One-pot potato goulash
Potatoes, onion, paprika and tomato paste turn into a thick, warming stew – with slices of shelf-stable dried sausage if you like. Potatoes and onions keep for several days without a fridge. The most important trick: toast the paprika only briefly on a low flame, because it burns within seconds and turns bitter.
- Chopping 10–15 minutes, cooking 20–25 minutes
Explained simply
Potato goulash is a warm, red stew of potatoes, onions and paprika. It tastes especially good on cold evenings. Potatoes and onions do not need a fridge, so you can carry them in your backpack for a few days.
First you cut everything into small cubes. The smaller the cubes, the faster they get soft. Then you fry the onion, add paprika and tomato paste very briefly and pour in water straight away. Now everything may cook gently with the lid on.
Paprika is a little trickster: in hot fat it turns black and bitter within a few seconds. That is why you turn the flame down before it goes into the pot. You can tell whether the potatoes are ready with a fork – if it slides in easily, they are done.
How it works
Potatoes consist largely of starch and water. When cooked, the starch granules absorb water and turn soft. Some of the starch dissolves in the liquid and makes the sauce thick. If you squash a few cubes against the side of the pot at the end, the goulash gets even thicker – without any flour.
The heat travels from the outside into the potato cubes. That is why the size of the cubes decides the cooking time. Cubes of about 2 cm are done after 15 to 20 minutes. Large pieces take much longer and much more fuel.
Paprika contains sugar and colours the fat red. On low heat it releases colour and flavour; on high heat the sugar caramelises too fast and burns. Tomato paste and water cool the bottom of the pot at once and stop the toasting.
What really matters
Cutting safely is the most important step here. A round potato rolls away and the knife slips. Halve it first and lay it flat side down on the board. Children cut with a small knife and always away from the body. Cut green patches and sprouts away generously – that is where the bitter compound solanine sits.
Stock cubes are very salty. So only add salt at the end, once you have tasted. Shelf-stable dried sausage such as Landjäger adds flavour but is not a must – without sausage and with vegan stock the goulash is vegan.
If you want to save fuel, let the goulash boil for only 5 to 8 minutes and then wrap the pot with its lid on warmly, for example in a jacket or a pot cosy. After about 20 minutes it is done. Bring it briefly to the boil again before eating.
Safety: what to watch out for
A stove always belongs outside – never in the tent, never in the vestibule, never in the car. Burning gas or spirit produces carbon monoxide. You cannot see or smell this gas; it makes you tired and can knock you out. On top of that, tent fabric catches fire within seconds. If it rains, cook under a tarp with open sides or wait.
The most common accidents when cooking outdoors are scalds. A narrow stove with a full pot tips over easily. Put it on firm, level ground, hold the pot by its handle while stirring and only let children near the stove together with an adult. With a scald, cool it at once with cool running water; with large wounds, burns to the face or in children call 112, in Austria also 144.
Hot oil can spit and catch fire. Never pour water into burning fat – lid on and stove off. Stock cubes often contain celery, dried sausage sometimes mustard, lactose or gluten. Eat cooked food straight away; keep leftovers only briefly and only if you heat them until really hot again before eating.
Step by step
Set up a safe cooking spot
Put the stove outside on firm, level ground or a flat stone – well away from the tent, dry grass and leaves. A windscreen keeps the flame steady but must not enclose the stove completely. Lay everything out before you light it: pot with lid, cooking spoon, water, ingredients. A medium to low flame is enough for goulash.
Caution: Never cook inside the tent or vestibule.
- 1
Set up a safe cooking spot
Put the stove outside on firm, level ground or a flat stone – well away from the tent, dry grass and leaves. A windscreen keeps the flame steady but must not enclose the stove completely. Lay everything out before you light it: pot with lid, cooking spoon, water, ingredients. A medium to low flame is enough for goulash.
Never cook inside the tent or vestibule.
- 2
Cut potatoes and onion
Wash the potatoes, cut away green patches and peel them or leave the skin on. Halve them, lay them flat and cut them into cubes of about 2 cm. Dice the onion small. Slice the sausage thinly.
Cut away from your body; lay the potato flat.
- 3
Fry the onion
Heat the oil in the pot on a medium flame and fry the onion for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until translucent. If you have sausage, fry it briefly now too.
- 4
Paprika and tomato paste – very briefly
Turn the flame right down or take the pot off the stove for a moment. Sprinkle in paprika, caraway and marjoram, add the tomato paste and stir for only 20 to 30 seconds. If it smells burnt, it is too hot – go straight on with the water.
Paprika burns within seconds and turns bitter.
- 5
Add potatoes, water and stock
Put the potato cubes in the pot, pour in enough water to just cover them and crumble in the stock cube. Stir, put the lid on and bring to the boil.
- 6
Let it simmer
Turn the flame down and let the goulash simmer with the lid on for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir up from the bottom every few minutes. If it gets too dry, add a splash of water.
Lift the lid away from you – steam.
- 7
Test and season
Prick a potato cube with a fork: if it slides in easily, it is cooked. Squash a few cubes against the side of the pot to make the sauce thicker. Only now season with salt and pepper.
- 8
Eat it hot and tidy up
Turn off the stove, fill the bowls and eat the goulash hot. Potato peel and packaging go into the rubbish bag; soak the pot straight away with a little water and wash it well away from water.
Common mistakes
- Toasting paprika on a high flame – bitter and black
- Potato pieces too large – long cooking time, lots of fuel
- Salting too early although the stock is salty
- Not stirring – the goulash burns on the bottom
- Not cutting away green potato parts
- Cutting round potatoes on the board – the knife slips
Quick view
Materials
Potatoes (waxy or all-rounder)
Per person 2 medium potatoes (about 250 g)
Cut away green patches and sprouts generously.
Carry them dark, cool and dry.
Onion
Per person half an onion
Keeps for several days without a fridge if it stays dry and airy.
Cooking oil (rapeseed or olive) in a leak-proof bottle
Per person 1 tablespoon
Hot oil can spit and catch fire – never pour water on burning fat; put the lid on and turn the stove off.
Spices in small tubs (paprika, cumin, chilli, herbs)
Per person 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 pinch of caraway and marjoram
Ready-made spice mixes can contain celery or mustard – read the ingredients.
Ground spices burn very quickly in hot fat and turn bitter.
Tomato paste in a tube
Per person 1 tablespoon
Keep an opened tube cool and use it up within a few days; keep the cap clean.
Stock cube or vegetable stock powder
Per person half a cube or ½ teaspoon powder
Often contains celery, sometimes gluten or milk – read the ingredients.
Very salty: hardly any extra salt needed afterwards.
Clean drinking or treated water
Per person about 300 ml for cooking
Treat water from streams or lakes first – also for rinsing vegetables and beans.
Carry enough for cooking, drinking and washing up.
Shelf-stable dried sausage (e.g. Landjäger, kabanos, salami)
Per person about 50 g, sliced
Only carry unopened, fully dried sausage without cooling; follow the pack's instructions.
Can contain mustard, lactose or gluten.
Table salt
Only at the end, the stock is already salty
Salt improves keeping quality but does not replace heating through.
Stove
Never operate inside a tent, shelter or enclosed room – carbon monoxide and fire risk.
Stove fuel (canister, liquid fuel, alcohol)
Store fuels apart from food and in original containers or bottles intended for them.
Store cool, well ventilated and out of children's reach.
Metal pot (stainless steel, aluminium, titanium)
With lid, at least 1.5 litres for 2 people
Hot – scalding risk.
Long cooking spoon (wood or heat-resistant plastic)
A long handle keeps your hand out of the hot steam.
Knife (fixed or locking blade)
Cut away from your body.
Rules on carrying knives differ by region – check local rules.
Bowl or large mug with spoon
Children eat from their own bowl – not straight from the hot pot.
Suitable for
- Cold evenings in autumn and winter
- Multi-day trips – potatoes keep without cooling
- Groups and families
- Cooking over a campfire with a pot stand
Not suitable for
- Ultralight trips – fresh potatoes are heavy
- Very scarce fuel
- Cooking in a tent or vestibule – never
Prerequisites
- Able to cut safely with a knife, or an adult helps
- A permitted, safe cooking spot outside
- Enough fuel for about 25 minutes of cooking
Safety
- Potatoes roll away – halve them first and lay them flat side down on the board, then keep cutting. Children cut with a small knife and always away from the body. Cut green patches and sprouts off potatoes generously; that is where the bitter compound solanine sits.
- Stock cubes often contain celery, sometimes gluten or milk. Dried sausage can contain mustard, lactose or gluten. Ask beforehand who has an allergy, and read the ingredient lists.
- Eat cooked food hot straight away. Do not leave leftovers without cooling for more than two hours – and never overnight in the lukewarm pot. Anything left over is heated until it is steaming hot all through before eating, or it is thrown away. Pack food and rubbish animal-proof at night.
- Only use clean or treated water. At a campfire the fire rules apply: only where it is allowed, never with wildfire danger, pot stable on a pot support, water ready to put the fire out and the fire extinguished completely at the end. Take packaging and food scraps back with you, scatter washing water well away from streams and lakes.
How it works
Goulash lives on onion and paprika. The onion turns soft and sweet in oil. Paprika gives colour and flavour to the fat – but it contains sugar and burns within seconds over high heat. That is why it goes in on a low flame and is quenched at once with tomato paste and water. The potatoes cook in the seasoned water; some of their starch passes into the sauce and makes it thick. Small cubes cook faster and save fuel.
Advantages
- Potatoes and onions keep without a fridge
- Filling for a long time and warming
- Cheap and easy to double
- Also possible over a campfire
Disadvantages
- Fresh potatoes are heavy
- Needs more fuel than instant meals
- Lots of chopping
- Paprika burns easily
Deep knowledge
Background
Potato goulash is a stew from Central European cooking, often called “Erdäpfelgulasch” in Austria and Bavaria. Outdoors it is popular because potatoes and onions keep for several days without cooling and the stew needs only one pot.
In green patches and sprouts, potatoes form the natural bitter compound solanine, one of the glycoalkaloids; that is why these parts are cut away. For safe handling of cooked food, the WHO's Five Keys apply: work cleanly, cook thoroughly, do not leave cooked food without cooling for hours.
Variants
- Children's goulash
- Use only sweet paprika, leave out the caraway and add a few sliced sausages from a jar. Children may dice the potatoes together with an adult – the cutting is the most exciting part here.
- Vegan
- Without sausage and with vegan vegetable stock the goulash is vegan. For more protein, cook half a can of rinsed chickpeas or beans in the last 5 minutes.
- Save fuel with retained heat
- After simmering for 5 to 8 minutes, turn off the stove and let the pot with its lid on finish cooking well wrapped (e.g. in a jacket or pot cosy) for 20 minutes. Then bring it back to the boil until it steams and eat straight away.
Common mistakes
- Toasting paprika on a high flame – bitter and black
- Potato pieces too large – long cooking time, lots of fuel
- Salting too early although the stock is salty
- Not stirring – the goulash burns on the bottom
- Not cutting away green potato parts
- Cutting round potatoes on the board – the knife slips
Limits and risks
- Quantities and times are guidelines – potato varieties cook at different speeds
- At high altitude potatoes take longer
- No figures on how long dried sausage keeps without cooling – follow the pack
Material alternatives
Derived from material properties: a substitute must have all relevant properties. Observe the notes on the substitute.
- Stove fuel (canister, liquid fuel, alcohol)
- Dry firewood (Collect only where permitted.), Tinder (Carry in waterproof packaging.), Char cloth (charred cotton) (Store dry in a tin.), Finest-grade steel wool (Store separately from batteries – fire risk.), Fatwood (resin-rich wood) (Collect only dead wood where permitted.), Petroleum jelly cotton balls (Use only pure cotton.), Cooking oil or cooking fat (tallow, lard) (Never put out burning fat with water – cover it with a lid to smother it.), Tree resin (spruce, pine) (Resin is flammable and sticks to the skin when hot – melt it only slowly over low heat.), Birch bark (from dead, fallen wood) (Never peel from living trees.)
- Metal pot (stainless steel, aluminium, titanium)
- Single-wall stainless steel bottle (Heat only single-wall bottles without paint/plastic; remove the lid before heating.)
Results come exclusively from structured entries. No improvised instructions are generated.
Sources (7)
- World Health Organization (WHO) (2006): Five Keys to Safer Food Manual · Keep clean, cook thoroughly, do not leave cooked food without cooling for hours
- Springer (H.-D. Belitz, W. Grosch, P. Schieberle) (2009): Food Chemistry, 4th edition · Solanine (glycoalkaloids) in green potato parts as a natural toxin
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – Prevention guidance · Never use stoves or other fuel-burning devices inside tents or closed spaces – carbon monoxide
- European Parliament and Council of the European Union (2011): Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers · Celery, mustard, milk and cereals containing gluten as allergens that must be declared
- United States Department of Agriculture – Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS): High Altitude Cooking and Food Safety · At altitude water boils at a lower temperature and cooking times get longer
- European Resuscitation Council – Resuscitation (journal) (2021): European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: First Aid · Cool burns and scalds at once with cool running water; call emergency services for severe burns
- Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace (Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts) · Pack out rubbish, scatter washing water away from water, keep fires small or use a stove