Creamy Beef Stroganoff Recipe

This is THE recipe for beef stroganoff in our family. My kids were raised on it.

In our family, we consider meals together so important, my kids rarely stay silent at the table – but, if they do? The food was good.

Why These Flavors Work Together

• Seasoned cubed beef + a couple of hours of resting = tasty, tender, evenly-seasoned beef. Trust me when I say the flavor is different if you allow this recipe its necessary resting time. The salt draws the moisture from the meat, then, the meat drinks it all back in seasoned and happy. It makes a big difference.
• Browned beef = savory, deliciously-tasting sauce. Take your time to brown the meat. The flavor is all in that sear. Don’t skimp on this part of the recipe, your final dish will be flat and boring.
• Paprika = depth of flavor. Believe me, without this ingredient the whole recipe just tastes like beef swimming around in cream. Not exciting. Paprika gives it color and an earthy warmth.
• A whole pound of mushrooms = hearty, thick, savory goodness. Believe me, it seems like A LOT of mushrooms, but they shrink up as they cook and add incredible flavor and juices to the gravy.
• Sour cream = rich and tangy finisher to the dish. Sour cream cannot be boiled. It will separate and curdle giving you a grainy sauce. Be patient, stir, remove from heat and allow sour cream to warm up gradually. It’s worth it.
• Wide noodles = just the ticket to soak up the delicious, meaty mushroom gravy. Try this recipe with thinner noodles and I dare you to compare the two. There’s a reason why stroganoff is traditionally served on wide noodles.

What to Know Before You Start

This recipe requires less than an hour of cooking and uses mostly common pantry ingredients that you’re sure to have on hand already. The dish begins on high heat and ends on low, which allows it to remain flexible in your busy weeknight cooking repertoire.

I promise, if you’ve never made beef stroganoff before, you’ll be kicking yourself for all of the times you didn’t make it.

Tips for success:

• To get a really tasty, browned coating on meat, it’s best to cook it in a heavy stainless steel pan or a Dutch oven. The secret is that the meat has to be able to stick to the pan. That’s why you should not cook it in a non-stick pan. If that’s all you have, turn up the heat as much as you dare and cook it in smaller batches so it doesn’t steam.
• If you have a picky eater in the house that claims to hate mushrooms, dice them finely enough so he/she won’t recognize them. One of our kids doesn’t like mushrooms. I made this wonderful recipe for a mushroom and lentil Bolognese sauce. It takes about an hour to make, as I brown the meat, add the mushrooms, carrots, onions, lentils, garlic, tomatoes, spices, etc. It’s wonderful. My kids refused to eat it. I said, “It’s mushroom free!” They loved it. One of them ate some and said, “This has lentils. I don’t like lentils.” So, I said, “This has no lentils. It has a mushroom soup.” He said, “I like mushroom soup” and ate it happily because it had mushrooms, carrots, and lentils, which is basically everything he claims to hate.
• This recipe calls for egg noodles. If you like them, use them. If not, feel free to use whatever you want. However, it’s nice to serve this dish on top of something. The wider the noodle, the better, since there is more surface area to catch all of that delicious sauce in each bite.

1½ pounds of stew meat, cut into 1” cubes, or round steak cut into 1” cubes, though I’ve never tried this recipe with ground beef, you can if you like

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 Tbls. of flour
• 1 Tbls. of paprika
• 1 pound of fresh mushrooms, cleaned, sliced/chopped
• 2 cups of beef bouillon/beef broth
• 2 cups sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Stirring a teaspoon of Beef Better than Bouillon into hot water can replace the bouillon cube called for in the recipe. Better than Bouillon has a deeper, more roasted beefy flavor which makes dishes seem as if they’ve simmered for hours and will not significantly change the recipe.
• Invest in a good, heavy stainless steel skillet. A good sear is integral to this recipe and nonstick pans don’t produce the same brown crust as stainless. Ideally, the pan should be at least 12 inches so the beef can be arranged in a single, uncrowded layer. Uncrowded food browns; crowded food steams.

How to Make It

Step 1. Season and rest the meat.

• Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes if necessary or into strips and coat with salt and pepper on all sides. Let sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Tip: If you’re planning ahead, salt and pepper the meat the night before and store uncovered in the fridge. The surface of the meat will dry out a bit, allowing it to brown better when it hits the pan. Moisture is the enemy of browning and will lead to steaming meat instead of browning meat.

Step 2: Brown the beef.

• Heat the pan on high heat until it’s smoking. A couple of drops of water should sizzle in the pan. Add the butter and wait for the butter to melt and foam. Add the beef in a single layer and leave it be for 2 minutes while listening for a good sizzle. Flip the beef with meat tongs and cook until nicely browned on the outside, but uncooked on the inside. It’s okay to do this in batches. Remove from pan and set aside.

Step 3: Cooking the mushrooms.

• Add mushrooms to the same (unwashed!) pan, stirring to incorporate the delicious drippings left behind from browning the meat. At first, the mushrooms will soak up all of the remaining butter and may look a bit dry; resist adding more butter at this point. Leave the mushrooms alone to brown for about 3-4 minutes on medium to high heat.

Add the mushrooms and cook until they turn a nice, golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. The sizzling sound will become softer at first as the mushrooms give off their liquid.

Once this has evaporated they should be ready. Set aside with beef.

Step 4: Prepare the sauce.

To the remaining fat in the pan add flour, stirring to combine. Cook for about 30 seconds, it should make a nice, light paste and have a nutty smell.

Add the bouillon a little at a time and continue to stir. You’ll notice the mixture starts to thicken.

Keep stirring until all bouillon is added. Add paprika and stir.

Sauce will be a bit thin at this time. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stir occasionally until sauce is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Step 5: Beef and mushrooms, back in the pan.

Add the beef and mushrooms, stir to coat in sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, leave lid askew and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

The longer you cook this, the more tender the beef will be and the better the color and flavor of the sauce will be. Remove lid, stir and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Step 6: Mixing in sour cream.

This is where you have to be careful, sour cream should be stirred in on low heat so it doesn’t boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting.

Add a large spoonful, stir gently until sour cream is incorporated. Repeat until all sour cream is added.

Let it sit for a couple minutes on low, stir, should be nice and silky now. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Enjoy!

Remember, do not reduce sour cream on high, it will break and will never recover. If you’re having trouble getting it mixed in, reduce the heat, let it cool slightly and try again.

It will mix right in once it’s not boiling.

Step 7: Prepare the noodles and dish out your meal.

Once the stroganoff is done simmering, prepare the egg noodles in adequately salted boiling water, according to directions on the package. Drain and serve beef stroganoff on top of egg noodles.

Helpful Tips

Beef should be cubed into bite-sized pieces. If you’re too busy to spend precious knife-work time dicing your own beef, ask your grocer to dice it for you.

It won’t cost anything, takes them about two minutes, and it’ll be more consistent in size than anything you’ll ever dice (trust me!). Pieces will be about one-inch cubes, called stew-cut at meat counters.

Resting the meat before cooking helps the seasoning to sink into the meat. If you don’t let the meat rest, the seasoning will be on top of the meat instead of permeating it.

It makes an incredible difference.

You can dice up all of your own vegetables ahead of time, or you can buy them already diced up at the store. Saves lots of time.

When browning meat, brown in 2 batches. Adding all of the meat to the pan at once drops the temperature of the pan too low and causes the meat to steam, not brown.

The beef stroganoff recipe above is not over-salted because the flavor becomes more concentrated during simmering. Taste for seasoning before adding sour cream, as it’ll be difficult to correct for salt afterwards.

Beef stroganoff is ready to serve right after sour cream has been added. If you’re cooking for a crowd and need to keep the beef stroganoff warm, use the lowest setting on the burner and stir occasionally so a skin doesn’t form on top.

To store: Refrigerate stroganoff in a tightly-closed container for up to 3 days. Store the noodles and the stroganoff in separate containers.

If stored together, the noodles will soak up all of the sauce and will be mushy the next morning.

When plated, beef stroganoff should be thick enough to sit on top of the egg noodles. It shouldn’t be soupy enough to settle to the bottom of the plate.

• To reheat sauce, add to a pan and place over LOW heat, stirring often. It’s likely separated, stirring will bring it back together again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this recipe be made ahead of time?

YES. Follow recipe through Step 5.

Cool refrigerated beef and mushroom mixture. Heat, stirring in sour cream just before serving.

You could even make it the day before, and trust me, the flavors are even better the next day. This comes in super handy when you’re busy during the week and want to have something on standby to whip out at a moment’s notice for a dinner party, see below for freezer directions.

Can this recipe be frozen?

YES. Follow recipe through Step 5.

Refrigerate until completely cooled then freeze beef/mushroom mixture. Thaw in refrigerator overnight then reheat until just before it starts to boil.

Add sour cream. Note: I’ve been reluctant to freeze recipes that call for dairy as it separates upon thawing.

This recipe is the exception as sour cream is added at the last minute.

Can I use a different cut of beef?

Of course. Feel free to use whatever cut of beef you have on hand.

Keep in mind that stew meat and round steak are budget-friendly and hold up well without crumbling after simmering. Sirloin tips and beef tenderloin are more tender cuts of meat.

Use shorter simmering times with these cuts, start checking meat for doneness at 15-20 minutes and continue to cook as needed rather than the stated 30 minutes in the recipe. You can also make this recipe with ground beef.

Brown and drain beef and follow recipe as stated. Results will have similar flavors with a different texture.

My sauce looks thin.

What do I do?

Simmer sauce a few minutes longer WITHOUT lid to reduce liquid and thicken sauce before adding sour cream. You can also whisk together 1 tsp flour or cornstarch and 1 Tbs cold water and add to simmering sauce.

Simmer another 1-2 minutes and sauce will be slightly thicker. Adding sour cream also contributes to sauce’s thickness.

Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?

Yes! Use full-fat Greek yogurt.

It might be a little thinner, but has a similar flavor and tang.

Can I use a different type of yogurt?

Low-fat and non-fat yogurts break down more easily so they’re not recommended. Full-fat plain or greek yogurt both work well.

If you do accidentally let your sauce boil once yogurt is added it will separate.

What are some good side dishes to serve with Beef Stroganoff?

Traditional options include wide egg noodles, whose soft texture and surface area are best for scooping up sauce, and mashed potatoes, which are traditional in many Eastern European/Russian recipes. Other options include rice, steamed cauliflower, and roasted zucchini, a great lower-carb option.

Can I make it in a slow cooker?

Yes, brown the beef, add it to a slow cooker along with the mushrooms, paprika, beef bouillon, and flour. Slow-cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Add the sour cream the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.

Why did my sour cream separate when I made this recipe?

Sour cream and other dairy-based sauces will curdle if brought to a boil. At this point the proteins seize up and the fat separates out.

Once this happens there’s not much you can do besides give it a good stir though sometimes it will become smooth again, other times not. To avoid this issue add sour cream on LOW heat and don’t allow it to boil.

Related Recipes

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Crockpot Beef Barley Soup

Simple Crock Pot Beef and Noodles

Why this recipe works: This is an easy beef stroganoff recipe made in a skillet. You’ll love this comforting meal.

Be careful to keep sour cream from boiling after adding to dish or it will get grainy. Also, meat needs a HOT skillet to brown and cook in batches so meat lays in a single layer in skillet.