Ground Beef Stroganoff

It was a rainy Tuesday, I had one pound of beef thawing on the counter, and I had zero plan for dinner. That is the night ground beef stroganoff earned a permanent spot in my weeknight rotation.

Jump to:

• Why You Will Like This Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Ingredients For Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Ground Beef Stroganoff
• How To Make Ground Beef Stroganoff Step By Step
• Storage And Reheating
• My Tips And Variations For Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Ground Beef Stroganoff FAQ
• Recipes You May Like
• Conclusion

My mom made stroganoff with stew meat when I was a teenager. She let it simmer for two hours while I did homework at the kitchen table and stole bites from the pot. I loved that version. I just do not have two hours on a school night.

So I swapped in ground beef, kept the mushrooms and sour cream, and hoped for the best. Alex took one bite and asked if we could have it again that same week. Sarah, who picks mushrooms out of everything, ate hers without saying a single word.

Here is what you get. Tender egg noodles coated in a creamy mushroom sauce, ten minutes of prep, and twenty minutes of cooking. Total time lands at twenty seven minutes, so dinner is on the table before Donald wraps up his last work call.

Nothing complicated happens here. One pot for the noodles, one skillet for everything else, and real ingredients you probably already keep on hand.

If cozy skillet dinners are your thing, you might also like my creamy mushroom chicken skillet for nights when you want the same comfort with chicken instead of beef.

Why You Will Like This Ground Beef Stroganoff

• Ready in under 30 minutes, start to finish, including the noodles.
• Uses pantry staples like cream of mushroom soup and beef broth.
• The sauce turns creamy without a fussy roux or heavy cream.
• Ground beef costs less than stew meat and cooks in a fraction of the time.
• Only two dishes to wash, which matters a lot at 6 p.m.
• Leftovers taste even better the next day, once the sauce settles into the noodles.
• My kids eat the mushrooms. That alone makes this recipe a keeper.

Ingredients For Ground Beef Stroganoff

Everything here is simple and easy to find. I bold the ones that really carry the dish.

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream, full fat
• 1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 8 ounces egg noodles

A few notes from my kitchen. I use 85 percent lean beef because a little fat means more taste, and I drain it anyway.

Full fat sour cream behaves much better in a hot pan than the light stuff. I learned that the hard way, and I will tell you that story below.

Start with one teaspoon of black pepper if your kids notice heat. I add the rest at the table.

Out of egg noodles? Wide pasta or even mashed potatoes work fine underneath.

Print

How To Make Ground Beef Stroganoff Step By Step

Read through once before you start. The steps overlap, and the noodles boil while the skillet does its thing.

Step 1: Boil The Egg Noodles

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the egg noodles for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender but still firm when you bite one.

Drain them and set them aside. Do not rinse them, because the starch helps the sauce cling later.

Step 2: Soften The Mushrooms And Onion

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic all at once.

Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything smells good and the onion turns soft. Scoop the mixture into a small bowl and set it aside.

Step 3: Brown The Beef

Turn the heat up to medium high and add the ground beef to the same skillet. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it apart, until no pink remains.

Drain the fat. Then stir in the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper, and let it come to a boil.

Step 4: Stir In The Creamy Part

Lower the heat to medium. Add the sour cream and the cream of mushroom soup, then stir until the sauce looks smooth and pale.

Keep the heat gentle here. Sour cream splits when it boils hard, and split sauce still tastes fine but looks grainy.

Step 5: Simmer, Then Serve

Return the mushroom mixture to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom.

Now the fun part. Fold the cooked noodles right into the skillet, or spoon the sauce over them on each plate.

We mix ours in. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top and call the family in.

One serving runs about 1 ¼ cups and around 230 calories for the beef and sauce.

Storage And Reheating

Let leftovers cool, then move them to an airtight glass container. They keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

I skip the freezer with this one. Sour cream sauces turn watery after thawing, and nobody wants that.

Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of beef broth or milk. The noodles drink up sauce overnight, so that splash brings everything back.

The microwave works too, at 50 percent power, stirring every 30 seconds. Honestly, day two tastes richer than day one because the sauce has time to soak in.

My Tips And Variations For Ground Beef Stroganoff

I have made this so many times that I know exactly where it can go wrong. Here is what I have learned.

• Do not boil the sauce after the sour cream goes in. The first time I rushed it, my sauce looked like cottage cheese. Still tasty, but not pretty.
• Let the sour cream sit out for 10 minutes first. Cold dairy hitting a hot pan is the usual troublemaker.
• Cook the mushrooms separately, just like the recipe says. They stay meaty instead of steaming into mush with the beef.
• Want it richer? Stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard with the broth.
• Ground turkey works if that is what you have, though I add an extra pat of butter.
• Mushroom skeptics at your table? Chop them very small. Sarah has never once caught on.
• A splash of dry white wine in place of some broth adds a nice tang.

Ever notice how the sauce thickens the second you turn the heat off? That is normal. Loosen it with a little broth before serving.

Ground Beef Stroganoff FAQ

What Is The Best Ground Beef To Use For Stroganoff?

I reach for 85 percent lean ground beef. It brings enough fat for real taste, and you drain most of it away anyway.

Ninety three percent lean works too, and the sauce carries plenty of richness on its own. Anything fattier than 80 percent leaves a greasy pool on top.

How Do You Keep Sour Cream From Curdling In Beef Stroganoff?

Three things fix this every time. Use full fat sour cream, let it warm on the counter first, and never let the sauce hit a rolling boil after you add it.

I also stir a spoonful of the hot broth into the sour cream before it goes in the pan. That small step saved my sauce the night I made this for my sister.

Can Ground Beef Stroganoff Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Yes, with one small change. Make the beef and sauce up to two days early and keep the noodles separate in their own container.

Reheat the sauce slowly, boil fresh noodles, then combine. Cooked noodles sitting in sauce overnight turn soft and lose their bite.

What Can I Substitute For Cream Of Mushroom Soup In Stroganoff?

Cream of chicken or cream of celery soup both work with no other changes. For a homemade version, whisk 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of flour, then slowly add 1 cup of milk until it thickens.

I did that on a Sunday when the store was out of everything. It took five extra minutes and tasted lovely.

Recipes You May Like

• Salisbury Steak With Rich Mushroom Gravy gives you that same beef and mushroom combination in patty form, perfect over mashed potatoes.
• Hamburger Gravy Over Mashed Potatoes is my other go to when a pound of ground beef needs to feed four people fast.
• Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole takes a little longer in the oven, but it feeds a crowd and reheats beautifully.

Conclusion

So there it is. Boil the noodles, soften the mushrooms, brown the beef, stir in the creamy part, and simmer for ten minutes.

I make this ground beef stroganoff at least twice a month, usually on the nights when nothing else sounds doable. It has never let me down, and my kids still come running when they smell the butter and onions.

Give it a try this week and tell me how it goes in the comments. Save it to Pinterest so it is waiting for you on your next no plan Tuesday.