Classic Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish that originated in the mid-1800s. It’s a simple dish with a depth of flavor, featuring cubed, browned steak bits, thick egg noodles, and a piquant sour cream sauce. The recipe became so popular that a contest in 1890 was held for the best preparation of the dish. Beef Stroganoff can be a simple crowd-pleaser, fast enough to prepare on a busy weeknight and a delicious dish of comfort food. The recipe below is fast, easy to follow, and deliciously kid-friendly.
Assemble Your Ingredients
To make Beef Stroganoff, you will need:
- 1 pound steak, cubed
- salt, and freshly ground black pepper
- One small onion, chopped
- One clove garlic, minced
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
- 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup (or homemade)
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1/3 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
- fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
- Cooked egg noodles or rice for serving
Brown the Beef
You may choose to use ground beef instead of steak cubes, as a personal preference. Heat a little olive oil in a large saute pan at high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the beef cubes and saute until seared to a brown. Do not overcook – you’ll finish cooking the meat in the sauce later. Remove the meat from the pan but keep the pan, with the oil and crusted beef bits, handy.
Prepare the Egg Noodles
While you’re browning the beef, bring a large pot of water to boil, sprinkling a little salt in. Once the water is boiling, add the egg noodles and cook to al dente doneness. Al dente is an Italian term that means that the pasta is cooked to be still firm when bitten. Once your pasta is al dente, remove from the pot and drain. Rinse with cool water to keep the pasta from cooking further.
Sautee the Mushrooms and Onions
Slice your mushrooms and finely dice the onions and garlic. The same saute pan you used for the beef can be used to sautee these. Add a little more olive oil to the pan and heat until a fine amount of smoke rises from the pan. Then add the mushroom, garlic, and onion to the pan and saute until the mushrooms are cooked and the onions are translucent. Add the beef back to the pan and reduce the heat.
Begin Your Sauce
Add the beef broth and the cream of mushroom soup to the mushrooms and onions in the pan. Add the partially beef and heat on medium. Stir with a whisk, allowing the crusty bits of steak to blend with the sauce. This gives it added flavor. Allow the mixture to bubble and simmer, whisking all the while.
Combine the Sour Cream Sauce
Once the mixture has blended and thickened – about 4 to 5 minutes – then gradually whisk in the sour cream. Whisk briskly so that your sauce doesn’t separate. Add the parsley right at the end and salt and pepper your sauce to taste. You may also choose to use Greek Yogurt, the unflavored type, instead of sour cream. For those who prefer a little tangier sauce or those on a lower-calorie diet, this is a better option than sour cream.
Plate Your Dish
You may choose to serve your Beef Stroganoff over the egg noodles and rice, or you may choose to combine the noodles into the dish. Once the sauce is done, either portion out the rice or noodles onto plates and serves or toss the rice and noodles. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top for garnish.
Making Beef Stroganoff Ahead of Time
Beef Stroganoff lends itself well to meal prep, making it easy to serve a home-cooked dish on a busy weeknight or to freeze and store for up to three months. If you meal prep, you can cook the egg noodles and beef mixture ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to five days. When you’re ready to make fresh Beef Stroganoff, simply heat the beef mixture in a saucepan and whisk in the cream. Complete the dish as per the recipe and bake. Or, you can choose to assemble the entire Beef Stroganoff dish and freeze in a freezer-safe pan. Bring this to a friend who may need a meal or have a ready-made meal for your own family.
Sides for Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is a delicious, satisfying dish, but to make it a complete meal, add some vegetables either on the side or in the dish. You can stir in fresh peas or carrots into the sauce and beef mixture, or serve the dish with a tossed salad and fresh greens. Other sides can include an heirloom tomato salad with fresh basil or glazed carrots. Your sides with Beef Stroganoff can depend on your own favorite vegetables, although crusty baguettes are also a tasty choice, to soak up the rich mushroom cream sauce.
Variants on Beef Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is a classic dish, but the flavors can be adapted to make this delicious for any taste. For those who choose not to eat red meat – or any meat – cubed chicken or tofu may be substituted for the steak cubes. If you have leftover hamburgers, chopping them up and incorporating the meat into Beef Stroganoff is a great way to use leftovers. You may also choose to make this an entirely vegetarian dish, with broccoli and cauliflower florets, carrot coins, or other root veggies. Whatever you choose, the unctuous flavor of Stroganoff is versatile enough to please any palate.