Szegedin Goulash (Székely Gulyás)
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One of my most favorite Hungarian dishes, this Szegedin Goulash recipe features slow-simmered, succulent meat, onions and sauerkraut in a wonderfully rich paprika-infused broth. It’s incredibly delicious!
For more authentic Hungarian dishes be sure to also try our Chicken Paprikash, Hungarian Goulash and Pörkolt!
The weather is slowly warming but I figure there’s still time to squeeze in one final cool-weather stew. Especially one as good as this. It’s one of my personal favorites: Szegedin Goulash. I can remember the wonderful smell that filled our home every time my mom made this. I’d walk in and immediately recognize the smell. I already knew dinner would be a guaranteed delight!
The origin of Szeged Goulash isn’t entirely clear though it is believed that the dish originated in the Hungarian town of Szeged, famous for its paprika. But there are also those who argue the dish was named after the Hungarian writer, journalist and poet József Székely. The story goes that he showed up at a restaurant just before closing time and was told that all they had left was some goulash and sauerkraut. He told them to just mix it together and since that time people began requesting “Székely’s Gulyás”. Whatever the origin, one thing is fact: This goulash is delicious and it’s a very popular dish throughout Hungary, Central Europe and Germany.
Key Ingredients
There are two critical ingredients for getting this goulash right: The right paprika and the right sauerkraut. American sauerkraut won’t do. It doesn’t taste anything like real sauerkraut and is frankly downright awful. Get the real German sauerkraut.
Secondly, get quality, real imported Hungarian paprika, like this one on Amazon. There’s no comparison in flavor. It has an extraordinarily rich flavor and an exceptionally vibrant red color. Many of our readers have tried it, written back and agree that quality Hungarian-imported paprika makes ALL the difference.
With these two key ingredients, you’re ready to roll and the end result will be a truly amazing Szegedin Goulash that will make your taste buds sing!
Szegedin Goulash Recipe
Let’s get started!
In a heavy medium stock pot or Dutch oven fry the bacon until done. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until golden. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook for another two minutes.
Add the pork/beef and cook for a minute until some, but not all, of the pink is gone. Stir in the paprika and remove from heat. Add the remaining ingredients except for the sauerkraut and sour cream.
Add just enough water to barely cover the top of the mixture. Return to heat and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 90 minutes. Stir in the sauerkraut, return to a simmer, cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and swirl it in the soup before eating. Serve the goulash alone, with some crusty bread, with homemade Spaetzle and/or a leafy green or cucumber salad.
Enjoy!
For more delicious authentic Hungarian dishes be sure to try my:
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Szegedin Goulash (Székely Gulyás)
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon ,diced
- 1 large yellow onion ,finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper ,seeded and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic ,minced
- 1 large tomato ,finely diced
- 1½ pounds pork (e.g. shoulder) and beef (chuck roast) ,trimmed of fat and cut into ½ inch pieces (1 1/2 pounds total, not each)
- 4 tablespoons quality imported sweet Hungarian paprika (yes, that’s TABLEspoons!)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds ,coarsely crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- water or beef broth (beef broth isn't traditional but it creates even more flavor)
- 1 cup packed drained real German sauerkraut
- How to Make Sauerkraut (click link for recipe tutorial)
- Sour cream for serving
Instructions
- In a medium stock pot or Dutch oven fry the bacon until done. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until golden. Add the bell peppers and garlic and cook for another two minutes. Add the pork/beef and cook for a minute until some, but not all, of the pink is gone. Stir in the paprika and remove from heat.
- Add the remaining ingredients except for the sauerkraut and sour cream. Add just enough water to barely cover the mixture. Return to heat and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 90 minutes. Stir in the sauerkraut, return to a simmer, cover and simmer another 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and swirl it in the soup before eating. Serve with crusty bread, Homemade Spätzle and/or a leafy green or cucumber salad. This goulash is even better the next day.
Nutrition
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Kimberly – I have been saving this recipe to make for my family. My nana was Hungarian and I’ve been told she made an amazing goulash but unfortunately by the time I ‘came around’ she had pretty much stopped cooking so I never got to try it. My question is this, do you think I could make this recipe in the crockpot instead of a dutch oven? I work as a cook for a group of mentally-challenged adults and I think they would like it but the kitchen is hectic and sometimes its easier to throw the dinner meal in a slow-cooker while I work on lunch – Ann
I made this Sunday for the first time and my husband raved on and on about how good it was. I will normally tweak a recipe but I followed this one, with the exception that I doubled the recipe. I will definitely make it again! I also used your homemade spaetzle recipe for the second time, and unfortunately, I overworked my dough and they were a little too dense. Didn’t make that mistake the first time and they were excellent so now I know just how long to work the dough with my Kitchenaid mixer. I have enjoyed all your recipes that I have tried, but my favorite is still the Rope Vieja, which I have made several times.
Oh that makes me so happy, Angie, thank you! :) I’m beyond thrilled that you’ve made and enjoyed several of my recipes and I really appreciate the feedback. I hope you find more that you enjoy. Thanks again! <3
Just a note – the name of this dish in Hungarian is “Székely KÁPOSZTA” (not Gulyás). I’ve never heard any debate about its origin here in Hungary. Segediner was most likely a misstranslation by non-Hungarians who popularised the dish outside Hungary. As for carraway seeds, I have to agree 100% that I’ve never heard anyone put them in a pörkölt (which is the base for the dish) – tomatoes may show up in moderation, but really just to thicken the sauce, the taste should be dominated by paprika and sauerkraut. The one dish where we do pretty much always use caraway seeds is Gulyás, ie. the soup – hence perhaps the confusion?
Is it 1 1/2# beef and pork each, or 1 1/2# total?
Hi Elke, that’s 1 1/2 pounds total. Happy cooking! :)
This dish is KILLER. In the late 90s, there was a German restaurant in, of all places, Nutrioso, AZ. They served this “exact dish”. Come 9/11 the troubles of entering the USA caused the German fellow to no longer come to the USA (it was only open in summer) and the restaurant closed. I had given up on finding a similar recipe, then along came The Daring Gourmet to save me! So thank you. I have also made your sauerbraten, rotkohl, Swabian tater salad, and others, all of which exceeded my numerous previous attempts at those dishes.
I must; however, call you out on your photo on your homepage. Surely, with the number of recipes you have cooked, you must be in your 90s–at least. Just kidding! ;-)
Keep up the good work and THANK YOU! Ethiopian is my next adventure.
Lol! :) I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you’ve made and enjoyed so many of my recipes, William, thank you so much the compliment and feedback!
I made your goulash last night for my daughters family and I used Pork fillet (as I had it in the fridge) instead of beef.
I made a huge pot of goulash more than a kilo of meat. The five of us pollished it all of. The oldest grandson went for 3ds. When I went home he said: Oma, that was the best dinner you ever cooked.!
That is so wonderful, Gerda, I’m beyond thrilled that it was such a family hit, thank you! <3
do you drain off the bacon grease at any point? And the bacon doesnt overpower the dish?
Hi Jonathan, that’s entirely a matter of personal preference. You can drain it or you can keep it for the added flavor.
Bacon fat: My (Hungarian-born but German…) grandmother ALWAYS used bacon fat. Lard is trad, but bacon fat is included in basic bacon purchase, so why waste it? BTW, these are great dishes for potluck supper contrbutions. A stockpot full of chicken paprikash isn’t overly dear and experience shows that it really moves.
I made a batch of fermented purple cabbage kraut that turned out a bit soft, and thought that it might be good in a cooked stew (that’s how I found this awesome recipe!) wondering if you think there would be any issue substituting green/white cabbage sauerkraut for purple in this dish? I think it would change the colour, but beyond that? The kraut is still sour, just not very crunchy.
Hi Emily, beyond the color and some flavor difference (e.g. red cabbage is sweeter) I don’t see why not. It will certainly be an interesting twist! If you try it let us know how it turns out!
Great recipe, I made it exactly as written, besides adding a couple of beef bouillon that I buy from the Czech Republic, (I love their bouillon). Since my husband is from Prague, we go often to visit. This of course is a different version of their Szegedin goulash and I think better, he loves this one too! As you have mentioned in past posts, every region and family has their own twist or tweak on this recipe. Thank you!
Wonderful, Sharon, I’m so glad it was a hit, thank you so much for the feedback!
I would give 10 stars if I could! Fantastic. My only comment is that I doubled the Sauerkraut out of personal preference. And I don’t care if someone takes offense in the name or ingredients or if original or not. This Gulasch (I’m German) almost tastes like the one my Hungarian neighbor made when I was a child. Thank you!
Thank you so much for that feedback, Daniela, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it!
I love your delicious recipe! But I can’t remember from the last time I made it – is it 1.5 lb each of pork and beef(3 lb total) or just 1.5 total? Thank you!
Thank you, Emily! That’s 1.5 lbs total.
Hi there, I cook yesterday using your recipe and turns it yummy! Thanks for sharing your knowledge in cooking.
Thank you, Blitzo, I’m happy you enjoyed it!