American Chop Suey
on Nov 13, 2023, Updated May 09, 2024
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My one pot American Chop Suey features savory, flavorful ingredients cooked to perfection in a blend of chicken broth and tomato sauce. You will love how the flavors blend together as the chop suey cooks!
This traditional casserole is popular on the east coast, and for good reason! The savory ground beef, sweet tomato sauce, and flavorful spice mix makes this a wonderful meal for any dinner rotation.
The tomato sauce and chicken broth fill the noodles with flavor as they cook and help to soften the veggies. As if that wasn’t enough, this delicious dish comes together in about 30 minutes!
Pair chop suey with crispy spring rolls, cucumber salad, or easy sautéed green beans. Jasmine tea makes a great drink choice to complement the meal.
Table of Contents
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Beef—You can use 90/10, 95/5, or 97/3 ground beef.
- Garlic Powder—Or freshly minced garlic cloves.
- Italian Seasoning—A fragrant blend of onion powder, garlic salt, oregano, basil, and thyme.
- Diced Onion—Either white or yellow onion.
- Tomato Sauce—Adds an earthy sweetness to the dish, balancing the savory flavors.
- Tomato Paste—Amplifies the flavor of the tomato sauce.
- Bell Pepper—We like yellow bell peppers, but any color of bell pepper will work.
- Diced Tomatoes—Canned tomatoes that have been thoroughly drained.
- Elbow Noodles—Can be replaced with rotini, bowtie, or cavatappi.
- Chicken Broth—To cook the noodles and fill them with flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce—Has a savory flavor that compliments the seasoned beef.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
If you are looking for some ways to modify your American chop suey then we have some great ideas for you! Adding different ingredients is a fun, inexpensive way to customize the flavor of this dish. Here are some of our favorite recipe variations:
- Add some creaminess to your dish by adding some cheese. We like to use a cup of shredded cheddar, a cup of grated parmesan, or ½ cup of cream cheese.
- Spice things up by adding 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes along with the ground beef and a few drops of hot sauce with the chicken broth.
- Add some jalapenos, diced celery, or corn.
How to Make American Chop Suey
Step #1. Cook the ground beef, onion, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning in a large pot over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink.
Step #2. Add the bell pepper, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Fold the mixture until the tomato sauce evenly coats the other ingredients.
Step #3. Add the chicken broth, noodles, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil and then cover the mixture with a lid.
Step #4. Reduce the heat and allow the chop suey to simmer until the noodles are fully cooked.
Recipe FAQs
Of course! Beef broth has a slightly stronger flavor than chicken broth, so you might notice a slight change in the dish’s overall flavor. The main purpose of the broth is to cook the noodles while providing them with a little bit of flavor, so you can use chicken, beef, or vegetable broth.
You might have too much liquid in your chop suey. Make sure that you drain your diced tomatoes as much as possible and only use 2 cups of chicken broth. If you need to then you can add a little bit of chicken broth as the noodles are cooking, but it is easier to add liquid rather than cook off excess liquid.
If you are out of Italian seasoning then you can easily make your own at home! Simply stir together equal parts dried oregano, thyme, garlic salt, onion powder, and basil. You can store your Italian seasoning in an airtight container for up to a year!
Expert Tips
- Yellow bell peppers add a little bit of sweetness and color to this dish, but you are welcome to use any color of bell pepper in this recipe!
- If you have fresh garlic then you can replace the garlic powder with 3 cloves of fresh garlic. You will still want to add the garlic in step one to help release its flavor.
- If you don’t have a premade Italian spice mix then you can make your own Italian seasoning by combining equal parts garlic salt, oregano, basil, thyme, and onion powder.
- We like to use 90/10 ground beef in this recipe, but you can also use 95/5 or 97/3 beef. We recommend staying away from 85/15 ground beef since it produces a bit more fat that you will have to drain off.
- If your chicken broth is fully absorbed before your noodles finish cooking then you can add an extra half cup of chicken broth. You shouldn’t need to add any, but allowing the dish to simmer at a higher temp will cause the broth to cook off faster.
- For some extra flavor, add one cup of shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese.
How to Store and Reheat Your Leftovers
You can store your leftover American chop suey in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply transfer your leftovers to an airtight rubbermaid container. It is easiest to reheat a serving of your chop suey in a microwave safe bowl for about a minute. Stop and stir your leftovers halfway through to make sure they reheat evenly.
More Main Dish Recipes To Consider
Pasta Dishes
Pumpkin Alfredo
Dinner Ideas
One-Pot Sausage, Rice, and Peas Dinner
Pasta Dishes
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Baked Pasta
Seafood Recipes
Tuna Patties Recipe
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American Chop Suey
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup onion, diced, about ½ diced onion
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 yellow pepper,, diced
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 1 ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound elbow macaroni, uncooked, or other small pasta
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, diced onion, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to a large pot. Use a meat chopper or spatula to break up the ground beef and combine the ingredients. Cook the ground beef over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the beef is no longer pink in the middle.
- Once the beef is cooked all the way through, add the diced yellow pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Fold the ingredients together until the ground beef and veggies are evenly coated in tomato sauce.
- Add the chicken broth, worcestershire sauce, and elbow noodles to the pot. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- Cover the pot with a lid and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Test one of the noodles to make sure they are cooked all the way through.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The yellow bell pepper adds just a tad bit of sweetness and color to this dish, but feel free to use any color of bell pepper in this recipe!
- If you have fresh garlic then you can replace the garlic powder with 3 cloves of fresh garlic. You will still add the garlic in step one to help release its flavor.
- You can make your own Italian seasoning by combining equal parts garlic salt, oregano, basil, thyme, and onion powder.
- We used 90/10 ground beef in this recipe, but you can also use 95/5 or 97/3 beef.
- We recommend staying away from 85/15 ground beef since it produces a bit more fat that you will have to drain off.
- If your chicken broth is fully absorbed before your noodles finish cooking then you can add an extra half cup of chicken broth. You shouldn’t need to add any, but allowing the dish to simmer at a higher temp will cause the broth to cook off faster.
- Store your leftover chop suey in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat your leftovers in the microwave for about a minute, stirring halfway through.
- For some extra flavor, add one cup of shredded cheddar or parmesan cheese!
