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Most people would think of goulash, when they think of Hungarian cuisine. This rich, meaty, and flavorful stew is known the world over for being hearty and absolutely delicious.
There are many versions of this dish, from traditional Hungarian goulash, to an American goulash, which differs quite significantly to a traditional goulash recipe!
Here you will find an easy and delicious recipe using pork for this wholesome dish, which is based on real Hungarian goulash, with a few tweaks.
First, allow me to tell you a little about this wonderful dish from Hungary!
Jump to:
What Is Hungarian Goulash?
Goulash, or gulyás, is a soup or stew rich with meat and vegetables, and seasoned with spices. The most important and main ingredient as far as spices is paprika.
This rustic dish originated with Hungarian shepherds, which is where the name of this dish comes from. Gulyás actually means shepherd.
Goulash dates back centuries, to when the shepherds carried dried meat with them, needing only to add water to make a sort of soup.
Typical meats used to make goulash include beef, pork, veal, or lamb (source en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goulash).
Over time, other ingredients were added to this Hungarian dish such as potatoes, sauerkraut, bell peppers, tomatoes, caraway seeds, and paprika, which is widely used in many traditional Hungarian recipes.
Why You Have Got To Try This Recipe!
Now I'll tell you why you have GOT to try this pork goulash recipe! This is MUST try because:
- Your whole family will love it! This wonderful pork goulash has a rich flavor, is hearty, and absolutely delicious!
- This recipe is easy to make. There's a bit of slicing, dicing, and chopping, but after that it's mostly hands off.
- We will use pork tenderloin, which is tender and doesn't take hours to cook.
- Your home will smell amazing. The aroma while cooking this pork stew is incredible!
- This recipe uses easy to find and simple ingredients. The only ingredient which you may find difficult to acquire is Hungarian paprika. However, I have linked to Amazon which carries both sweet Hungarian paprika and hot Hungarian paprika if you would like to order from there.
🥘 Ingredients
So here are the beautiful, fresh, and delicious ingredients you will need to make this easy pork goulash recipe:
- Pork tenderloin - typically a cut like pork shoulder is used, however I prefer tenderloin as this wonderful cut will help us get this gulyás on the table a bit quicker
- Hungarian paprika - use Hungarian hot paprika, Hungarian sweet paprika, or a combination of both! But just be sure to use a good quality authentic Hungarian paprika 😊
- Onions
- Colorful bell peppers - I used yellow and red bell pepper but feel free to use whatever colors you love!
- Russet potatoes
- Bay leaf
- Lard (or olive oil)
- Garlic
- Crushed tomatoes (could sub tomato puree or tomato sauce)
- Chicken broth
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- White wine
I also love these optional garnishes and highly recommend them:
- Sour cream or crème fraîche
- Minced parsley
Now let's roll up our sleeves and get started making the national dish of Hungary!
🔪 Instructions
Heat the lard (or olive oil) in a Dutch oven or large pot on a medium heat to a medium high heat. Once the lard is hot, add the sliced onion and cook (stirring often), until softened and lightly browned. This should take around 4-5 minutes.
Season the pork (which has been cut into bite sized pieces) with ¼ ts salt. Add the pork to the sliced onions and continue cooking until the pork cubes are no longer pink for about 5 minutes.
Add the paprika, ¼ ts salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Stir well, bring to the boil, and then simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
Now it's time to add the bell peppers and potatoes. Bring to the boil, and then simmer on a low heat for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
The last step is to add the white wine. Stir it in and then get ready to enjoy your delicious goulash!
Suggestions For Serving
There are so many ways to enjoy this most comforting dish!
I love serving it over egg noodles, with a dollop of sour cream and minced parsley as a beautiful garnish.
You can also enjoy this with rice, or some nourishing crusty bread.
I hope you and your family will enjoy this Hungarian gulyás time and time again!
FAQ
Technically no. However, Hungary produces the finest paprika in the world! So it's highly recommended to use an authentic Hungarian paprika (either sweet, hot, or a combination of both) when making Hungarian goulash. This will give you a more authentic goulash as well!
Store leftover goulash in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and enjoy within 4 to 5 days.
I have not made goulash in the slow cooker, but yes you can make it in your slow cooker. To adapt this recipe for your slow cooker, start by browning your meat in lard on the stovetop. Then add all of the ingredients together in your slow cooker, and cook for around 4-5 hours on a low setting, or until the vegetables are tender and the meat is completely cooked through.
1,000 Foods To Eat Project
In conclusion, Hungarian Gulyás is is listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. I am working my way through the foods listed in this book. This is called my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. Hungarian goulash is food #70 in my project! Please visit the 1,000 Foods To Eat Project page to see some other MUST TRY foods of the world that you may love to try!
Some Other Great Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes you may enjoy:
- Leek Stew Recipe For Welsh Cawl Cennin (Leek Broth)
- Easy Spicy Caldereta Filipino Beef Stew!
- A Wonderful Icelandic Recipe For Icelandic Fish Stew!
Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
Finally, I invite you to come along on this food journey with me! Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.
Cheers!
Grace
Easy and Delicious Hungarian Pork Goulash Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot with a lid
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork tenderloin cut into bite sized pieces
- 3 tablespoon paprika please use authentic Hungarian paprika (either hot, sweet, or a combination of both)
- 1 onion sliced (select a large onion)
- 2 bell peppers remove the seeds and membranes and cut into 1" pieces/chunks (I recommend using 2 different colorful bell peppers); select small bell peppers
- 1 Russet potato select a medium potato; peel and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoon lard can sub olive oil if you like
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes can sub tomato puree or tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ ts salt split (plus additional to taste); use ¼ ts to season the pork prior to cooking it, and ¼ ts will be added along with the black pepper and cayenne pepper in a later step
- ¼ ts black pepper plus additional to taste
- ¼ ts cayenne pepper this is optional but lovely to add some more heat to the dish
- 2 ts white wine
Optional Garnishes
- sour cream or crème fraîche - a dollop or more of either is so delicious!
- parsley finely minced
Instructions
- Heat the lard (or olive oil) in a Dutch oven or large pot on a medium to a medium-high heat. Once the lard is hot, add the sliced onion and cook (stirring often), until softened and lightly browned. This should take around 4-5 minutes.
- Season the pork (which has been cut into bite sized pieces) with ¼ ts salt. Add the pork to the sliced onions and continue cooking until the pork is no longer pink for about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the paprika, ¼ ts salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Stir well, bring to the boil, and then simmer covered on a low heat for 30 minutes. During this time you can add a little more broth if needed.
- Now it's time to add the bell peppers and potatoes. Bring to the boil, and then simmer covered on a low heat for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Again, you can add more broth if you feel the mixture is too dry.
- The last step is to add the white wine. Stir it in, taste and adjust for seasoning, and then get ready to enjoy your delicious goulash!
Grace
This Hungarian pork goulash really hits the spot! Love serving this with egg noodles and sour cream. Easy recipe and very delicious!
Robert George bradford
Learned
Grace
Hello Robert! I'm not sure if you meant to type more in the comments section but hopefully you were able to try the recipe and hope it worked well for you! Thanks for giving it a star rating and I hope you have a great day! Grace