Ground Beef Stroganoff

Ground beef stroganoff is creamy, comforting, and so ridiculously easy to make on a busy weeknight! This budget-friendly version uses simple ingredients like ground beef, sliced mushrooms, sour cream, and heavy cream to create the most luscious sauce that clings to every bite of tender egg noodles.

Love More Ground Beef Recipes? Try My Easy Ground Beef Rice Casserole or this Ground Beef and Dumplings next.

The creamy, savory sauce with tender mushrooms and caramelized onions tastes absolutely restaurant-worthy. Plus, it all comes together in one skillet.  it uses ground beef instead of pricey steak, making it incredibly budget-friendly without sacrificing an ounce of flavor.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

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Ingredient List

For the Stroganoff:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (whatever you have is fine)
• 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean or you’ll be swimming in grease)
• ½ medium onion, diced (yellow onion, white onion, whatever)
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I buy the pre-sliced ones when I’m being lazy)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or that jarred stuff if you’re in a hurry)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup beef broth (the carton kind is totally fine)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ⅓ cup sour cream (don’t use the low-fat stuff, trust me)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt (but taste it as you go)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

For Serving:

• Cooked egg noodles or rice or whatever carbs you have
• Fresh parsley if you’re feeling fancy (totally optional)

Friendly Notes: Sometimes I run out of heavy cream and use half-and-half, it’s fine just not as thick. Greek yogurt works instead of sour cream but mix it with a little warm sauce first so it doesn’t curdle. If your family thinks mushrooms are the devil, just use less or skip them. I’m not here to judge your mushroom choices.

Why These Ingredients Work

The 90% lean ground beef is like the perfect middle ground – enough fat to actually taste like something but not so much that you’re dealing with a grease slick at the end. I made this with 93% once because that’s all they had and it was so dry and sad. Those mushrooms aren’t just filler, they actually do something important – they give it this deep earthy flavor that makes it taste like you know what you’re doing. The flour thickens everything up so you don’t end up with beef soup which nobody wants. Beef broth gives you that savory base and then the cream plus sour cream combo is magic – rich enough to feel indulgent but the sour cream keeps it from being too heavy. That Worcestershire sauce though? Don’t even think about leaving it out. That’s what makes people go “hmm what’s different about this” even though it’s literally just hamburger meat.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You probably have all this stuff already which is why I love this recipe:

• Deep skillet or Dutch oven – needs to be at least 12 inches or everything gets crowded and steams weird
• Wooden spoon – for mashing up the beef and scraping all the good brown bits
• Sharp knife and cutting board – mushrooms don’t slice themselves unfortunately
• Regular measuring stuff – cups and spoons, nothing fancy
• Big pot for noodles – if that’s what you’re doing

How To Make Ground Beef Stroganoff

Step 1: Brown the Beef and Aromatics

Heat up that olive oil in your big pan over medium-high heat. Dump the ground beef in and resist the urge to immediately start stirring it around like crazy. Let it sit for like a minute so it actually browns instead of just turning gray and sad. That browning is literally the difference between this tasting good and tasting like cafeteria food. Break it up as it cooks but don’t go nuts. When it’s mostly brown with maybe some pink bits still hanging around, throw in your chopped onion and garlic. Keep stirring till the onion gets soft and starts getting those golden edges. This part takes maybe 4 minutes but don’t rush it because this is where all your flavor is building.

Step 2: Add and Cook the Mushrooms

Throw all those mushrooms in there. It’s gonna look like way too many mushrooms every single time I make this but they shrink down to nothing once they start cooking. Let them go for about 5 minutes while they release all their gross mushroom water. You’ll see liquid starting to pool in the pan which is totally normal and expected. But here’s the important part – you gotta let that liquid cook off completely or your sauce is gonna be thin and watery and disappointing. I learned this the hard way my first time making this. The mushrooms are done when they’ve shrunk way down and the pan doesn’t look like a swamp anymore.

Step 3: Incorporate the Flour

Sprinkle that flour over everything and stir it around really well. You want to coat all the beef and mushrooms and you definitely don’t want any dry flour clumps hiding in corners because that’s gross. Cook it for about a minute, stirring constantly. It’s gonna look thick and paste-like which feels wrong but that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen. This step gets rid of that raw flour taste and sets you up for sauce success.

Step 4: Build Your Creamy Sauce

Pour the beef broth in and immediately start scraping the bottom of the pan with your spoon. All those brown crusty bits that are stuck? That’s pure flavor gold and you want every bit of it in your sauce. Add the heavy cream, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together and let it come up to a gentle bubble, then turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer for 5 minutes while the sauce thickens up. I usually give it a stir every minute or so to make sure nothing’s sticking. You’ll see it go from kinda thin to coating your spoon which is what you want.

Step 5: Finish with Sour Cream

This is super important so pay attention – turn the heat completely off and actually move the pan off the hot burner. Then stir in that sour cream till everything looks smooth and gorgeous. If you add sour cream to a hot pan it splits and looks like cottage cheese and it’s disgusting. Ask me how I know this. My first attempt looked like someone dumped milk into scrambled eggs. Once the sour cream’s mixed in, taste it and see if you need more salt or pepper. I usually end up adding more pepper because I like it peppery.

Step 6: Serve and Enjoy

Spoon this over whatever you made – egg noodles are classic but rice works great too. If you have some fresh parsley sitting around throw it on top, if not don’t worry about it. Nobody’s gonna die without parsley. Just get this on plates while it’s hot because that’s when it’s the best.

You Must Know

The most important thing you need to know is take the pan off the heat before adding sour cream. I’m gonna keep saying this because I’ve watched too many people ruin perfectly good stroganoff by being impatient. The residual heat will warm the sour cream just fine without making it curdle.

Personal Secret: I always start my egg noodles while the stroganoff is simmering but here’s my little trick – I take them off the heat about a minute before they’re supposed to be done, drain them, then dump them right into the stroganoff for the last 30 seconds. They soak up some sauce and it sticks to them way better.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Want to make this even better? Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard with the Worcestershire – it gives it this little tangy kick that makes everything taste more complex. Sometimes my sauce comes out too thick and I just add a splash of broth or milk till it looks right. If it’s too thin I let it bubble longer without a lid. When I’m feeling fancy I throw in a tablespoon of butter at the very end with the sour cream. Makes it extra rich and silky.

The biggest mistake people make is trying to cram everything into a pan that’s too small. If your beef is all crowded together it steams instead of browning and you miss out on all that caramelized flavor. Use a bigger pan or brown the beef in batches. Also don’t let the sauce actually boil hard once you add the cream – keep it at a gentle simmer or the dairy can separate which looks gross and tastes weird. And if you’re having a crazy day, just buy pre-sliced mushrooms. They’re more expensive but sometimes those extra few minutes of not slicing mushrooms is worth it.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

This recipe’s pretty forgiving which I appreciate on busy nights. When I’m trying to eat healthier I use half-and-half instead of heavy cream and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Just remember to temper the yogurt with a little warm sauce first. You can also throw in extra vegetables – I’ve added handfuls of spinach or frozen peas at the last minute and they basically disappear but at least I know we ate something green.

My neighbor makes a Hungarian version by adding paprika with the flour – gives it this pretty color and smoky sweetness. If you’re really into mushrooms use a mix of different kinds. I’ve used ground turkey when that’s what was on sale and it worked fine, just add extra butter because turkey’s so lean it can get dry.

When I’m feeling bougie I add a splash of white wine with the broth. Makes it taste restaurant-fancy. Or sometimes I use fresh thyme instead of parsley which is really good with all that cream.

Make-Ahead Options

This is actually great for meal prep if you’re into that sort of thing. You can make the whole batch up to 2 days ahead, let it cool down completely, stick it in the fridge. When you want to eat it just reheat it slowly over medium-low heat stirring a lot. You’ll probably need to add some broth or cream to thin it out because it gets thick sitting overnight.

For freezing I’d make it without the sour cream. Freeze it in portions for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheat gently, then add fresh sour cream. Keeps the texture from getting weird.

Sometimes I just brown all the beef and mushrooms, stick that in the fridge for a couple days. Then when I need dinner fast I reheat that part, add the liquids, finish with sour cream. Takes like 15 minutes total and the noodles cook while I’m doing the sauce.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Just so you know, this sauce gets thick as it sits so don’t panic when you reheat leftovers and it looks like paste. Just thin it out with whatever liquid you have handy. Room temperature sour cream mixes in smoother than cold stuff – just leave it on the counter while you cook.

If you’re watching sodium use low-sodium broth and taste for salt at the end. The broth and Worcestershire already have plenty. And don’t substitute soy sauce for Worcestershire because it tastes completely different and wrong. Worcestershire has this specific umami thing going on that soy sauce can’t replace.

Use full-fat everything if you can. I’ve tried the light versions and they separate easier and don’t give you that rich creamy texture. Fresh ground pepper makes a bigger difference than you’d think in this recipe because it’s so creamy the pepper really stands out.

Serving Suggestions

Egg noodles are the classic choice and what I usually do because my kids like them. But this works over pretty much anything. Mashed potatoes with stroganoff on top is ridiculous comfort food. Rice is great too, especially if you use the sticky kind because the sauce clings to it better.

I’ve done this over zucchini noodles when I was trying to be healthy and it was still really good. Kids think it’s hilarious when I serve it in bread bowls – they get to eat their bowl at the end. For sides I keep it simple because this is already pretty rich. Green salad with some vinaigrette, roasted vegetables, steamed broccoli. Something light to balance all that cream.

How to Store Your Ground Beef Stroganoff

Refrigerator: Stick leftovers in any container with a lid and it’ll keep for 3-4 days in the fridge. The sauce turns into concrete overnight so when you reheat it add some broth or milk or cream to loosen it up. I usually reheat on the stove over medium-low heat and stir it constantly. Microwave works too but do it in short bursts and stir between each one.

Freezer: Freezes pretty well for up to 3 months but leave out the sour cream if you can. Put it in freezer containers or heavy freezer bags, squeeze out air, label with date. Thaw overnight then reheat gently and add fresh sour cream at the end. Dairy gets funky when you freeze it.

Pro Storage Tip: If you’re not totally lazy like me, store the stroganoff and noodles separately. The noodles keep absorbing sauce and get mushy and gross. Separate containers means you can mix them when you reheat and everything tastes fresh. I don’t always do this but when I do it’s definitely better.

Allergy Information

Heads up on what’s in here that might be problematic:

Contains: Dairy (cream, sour cream), Gluten (flour, egg noodles if you use them)

Dairy-Free: Use coconut cream instead of heavy cream and coconut yogurt for sour cream. Fair warning it’ll taste a little coconutty but still creamy. Cashew cream works too if you want something more neutral.

Gluten-Free: Swap regular flour for cornstarch or that arrowroot stuff – use like 1½ tablespoons instead of 2. Serve over gluten-free pasta or rice instead of egg noodles. Check your Worcestershire sauce too because some have gluten.

Other Stuff: No nuts unless you use cashew cream. No eggs except what’s in egg noodles but regular pasta works fine. If you’re allergic to soy check your Worcestershire bottle.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My sauce turned out watery – what went wrong?

Almost always it’s because you didn’t cook the mushrooms long enough. They dump out SO much liquid and if you don’t let it evaporate your sauce stays thin and watery. Next time be more patient with the mushrooms – let them go until the pan looks dry again. If it’s already thin just simmer it longer without a lid to cook off liquid.

Can I make this without mushrooms?

Absolutely. I get it, mushrooms are polarizing. Just leave them out and maybe add extra beef or some bell peppers for texture and color. Won’t have that earthy flavor but it’ll still be creamy and good.

Why did my sour cream curdle and look gross?

Because you added it to a pan that was too hot. Heat makes sour cream seize up and separate into gross chunky bits. Always take the pan completely off the heat first. If it does curdle try whisking in some cold cream really hard, sometimes you can save it. But prevention is way easier – just remember heat off first..

💬 Tried this recipe? Drop a comment below! I want to hear if it worked for you, what you served it with, if you changed anything up. Love hearing from you guys!