Skip to Content

Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff is a take-no-prisoners, soul-soothing, household-uniting kind of supper. Just thinking about cooking it feeds the hungriest parts of ourselves. Oh—and it’s quick and easy, too.

Categories:

beef stroganoff in a white skillet

Nostalgia is Served.

We share a lot of comfort-food recipes here, don’t we? Particularly this time of year, they’re reflective of what we’re craving, and therefore what we’re cooking. We assume that the same goes for you. In some ways, then, today is just a normal day here at TMP, because we’re back at it with another beefy comfort food recipe. Or is it THE comfort food recipe? Beef stroganoff is a take-no-prisoners, soul-soothing, household-uniting kind of supper. Just thinking about cooking it feeds the hungriest parts of our selves.

Apparently it inspires hyperbole, too. What we’re saying is, we cannot recommend strongly enough that you make this beef stroganoff recipe for dinner soon. No, scratch that—not soon. Make it ASAP.

beef stroganoff topped with fresh parsley

💌 Let's Stay Together

There are so many great ways to receive all of our latest recipes, meal tips, and inspiration.

Beef Stroganoff (Or Should We Say Stroganov?)—A Brief History

You might—like we do—associate creamy bowls of beef stroganoff with your parents generation, or even your grandparents generation. Although steak stroganoff did have a heyday here in America in the 1950s and ‘60s, this sour cream-tinged, quick-to-make classic beef stroganoff recipe goes back way, way further. Its origins are as Russian as the name “stroganoff” implies. The beefy recipe was likely created in the early 1800s for members of the wealthy Russian Stroganov family to indulge in. It seems likely that the dish was created by a French chef—browning the meat quickly, and making a pan sauce flavored with Dijon are both classically French techniques—working in St. Petersburg with Russian ingredients (hello, sour cream!). Beyond that, food scholars don’t know all of the details of what inspired its creation. But, we DO know for sure that we’re glad it exists.

ingredients for homemade beef stroganoff
thinly sliced raw steak on parchment paper
white skillet filled with browned steak strips
mushrooms and onions sautéed in a pan
cooked mushrooms and onions topped with flour in a skillet
easy beef stroganoff sauce with mushrooms and onions in a skillet
mushrooms sauce with sour cream and dijon mustard in a skillet
beef stroganoff sauce with steak in a white skillet

How to Make Beef Stroganoff

In his authoritative tome, American Cookery, James Beard says of beef stroganoff “Properly done, this is a dish that is cooked quickly, often at the table, and served at once.” We’re not sold on the cooked “at the table” part, but we agree that beef stroganoff is a dish that’s meant to come together fast, and be enjoyed right away! Here’s how to make it:

  1. Slice the sirloin steak into thin strips. This is easiest to do if the steak is quite cold.
  2. Sear the steak strips in a hot pan! You might want to work in batches, so that the pan stays hot.
  3. Sauté some mushrooms (we like cremini, but white button mushrooms work, too) and onions in butter, and add a little garlic.
  4. Roux time! Add a little flour, and whisk it in to make a roux—the base of your creamy beef stroganoff sauce.
  5. Add all of the things that give this easy beef stroganoff recipe its big, bold flavors—beef broth, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, spicy Dijon mustard, and sour cream.
  6. Add the beef to the mushroomy stroganoff sauce, and admire your handiwork.
  7. Serve! We love it over buttered egg noodles, because that's how Grandma made it, but it's also nice with rice.
easy beef stroganoff in a white skillet topped with parsley

Stroganoff Sauce 101: A Few Handy Tips

Our beef and mushroom stroganoff recipe is inherently simple, but there are—as there always are—a couple of trip points to know about. Both have to do with making sure that the stroganoff sauce thick and creamy:

  1. Consider the roux! The first step towards making your beef stroganoff sauce is making a roux, which simply means a thick paste of flour + fat that forms the base of most creamy sauces, including the famous French mother sauces. Don’t be intimidated, though—just be sure that when it comes time to whisk the flour into the sauce (you’ll do it after the onions and mushrooms have been cooked in butter) you give it a good whisk and a little time—you want to cook out the flours’ rawness and create a cohesive roux before proceeding to the next step.
  2. Use full-fat sour cream, and don’t let it boil! After you add the sour cream to the sauce, you’ll want to warm it through (of course) but be careful not to let the sauce fully boil or you’ll run the risk of curdling the sour cream. We say to use full-fat because full-fat sour cream is sturdier than low-fat, and therefore less likely to curdle.
beef stroganoff with egg noodles topped with fresh parsley
steak in beef stroganoff with egg noodles

All the Tools You’ll Need to Make Stroganoff:

More Easy Beef Recipes We Love:

Steak always feels a little special. Here are four of our very favorite ways to serve it—weeknight-friendly steak! What’s not to love?

Well, That Was Easy!

Homemade stroganoff is easier than you’d think, right? And such a payoff! We hope this was a big hit in your home. Snap a photo of your finished beef stroganoff, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

beef stroganoff in a white skillet topped with parsley

Beef Stroganoff

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  10 min
  • Cook Time:  30 min
  • Calories: 433

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs chuck or sirloin steak, sliced very thin
  • 2 tsp salt, divided
  • 2 lbs white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Method

  1. Slice the steak against the grain into ¼ inch thick strips, discarding any excess fat and sprinkle with 1 ½ teaspoon salt.
  2. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil high heat. Working in small batches cook the beef by resist the urge to move the meat around (similar to our Philly cheese steak recipe). You are looking for a nice brown sear, about 1-2 minutes. Flip the beef and continue cooking until both sides are nice and browned. Remove from pan and repeat with remaining meat. Once finished, set meat aside. Note: Add more olive oil to the pan, if it gets too dry.
  3. In the same pan add the butter. Once melted melted, add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions soften and the mushrooms have released all of their liquid and start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
  4. Add the flour to the onion mushroom mixture stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly add the beef broth, a little at a time and stir until fully incorporated. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and simmer, stirring often, until it begins to thicken, about 5 mins. Add the Worcestershire sauce, sour cream and Dijon mustard, stirring until the sauce is combined. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and allow to cook until the sauce thickens. Add meat back into the sauce along with fresh parsley and serve with noodles or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories433
  • Protein31 g
  • Carbohydrates14 g
  • Total Fat29 g
  • Dietary Fiber1 g
  • Cholesterol106 mg
  • sodium990 mg
  • Total Sugars3 g

Beef Stroganoff

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

or
  • LTP

    I've made this several times --my teenage & college-aged son love it --but I'm perplexed by what pan(s) you're using. I also use my enameled cast iron --like you. But each time I end up with a scorched mess in the pan to the point that tonight, I actually had to pull it and switch to my non-stick --and this was AFTER I tried just deglazing it! I want to use my enameled cast iron so I get that nice crispiness on the beef --but I end up with just a burned mess. I also tried just cutting the heat down but then the beef is more like steaming. I consider myself a pretty good home cook but I'm just wondering how you get a nice sear in your enameled cast iron without the burned mess. I also like using my enameled cast iron dutch oven (which I think is what you're using) so I can let the sauce / beef mixture hang out with the noodles. (it still turned out delicious!!)

    Our recomendation is to make sure you're not over crowding your pan and reduce the heat then the meat should not steam.

  • Macey Dougherty

    In the pictures you have with noodles, how many ounces of noodles were used?

    12 ounces.

  • Momof3

    Is it possible to freeze this recipe? I've read arguements in both directions for freezing recipes that include sour cream.

    I would just leave the sour cream out and freeze it. Then when you do go heat it up, add the sour cream once it is rewarmed. You will have 1/2 cup less sauce when you go to freeze it, but that should be ok. The night before you want to serve it, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw. Then heat the sauce on the stove, and add the sour cream then. Enjoy!

  • Lisa R

    Thank you so much! I made this tonight and the flavors were perfectly balanced and it was super simple.

    Thanks Lisa, so happy to hear that!

  • Lisa R

    Thank you so much! I made this tonight and the flavors were perfectly balanced, and it was super simple.

    Thanks Lisa! So happy you loved it!

  • Amanda

    So easy and yummy. Adding thyme to stroganoff was new to me but delicious. Having it over rice noodles.

    Thanks Amanda, so glad you enjoyed it!

  • Angie

    Love it. Comfort food at its best.I add a bunch of frozen peas to the recipe for some extra nutrients.

    Thank you Angie! Happy you like it! It's the best time of year to eat a bowl of comforting stroganoff!

  • Emily

    Great recipe, will use for years to come. Sour cream was overwhelming though, will reduce to 1/3 or 1/4 C next time.

    Glad you enjoy it, love to hear you'll be repeating it, Emily!