In pursuits of happiness, let’s make a hearty and delicious pot of Authentic Hungarian Goulash.

This Hungarian national dish is beloved for a reason. A warm and hearty beef soup with fork tender beef, along with some root vegetables slow cooked for hours in a sweet paprika laced broth.

The result is something that you have never tasted before. Hungarian Goulash, a true ode to their quintessential sweet paprika!!

We fell in love with the flavors that can be created with Hungarian sweet paprika after trying another of their classics, Chicken Paprikash. We cooked it last year, and were amazed how different the stew turns out after the addition of massive amounts of this special paprika powder.

It’s one of our favorite chicken stews, and that’s why we were quite eager to apply the same flavors to beef soup. Yes, let’s make it very loud and clear. Authentic Hungarian Goulash is a more liquidy soup, rather than stew.

If you’re dining anywhere in Hungary, or go to some local Hungarian restaurant and order goulash thinking of it as a stew, you’ll be hugely surprised when you end up getting a bowlful of vibrantly colored beef soup, either served with their traditional noodles or some bread.

You are Going to Cook this Hungarian Goulash all the Time… why?

1. It’s a one of its kind. The rich and delicious flavors are created with a very few humble ingredients. And you will be experiencing a new lovely flavor created by their signature paprika. A new comfort food for you to discover this winter!!
2. It’s a one pot meal, all you need is some crusty bread to serve with it.
3. You can make it customizable with whatever root vegetables are on hand.
4. It’s a huge crowd pleaser and can feed a lot of people if you make a big pot.
5. This Goulash recipe is perfect for make ahead meals, meal prep or freezer meals. It’s great as leftovers, as it tastes even better when it sits for a few days in your refrigerator.

What is Hungarian Goulash?

Goulash (Hungarian: gulyás) is one of the national dishes of Hungary. It is a beef (though many times you see pork) and vegetable soup, made with tender chunks of meat with root vegetables simmered slow and low for hours in a rich broth seasoned with plenty of sweet paprika. It could be mistaken for a thicker stew version, known as Pörkölt.

Its origin may be traced back as far as the 10th century, to stews eaten by Hungarian shepherds. Goulash originates from the Hungarian gulyás, meaning “herdsman” or “cowboy”.

The word gulyás originally meant herdsman, but over time the dish became gulyáshús (‘goulash meat’), a meat dish which was prepared by herdsmen. At that time, the cooked and flavored meat was dried with the help of the sun and packed into bags produced from sheep’s stomachs, needing only water to make it into a meal.

The unique portable nature of Hungarian Goulash made it extremely popular, spreading it to other countries, ultimately becoming the peasant dish of the masses. Earlier versions of goulash did not include paprika, as it was not introduced to Europe until the 15th century.

Every Hungarian household has their own special gulyás, passed on from generation to generation, which results in so many variations around the country. Different vegetables and meats can go in the stewing pot, traditionally cooked on an open fire.

Sometimes it’s laced with a little wine, and sometimes their hand pinched noodles called csipetke are added to the pot in the end. What remains constant is a good dose of their very typical Hungarian Sweet Paprika.

What is Hungarian Sweet Paprika?

Sweet paprika is made of red bell peppers (not basic, smoked or hot paprika), and adds the signature vibrant, sweet, slightly smoky warming notes. It is brightly red, and imparts a beautiful red color to the soup, and many other Hungarian dishes.

Do NOT mistake or replace it with regular smoked paprika or plain paprika. Since it’s made of sweet red bell peppers, it doesn’t have any heat, and imparts a fruity, clean, peppery taste.

You can buy this in specialty ethnic stores, or order it online. A good quality Hungarian Sweet Paprika is very crucial in achieving the signature Hungarian flavors, and you can’t substitute any other chili peppers for this recipe. The closest I can think of is Spanish sweet paprika, which comes close to the flavor profile.

What Cut of Beef is Best for Hungarian Goulash?

Goulash can be prepared from beef, veal, pork, or lamb. Typical cuts include the shank, shin, or shoulder.

Like any other stew or soup, boneless chuck is the best cut of beef for Hungarian Goulash. Try to find a richly marbled, fattier piece of chuck roast, that when cooked for a longer duration yields into melt in your mouth tender meat.

Hungarian Goulash Ingredients

• Beef – Use chuck roast for this goulash. Avoid beef labelled as “stew meat”, as most of the times it is just remnants of various cuts of beef, and will not yield the fork tender melt in your mouth tenderness.
• Sweet paprika – It is a MUST for this recipe. Hungarian sweet paprika cannot be substituted for other paprika. You may be able to find it at your grocery store, or specialty ethnic stores, or simply order online.
• Lard – Traditionally pork lard is used in Hungary, to impart special flavor to the soup. In its absence, you can use butter or just regular canola oil.
• Vegetables – Onion, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes.
• Flavor enhancers and spices – Black pepper, salt, caraway seeds (optional), bay leaves, garlic, fresh parsley (for garnish).
• Beef broth – Traditionally they only use water (sometimes supplementing it with bouillon) as a soup base, but we think beef broth adds great depth to the soup.

Hungarian Goulash Recipe:

1. Sear the beef: Though some people directly add meat into the pot, we always like to sear the meat all over until brown, as it imparts tons of flavors to the pot. Season the beef chunks generously with salt and pepper and sear it in melted lard, without overcrowding the pot. Plate it out.

2. Make the soup base: In the same pan, add in diced onion and sauté the onions till they start caramelizing a little, about 12-15 minutes. Add in bell peppers and garlic and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Add in tomatoes and sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until most of the liquid starts evaporating.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the paprika, salt, pepper and caraway (if using). Note: paprika becomes bitter if it gets scorched over high heat.

3. Assemble Goulash and Simmer: Add the beef chunks back into the pot and mix well. Stir in the broth along with bay leaf and carrots, and return the pot back to the stove.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer the stew for an an hour or more (sometimes the meat may take longer, as much as 90 minutes or more, to become tender). Stir occasionally.

4. Add in starch: Add in potatoes when the meat is almost tender, and simmer the stew further till the potatoes are cooked to your liking and the beef is fork tender.

We cook it uncovered for the last 30-40 minutes, so the liquid is a little reduced, yet still soupy. Taste and adjust the salt, and garnish it with chopped fresh parsley.

Goulash Tips and Tricks

1. Cut the chuck roast into same sized chunks (1 inch to 1.5 inch, according to your preference), so they cook evenly in the end. When searing the beef, make sure not to OVERCROWD the pan, as that would lead to steaming and creating a lot of liquid in the pan, resulting in not browning the meat. Sear the meat in two batches if needed.

2. The big grandma TIP here is “not adding Hungarian sweet paprika into the pot when it’s on stovetop”. This sweet paprika tends to get bitter if slightly scorched over high heat. Always remove the pan from the stove top, then add the paprika and mix well before returning the pot back to stove top.

3. Cook the Goulash for a long time. Take the extra time to cook your meat properly, it really needs a total of at least 2 hours, or even more, to become buttery tender. Simmer the pot until the meat is almost tender, then add potatoes and cook a further 20 minutes, till the potatoes are cooked to your liking.

4. Don’t be scared to add in flavors. You need plenty of onion, plenty of garlic and plenty of sweet paprika to create theses amazing flavors. Don’t skimp on these ingredients.

How to Serve Hungarian Goulash

Authentic Hungarian Goulash is served in soup bowls over Csipetke, which are pinched egg noodles in the shape of tiny dumplings. Sometimes Csipetke is added to the soup to boil it along with soup. You can serve it over egg noodles too.

We love it along with our favorite crusty No Knead Bread. Lots of people like it with a dollop of sour cream.

What is the Difference Between Hungarian Goulash and American Goulash?

Hungarian Goulash is a meat and vegetable soup laced heavily with sweet paprika. It’s more of a brothy and liquidy meal, rather than thick stew.

American Goulash is one-pot pasta dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs and elbow macaroni. It is also called American Chop Suey, and is very similar to our own Johnny Marzetti.

Storing Leftover Hungarian Goulash

Like any other stew or soup, goulash refrigerates well and tastes even better, as all the flavors have chance to meld with each other and sort of accentuate. Make this soup up to 4 days ahead. Cool it down completely, then refrigerate it.

Simply reheat it on the stovetop until hot all through out. You can also microwave this soup in a bowl.

This Hungarian Goulash recipe freezes very well up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and heat it back up on stovetop when ready to serve.

Well… That’s our take on this famous and classic Hungarian dish… this Hungarian Goulash. It ain’t your American Goulash for sure.

Give these amazing flavors try and make this international gem very easily in your own kitchen. As far as us, we were completely hooked to this soup from our very first bite. Hmm… To the pursuit of Happiness…

Hungarian Goulash, on our GypsyPlate… enjoy!

Try these other great beef stew recipes!
Mexican Beef Birria
Japanese Beef Curry
Puerto Rican Sancocho
Moroccan Beef Tagine
Guinness Beef Stew
Carbonnade Flamande
West African Maafe
Carne Guisada