Macaroni and Beef

Macaroni and Beef

Yield: 4

Adapted from: Simply Recipes

This hamburger and macaroni dish has been around for many years.  It has many names including “goulash” or “American chop suey” or “Hamburger Noodle Casserole” or “HMO (Hamburger Macaroni Onions)”.

  • 2cups uncooked macaroni
  • 1TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • 1lb ground beef
  • 1yellow onion, chopped (or mixed chopped green onion greens and yellow onion)
  • ½tsp seasoned salt (I use ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp paprika)
  • pinch chili pepper flakes
  • ½tsp celery seed
  • 1(28-oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 2TBS Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Cook the pasta:

Get a large pot of salted hot water (1 TBS of salt for 2 quarts of water) boiling and begin cooking the macaroni as per the directions on the macaroni package.

Drain the pasta:

When the pasta is al dente, reserve a half cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Set drained pasta aside.

Prepare the sauce:

In the empty pasta pot, brown the ground beef in a TBS of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef has an opportunity to brown.

When the beef has mostly browned, add the onions to the pan and toss to combine. Cook until the onions are soft, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the seasonings and tomatoes:

Add the celery seed, a dash of crushed red pepper (optional) and seasoned salt or equivalent. Pour in canned tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta:

Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and the parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. If the dish is too dry, add in some of the pasta cooking water.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

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