 calories | 5 4 4 myWW *SmartPoints value per serving)
This Southwestern Goulash is a modern take on my Mom’s hamburger goulash that I’ve loved since I was a kid.
Skinny Southwestern Goulash for Weight Watchers
I had a feeling as soon as I spied the recipe in the Taste of Home Best of Comfort Food Diet Cookbook: Lose Weight With 749 Recipes From Today’s Family Cooks! (affiliate link) it would be a winner with us. I was right.
How Many Calories/Weight Watchers Points in this Southwestern Ground Beef Goulash Recipe?
According to my calculations each serving has 224 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Skinny Southwestern Goulash Recipe Notes
I increased the corn from 2/3 to 1 cup and the cumin from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, which was just right for us. To spice this recipe even further, you could add some taco seasoning or cayenne pepper.
For more heartiness you could add a can of drained and rinsed black beans.
WW Skinny Southwestern Goulash – 4 Freestyle SmartPoints
I used lean ground beef, but ground turkey, chicken or pork would also work. As would chopped mushrooms for a vegetarian version.
I liked that it was easy to make and provided great leftovers. This is the kind of dish I like even better leftover.
Served with a big tossed green salad, it made for a satisfying supper. Cornbread or muffins would be nice with it too. Enjoy!
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If you’ve made this Southwestern Ground Beef Goulash with Corn, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
Southwestern Goulash with Corn
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni (I used whole wheat)
- 1 pound 95% lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2/3 cup frozen corn (I used 1 cup)
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (I used 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package directions.
- While the water is boiling and pasta is cooking, prepare the ground beef and vegetables.
- In a large skillet set over medium heat, cook the beef and onion, stirring and breaking up the meat into small crumbles, until meat is no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, chilies, cumin, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a gentle simmer and continue to cook, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Drain macaroni and add to the meat/vegetable mixture.
- Stir in the cilantro and heat through. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, cumin, etc. to taste.
Recipe Notes
Recipe source: adapted from Taste of Home Best of Comfort Food Diet Cookbook: Lose Weight with 749 Recipes From Today’s Family Cooks! (affiliate link)
*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.
Kitchen tools I used to make this Southwestern Beef Goulash:
Looking for more easy Weight Watchers Recipes for Skillet Meals?
- One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
- Easy Lightened Up Skillet Lasagna
- Sweet Potato Turkey Dinner in a Skillet
- Lentils, Sausage and Kale Skillet Supper
- Mom’s Hamburger Goulash with Elbow Macaroni
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!
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. 
Beverly
Your recipe says to cook for 4 -56 minutes to let the flavours blend. That is quite a time difference. Is there a typo?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Beverly, thanks for pointing out my typo. It’s been corrected to 4 – 5 minutes. Warmly, Martha
Kim
Loved this recipe! Am making it again tonight.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for taking the time to let me know Kim! – Martha
Sherri
Would this recipe be less points if I used Ground Turkey? Also, it says 6 servings. How much is in a serving?
Thanks,
Sherri
Martha McKinnon
Hi Sherri,
It would depend on the kind of ground turkey you used. If it was ground turkey breast it would be a point or two less. Don’t have exact serving size. I just eyeball it.
Hannah
Do you drain the ground beef before you add the other stuff to it? I know it’s lean so it won’t have much grease but just wanted to make sure. Making tomorrow night can’t wait!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Hannah, If it seems like there is some grease that you want to drain, then by all means drain it. I usually find it to be so lean that it isn’t necessary. Hope this helps.
Beth
Is the serving size 1 or 1/3 cup? I’m confused thanks.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Beth, the serving is 1 and 1/3 cups. Hope this helps.
Darrelyn Kelley
This is really good! I love how it is so quick, easy, and has lots of flavor! Thank you for sharing!! I will be making this again soon!
kristen hodges
Delicious. It was a bit spicy for my family so next time I will omit the green chili. I used elbow macaroni (non wheat) and 90/10 hamburger instead of 95/5 and it changed the points to 8 points instead of 4 when I added all the ingredients into the tracker.
Mary S George
Very good recipe. I added spicy black beans and chili powder as well as more tomato sauce. My husband really liked it too.
Karen
Just made this and it was delicious. I did not add the cumin but I added a can of rotel chilies,lime and and cilantro.
Mike
Love that recipe to family loves it to
Betty
AMAZING ????
Vicki Crothers
I made this recipe this past weekend. It was delicious. I love when everything is cooked in the same pan. Makes great leftover for lunches.
Thank you Martha. All your recipes have been delicious…..
Vicki
Toni
All I can say is YUMMY!!! ??
Ethel
Love this recipe. Flavors are great.
Martha- do you think this can be made in a crock pot for a crowd? Do you already have instructions somewhere
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ethel, I’m concerned that this recipe wouldn’t convert well to the crockpot. You might be able to make it and then keep it in a crockpot on the “warm setting” for an hour or two to feed a crowd. I’d want to keep an eye on it to make sure it didn’t dry out, though. Hope this helps. ~Martha
Connie
This was a great meal
Connie Allen
Was delicious will make again
Charlotte
Made this today for lunch. Super!!! Used 1 C corn, 1 can black beans, 3/4 t cumin and some chili powder. Left out the green chilies and the cilantro as my hubby is not a fan. In addition to just the southwestern goulash in a bowl, he also had some over mashed potatoes—“meat and potatoes”, he said. This recipe is a keeper for sure–quick, tasty, good serving size and serving quantity. Thanks, Martha!
Linda
Very flavorful and so easy to make! I did add thinly sliced zucchini and green peppers just to add more veggies to the dish.
Connie Ford
So Good. The husband gave it 2 thumbs up. ?
Peggy
My husband and I both loved it!! I increased the Cumin to 1 tsp., added 1 T Chili powder, and 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper.
Wanda Borror
Make a big pan of it, have 4 great grandchildren and they loved it none left thank you for sharing