American Chop Suey Casserole
Our American Chop Suey casserole is a savory, baked blend of noodles, ground beef, and seasoned tomato sauce. It’s a New England classic!
By Yankee Magazine|Apr 20 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanA New England spin on a classic pasta dish, our American Chop Suey casserole is a savory baked blend of noodles, ground beef, and seasoned tomato sauce.
SEE MORE:
American Chop Suey Casserole | History & Recipe
75 Classic New England Foods
12 Favorite New England Comfort Food Recipes
Yield:
Ingredients
8 ounces elbow pasta
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
2 green peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 15 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
To make American Chop Suey Casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13″ baking dish.
Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, then drain and transfer to a large bowl tossed with a tablespoon of olive oil.
Heat remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the beef, onions, peppers (reserving 1/4 cup for later), and garlic until the beef is browned. Add sauce and seasonings (you may not need the whole jar of sauce depending on how “saucy” you want the casserole to be).
Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the noodles, and mix to combine, then pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle reserved diced peppers and cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
Serve with crusty bread or a side salad.
Love the Maine Barn pictures…thank you and the recipes are wonderful. Yankee is the best!!!
This recipe is almost the same as the one my father used when I grew up in Maine in the 1950s and ’60s– the main difference in our family recipe is that we use two cans of stewed tomatoes and one small can of tomato paste in place of the jar spaghetti sauce. I think you’ll see a world of difference in this little twist. Yankee Magazine is a great source for rediscovering those wonderful New England dishes of my youth — thank you very much!
I love this recipe and it was a staple growing up. My Mom never put green peppers in hers or Italian seasoning or spaghetti sauce. Back when I was a kid the only jar sauce was Ragu Sauce and that was for people like my Mom that couldn’t make spaghetti sauce without burning it! My Mom used a couple cans of stewed tomatoes and a large can of whole tomatoes crushed up with a spoon and a small can of tomato paste. I think the only seasoning was salt and pepper and lots of grated parmesan cheese to put on top. It was even better on a cold night served with soft white bread and butter and we would put some Chop Suey on the bread and butter and fold it over like a sandwich, Yummm! The other thing that I noticed was different was the pasta which was always some kind of elbow macaroni or ziti? I always drained off the grease from the hamburger and onion before adding the tomatoes and I never heard of putting garlic in it? It is supposed to taste mellow, very meaty with a tomato broth in a large pot. My son loves it when I make it. I don’t remember many spicy dishes with Irish parents. Lots of potatoes and stews. Pot Roast on Sundays and chicken soup if someone was sick. My Mom made a great beef stew in her pressure cooker. I miss the good old food of my youth.
We never used spaghetti sauce or mozzarella cheese in ACS, we used canned tomatoes and sauce or paste and obviously olive oil wasn’t included back in the old days.
I love making this comfort food! I make it a little healthier with lots of onions and peppers, low fat beef that I drain, and never used spaghetti sauce, just canned tomatoes and a little paste, oregano and basil. Simmered a bit before adding whole wheat pasta. We like small shells. Always a sprinkle of Parm, S&P. Yum!
This is NOT the American chop suey that I grew up eating in Maine! There was never garlic in it nor was there EVER Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes or horrors of all horrors (!) jarred spaghetti sauce! It was made with canned tomatoes and a tablespoon or two of tomato paste and salt and pepper and of course the ground beef, onions, sometimes green bell peppers, and always elbow macaroni. The school cafeteria always served if with a side of that nasty grated cheese product in the green can. It was never baked -always just cooked on the stove top.
That is exactly how my Mom made it and still does! She’ll be 90 March 27th, 2017, bless her heart. 🙂 We did always sprinkle parmesan cheese on top for added zip. our kids grew up on it too, and also love it. I so preferred it over that terribly salty canned LaChoy “Chinese” chop suey! : D
Yes, Roses1 and Paula — Paula’s description is exactly how MY 90 year old Mom made it too, and still does!
My mom also stayed to the basics, elbow mac, ground beef, pepper, onion. No garlic or Italian seasoning. She would use stewed tomatoes and some leftover spaghetti sauce. We called it “slum gullion”. Don’t know where that name came from. Perhaps because it was so economical
Thumbs up on this! We had it just like this at home in MA, too!!
Great recipe! This is how exactly we made it… Except just on stove. Heat would melt the cheese.. I will try it in the oven though also. Kind of like a Baked Ziti,,,,,Bon Appetite!!
My husband loves this and asked for it alot…loved it baked myself
great flavor…
I totally did the same with white bread and folded it into a sandwich as a child!!! Wow…thanks for the memory. . Im making this baked recipe tonight and i do have To say using onion, garlic and green pepper Makes a huge difference. I’ve been doing it stove top that way for years. I think..at least for my grand parents,they only used what was “on hand” as they didn’t have much feeding 9 children. I’ve put my own twist over the years but I would still eat it bland on a piece of white Brad anyday!
I thought I was the only one that ate it on bread with butter! Good to know I was not alone way back then. Some use sauce, some use stewed, others use the stuff from a jar. with garlic, no garlic, hot flakes or not. It’s a variation on a theme. Its what makes us happy, what we had that brings the memories. This recipe might be someones new memories and when they hit our ages they can say. “Hey that’s not how you make it, another may say, What memories, my mother used to make it like that way back in 2016”. Whatever it is, however it was made, enjoy, bask in the memories, life is short. Savor it everyday with the tastes of our youth, and if that means garlic and pepper flakes who am I to complain. 🙂
Could not have said it better myself
Thank you
Yes the real American Chop Suey was as my Mother made it 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. Medium onion , Hamburg. Elbow macaroni, salt and pepper. Cooked in a pot on the stove. This recipe I made this morning because I had all the ingredients handy. I must admit it was delicious but a bit more work. Let us remember back then there were not a lot is spices available. And no packages of shredded cheeses of all kinds. They worked with with what they had and I still love it made my Moms way. But I must admit this casserole was delicious.
My mother grew up with it at school, but she also used stewed tomatoes…no cheese, except sometimes a little grated parm on top. I throw in a beef cube. Other than that change, we’ve been eating it for 70 years now 🙂
I was raised on American Chop Suey as were my sons and grandsons. We all still love it and have it often. I use ground beef, onion, can tomato sauce, and can tomato soup. Any type of pasta but we like medium shells or rotini. They all love to put spoonful on buttered bread too. Family favorite for generations
Grandma made this with elbow macaroni, canned tomatoes and onions – never garlic or peppers and the only seasoning other than salt and pepper was Worchestershire Sauce. Cheese was never used. I still love it on a cold night!
So glad to see your post. I’ve bee trying to remember how my grandmother made it. I know there was no soup or sauce, just stewed tomatoes, but I couldn’t recall how she did it.
Wow…..I grew up on Long Island, NY eating what my family called “Elbows & Tomatoes”. My family, sons & daughters-in-law, to this day make it and love it. Sounds very familiar to what you make. Elbow macaroni, cooled, meanwhile melt butter in pan, add and cook chopped onions till soft, then add a big can of RedPack whole tomatoes, break up a bit with a wooden spoon and cook until hot. Add salt & pepper to taste. Drain the Elbows, either put in individual bowls, or in one big bowl, and add as much of the Tomatoes & onions as you like to it. That’s it. We kids (I’m now 77) always had a big glass of cold milk with this. My mother usually made this for us for lunch, but sometimes supper. To this day, I love it. My husband who is half Italian, couldn’t understand it. It’s not supposed to taste like or have all the things that go into a Italian spaghetti sauce, which is something all together different.
Meant to say in above post…..”Elbow macaroni cooked (not cooled).
I am a native Californian now living in the Mid-Atlantic and am trying to figure out how the term Chop Suey became associated with a casserole dish that has no relationship to Chinese cooking. Any ideas?
When the Chinese were being used to build the railroads this was was a cheap and easy dish to feed large crowds……also why it is sometimes called Chinese pie
I thought Chinese Pie was another name for shepherd’s pie.
We love this recipe. I use ground turkey instead of beef and sometimes different pasta shapes.
My Mom made it with onions, hamburger, can of tomato soup and large can of tomatoes. Shell of bow tie pasta was her pasta of choice. I still make it the same way but also add a little oregano.
Reply to Diane, my mom also made it with a can of tomato soup, stewed tomatoes, hamberger and elbows. Also boil up some celery and onion until soft and added that. Still make it today for my husband and myself. Great winter meal.
Grew up on this, and make it all the time !! Might anyone of you have a Salmon Pie recipe you’d like to share? Another Maine comfort food I would love to relive !!!
If you’re the one who wants recipe for Salmon Pie, I have my mother’s recipe and have made it often. Just e-mail me, and I’ll send it to you.
If you could, I would also like your recipe for Salmon Pie. nycphip@yahoo.com This recipe certainly elicited some interesting, diverse comments. A wonderful addendum to these posted articles.
Claudette, would love your Salmon pie recipe. The thought of it already has me salivating. I’m j_canepa@mcttelecom.com, in my mid 70’s but still love to cook.
Would love the recipe for salmon pie, thanks so much
I do not make salmon pie but I do make salmon loaf.
Salmon loaf was always great at my house growing up in the 40’s – 50’s.
We also had American chop suey frequently….elbows, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and ground beef. No peppers, and definitely not stewed tomatoes
Just made this for the first time. Been in my phone for awhile and came across it. Used penne instead but all the rest was the same EXCELLENCT!!! My husband and son stated…..this one is a keeper ????
NO!!!!!! JAR SAUCE!!!!!!! REALLY????? IN MY HOUSE WE EAT GOULASH…..HMBG, ELBOWS, GARLIC & ONION POWDER, V-8 JUICE, AND OF COURSE WITH WHITE BREAD & BUTTER 🙂 A LITTLE SALT & PEPPER TOO!!!
This is how we made it as well in Texas, sometimes with a shake or two of kraft parm cheese.
Why are you yelling about a recipe.
Massachusetts girl living in an Arkansas world says… I grew up in Worcester, MA and my Swedish Mormor taught my mom and mom taught me so it’s a little different… my Dad Loved this meal. We make it with ground beef, chopped green pepper, onion cooked and drained and added, Can of Campbells tomato soup, little touch of Worcestershire sauce, a little water…. but here’s the catch! We use spaghetti pasta ( thin) and cut up a bit for easier serving. That’s it. And forever was said, it’s even tastier the next day as it seasons.
Have to agree with many of the other responders…authentic American Chop Suey does NOT include garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes or sauce in a jar! I’m sure the above recipe is very nice, but it should not be called American Chop Suey!
Grew up eating American chop suey! My mother used the first five ingredients of your recipe, plus a small can of tomato sauce and a can of chopped tomatoes. We also ate white bread and butter with it! I remembering coming home from school and smelling that on the stove. That really made my day when she cooked American chop suey! People here in NJ don’t know what I am talking about when I mention it. They have a different version of the same thing though! Oh, the good old days!
My Mom used ground beef, onion, mushrooms(canned or fresh), canned tomato soup and/or canned spaghetti in sauce(Campbells sauce tastes like the soup)also chopped green peppers.sometimes in summer she would add chopped zucchini or yellow squash from the garden. Parmesan cheese on top. In my mid 70’s I still make it every once in a while. Yum!
This is what my family called ‘Goulash’ and was a favorite picnic or pot luck dinner casserole. It is great comfort food with a green salad and crusty bread.
I use the recipe learned from my mother-in-law. Think about this. Old Yankees used what was on hand and that meant home canned tomatoes which some people might buy as stewed tomatoes. No cheese. We didn’t use peppers but I’ve seen them occasionally cook with the American chop suey served at church suppers. My husband likes adding the small can of tomato paste. I do think it tastes better with some basil and garlic BUT our mothers and grandmothers probably didn’t have herbs on their spice shelves. I have NEVER heard of this baked casserole and I don’t think it should be proffered as an old New England recipe because I don’t think it is. BTW I started reading Yankee in the early 60s when my grandfather who was living with us subscribed to it.
Wonderful interesting comments, clearly a dish with a lot of loyalties.
I make American Chop Suey with a secret ingredient that my mom used: I use elbow macaroni, I lb of lean ground beef, green pepper, garlic, a can of diced tomatoes AND secret ingredient: ketchup, which gives lots of flavor.
Lots of different recipes here, but that makes sense. People used what they had and stuck with ingredients their family liked. My family’s recipe for ACS was always elbow macaroni, ground beef, a can of Camblells tomato soup, and a lot of melted cheddar. Always served with a slice of white bread (usually Pepperidge Farm) and peanut butter in our Providence home. Today, I make it with most any shaped pasta, ground pork, a can of Campbells tomato bisque soup (a little more flavorful), Cabot cheese and, of course, the peanut butter on bread. Not sure why my family added the peanut butter on bread, but it’s a comfortable accompaniment and we’re used to it. I even converted my New Jersey born wife and almost 41 years later, she still asks for it at least once a month. Great comfort food.
Frank, peanut butter on wheat bread is a perfect match for chili, too. I know it sounds strange, but once you try it, you will never eat chili without. My husband was a doubter, but he is now a convert!
Wouldn’t it be fun to have a taste test of all these different varieties?
I think this is a GREAT idea, Margie. We could “play” – America’s Test Kitchen while we were taste-testing! LOL. Enjoy the rest of your Summer!
I never heard of this growing up on Long Island. But when I got engaged in the late 60s, not knowing how to boil water, I bought a cookbook, ‘Betty Crocker Dinner for Two’ which I still have. She called it Macaroni Beef Saute. I have been making it ever since tho I renamed it ‘Little League Dinner’ because I could make it and it would sit til after games and practices. I always use tomatoes, not spaghetti sauce, and moved on to fresh tomatoes and green peppers. I cook it on the stove, not in the oven. I make a well in the center and add green beans for a one-pan dinner. Everyone still loves Little League Dinner tho now it’s the grandchildren playing.
I grew up on a lot of these recipes, love your book. We look forward to it every month.
Growing up in Vermont, we called this “Goulash” and it was made with home-canned tomatoes, not jarred spaghetti sauce.
Get a group of people together and you will find this delicious crowd pleaser has gone by many names,handed down among families or within a region……I see “goulash” mentioned; “camp food” and just plain”mess” have their followers….how about you?
As Virginia posted,it’s been known as “Little League Dinner”as well.What a stalwart dish!
Authentic American ChopSuey does not use spaghetti sauce or Italian spices!
You are correct!
I agree, elbows, ground beef, and tomatoes. Maybe some garlic. It’s not an Italian dish.
i agree!!!
Simpler times back then, nothing fancy but oh so yummy
Agree ????
Agree ????
Wow! I get a kick out of how these recipes bring out a family loyalty. I think that the variations everyone is so proud of stems from a time when our moms, dads, grandparents etc. we’re kitchen cooks. They cooked without a recipe and used what was on hand. I don’t remember anyone in my family ever running to the store for a certain ingredient. They would substitute or cook something else. Those were the days without the Food Network and superstar chefs. Not a heck of a lot of restaurants, certainly no going to one with a family unless it was a special occasion. Your best meal was right at your kitchen table! As to the ingredients in American Chop Suey…well I grew up in an Italian household and my mom’s version was pretty plain. Just hamburg, elbows, a can of hunts sauce 8 oz watered down. And even though my grandfather always had his grater and cube of Romano at his side, you often found the green can of cheese their too. No elitists in that family. Gary had it right when he said to bask in your memories!
I’m fixing this recipe for the weekend.It seems like I remember this dish from my growing up days
This was a regular menu dish as I was growing up in the 50’s and I still love it. As other people said, my mom also used home canned tomatoes and one small can of tomato paste, not spaghetti sauce. She also added a lot of chopped celery, which gave it a nice crunch. No Italian seasoning or garlic, ever! It shouldn’t taste like spaghetti, which is another delicious dish, but American Chop Suey has its own unique flavor (yum!) I still make it my mom’s way and it brings back so many happy memories of younger days.
I agree with judithr9 October 16, 2017. That is how I make mine. It should NOT taste like spaghetti !!
Wow! Had no idea this was a New England classic! I think I got through nursing school eating this in the cafeteria! My kids would laugh when I described it.
I believe that a common variation on this dish substitutes ketchup for tomato sauce… it is fairly disgusting at that point, but I have certainly had it that way.
I made this for supper one evening, the next day I worked late, when I arrived home hubby said he had “made a casserole” He put the leftovers in the oven with some cheese on top.
My Mom used to make this growing up (in CT/MA), always used elbows and canned or stewed tomatoes, never any Italian sauce or seasonings. And, a stovetop dish, never baked. That said, this one looks tasty, so I will give it a try, but under a different name, minus the nostalgia.
Disd anyone besides me have a recipe which involved molasses?
I’ve never heard of it with molasses. What was your recipe? It sounds interesting! ?
No tomato sauce or Italian seasoning in our recipe. It was onions, peppers, garlic salt, hamburg and tomato paste mixed with the cooked macaroni and topped with slice of american cheese. Baked in the oven until the cheese melted. Yum.
I just love to read all the recipes and your comments. I grew up in Ct. and Me. and don’t remember ever having this casserole. My grandmother was French (not Canadian) and an outstanding cook; I do remember her making a more traditional Chop Suey. However, living in Ohio as an adult, what you all are referring to sounds like Midwesterners call Johnny Marzetti. There was a restaurant in downtown Columbus called Marzetti’s and that’s where I first ate it. I make it often and it’s always welcome.
Caryl P. Your right in Ohio we call this Johnny Marzetti!
I don’t remember ACS with cheese (but I will be trying it this way tonight yum!!). My father always made his with lots of ground beef, onion, peppers, Mueller elbows and Ragu 🙂 He did have parmesan cheese available on the side.
Great cold weather comfort food; Love the new version w/garlic & red pepper flakes w/melted cheese and different pastas.
I also grew up on this concoction, although living in Ohio it was always called Johnny Marzetti, Goulash or at sometimes Campers Food. It was always a very forgiving recipe where you could add whatever you wanted, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it with garlic or red pepper flakes but I might try it that way. Dad used to go heavy on the bell peppers when he made it (because my brother and I loved them so much) and he would always add in mushrooms (again because of us kids). During the summer well cooked zucchini and/or yellow summer squash usually found their way into it, since they’re kinda bland it didn’t really change the flavor of the marzetti, it acted as a cheap filler to make it go farther and was a way to get us kids to eat vegetables. He also used both canned tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes depending on the time of years and garden) and paste or sauce (depending on what we had on the shelf, but mainly paste). And it was always made on the stovetop or over the campfire. As others have said the hamburger was drained of grease before the mixing of ingredients and bread was provided to make little sandwiches or to use to mop up every last bit! 🙂
I have heard it called American Chop Suey a few times, but it always annoyed me. Chop Suey to me is a beloved Chinese dish that has nothing to do with a Italian or Hungarian tasting style dish. 😉
Thanks for the recipe!
Grandma made this when we were kids growing up in SoCal. She was a Vermont girl. Who lived in Medford and Arlington Mass. She used the big elbow maccaroni, ground beef, bell peppers, onion and canned whole tomatoes. I’m pretty sure the only seasoning was salt and pepper, oooppps, peppa. We had this a couple of times a month. I found a café in Medford that offers it on its menu. Love it.
YOU are right! Onions and peppers sautéed in butter (no olive oil in those days in our house), canned whole tomatoes (no sauce or paste), hamburger, S&P, garlic powder…and no bake!!!…all done on top of stove. Juicy sauce not thick. Medford, Cambridge, Belmont roots. I’m sure this recipe is delicious, just not the classic ACS we grew up with in Boston area.
I too have Belmont and Arlington Roots. My mom made this for us growing up in the 50’s. Ground beef onions Green peppers sautéed until the beef was browned, large can of diced or whole tomatoes (diced well). S&P Garlic powder and a small amount of Italian seasoning. Cook 1 pound of ziti or rigatoni until al dente. Combine with sauce made in a 4-5 quart pan heat all the way through and serve with Italian bread. A huge family favorite I still make my daughter and grandsons they love it.
Marlborough Waltham area, my mom added tomato soup along with diced tomatoes etc., we LOVED this meal and it is so nostalgic!
Growing up in 50’s Maine, Monday was wash day. My Mom made baked American Chop Suey because it was quick to put together. Yummmm!
my mom put uncooked macaroni in the sauce and baked it, do you have a recipe for that?
My recipe from my grandmother (grew up in western mass) includes stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, ground beef and elbow macaroni. It was not baked though. She cooked it in her big cast iron skillet on the stovetop. The spices included S&P and celery salt. Come to think of it, she likely put diced celery in there too. Man, I can taste it right now….
So close to how my mom made it & now me. I cook on stove top top with lots slices American cheese, then bake for about 20 minutes
My mother made this when I was growing up in Boston. She added Lipton Onion Soup mix and it’s delicious!!! I made it for my girls and they it too!!
Ummmmm…I’m not sure how this is, “chop suey.” It’s pasta, red sauce, Italian seasonings…it’s pasta casserole. OR, as generically called here in upstate New York–goulash. There’s nothing even vaguely Asian in this recipe. It’s Italian: pasta + red sauce + garlic + mozzarell’? And Italian seasonings? Unless my Italian ancestors got to Naples via China–this ain’t chop suey, “New England Today.”
Hence the word ” American ” chop suey…????
It is not intended to be even remotely Asian. It’s a play on the fact that Asian “chop suey” is a mix of different veggies and meat all chopped up. So American Chop Suey is a playful name for an American-Italian dish. It’s a great dish and as you can see in the comments, every family has their own little variation. Mine is that I don’t use sauce in a jar, I always use homemade. I also put a layer of cheese in the middle, but I use a stronger flavored cheese than mozzarella.
But the name isn’t “chop suey,” it’s “American chop suey,” a name intended to mark the distinction, even if inaccurate. And BTW, it’s not even vaguely central European “goulash,” either.
It’s not “Italian” either! It was being made in the northern rural reaches of Nee England before any Italians set foot in our communities. It’s called American Chop Suey because everything is CHOPPED together. My mom’s best friend was Japanese American and she said that Choo Suey simply means mixed together!
My mom too always made this for me growing up in the 60’s, and I now make it whenever my New England relatives visit me in Virginia. It’s our comfort food!
As a New Jersey kid in the sixties, my mom would make this when dad had to work late. It wasn’t baked, but a one pot meal. We knew it as cowboy stew. It was comforting and delicious!
My mother made American chop suey and this is not it! This seems like another baked macaroni dish.
My mom made it using a combination of rice and broken-up spaghetti. It was cooked in a stew pot. They didn’t use peppers or mushrooms. My mom learned it from her mother-in-law, my grandmother, who had been cooking it for years (probably since the 1920s). The recipe was never written down. My wife makes something she just calls “mixture”, which consists of ground beef, tomato sauce or diced tomatoes, onion, and mushrooms, cooked in a skillet.
Nope, this is not the American Chop Suey I grew up with in Vermont and Connecticut. Never baked. It was a one pot meal. I still make it in Illinois.
In Massachusetts I have made it both ways, but I love the baked with cheese better. LOVE the cheesy top layer bubbly and brown from the oven.
My grandmother’s and mother’s recipes: fry up ground beef with diced onion, salt and pepper. Drain any excess fat. Add a large can of whole tomatoes in juice. Sprinkle on a bit of oregano. Mix with macaroni.
My Mother’s recipe as well! Really enjoyed this
Ours not baked either, just in huge griddle!
Funny how the same dish has so many different names. I grew up with my mom calling it Hungarian goulash & my husband “determined” it was called Am Chop Suey? (He did make “chop suey” a lot too.) Either way, our kids liked it a lot no matter what we called it!!!
For all of you folks commenting about this not recipe not having anything to do with Chinese Chop Suey—hold onto your hats when we start talking about Chinese Pie! Paté Chinois LOL
CANNED SAUCE!!! No way
this isnt american chop suey, this is goulash, whers the can tomato soup and celery? sorry but gotta call it like you see it
also baked and cheese? what is that??
This is not “goulash”. It’s a New England dish and shouldn’t be scoffed at. You can call it what you like elsewhere, but here, it’s American Chop Suey. As a life long New Englander, I get miffed at outsiders mocking our beloved dishes. It’s just rude. Every region has their own favorites. We should respect them and try them once in a while, not mock them for being different.
Been a New Englander since birth, I make it as my mom always made American Chop suey with Hunts tomatoes crushed in purée, American Cheese. Your version & your comment is “Goulash”!
This is exactly how my mom and I made “American Chop Suey”. Thank you for printing my recipe ???? Now my kids and grandkids make it the same way. My husband sometimes adds chopped canned tomatoes because he likes it that way. It’s all good!
This IS American Chop Suey and not goulash or any other such recipe. My mother in law gave me this recipe about 35 years ago and she was from New England as well as an excellent cook. So enjoy the recipe as I’m sure there are many variations over the years.
This recipe is the almost the same as the one I still make but I use instead: whole peeled tomatoes (the cheaper the better as my grandmother would say as they have more liquid), no garlic, no tomato paste, no Italian spices and no red pepper flakes are used as ingredients.
My Mom always used DelMonte stewed tomatoes in this dish. As I have lived in the UK for many years, I have always tried to pack these in my luggage on trips back. Stewed tomatoes are not available here. On one trip the bag was just over the limit. When I presented my case to the check in attendant he let it pass as he did agree that the recipe would not be the same without the ingredients from home!
I know this by several names. It was American Chop Suey in school, my grandmother called it goulash and my husband also knew it as slum gullion. It was always sautéed onions, ground beef, garlic granules, Lawry season salt, sliced stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and elbow macaroni It was one of my husband’s favorite meals and has become one of my daughter in law’s favorites along with my corn chowder and my shepherd’s pie which she always requests for her birthday.
Marie,
That was exactly how my Mom made it. Would love to get your chowder and shepherds pie recipes. I’ve got many of her handwritten recipes, but no chowder or shepherds pie. Mom has been gone for a while, and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her, but sometimes a meal will bring back those GREAT days.
My mother always made this dish for me but it was a lot different than that album macaroni hamburger meat and two cans of Campbell’s tomato soup it was delicious and I still make it today and we called it American chop suey this was growing up outside of Boston
My mom always made this with tomato soup Like your mom…this is the first time I’ve come across someone that uses tomato soup,finally! Yay! Growing up Rhode Island
In RI My mother used 3 cans of rato soup hamburg, onions, and now I add peppers if it’s ok with the croud.
Speech to text did not put the word tomato .incorrectly
My mom also added tomato soup, we loved this dish growing up! Marlborough
We grew up in NH and it was made with tomato soup and no cheese!
I have a picky eater house guest who requested American Chop Suey. He is from Maine so I looked up New England American Chop Suey and found this recipe. I made it last night with a few exceptions. I left out the green peppers as I doubt his Mother included them and left out red pepper flakes as I know his whole family is adverse to any spiciness. I asked ahead of time whether or not he wanted cheese included and he said No. I usually have to wait until the end of a meal and inquire as to how he liked it and I will usually get an, “It was OK.” Last night, in the middle of the meal he said, “MMMM, this is good!” I almost fell over. He said this was almost exactly like what his Mother would have fixed. Thank you for making this recipe available!
My mother used stewed tomatoes and rice. No garlic, Italian seasoning nor cheese.
For a really fast American Chop Suey, we always used elbow macaroni and a can or two of Manwich sauce. Manwich has all the necessary ingredients, including green peppers. We never used cheese with it.
If you grew up in Maine you made it similar to Marjorie Standish’s “Cooking Down East”. Butter, onion, ground beef, macaroni. tomato soup and baked it with optinal parm cheese and options to substitue the soup for No 2 1/2 canned tomatoes and tomato paste, oregeno, 1 bay leaf in celery seed.
Many Mainers have variations. I grew up with that exact recipe except we used sauce and paste with the optional spices, a chopped green pepper was always added with the onion and we never baked ours.
Oh, I wanted to add that this recipe NE Today posted is pretty much spot on! Thanks for the printed version.
Oh, this brings back memories. I, too, was raised in Ohio and ate Johnny Marzetti at every Girl Scout camp-out supper in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Marzetti’s was a popular Italian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, that named their tasty concoction after a family member, Johnny. It filled up many a hungry Ohio State student. The restaurant is gone now but the family’s equally famous salad dressings live on in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. I can buy them here in Massachusetts. Marzetti’s Cole Slaw dressing is slightly sweet and probably their top selling variety.
Funny, I’ve lived in Ma my entire life and we had American chop suey but we also had “Johnny Mazotta”
Thank you! You have solved a mystery for me. Since I was a little girl I wondered why my mom called it Johnny Vanzetti, when every other mom called it American Cop Suey. We are in Mass, and my mom was Swedish. I guess “Marzetti” was lost in translation and became Vanzetti! I am happy to have learned something today. And yes, it was a family favorite.
So funny!!
This name was given by my little sisters: KITTY FOOD!! How disgusting! But
always a staple. A good one!
My family came from Maine, except me (from Louisiana). My mother just called it Chop Suey but it was made with ground beef, elbow macaroni , onion, Campbell’s tomato soup, salt and pepper. I still make it the same way! Sometimes I add parmesan cheese. Never have baked it.
YOU have the right recipe. Use tomato soup and you’ll never go back to any other way.
That’s the biggest at way my mom made it too
Yes! Soup used by my Mother..a Home Ec teacher .
That’s the way my mom made it….in my grandmothers huge cast iron fry pan! If there was a crowd she would throw in some stewed tomatoes (or fresh in season), some mushrooms, and even Frenched green beans! Never any Italian spices or cheese other than the block of cheddar that was added at every meal! As a matter of fact, I never had spaghetti until I was at least 10 and the first pizza I ever had was Chef Boyardee’s bixed mix! To this day, I am not a big fan of Italian food….or pizza!
Wow, so many variations of such a simple recipe. Must depend on one’s ethnic background. I grew up in eastern MA. My grand parents and Mom were English dairy farmers. Dad was Irish. We had this dish about once a week in winter and in summer with fresh veg.s from the garden. Onions, green bell peppers sautéed in butter. Hamburger, elbow macaroni and whole stewed tomatoes. S&P. In the summer we used fresh tomatoes and peppers from the garden. Served with coleslaw and squishy white bread. Never heard of garlic, Italian seasoning or any kind of cheese in what I knew as classic AMC. And it never went in the oven – one-pot-stove-top. I’ve been making it this way for more than 45 years, and it’s still a family favorite. Especially with the fresh veggies at this time of year. I love the idea of using pasta sauce, cheese, and Italian seasonings, but I certainly wouldn’t call this American Chop Suey.
I grew up in NH and we had chop suey a few times a month, was a fav, so simple. I remember watching mom make and it was simply ground beef cooked with onions, al dente macaroni noodles and fav spaghetti sauce mixed together…I make this for my kids now.
Ours was made with Canpbell’s Tomato Soup.
My mother-in-law added fried wontons on top.
I’m closing in on a century and was born in Portland Maine. My grandmother and mother made American Chop Suey with onion chopped and sauted in butter, hamburg, canned whole tomatoes (which get chopped while cooking before the macaroni is added), and mullers elbow macaroni. As a child, the only macaroni I recall seeing in supermarkets was Mullers. My d-i-l’s family call it goulash, add oregano and use tomato puree instead of whole tomatoes which adds an italian dimension.
loved this stuff. our “spaghetti” dish was like a stew in beef broth; so this was the closest we got to “actual” spaghetti growing up.
My grandmother (from NH and ME) called it chopped suey, I call it goulash (VT). But I love reading about all the different versions. My husbands grandmother made a version with elbows, onions, ground beef and a jar of homemade canned tomatoes. To this day, her simple recipe is the best.
You can call it whatever you want no intention to be mean spirited or anything close to it however chop Suey is an Asian dish or at least the name implies it’s Asian I will call what New Englanders make Johnny Marzetti.
Johnny Marzetti is lasagna with green olives.
As Italian , I m surprised that this could be even possible.
We would never cook pasta and sit aside while making “ the sauce “.
Our Ragù bolognese or napoletano takes 4-6 hours to cook !
Jar of spaghetti sauce ?? It seems for astronauts mission!
Plus we don’t use any Italian mix spices.
For some dishes can be fresh basil or parsley or sage or …
Enjoy the elbows!
Also, as an Italian, the name of this dish is “American Chop Suey Casserole” not “Italian Chop Suey”. That said, this recipe isn’t even what is known as “American Chop Suey” here in New England.
I use canned crushed tomatoes, sauteed onions and peppers and a little garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then, I add raw thinly sliced summer squash and/or zucchini, gives extra vegetables. The squash cooks in the oven, soft but still has texture.
My Mom made it the same way that Dian P described. We often got homemade baking powder biscuits hot out of the oven to go with our American Chop Suey cooked entirely on the stovetop.
This is not American chop suey, Not even close ! It seems like some kind of Italian pasta bake. American chop suey does not have Italian spices in it , is made in a pot on top of the stove, has a slightly sweet/savory sauce, no cheese. The original version has onions ,pepper’s , celery, Ground beef , elbow’s, tomato sauce, s&p , worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, and the original had optional potatoes.
Many versions of American Chop Suey. All are correct to your
Liking. Everyone has a different version it is still their American Chop Suey.
Think is a more authentic recipe than the one that Yankee published. It has to include celery, and never has cheese with minimal seasoning, just some salt and pepper to taste.
I agree it should have celery and NEVER ANY CHEESE. I play up its vegetal flavor with some V-8 juice. I use a mix of stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I DO season with salt, pepper, garlic, and just a hint of dried oregano and basil.
My Dad was a chef at Cascade Lodge in Maine. He would make us American chop suey often and it was delicious because of his secret addition to it…….celery salt.
Cooked elbow macaroni with 1/2 trick of butter
Ground beef drained
1 can whole tomatoes
1 can chopped tomatoes
1can tomato paste
sea salt
pepper
2 tsp.celery salt
1 tbsp. sugar
Mash or pulse the tomatoes and add everything into it! Done and delicious.
Thank you! Sounds great!
I’m sixty-five years of age and was born and raised in CT, and fondly remember my Mother making American Chop Suey; she started on the stovetop and ended by baking in the oven. As someone who loves to cook I understand why some are “aghast” at jar sauce. I believe my Mother used canned tomatoes. This dish was supposedly created for the convenience and simple ingredients and recipe, hence the jar sauce.
It was delicious and we as kids loved it. She also made “ Polish” goulash; my Father and grandparents on both sides were born and raised in Poland. My Mom’s recipe never had tomatoes. She would sauté chunks of beef and made a gravy with paprika and ladled the thick stew like beef over egg noodles. I love all the various comments, recipes and memories here. Who thought such a simple comfort dish with many interpretations could spark such passion.
Cheers!
Call it whatever you like. It’s a quick, easy, kid friendly meal. Use whatever you like, or whatever is in the pantry – canned soup, tomatoes, or sauce, and favorite spices and veggies. The point is making comfort memories !!
My mom’s version of American Chop Suey was ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper, a jar of pasta sauce (or her homemade sauce if time allowed) and shell pasta. The meat sauce gets trapped in the shells – so good! Oh, and a sprinkle or two of parmesan cheese. Such good memories!! Still make it this way. Great snow day food!
Sauté onion, brown 1# ground beef, add 2 cans Campbell’s tomato soup, add cooked elbow macaroni. Best when allowed to sit overnight and reheat .
Yes! That’s my mom’s recipe too! Kids love it!!
My grandmother sauted the onions & peppers with the meat then added the tomato soup and noodles. good sharp cheese on top and then in the oven to brown. but this what was called goulash in my family
I remember this from Girl Scout camp. It was always our favorite meal, cooked by us over the campfire. Celery (salt?) comes to mind; never oregano, then still an exotic ingredient. I want to try adding some extra liquid and cook the pasta right in the tomato sauce, as it was a point of G.S. pride never to use a second pot for our “one-pot” meals.
Exactly, American Chop Suey includes celery seed, Worcester sauce, here are the ingredients to make 4 servings of American Chop Suey:
2 cups uncooked macaroni
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, chopped (or mixed chopped green onion greens and yellow onion)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
That isn’t a recipe for American Chop Suey, here is a link to what is an authentic recipe for the dish https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hamburger_and_macaroni/