Potato goulash is one of those meals that is simple, yet packed with hearty flavour. Potatoes, onions and smoked tofu in a paprika spiced sauce create the ultimate comfort food dish!
We love this vegan potato goulash so much, we even served it at our own wedding! Based on the traditional Austrian dish, Kartoffelgulasch or Erdapfelgulasch, this is the incredibly tasty vegan version that we created for the occasion.
Vegan / vegetarian goulash is easy to make, simply by using an alternative to the smoked sausage and meat stock it traditionally contains. In our case, we love smoked tofu for this!
Goulash is also one of our go to meals when we are on the road in our campervan. It cooks up quickly and it’s the perfect nourishing fuel for adventure, or a comforting reward after a long hike!
Austrian Cuisine
Paul is from Austria so, of course, we love adapting recipes from his homeland and turning them into delicious vegan dishes. Austrian cuisine is often known for it’s Viennese specialities, like the famous Sachertorte, Schnitzel or Strudel.
But there’s a more humble, everyday side to Austrian food. And that’s where this goulash comes in.
Goulash is famously known as a Hungarian dish. But Austria and Hungary used to be part of the same Empire and so their culinary influences mixed, and Austria gave goulash its own twist.
Check out our Vegan Recipes from Austria to find out more about Austrian food and tasty recipes you can try!
Ingredient tips
Packed full of flavour, this potato goulash has a hearty sauce. The ingredients that give it its flavourful taste are:
- Paprika for sweet pepperiness
- Caraway for its unique aniseed flavour
- Vinegar for tang
- Tomato puree for it’s richness
- Dried marjoram and bay leaves for aromatic herbiness
- Stock powder/bouillon for a well rounded base
- Fried onions and garlic make the sauce even more delicious
- And cubes of tofu add the essential smoky flavour
Step by step
STEP 2 - Add the garlic and caraway seeds
STEP 3 - Add the paprika and deglaze with vinegar
STEP 4 - Add the tomato puree, sugar and marjoram
STEP 5 - Add the potatoes, stock powder, water and bay leaves and simmer until tender
STEP 6 - Fry the smoked tofu with a splash of soy sauce
Substitutions and variations
You can experiment and vary this recipe by:
- Swapping out some of the potatoes for diced sweet potatoes or carrots
- Adding some cooked or canned beans
- Adding some sliced mushrooms in at the same time as the garlic
- Using other herbs if you don’t have dried marjoram or bay leaves. To use fresh herbs, use three times as much (1 tablespoon instead of 1 teaspoon)
If you can’t find smoked tofu, you can marinate plain tofu in liquid smoke and soy sauce before frying. Our vegan chorizo would also be a great alternative, or slice up some cooked vegan sausages.
Serving and storage
Goulash is typically served with bread on the side. Sourdough rye bread is delicious, but you can use whatever you have. Some steamed green veggies on the side would be a nice addition too.
If ever there was a dish that gets better the next day, it’s potato goulash! The flavours develop and the sauce becomes thicker when you reheat it. Simply store leftovers in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan.
You can also freeze leftover goulash in an airtight container. If you plan to make it to freeze, then you might like to leave out the tofu chunks for freezing, and add them fresh after you defrost the goulash.
More tasty and comforting vegan dinners you might like to try!
Chanterelle Goulash (our fave when wild mushrooms are in season)
Our Easy Vegan Carbonara is our other fave way to use smoked tofu.
And our Vegan Chilli Non Carne is another easy comfort food dish.
📖 Recipe
Austrian Potato Goulash (Kartoffelgulasch)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 (300 g) onions halved and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1½ tsp caraway
- 2 tbsp paprika powder
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3½ cups (840 ml) water
- 5 medium (750 g) starchy potatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp stock powder or bouillon
- 1 pinch pepper
For the Tofu
- 1 block (230 g) smoked tofu diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- In a deep pan, heat the olive oil and fry the sliced onions until golden brown.
- Add the finely chopped garlic and the caraway seeds. Cook for 1 minutes.
- Add the paprika, stir immediately and deglaze with vinegar. Deglazing is when you add a liquid to cooked, browned ingredients, and then stir thorougly to dissolve all that stuck to the pan tasty goodness!
- Add the tomato puree, marjoram and sugar. Stir again and cook for 2 minutes. Adding a touch of water if the mix gets dry.
- Finally add the water, chopped potatoes, bay leaves and stock powder. Season with a pinch of black pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fully cooked and tender.
Frying the tofu
- Meanwhile, cut the smoked tofu into cubes or short strips. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, heat up olive oil and fry the tofu until browned.
- If your smoked tofu comes out of the pack seasoned, you can skip this step. Turn down the heat to medium and add the soy sauce. Stir immediately to coat the tofu pieces. Be careful not to let the sauce catch! Add a splash of water if necessary.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- When the goulash is done, serve topped with the fried smoky tofu, along with a slice of dark bread. Enjoy your tasty Kartoffelgulasch! Mahlzeit 🙂
Notes
Pressure cooking
If using a pressure cooker, close the lid after adding the water (you might want to add a little less water, just enough to nicely cover the potatoes) along with the other ingredients. Heat up and bring to pressure, and pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure. Take off the heat and let the pressure drop naturally. Give it a good stir to get some starches into the liquid, and serve! Pressure cooking is an amazing tool in the kitchen to save cooking time, energy and retain more of the nutrients in your meal!Serving
Serve the goulash with wholemeal or rye bread. Rye bread is the bread typically served in Germany and Austria. Dark breads work really in this combination of earthy, hearty flavours.Nutrition
This information is calculated per serving and is an estimate only.
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