Slow Cooker Beef and Macaroni
American goulash — the Midwestern version, not the Hungarian original — is one of the most enduring comfort food dishes in the American home cook’s repertoire: ground beef, elbow macaroni, and a tomato-based sauce cooked together into a unified, deeply satisfying one-pot meal. This slow cooker version strips the preparation down to its essentials and eliminates both the browning step and the separate pasta cooking that a stovetop version requires. Raw ground beef goes directly into the slow cooker, dry elbow macaroni is layered on top, and a whisked combination of jarred pasta sauce, beef broth, and salt is poured over everything. The slow cooker does the rest — cooking the beef through, hydrating and cooking the dry pasta in the tomato-beef braising liquid, and concentrating the flavors of the sauce into something richer and more cohesive than the sum of its six simple parts. Cheddar cheese folded in at the end melts into the hot sauce and binds everything into a creamy, satisfying finish.
The technique of cooking raw ground beef directly in the slow cooker without browning first is one that some cooks approach with caution, but it works well here for a specific reason: the beef is broken into small, evenly distributed pieces that spread across the bottom of the insert in a single layer, ensuring direct heat contact throughout and producing even, thorough cooking. A mid-cook stir at the halfway point breaks up any remaining large clumps and distributes the partially cooked beef through the pasta and sauce, which is the step that ensures the finished dish is evenly combined rather than having a dense beef layer at the bottom and all pasta at the top.
The American Goulash Connection
American goulash — also called American chop suey in New England, slumgullion in other regions, and simply “beef and macaroni” everywhere else — is a dish with no single documented origin but a clear lineage in the practical, economical cooking of Midwestern and Southern households where ground beef, canned tomatoes, and dried pasta were reliably available pantry staples. Unlike Hungarian goulash, which is a paprika-rich beef stew with no pasta involved, American goulash is defined by its combination of ground beef, tomato sauce, and macaroni cooked together — a one-pot dish designed to feed a family economically from pantry ingredients without fuss or technique.
The dish became common in American home cooking in the mid-twentieth century as canned tomato products became widely available and ground beef was increasingly economical. It spread through community cookbooks, church suppers, school cafeterias, and weeknight family tables as a reliable, filling, crowd-pleasing standard. This slow cooker version belongs to exactly that tradition — a pantry-based, hands-off approach to the same satisfying combination that has been feeding families for generations.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Six ingredients, ten minutes of assembly, and a slow cooker that handles the actual cooking produce a complete, generously portioned meal for six with minimal active effort. No browning the beef in a separate pan, no boiling water for the pasta, no monitoring the stovetop — everything cooks together in one pot and requires only a single mid-cook stir. The flavor is deeply satisfying in the way that all good braised tomato-and-meat dishes are: the beef and the tomato sauce exchange flavors over the cooking time, the pasta absorbs the seasoned sauce as it hydrates, and the cheese folded in at the end adds a creamy richness that makes the finished dish feel complete and cohesive. It reheats well, feeds a large family affordably, and comes together from ingredients that most households keep on hand.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef — one and a half pounds, 80 to 90 percent lean — goes in raw, broken into small pieces and spread across the bottom of the slow cooker. The fat content range matters for this application: 80 percent lean produces a richer, more flavorful result and the additional fat renders into the sauce, contributing body and flavor. 90 percent lean produces a leaner, less rich result that is easier to serve without the grease that occasionally pools in the bottom of the insert with fattier beef. Either works; the choice is a matter of preference. Do not use 95 to 97 percent lean — the very lean ground beef produces a drier, less flavorful result in the slow cooker’s low-moisture environment. Break the beef into pieces no larger than a golf ball before spreading — smaller pieces ensure more even cooking and easier stirring at the halfway point.
Dry elbow macaroni — two cups, approximately eight ounces — goes in uncooked directly over the raw beef. Elbow macaroni’s curved, hollow shape is ideal for this application: the curves hold sauce, the hollows fill with the tomato-beef braising liquid during cooking, and the relatively small size cooks through reliably in the two to two-and-a-half-hour HIGH cook time without requiring more liquid than the recipe provides. Other small pasta shapes — small shells, ditalini, rotini — work with the same method; larger shapes need more liquid and more time. Do not substitute egg noodles, which absorb liquid much faster and become mushy before the beef has fully cooked through.
Jarred pasta sauce — one 24- to 26-ounce can or jar — is the primary flavor base of the sauce. The quality and flavor of the jarred sauce is the single largest determinant of the finished dish’s character: a robust, well-seasoned tomato basil or roasted garlic marinara produces a considerably more interesting result than a plain, lightly seasoned tomato sauce. Rao’s Homemade, Barilla, and Prego’s roasted garlic variety are all reliable choices; avoid very thin, watery sauces that will produce a diluted result after the broth is added. Crushed tomatoes blended with Italian seasoning can substitute for jarred sauce if nothing is available — use the same quantity and add half a teaspoon each of dried oregano, basil, and garlic powder.
Beef broth — two cups — is the additional liquid that ensures the pasta has enough moisture to hydrate fully and cook through without the sauce becoming too thick and scorching on the insert walls. Beef broth contributes savory depth and reinforces the meat flavor of the ground beef more effectively than water or chicken broth would. Low-sodium beef broth is preferred — the jarred pasta sauce is already seasoned and the added salt in the recipe provides baseline seasoning; a standard-sodium broth can produce an oversalted result. Water can be substituted in a pinch but produces a noticeably less flavorful sauce.
Shredded cheddar cheese — one cup, folded in at the end — is the finishing element that transforms the dish from a tomato-beef pasta into something creamy and cohesive. Sharp cheddar melts well into the hot sauce and adds a distinctive, tangy richness that complements the tomato’s acidity effectively. Colby Jack produces a milder, creamier result; mozzarella produces a stretchier, more neutral finish that shifts the dish’s character toward a lasagna-adjacent flavor profile; Pepper Jack adds mild heat alongside the dairy richness. All are appropriate — the choice reflects personal preference. Fold the cheese in gently rather than dumping it all in one pile — gradual addition and folding produces a more evenly integrated, creamier result than adding it all at once and stirring.
Kosher salt — one teaspoon — seasons the sauce. Taste the finished dish after the cheese is incorporated and adjust — the pasta sauce’s seasoning level varies significantly between brands, and the broth contributes additional salt. Start with one teaspoon in the sauce and add more only after tasting the finished dish.
Ingredients
1½ lbs ground beef (80–90% lean), raw
2 cups (8 oz) dry elbow macaroni
1 jar (24–26 oz) pasta sauce or marinara
2 cups beef broth (low-sodium preferred)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for serving
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
Step-by-Step Instructions
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