Description
This easy ground beef stroganoff recipe transforms simple ingredients into restaurant-worthy comfort food in just 30 minutes. Tender ground beef and sliced mushrooms simmer in a rich, creamy sauce made with heavy cream, sour cream, and beef broth. The addition of Worcestershire sauce adds depth while onions and garlic build savory flavor.
Ingredients
For the Stroganoff:
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1 tablespoon olive oil (whatever you have is fine)
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1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean or you’ll be swimming in grease)
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½ medium onion, diced (yellow onion, white onion, whatever)
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1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I buy the pre-sliced ones when I’m being lazy)
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2 garlic cloves, minced (or that jarred stuff if you’re in a hurry)
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2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
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1 cup beef broth (the carton kind is totally fine)
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1 cup heavy whipping cream
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⅓ cup sour cream (don’t use the low-fat stuff, trust me)
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1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
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½ teaspoon salt (but taste it as you go)
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½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For Serving:
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Cooked egg noodles or rice or whatever carbs you have
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Fresh parsley if you’re feeling fancy (totally optional)
Instructions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Notes
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.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Russian-American