Goulash made low carb with the simple swap of zucchini chunks for macaroni noodles! This simple recipe is hearty, filling, and sure to be a family pleaser.
My dad was telling me that the neighbor invited him over for dinner one night and served him a mixture of spaghetti sauce and chunks of zucchini. He couldn’t remember what they called it, but he was pretty obsessed with the dish.
I immediately knew I was going to have to try that out and I’m so glad I did!
I basically made an easy goulash recipe, but swapped in chunks of fresh zucchini for the macaroni.
You guys. This is so good!
How to make goulash low carb:
Goulash is definitely a pasta dish, so it seems a bit weird to low carb it, but y’all. This is a winner thanks to the chunks of zucchini!
You’ll want to start with a pound of ground beef, an onion, and some garlic. Brown all those up together and then drain off the fat.
Next, we’re going to use a jar of marinara. I prefer Rao’s brand because it both has the best flavor I’ve found in a jar and it’s the lowest in carbs I can find for a tomato sauce. It’s a little spendy, so if you have another brand you prefer feel free to use that.
Dump the marinara in with the beef mixture along with some beef broth, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, and a bay leaf.
Add in your chopped zucchini, give it a stir, and let it cook until the zucchini is as tender as you’d like. I cooked mine for about 20 minutes – just enough time for the zucchini to soak up a bit of the marinara flavors and get soft.
You’re done, friends.
Old fashioned goulash without all the carbs!
Feel free to stir in some cheese, if that’s how you ate this growing up. We were never big on the cheese in this one, but you do you.
More low carb favorites:
Cabbage Rolls: Minus all the carbs AND minus all the work! This is an easy one!
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon: Just about the only way I ever want to eat Brussels sprouts. 😉
Garlic Butter Shrimp: You can’t go wrong with garlic butter.
Crock Pot Roast: I make mine with radishes and green beans!
Low Carb Goulash
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 24 ounces Rao’s Marinara
- 1 cup beef broth
- 3 medium zucchini chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic to a dutch oven and brown over medium heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks. When beef is cooked through, drain the fat and return the meat to the pan.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the zucchini is as soft as you’d like.
- Remove the bay leaf before serving.
- Add additional salt if desired and top with cheese, if desired.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and calculated automatically – it’s an estimate, not a guarantee. Values can vary depending on the brands and ingredients you use, so if you’re tracking closely, I’d recommend calculating with your own preferred tool. Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber and any sugar alcohols.
Cordelia Vance says
Made this on Sunday and it is going straight into our regular rotation. The zucchini chunks held up far better than I expected — they soaked up the marinara without turning mushy, and I drained the beef well before the sauce went in so the pot stayed nice and thick. Using the Rao’s like you suggest really does keep the carb count down.
It doubled as a maths lesson in our house, too. My granddaughter is doing food technology coursework and worked out that the zucchini makes up roughly a quarter of the whole dish, then turned her recipe proportions into percentages the same way she keeps track of her marks on a grade calculator I use to check her semester averages. Dinner and homework both done — thank you for another keeper!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you liked the recipe! Thanks, Cordelia!
Lori Feierman says
I’ve been making this for years In rotation. My husband and I really enjoy it! I put a little Jasmine rice in the bowl before serving him. I do freeze the leftovers for another time and it heats up fine after defrosting.
Kelly says
Such a good flavor I love this recipe
Ginny says
loved this recipe! I doubled the burger though
April says
Everyone I make this for loves it. Thank you for this tried and true favorite!
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks, April!
Sue says
This looks so good. I was wondering if I could swap a 28 oz can of tomatoes instead of using marinara.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Sue! I’m sure you could, though I haven’t tried. You may want to add additional seasoning.
Lorraine says
Being polish I never had goulash with ground beef but with beef stew meat.
Karly Campbell says
This based off the American version of goulash, for sure. 🙂
Tam says
Loved this so much I added onion and pepper and a can on tomatoes to this, can’t wait to have more tomorrow
Penny says
I make this once a month for my family! It’s a great Sunday meal which we leave in the crock pot all day so everyone can eat when they want to. I add mushroom and paprika to it. I have no idea what Hungarian goulash is supposed to taste like but this is SOOOOO GOOOOOODDDD!!!!! We love it, even my anti-low carbers will eat it. 🙂 Thanks!! <3
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Penny!
Wendy says
This looks delicious! Would this be okay to freeze some for later? How would the zucchini hold up to freezing? Thank you.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Wendy! I haven’t tried freezing this one. I’m not sure how the zucchini would do.
Marian Mattice says
Green peppers and blak beans are good in it also!
Clare says
Delicious! I just wish I had doubled the recipe, so I would have had more leftovers for lunch.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Clare!