What to Serve With Goulash? (10 Ideal Side Dishes)

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Goulash is a stew or soup of meat and vegetables usually seasoned with paprika and many other spices. Goulash is native to Hungary, and is a common dish mainly eaten in Central Europe and other parts of Europe.

Now, if you’ve never prepared or even taken goulash before, you may get stuck choosing what to serve with goulash.

Some of the best side dishes for goulash include cabbage rolls, cornbread, biscuits, potato pancakes, fresh-baked bread, rice pilaf, buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, spaetzle dumpling and gravy, and roasted Brussel sprouts.

All these and more are what you can eat with goulash!

That said, I have outlined all the satisfactory side dish recommendations for this hearty stew in this article, let’s quickly look at them together!

10 Best Side Dishes For Goulash

Goulash is a conventional Hungarian soup with meat, tomatoes, bell peppers, and paprika. Hungarian herders first started preparing editions of this stew as far back as the 9th century.

Since then, it’s been in vogue in many other European countries, many of which have expanded their own spin on the meal.

Now, let’s look at the things you can eat with goulash to enjoy your meal!

1. Cabbage Rolls

Use cabbage rolls if you’re searching for the precise goulash side dish.

In addition to how nicely the flavors band with those of goulash, you can also promptly whip up a batch utilizing minced cabbage and ground beef.

Then, only fry your rolls in butter to ready them to be served with your goulash. 

To bring in an additional whiff to the meal, consider preparing a special sour cream sauce for your cabbage rolls.

2. Cornbread

Cornbread is cherished by virtually everyone and they will be totally delighted with your homemade goulash.

Keeping some cornbread accessible when consuming goulash will also appear handy when you arrive at the underside of the bowl.

Rather than squandering all that tasty sauce or attempting to scratch it out not so significantly, with a scoop, wipe a portion of cornbread along the bowl to moisten it up.

Also, the assortment of the seasonings of the cornbread and goulash will be just out of this world.

3. Biscuits

Biscuits are another tremendous alternative to evaluate.

Like cornbread, they can be utilized in aiding soaking up of all the sauces and broths in the underside of the bowl, ensuring that nothing gets squandered.

Whether you prepare your own biscuits, purchase chilled, ready-to-bake biscuits, or buy biscuits from the shop or a local bakery, they are certain to be a delicious pairing for goulash.

4. Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes are one of the additional goulash side dishes you might like to use.

A crispy and savory potato pancake set with a nibble of goulash will literally make your mouth break out in a song.

The distinctive yet appraising flavors of the potato pancake and tomato and paprika broth of the goulash will be adequate to protect you and all of your visitors going for a second, or even third, portion.

Potato pancakes are fairly simple to prepare; just grate your potatoes and onions, and put some eggs, salt, and pepper. Pan-fry the patties in hot oil until they’re bright brown and convenient to enjoy.

You may also need to deliver some applesauce or sour cream on the side for people to relish it with their potato pancakes.

5. Roasted Brussel Sprouts

If you are searching for something tasty but not too big in calories, If you want to get on with a soft side dish in the area of calories but still carries a tasty drive, roasted brussel sprouts and spiced carrots are excellent for your goulash.

Brussels sprouts are an excellent choice. With the several choices for broiling brussel sprouts, from roasting to sautéing to steaming, you can locate a recipe that everyone will relish.

The powerful flavor of the brussel sprouts will give a great bite along with the meat, tomato, and paprika seasoning of the goulash.

6. Fresh-Baked Bread

I know, right? Can you honestly go wrong putting in fresh-baked bread for any meal? Even if you can, you can not go wrong putting a loaf of bread in your goulash stew.

Duck the bread in the goulash, tear it up, and put it into the stew to relish a taste with every nibble, or even munch it individually with some butter on it; it’ll all still be savored greatly.

Since goulash has a watery viscosity, many people like conserving some of their bread for the end of the bowl; it can actually help ensure that none of the tasty soup on the underside of the bowl gets squandered.

As much as you can pick a loaf of bread at your local grocery store, preparing your own in the oven or with a bread maker isn’t complicated.

Nothing wins against the flavor of hot, fresh bread.

If you’re really considering impressing your dinner guest(s) with your goulash banquet, contemplate buying a new bread maker to prepare this new and tasty side dish.

7. Spaetzle Dumpling and Gravy

Spaetzle is a kind of dough dumpling that can be located in numerous European countries, even in Hungary.

They’re excellent for any sauce source.

They may even function adequately with a flavoring base than potato pancakes do.

If you wish to prepare spaetzle yourself, you can utilize various elements. The dough can be created with eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and flour.

The style in preparing spaetzle is obtaining the right thickness in your dough.

If you want them to resemble noodles rather than dumplings, then put sufficient flour so that your batter looks like curdled milk.

This kind of thickness is just perfect for spaetzle.

If you don’t wish for all that difficulty, you can use a pre-made mix anyway and follow the guidelines on the back.

Put your ingredients in with your goulash and warm them together to create a creamy seasoning with gravy.

8. Rice Pilaf

If you crave a little variation on the side, then the rice pilaf is your perfect choice.

It’s really easy to prepare, particularly if you have a rice cooker, and it also functions as a wonderful basis for other dishes.

You can stir up your rice pilaf with some beef broth to add some additional flavor.

And relying on how you make it, you can put some vegetables to your rice pilafs like celery, onion, and peas.

You can also utilize your rice in making a beef-and-rice food by putting some cut-up beef. The surplus fluids from the goulash will get absorbed into the rice for an additionally tasty meal.

9. Buttered Noodles

Buttered noodles are one of the most simple side dishes with goulash.

Either take the noodles on the side or scoop the goulash stew promptly over them.

Introducing noodles to goulash can create more filling for the hearty soup, and it’ll be excellent for a harsh winter evening.

Noodles are very easy to prepare; it’s even the easiest.

Just leave them in boiling water and allow them to cook for a few minutes, and they’ll be good to be eaten. You can even prepare extras to take with any goulash leftover.

You may also want to evaluate making your own bunch of spaetzle noodles.

These will be a little more trouble but can be a wonderful alternative if you hope to develop a conventional Hungarian dining occurrence.

10. Mashed Potatoes

If you prepared a spicier goulash, you might need to get a milder side dish that can neutralize the hot spice a bit.

Mashed potatoes are suitable for this purpose! Taking a nibble of goulash with a spoon of mashed potatoes can reduce the spice and also assist in bringing out the other seasonings in the stew.

It gets even better!

The mashed potatoes have the precise thickness and composition to assimilate all the delicious gravy and soup from the goulash.

You can handily develop a batch of squashed potatoes before serving the goulash.

Just peel and slab the potatoes and position them in an enormous pot of water.

Simmer them until they become fork soft.

Then, utilize a hand mixer to mash up the potatoes and blend in butter, milk, and any other spices you’d like.

Frequently Asked Questions

What goes with Hungarian beef goulash?

Can you serve goulash with rice?

Yes, you can serve goulash with rice!

What bread goes with goulash?

Garlic bread is one of the best breads that pairs well with goulash!

What to serve with American goulash?

  • Garlic bread
  • Homemade Dinner Rolls or breadsticks.
  • Fruit salad or this veggie-packed Olive Garden Salad.
  • Roasted Vegetables or Roasted Asparagus.

What can I cook with goulash?

You can cook goulash with egg noodles, softened potatoes, or your special side.

Conclusion: What to Serve With Goulash

You can not run out of what to serve with goulash for every reason and purpose. It all depends on you now, what you want to do, and how you want to do it.

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