Beef Stroganoff is a weeknight-friendly dish with royal roots. Here's a foolproof recipe (2024)

For seasoned cooks and kitchen novices, cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller takes it back to basics with great, family-friendly recipes worth making over and over again.

Fork-tender beef, plump mushrooms and sweet onions simmered in a satiny, savory gravy and spooned over buttered egg noodles, when it comes to classic beef Stroganoff, there are many versions, but I can assure you, this is the recipe you're looking for.

Named after Count Pavel Stroganoff, beef Stroganoff has been a Russian comfort food staple since the 19th century. The dish consists of sautéed beef, onions and mushrooms cooked in a sour cream-infused sauce that was created by his French chefs who spiked a traditional French wine sauce with a dollop of Russian sour cream.

It's one of those dishes that's fancy enough for a dinner party, yet easy enough for a busy weeknight.

How to make Stroganoff

This quick-and-easy one-pot meal doesn't require any specialty ingredients and takes only minutes of hands-on work, but the key to foolproof beef Stroganoff is cooking the ingredients in a particular order.

Why? Because we’re building flavor in the pot right from the beginning. Each element leaves its nuance in the pan and is ultimately incorporated into the sauce. Here’s the quick rundown: First, sauté the mushrooms. Then, sear the steak. Next, deglaze the pan. Then, and only then, do you caramelize the onion. Finish by making the sauce. Serve over noodles.

Beyond cooking them in the right order, when it comes to a simple dish, the choice of ingredients is also key.

Choose the right cut of meat. The best cuts of beef for Stroganoff are good-quality steaks that are nicely marbled with fat. The beef is quickly seared and then finished in the sauce, so you need a quick-cooking piece of meat, not stewing beef. I recommend tender, juicy cuts like boneless rib eye, hanger steak, beef tenderloin and sirloin.

Flour the steak pieces. Before searing your steak in oil, season and flour the pieces. The flour not only encourages rich browning of the meat, but it also thickens the sauce.

Sear the steak pieces quickly. The purpose of searing the steak is to enrich flavor, both in the meat and the sauce. The goal is not to fully cook the beef in this step. The steak will (and should) be raw in the middle when it’s removed from the pan as the meat will finish cooking in the gravy.

Work in batches to prevent crowding the pan and sear the steak until it’s just browned. A quick sear, followed by quick removal from the pan, guarantees tender, juicy beef every time.

Beef Stroganoff recipe

Classically, beef Stroganoff is served over buttered egg noodles. And sometimes the noodles are stirred into the beef mixture before serving. There is a decent amount of sauce in Stroganoff, so it’s best served with something to lap up that deliciousness, but if you don't like egg noodles, try ladling it over rice, mashed potatoes, cauliflower rice or another pasta, such as linguine or fettuccine.

Store leftover beef Stroganoff in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze for up to three months. Thaw frozen Stroganoff overnight in the refrigerator before reheating over low heat until just hot, being careful not to overcook and toughen the beef.

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless rib eye steak, or steak of choice, sliced across the grain into 1-inch wide strips
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• 10 ounces white mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps quartered
• ⅓ cup dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small yellow onion, about 1 cup chopped
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup sour cream
• 8 ounces egg noodles of choice, cooked and tossed with butter
• Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions:

1. Season the steak pieces with salt and black pepper. Toss the steak with the flour until each piece is evenly coated. Shake off excess flour. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden and softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and black pepper and stir to coat. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches to prevent crowding the pan, add steak pieces to the hot oil. Cook until deeply browned on all sides, then transfer the steak to the bowl with the mushrooms. Don’t worry if the steak is still pink or raw in the middle, it will finish cooking in the sauce.
4. Add the wine to the skillet and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the wine to the bowl with the mushrooms and steak.
5. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbly, add the onion. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the thyme and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
6. Return the steak, wine and mushroom mixture to the pan. Add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and reduces slightly.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
8. To serve, spoon the beef mixture over the cooked noodles and top with parsley.

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