Healthy Goulash – with Zoodles!
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Healthy Goulash is a healthier and lower carb version of one of my favorite recipes!
For those of you who have been with me a while you may have caught wind of the fact that there is this one goulash recipe that is the beginning and the end for me. I dearly, wholeheartedly, love it. Almost to the point of writing sonnets and putting a ring on it.
Well, we try to keep it more on the lower carb side these days. (Note, I said low-er) With that in mind, I tweaked my recipe to enable me to eat copious amounts of goulash without fear of reprisal from those mean old carbs. I also pumped it up with more wonderful veggies, adding in okra* and zucchini noodles in place of the pasta. Thus, this is a healthier version, made convenient with a mixture of canned and fresh veggies, that can also be made entirely with seasonal veggies, too!
I hope you get to make it soon! I actually like this version better than the original!
*If you’re an okra hater (I respect that, because that means more for me) you are free to substitute a veggie of your choice in it’s place. This is a very versatile recipe so switch around the veggies to suit your preferences or to make use of what you have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 + ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 large onion diced
- Tablespoon minced garlic
- 28 ounce can tomato sauce
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 15 ounce can whole kernel corn drained
- 12 ounce package frozen green giant zucchini noodles or about 2-3 cups fresh zoodles
- 2 cups frozen sliced okra
- shredded cheddar cheese toppings
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven brown the ground beef over medium high heat until it is not longer pink. Drain the grease.
- Add the onions and garlic to the meat and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add the tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes, zucchini, okra, paprika, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Top with cheese before serving.
Nutrition
“What you do today can improve all of your tomorrows.”
~Ralph Marston
I have followed Christy’s Southern Plate from the beginning of her blogging years ago! It seems that you just keep getting better as the years go by!
I have started watching carbs more closely now too & love the zucchini noodles (zoodles) I didn’t know you could buy them frozen but will be looking for them! Can’t wait to try this recipe! And I love Okra too! As always, Christy, you are right on time with another.great recipe!
Do you have the nutrition values for this recipe the way you made…. lower carb with the zoodles?
I am trying to look at recipes to make that have lower carbs so knowing the carbs helps with all the recipes you post. Love your recipes!
Hey Susan!
I generally leave nutritional calculations to the reader as recipes tend to be adapted and this one, especially, has many options based on what you have on hand and quantity of veggies used – not to mention serving size. However, myfitnesspal.com is a wonderful website (free) that I use for my own nutritional calculations. You can just input the recipe and then choose amount of servings and it will calculate for you. You can also switch out veggies to see how that will affect the count if you want to get lower. I hope this helps and thanks for being here!
You can feel good about eating this on a low carb diet, because zucchini has way less carbs and calories then pasta. In fact, with this recipe you could eat 2 bowls and still feel great, because it’s mostly vegetables. If your aim is no bread, rice, or pasta, this is a winner. Enjoy. In addition to my fitness pal you may want to check out the glycemic index of foods, so you can look at a recipe and have an idea of how high or low carb it is.
Is the taste still similar to regular goulash with macaroni pasta?
It sure is! It’s that taste that I love so much 🙂
By any chance, do you have the nutritional facts for this recipe? Thanks!
I have pneumonia right now and this looks delicious. Gonna try it soon.
Where do you get the zoodles? I’ve never seen them at the grocery store. Thanks and will try this soon.
I think they are fairly new. I’ve bought them at Wal Mart and at Kroger. Really handy things! You can also get a spiralizer and make them yourself, which may be a great option if you grow it in your garden.
Christy, thank you so very much for mentioning frozen zoodles are available at WalMart. Have been wanting to try them. I have been comparing reviews of spiralizers over at Amazon and it’s a real mixed bag of good/bad.
I was cleaning out old emails and found this gem. How do the zoodles reheat? I could halve the recipe and still have enough for several meals. It looks delicious.
Hey Connie! I think the zoodle version reheats far better than the original pasta version 🙂 Hope you get to try it soon!
I would definitely give this a try. Doesn’t hurt to try an old favorite a new way.
This was amazing!
I couldn’t find zoodles so I made it with ww pasta