This pasta casserole is one of those classic American dishes with all kinds of names: American Dish, American Goulash, American Chop Suey or just Burger & Noodles. When you grow up with a Greek/Italian/American mother, this dish takes on some of the flavors she always cooked with. A couple things for sure, this is a dish you can make fast that’s inexpensive, feeds a crowd and is always loved! Just make sure you do the little things like brown that meat very well and don’t overcook your pasta!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
Instructions
- Prepare a grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the hot coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only to medium-high heat.
- Place a large high-sided pot over the direct heat side of the grill and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Let the meat brown on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Break up the meat, flip and brown the other side, another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add in the onions and season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, then the oregano. Continue to cook until the vegetables soften, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Add the cinnamon and mix to combine. Stir in the tomato paste, then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Season with some more salt and pepper, add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Move the pot the indirect heat side of the grill and let the flavors develop by simmering and reducing for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, on the direct heat side of the grill, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than package directions, drain and reserve along with 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- When the sauce is ready, stir in pasta and reserved pasta water. Simmer for 5 minutes, until thickened slightly and pasta takes on all the sauce flavors. Remove from the heat and serve!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 862 |
| Total Fat | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 106 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 81 mg |
| Sodium | 1108 mg |
Reviews
Looked better than it was…made it EXACTLY as the recipe stated and it was nothing more than a glorified Hamburger Helper. My husband picked the meat out, I tried to eat what I put on my plate and we ended up throwing out the rest. Sorry Michael, I love all of your other recipes, but this was a dud.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. Thanks so much Michael for introducing me to it on your show. I’m a vegetarian so I had it with Impossible Burger but it was delicious. I like the idea in another review of adding the pasta to the sauce a little at a time because it did become kind of mushy.
Made this recently and absolutely love this recipe. My only complaint is the pasta in the leftover portion became soggy. So, next time, I am going to serve the sauce over the pasta. And store leftover sauce and pasta separately.
This is something to please the entire family. That touch of cinnamon gives it a unique flavor that is just enough of a change to add interest to the familiar goulash. I will make this often.
Excellent! The cinnamon added a warmness that I had never experienced in a dish. It doesn’t taste like cinnamon. Makes you say…what is that? I am a spice junky so I added red chili flakes too. This is a go to pasta dish for me.
Excellent! And easy. Love this! I added crushed red pepper, bay leaves, green bell pepper, and Jalapeño peppers. Served with crumbled feta cheese on top. Yum!
This was delicious! We liked this Greek version of American goulash. The cinnamon gave it nice flavor without being overpowering.
I loved this recipe. I ended up using half of the sauce and halved the pasta because it makes a lot. The rest of the sauce I’m thinking I will make a lasagna with. The key ingredients are the fresh oregano and the cinnamon. At the end of the day this is a great sauce !!