These blackberry chicken thighs pair golden, pan-seared chicken with a sweet-tart sauce made from blackberries, jalapeño, and serrano pepper. Fresh ginger adds warmth, while lime juice brightens the sauce just before serving. Serve with crispy roast potatoes to catch the extra sauce, or add classic coleslaw for a cool, crunchy side.

Ingredients

Chicken

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Blackberry Fire Sauce

• 1 medium jalapeño, thinly sliced, plus extra for serving
• 1 small serrano pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cups blackberries, fresh or frozen; leave frozen berries unthawed
• ⅓ cup (105 g) blackberry preserves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, about ½ lime

Instructions

1. Season the chicken: Pat the thighs dry and unfold any tucked edges. Mix the salt, black pepper, chili powder, and paprika, then sprinkle evenly over both sides.
2. Brown the thighs: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken for about 5–6 minutes per side, until browned and the thickest part reaches 165°F. Work in batches if crowded. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely.
3. Soften the peppers: Leave about 1 tablespoon of fat in the skillet. Add the jalapeño and serrano; cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds.
4. Cook the berries: Add the blackberries and cook until they release their juices, about 3–4 minutes, or longer if frozen. Crush some with a spoon and scrape up the browned bits from the pan.
5. Reduce the sauce: Stir in the preserves, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, red pepper flakes, and salt. Simmer gently for 4–6 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce coats a spoon but still pours. Stir in the lime juice.
6. Coat and serve: Return the chicken and collected juices to the skillet. Spoon sauce over the thighs and simmer for 1–2 minutes, until heated through. Garnish with extra jalapeño slices if desired.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Calories: approximately 450 calories per serving, based on 6 servings

Tips

• Adjust the heat: For a milder sauce, remove the peppers’ seeds and inner white ribs, omit the serrano, and start with a pinch of red pepper flakes.
• Watch the pan: Reduce the heat if the chicken’s seasoning starts to scorch. Keep brown pan drippings for the sauce, but wipe away any blackened bits.
• Use texture as your guide: Frozen berries may need extra simmering time. If the sauce gets too thick, stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Taste before serving: Tart berries may need a little more honey; very sweet preserves may need an extra squeeze of lime.

Storage and Reheating

• Refrigerate: Store chicken and sauce in a shallow, airtight container within 2 hours of cooking, or 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F. Refrigerate for up to 3–4 days, following USDA leftover storage guidance.
• Freeze: Freeze in meal-sized portions for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
• Reheat: Warm in a covered skillet over low heat with a splash of water, stirring the sauce occasionally, until the chicken reaches 165°F.

This scalloped potatoes recipe layers ⅛-inch Yukon gold slices in a cheddar cream sauce. I bake it covered so the center goes tender before the top browns, then rest the pan so the sauce sets instead of running. I set it next to a Dutch oven pot roast when I want gravy against the cream, or next to meatloaf with a tangy ketchup glaze when the glaze needs a mild side.

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) Yukon gold potatoes, sliced ⅛-inch thick
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup (240 ml) chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1½ cups (170 g) sharp cheddar, shredded from a block

Instructions

1. Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Slice the potatoes ⅛-inch thick and keep them in even stacks; thicker pieces stay firm in the center while the top browns. Don’t rinse the slices, because the surface starch is what helps the sauce thicken in the oven.
2. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes so the raw flour taste cooks off.
3. Whisk in the liquids: Whisk in the milk a splash at a time until the paste is smooth, then whisk in the broth. Bring it to a gentle boil and cook 1 minute, until it coats a spoon. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the cheddar until melted, and add ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper.
4. Layer the dish: Arrange one-third of the potatoes in the dish, overlapping them slightly. Sprinkle with some of the remaining salt and pepper, then spoon on one-third of the sauce. Repeat two more times, ending with sauce so the top potatoes aren’t left dry.
5. Bake covered, then uncovered: Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 35 to 40 minutes more, until a knife slides through the center of the pan (not just the edge) and the top is golden with sauce bubbling at the corners. If the top browns before the center is tender, tent the dish loosely with foil and keep baking.
6. Rest the pan: Let the dish stand 15 minutes before serving. The sauce looks loose when it comes out of the oven and thickens as it sits. Scoop too soon and it runs across the plate.

What I put on the same plate

• Dutch oven pot roast – the beef gravy against this cream sauce is the contrast the pan is built for.
• Meatloaf with a tangy ketchup glaze – the sweet-sour glaze needs a mild, rich potato next to it.
• Apricot honey glazed ham – ham and scalloped potatoes is the pairing that still makes sense on a glazed ham plate.
• Baked beans with bacon – for a cookout plate when the oven is already hot.

If you need the oven later

Bake it covered for the first 45 minutes, cool it, then refrigerate. The next day, let the dish sit out 30 minutes and bake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is hot. I don’t assemble it raw the night before – the slices oxidize and the sauce weeps into a thin puddle.

Storage

Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep 3 to 4 days. Reheat covered at 350°F (175°C) until the center is hot; uncovered leftover reheats dry the top before the middle warms. I don’t freeze this one – the cream sauce splits. USDA leftovers and food safety covers the 2-hour cooling window and the 165°F (74°C) leftover reheat target.

This American goulash recipe goes soupy and tastes like the can when dry elbows hit uncooked tomato sauce. I brown the beef with onion and pepper, simmer the tomatoes uncovered until the sauce thickens and the tin flavor cooks off, then add the pasta so it finishes in a pot that’s already on its way to thick.

I serve it with a slice of golden garlic bread to catch what’s left in the bowl. The same ground-beef-and-tomato base shows up in my homemade chili, just without the pasta.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1½ lb (680 g) ground beef, 90% lean
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 oz / 411 g) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups (8 oz / 226 g) elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 cup (113 g) sharp cheddar, shredded

Instructions

1. Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper, and cook, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until the beef is browned with no pink left and the onion looks translucent, 7 to 9 minutes. Spoon off the excess fat, leaving about a tablespoon in the pot so the sauce later clings to the pasta instead of sitting under a grease layer.
2. Cook the tomato paste: Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute, until the paste darkens a shade and stops smelling raw. If you skip this minute, the finished sauce tastes like it came straight from the can, which is the complaint this step is there to prevent.
3. Simmer the sauce uncovered: Pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with their juice, beef broth, and Worcestershire. Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring it to a boil, then drop the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce looks a little thicker and no longer smells tinny.
4. Cook the pasta in the sauce: Stir in the dry elbow macaroni and keep the pot at a gentle simmer, still uncovered, stirring every couple of minutes so the pasta doesn’t glue itself to the bottom. Cook 12 to 14 minutes, until an elbow is tender with a slight bite and the sauce coats a spoon instead of pooling around it like soup. If the pot looks dry before the pasta is ready, add broth ¼ cup at a time, not a full cup.
5. Finish with cheese: Pull the pot off the heat, fish out the bay leaf, and stir in the cheddar until it melts. Let it stand 5 minutes so the starch sets and the sauce thickens one more notch. Taste and add salt if the tomatoes flattened it, then serve hot.

If the goulash turns soupy or the pasta goes mushy

• Don’t add the pasta with the tomatoes. If the sauce still tastes like the can after a few minutes, it needs more uncovered simmer, not sugar.
• Keep the simmer gentle once the elbows are in. A hard boil blows liquid off around the edges and leaves a crunchy clump in the middle.
• Stop the pasta at a slight bite. It keeps drinking sauce as it sits, which is why leftovers turn into a casserole brick if you cooked it fully soft.
• If you need more liquid, add broth ¼ cup at a time. Dumping a cup at the end makes soup, and you can’t take it back without overcooking the pasta.

Storage

Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stove over low heat with a splash of broth, or in the microwave at half power, just until hot; a hard boil turns the elbows to mush. I freeze the meat sauce before adding pasta, then thaw it overnight, bring it to a simmer, and cook fresh elbows in it. Already-cooked pasta gets bloated in the freezer. USDA leftovers and food safety covers the 2-hour cooling window and the 165°F (74°C) leftover reheat target.

FAQ

What’s the difference between American goulash and Hungarian goulash?

Hungarian goulash is a paprika stew with chunks of beef and no pasta. American goulash is ground beef, tomato sauce, and elbow macaroni cooked in one pot. They share a name and almost nothing else, so a paprika stew won’t scratch this itch, and this pasta pot isn’t a substitute for the stew.

Can you freeze American goulash?

Freeze the beef-tomato sauce before you add the pasta. Cooked elbows turn soft and waterlogged after a freeze-and-thaw. Thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight, bring it to a simmer, then stir in dry pasta and cook as written.

Can I use a different pasta than elbows?

Small shapes work: shells, ditalini, or small penne. Keep the dry weight at 8 ounces so the liquid ratio still holds. Long noodles like spaghetti don’t cook evenly in this pot, and large rigatoni stays chalky in the middle while the sauce over-reduces.