One-Pot American Goulash
Thick, tomatoey, and built in a single pan. The macaroni goes in uncooked and absorbs the seasoned broth as it simmers, pulling paprika and beef flavor into every bite. Bell pepper and carrot soften into the broth until they nearly dissolve. Nothing gets drained.
25 minutes, 631 calories, 32 grams of protein, and one pan to wash.
Thick, tomatoey, and built in a single pan. The macaroni goes in uncooked and absorbs the seasoned broth as it simmers, pulling paprika and beef flavor into every bite. Bell pepper and carrot soften into the broth until they nearly dissolve. Nothing gets drained.
25 minutes, 631 calories, 32 grams of protein, and one pan to wash.
Ingredients
- onion 0.5
- bell pepper 1
- carrot 1
- garlic 1 clove
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- 96% lean ground beef 3 ounces
- diced tomatoes 5 ounces
- vegetable bouillon 0.5 cube
- water 1 cup
- paprika (ground spice) 1 teaspoon
- macaroni, whole wheat 3 ounces
Method
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Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and dice the bell pepper and carrot.
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Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain excess fat if needed.
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Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and carrot to the beef and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.
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Stir in the diced tomatoes, bouillon cube, and water. Mix well. Add paprika, salt, and pepper, and stir thoroughly.
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Add the uncooked macaroni, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and let it simmer for about 12 minutes, until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
Stir the macaroni every two to three minutes while it simmers. Whole wheat pasta releases more starch than white, and in a one-pot recipe where the cooking liquid becomes the sauce, that starch settles fast. A few stirs keep the bottom from sticking and help the sauce thicken evenly.
Behind this recipe
Why does the pasta cook in the sauce instead of being boiled separately?
The one-pot method saves a dish and a drain, but it also changes the flavor. The macaroni absorbs the tomato broth, paprika, and beef drippings directly as it cooks, so the seasoning goes inside the pasta rather than sitting on the surface. Water-soluble nutrients from the bell pepper and carrot also stay in the sauce instead of going down the drain. Research on cooking and vegetable nutrients found that heat increases the bioavailability of certain compounds while reducing others, and the one-pot method keeps what would normally be lost in the cooking water.
Can I use regular macaroni instead of whole wheat?
Absolutely. Standard white macaroni cooks identically in this pan. The trade-off is fiber: whole wheat macaroni contributes most of the 13 grams of fiber in this meal. White macaroni drops that significantly. Cooking time stays about the same.
Will 96% lean ground beef dry out in this recipe?
Not here. The beef simmers in tomato broth for 12 minutes under a lid, so the liquid keeps it moist throughout. With 96% lean beef there is almost no excess fat to drain in step two, which means all the seasoned cooking liquid stays in the pan where it belongs.
