Easy Beef Stroganoff

I have to say, this beef stroganoff is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It’s easy and delicious – and it’s on the table in just 30 minutes. A wonderful classic that’s gaining popularity again – try it and see for yourself!

There is no easy way to say it: If you’ve never made stroganoff from scratch, you’ve been missing out. It’s so, so easy! I make this dinner a lot for my family – mainly because it’s done so quickly, but also because it’s incredibly good.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is an overview of the ingredients in the stroganoff (great to use as a visual grocery list at the store!). Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• beef: I urge you to use beef round – a stroganoff done the classic way cooks very quickly and is different from stroganoff made with ground beef/in the crockpot. You need a tender cut here. Chicken breast cut into strips can be used as a substitute.
• mushrooms: if you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!
• beef broth: chicken broth is OK to use if you don’t have beef; I recommend adding a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for both color and flavor.
• sour cream: I recommend full fat sour cream, I’ve found it’s the easiest kind to add to a hot sauce without curdling.

Step by step photos

1 Brown the beef

The first step is the most important, and admittedly the most time consuming one: Brown the beef in batches. Do not overcrowd the pan, do it slowly. You’ll regret it otherwise. The beef strips only take about 30-60 seconds per side, so it won’t take ages.

2 Make the sauce

The second part of the recipe is done in no time – sauté onions and mushrooms, make a quick pan gravy, then toss the meat back in and finish the dish with sour cream.

Tips and tricks

• If you have your butcher cut the meat, ask him to cut it into around 2 inch strips. If you’re slicing the beef yourself, remember to cut it on the bias.
• Don’t overcook the meat! Please don’t believe the recipes telling you to cook a classic stroganoff with beef round for a crazy amount of time. This cut of beef is delicate and only needs a very short cooking time.
• I always stir a little hot gravy into the sour cream before I add it to the pan, this helps to keep it from curdling.
• If your sauce hasn’t thickened enough to your liking, you can add a cornstarch slurry: Place 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch into a jar and mix it with 1-2 tablespoons of cool water. Stir this into the stroganoff (you need to stir it in quickly and very well to evenly distribute!) and gently simmer until it has thickened.

Stroganoff FAQs

Sorry about that food history nerd blip – I find it so fascinating!

Our favorite side dishes

My family really enjoys their beef stroganoff with something to mop up all of the sauce – think egg noodles or mashed potatoes (I have a great recipe for mashed potatoes made in the instant pot right here!). If you’re using chicken instead of beef, rice is especially great!

Personally, I love a side of my sautéed green beans, and a crisp and creamy cucumber salad.

Even if you’ve grown up with ground beef in your stroganoff – I do hope you’re going to give this more classic version a try. Named after Count Stroganov or not, it most certainly is royally delicious!

More comfort food classics

You can also browse all of my beef recipes here, and all of my quick dinner recipes here.

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

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Easy Beef Stroganoff

This is such an easy classic, you'll make it again and again! To avoid chewy beef, make sure to only sear the strips of meat for a short amount of time – that way they stay tender. We serve stroganoff over egg noodles or with mashed potatoes, but you can use whatever will help you mop up all of that delicious sauce.

Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings

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4.44 from 58

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Recipe details

Prep 10 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 30 mins

Difficulty Easy

Servings 6 servings

Nutrition 478 kcal

Equipment

• Large Skillet

Ingredients

 

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• 1.5 pounds beef round cut into strips
• 4 tablespoons flour or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1/2 pound mushrooms sliced
• 1 (10 oz) can beef broth
• 1/2 cup water or more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 oz) pot sour cream

Instructions

 

show videohide video

• Prep beef:

  Toss beef strips in flour (add 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour for a thicker sauce).
• Brown beef:

  Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, 30-60 seconds per side (this cut of beef comes out tough if overcooked). Do not overcrowd the pan – work in batches if needed! Remove the browned beef to a plate, tent with aluminum foil and set aside.
• Sauté vegetables:

  Add onion and mushrooms to the hot skillet and sauté until softened, adding more butter as needed.
• Deglaze pan:

  Pour beef broth into the pan, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Simmer until it has thickened into a gravy. Add more broth as needed to yield preferred thickness of sauce, and season with salt to taste.
• Finish sauce:

  Stir meat back into the sauce and warm through. Stir a litte of the sauce into the sour cream (to warm it up so it doesn’t split!), then quickly stir it into the sauce in the pan. Serve immediately with your favorite sides.

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Notes

Ingredient notes:

• beef: I urge you to use beef round – a stroganoff done the classic way cooks very quickly and is different from stroganoff made with ground beef/in the crockpot. You need a tender cut here. Chicken breast cut into strips can be used as a substitute.
• mushrooms: if you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!
• beef broth: chicken broth is OK to use if you don’t have beef; I recommend adding a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for both color and flavor.
• sour cream: I recommend full fat sour cream, I’ve found it’s the easiest kind to add to a hot sauce without curdling.

Cooking tips

• do brown the beef in batches (I know it’s annoying, but it’s worth it!) – if you overcrowd the pan, it will turn out soggy
• don’t overcook the meat! please don’t believe the recipes telling you to cook stroganoff for a crazy amount of time. This cut of beef is delicate and only needs a short cooking time.
• If you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!

For a thicker sauce:

If your sauce hasn’t thickened enough to your liking, you can add a cornstarch slurry. Place 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch into a jar and mix it with 1-2 tablespoons of cool water.

Stir this into the stroganoff (you need to stir it in quickly and very well to evenly distribute!) and gently simmer until it has thickened.

Not Freezer Friendly!

I frequently get eMails about freezing this dish, but I do not recommend it.

The quality of the meat will not be the same as cooked fresh, and the sauce with the sour cream and mushrooms is not the best for reheating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 478kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 33gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 468mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3g

Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

I first published this recipe on September 16, 2019. I updated it on May 18, 2020 to make it more helpful to you.