Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash & Noodles

Growing up, goulash was not a meal that was served in my home, let alone Hungarian Goulash. My parents are both British and goulash just wasn’t a dish they were familiar with. After I got married, I was introduced to the Americanized version of goulash that consists of ground beef, lots of green pepper and a tomato sauce which was served over macaroni noodles. I actually know this as a dish pretty similar to chili mac.

Hungarian Goulash Recipe

After doing a little searching, I’ve found that over the years goulash has been adapted in many forms and it’s different for everyone. Hungarian goulash is similar to a soup or stew, depending on the thickness of your liquids, and usually contains a large amount of paprika.

ANOTHER RECIPE YOU MIGHT LIKE: Crockpot Lasagna

The thing that really caught my eye was that it was made with beef chuck roast, not ground beef.

I’ve always loved a good stew and was totally ready to give this a try. I didn’t want to offend any Hungarians out there, so I did my research. I used the basic ingredients of Hungarian Goulash and adapted it to my tastes, which is what it seems everyone does as there are so many different versions!

For Hungarian Goulash you will need:

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic about two cloves
• 1 14- ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 medium carrots cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 3 medium parsnips cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 5 oz sweet peppers chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Egg noodles

Helpful kitchen tools:

• Crockpot
• Skillet
• Measuring spoons
• Liquid measuring cup

How to Make Hungarian Goulash

There’s a small amount of prep work involved before dropping everything into the slow cooker.

1. First, you’ll need to cut your chuck roast into 1-inch pieces.
2. Next, combine herbs, spices, salt, pepper and flour in a gallon sized zipper plastic bag.

1. Add the cubed meat to the bag, seal and shake to coat.

1. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and garlic in the skillet, then add entire contents of meat shaking bag to the onion mixture. Do not discard any extra spice mixture in the bag, add it all to the skillet. Cook, turning occasionally until meat is browned well.

1. Add canned tomatoes and its juices and stir. Turn off heat.

1. Add meat mixture to the slow cooker crock, using a rubber spatula to ensure you get all of the sauce from the skillet.

1. Add the beef broth and the Worcestershire sauce stir gently. Add the parsnips and carrots and stir. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours (or low for 6-8), or until meat and vegetables are tender.

1. Add chopped sweet peppers during the last hour of cooking.
2. Remove lid from slow cooker and turn up to high. Put a pot of water on the stove for your egg noodles and bring to a rolling boil.
3. Remove about 1/4 cup of liquid from the slow cooker.

1. In a medium bowl, measure out the cornstarch. Slowly add the liquid from the slow cooker to the cornstarch, stirring as you go. Only add small amounts at a time, stir, then add more. Adding the liquid all at once will cause your cornstarch to clump and it will be impossible to smooth out. Once you have added enough liquid to make the cornstarch mixture thin, add the cornstarch mixture to the slow cooker and stir. Allow the slow cooker to cook on high, uncovered, to thicken the stew while your egg noodles cook.

1. Add your egg noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and serve thickened goulash over cooked egg noodles.

Want more recipes for your slow cooker?

Try my crockpot mac and cheese and our favorite crockpot roast beef!

More Slow Cooker Recipes

• Mississippi Pot Roast
• Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
• Slow Cooker BBQ Meatball Subs
• Slow Cooker Pinto Beans
• Beef Bourguignon

This recipe originally appeared here on February 5, 2014 and has since been updated with new photos and tips.