Sausage Goulash

A hearty weeknight family meal, sausage goulash is simple to put together! Raw sausage, noodles, tomato sauce, and cheese are all you need.

This post was first published on October 4, 2018 and was last updated January 8, 2021.

This post was sponsored by Loblaw, however all views and opinions are my own. I will never endorse anything I don’t use or love!

I made this sausage goulash as part of Atlantic Superstore’s 2018 Taste The New Next campaign. With a theme of rediscovering traditions, I thought it would be fun to revisit my mother’s goulash recipe (please note, this is NOT a recipe for traditional Hungarian goulash).

My mother often made American-style goulash with elbow macaroni, ground beef, onion, green peppers, and tomato sauce. Topped with grated mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven, Mum’s goulash was one of my favourite comfort food meals growing up.

The version I’m sharing is very simple, and made with Italian sausage rather than ground beef. I always have sausages on hand in the freezer for quick pastas, pizza, or sheet-pan dinners. I used my simple homemade tomato sauce recipe as the base for my sausage goulash, but feel free to use jarred sauce. I also kept the ingredient list short and basic, ready to be thrown together quickly on weeknights. It may seem like there’s not much going on in this recipe, however, I learned long ago that sometimes all you need is handful of ingredients to make a dish taste amazing.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Step-By-Step Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain the noodles, then run cool water over them to stop the cooking process. Drain again and set aside. Rinse or wash out the pot and dry it.

With a small sharp knife, slice each Italian sausage from top to bottom along its length to open the sausage casing. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and place the chunks of meat in the clean pot.

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Place the pot of sausage meat on the stovetop over medium heat. Use the edge of a wooden spoon, or hard-edged rubber spatula, to break the sausage meat into smaller, bite-sized pieces as it cooks. Continue to cook the sausage meat until golden brown.

Add the chopped onion to the pot and continue to cook until the onions are translucent but not browned.

Stir in the cooled macaroni noodles. Add the tomato sauce and stir again until all of the noodles are well coated.

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Preheat the oven and have an 8×12-inch (20×30-cm) or 9×13-inch (23×33-cm) baking dish ready.

Pour or spoon the macaroni mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the noodles in alternating layers until all of the cheese is gone.

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Place the sausage goulash in the oven and bake it until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Remove the dish from the oven and cool it on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Notes & Tips

This recipe calls for one batch of my simple homemade tomato sauce, however, use jarred sauce from the pantry to save time if you need.

We like sausage goulash pretty basic, however, fresh or dried herbs are great, especially fresh basil.

If you want to add vegetables, such as mushrooms, chopped peppers, or chopped asparagus, add them to the pot when the sausage is about halfway cooked so they soften a bit before baking.

Keep sausage goulash tightly covered in the fridge for up to three days. It will also keep well in the freezer, cooled and stored in a tightly covered freezer-safe container, for up to two months.

Substitutions

Any short pasta noodle will work for sausage goulash. We really like small shells or even penne.

You can substitute any flavour of sausage you like for the Italian sausage.

Make sausage goulash vegetarian by substituting plant-based sausage.

Use an equal measure of ground beef if you prefer.

Don’t use pre-shredded mozzarella if you can help it. It doesn’t melt as well as cheese you grate yourself.

Any cheese you like can be used here. I like the way mozzarella melts and the salty pungency of Parmesan, however, smoked Gouda, goat cheese, Swiss, Havarti, or even a bit of blue cheese would be delicious.

More Simple Family Meals

Roasted Chickpea Tacos An easy and affordable way to provide your family with the protein they need.

Dutch Oven Beef Stew A staple in my kitchen. My mother’s recipe, it’s loaded with onion, potato, and carrot. The ultimate comfort food!

Chili With Chickpeas, Sweet Potato, And Coconut Milk Packed with nutrients from sweet potatoes, chickpeas, lentils, peppers, and corn.

Puff Pastry Turkey Pot Pie A rich and flavourful family meal using store-bought frozen puff pastry and leftover turkey.

Easy Dutch Oven Chicken Crispy skin, delicious flavour, and super moist, learn how to cook a whole chicken in a Dutch oven!

Did you make this recipe? If yes, I would love to know how you made out in the comments below! You can also tag me on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or use the hashtag #kellyneil.