American Chop Suey is an American

Cuisine of the United States

American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...

 pasta dish. The preferred name and recipe varies by region: for example, the name American chop suey is most prevalent in New England. Commercial preparations of this dish are commonly marketed as Macaroni and Beef.

Classic American chop suey consists of elbow macaroni and bits of cooked ground beef

Ground beef

Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...

 with sautéed onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s and green peppers

Bell pepper

Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...

 in a thick tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

-based sauce. Though this decidedly American comfort food

Comfort food

Comfort food is food prepared traditionally that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture...

 is clearly influenced by Italian-American cuisine

Italian-American cuisine

Italian American cuisine is the cuisine of Italian American immigrants and their descendents, who have modified Italian cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Italians to the United States...

, it is known as a chop suey

Chop suey

Chop suey is a Chinese dish consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce...

 because it is a sometimes-haphazard hodgepodge of meat and vegetables.

The recipe is quite adaptable to taste and available ingredients. Elbow macaroni can be substituted with any pasta of similar size, such as ziti, conchiglie

Conchiglie

Conchiglie, commonly known as "shells" or "seashells" is a type of pasta. It is usually sold in the plain durum wheat variety, and also in colored varieties which utilize natural pigments, such as tomato extract, squid ink or spinach extract. The shell shape of the pasta is good at catching the...

, or rotelle

Rotelle

Rotelle are a type of pasta resembling wheels with spokes. It is similar to Fiori.The name derives from the Italian word for little wheels...

. The onions or green peppers may be omitted, or replaced with other vegetables or mushrooms. While some recipes call for a smooth prepared tomato sauce

Tomato sauce

A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...

, some cooks prefer to add crushed or diced tomatoes along with tomato paste

Tomato paste

Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin, and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate...

 for a chunkier, more intensely flavored dish. Black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

, Italian herbs and Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...

 are sometimes used in preparation.

American chop suey is served on a plate or in a bowl, often with grated Parmesan cheese and/or Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...

 as condiments, and usually accompanied by bread.

Another variation of American chop suey is ground beef mixed with Campbell's

Campbell Soup Company

Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...

 (formerly under the trade name Franco American) spaghetti. Some people add an onion and a green pepper.