Healthier Italian Goulash
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Goulash is one of those foods that takes me back to my childhood days and school lunches. In elementary, I remember having the best school lunches; delicious calzones, fluffy rolls and saucy wonderful goulash.
Goulash is great because it feeds an army, the kiddos love it and it’s also really easy to sneak lots of veggies in…… it’s truly the comfort food of all comfort foods. Oh yeah, it’s a pretty great dinner to carb-load before a 22 mile long run, too!
Healthier Italian Goulash
A one skillet recipe, healthier Italian goulash is kid-friendly and packed with veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion , finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped or ground in a food processor
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound lean ground turkey, chicken or beef
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce or liquid aminos
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 14.5 oz tomato sauce
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- salt and pepper to taste, taste first, I didn't need to add any salt or pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery to heated skillet and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ground turkey, seasonings and soy sauce (or liquid aminos) and cook until the meat is slightly browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 5 minutes.
- Stir crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken broth into meat mixture and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer, place a lid on the skillet and allow this to cook for 15 minutes.
- Stir in elbow macaroni, return the lid to the pot, and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- If desired, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Serve with garlic bread and enjoy!!
Notes
Once your Goulash has cooled to room temperature, cover and transfer to the refrigerator. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 366kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 1405mg, Potassium: 1196mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 4017IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 107mg, Iron: 6mg
Did you make this recipe?
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I’m excited to try this; adding kidney beans and lentil pasta to up the nutrition. Thanks!
Yum! This was SO tasty!
I searched goulash recipes about 3 weeks ago and came across this one first. I happened to have the ingredients on hand and made it for dinner that night. It was a big hit! I used ground chicken, and I boiled the elbow macaroni separately to speed up the process. I made it again last night, but added uncooked medium shell pasta for the last 20 minutes of cooking. It was even better than the first time, and I didn’t even add mushrooms to it this time (the ones I had were past their prime so I had to ditch them 😕, but they’re on my shopping list lol). I love the sweetness that the carrots add to this dish, and the grated parm and fresh parsley take it over the top! I had the little bit of leftovers for lunch today… more of a snack size lol but still delicious! Thank you for this recipe…I only wish I had found it sooner! 😊
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed and thanks so much for taking time to comment!
You’re welcome! I made it again the other night and it’s safe to say that I will need to be doubling this recipe from now on 🙂
How many servings is this recipes?
This is a super old recipe and was posted before I was specific with servings and such. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember.
Oh gosh, I absolutely LOVE goulash, but have never thought to make it Italian. This recipe sounds AMAZING!
If you love goulash…. I’m pretty positive you will love this recipe! Let me know if you get a chance to give it a try.
That goulash recipe looks and sounds delicious I don’t think I’ve had goulash before, must give it a go.
I don’t agree with the clean plate slogan though, definitely think if something is delicious you should eat it in true Intuitive Eating spirit only until you are full 😉
I think I am going to try this but with lentils in place of the meat. They are normally a pretty good substitute for ground beef.
I bet that would be really good. I’ve done a meatleaf before using lentil rather than meat and it turned out great. I used the recipe from Oh She Glows.
This looks great for the winter months ANNNND something that even I can make 😉 Thanks for posting!
I’ve never had goulash, but it looks awesome!
This looks wonderful! I love one skillet meals (clean up is the worst!) and it’s with ingredients that I always have on hand. Sounds like a perfect dish for when I forget to plan 🙂
There must be something about maccaroni and chicken today in the blog world 🙂
I love gulash too, it’s something that my Dad used to make when he was alone with us for dinner. So comforting!
Kim, this dish looks great! Goulash is definitely one of those dishes that take me back to my child. I think my favorite would be french toast for breakfast on the weekends.
Have a happy Monday
<3