Ground beef stroganoff features ground hamburger and mushrooms in a savory cream sauce served over buttered noodles. This hearty family dinner is classic Midwestern comfort food.
My mother made us ground beef stroganoff all the time when I was a child, and I LOVED it! Well, actually, I loved the buttered noodles. I hated the mushroom gravy mixture that was plopped on top of the noodles. I would hide the stroganoff in napkins, dump it down the heating vent by my chair, or even flatten it underneath the tablecloth! But man, those noodles...
At some point in-between playing with Legos and getting my first gray hairs, my taste buds evolved and I figured out why my mother liked this meal so much. Ground beef stroganoff is freaking great! I don't know what I was thinking. I was apparently not a very bright child, with exceedingly poor taste - as my tube socks and shorts fashion sense can attest.
What is Stroganoff Sauce Made Of?
The best beef stroganoff is made without cream of mushroom soup. Instead, sour cream forms the base of the sauce and adds a bright creamy flavor. Reduced beef broth adds additional richness, while flour serves as a thickener. Making your stroganoff without cream of mushroom soup isn't much more work, yet tastes infinitely better!
What Can Be Substituted for Sour Cream?
If you are looking for a healthier option than sour cream, try plain Greek yogurt in your beef stroganoff. I use it frequently as a substitution whenever sour cream is called for. Sometimes, if needed, I'll add a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavor further, and mimic sour cream's tanginess.
How to Make Ground Beef Stroganoff
Making ground beef stroganoff is the same process used for making my classic beef stroganoff recipe, however, we are using ground hamburger instead of thinly sliced sirloin. Using a saute pan is perfect for this meal. The wide mouth makes evaporating liquid quick and easy, while the straight sides ensure there is plenty of floor space for sauteing.
Mushrooms and onions are sauteed in a generous amount of butter until tender, then set aside so the ground beef can brown as well. You will notice the luxurious flavor of the butter shines through in the final dish! Once the beef has browned, you start building the sauce by adding beef broth, Worcestershire, sour cream, and flour in stages.
Stroganoff Sauce Too Thick or Thin
If your stroganoff sauce is too thin, it simply needs to simmer longer. As it cooks the liquid from the beef broth evaporates and the sauce will get thicker. If your stroganoff sauce is too thick, simply add a tablespoon (or more as needed) of water into the sauce. It will thin it out instantly.
Ground Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
Ground Beef Stroganoff
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 8 ounces fresh Mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 Onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup Butter
- 1 ½ cup Beef Broth (divided)
- 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup Flour
- 1 cup Sour Cream
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
- Salt to taste
Egg Noodles
- 12 oz bag of Egg Noodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt
Instructions
Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Melt butter to a saute pan over medium heat and add mushrooms and onions. Saute until tender and beginning to brown, then add garlic and saute for an additional minute. Pour contents of the skillet into a bowl and set aside.
- Add ground beef to the saute pan and break it apart into crumbles as it browns.
- Once beef has browned, pour 1 cup of beef broth and Worcestershire sauce into the pan and bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir remaining ½ cup of beef broth into the flour then add to the pan along with mushroom/onion mixture.
- Bring mixture back to a simmer and add sour cream and mix to combine. Once heated through, the stroganoff can be served.
Egg Noodles
- While beef is browning, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add egg noodles and cook according to package instructions.
- Once tender, drain from water, add 2 tablespoons of butter and mix to coat noodles with melted butter.
Serving
- Serve egg noodles on a plate topped generously with ground beef stroganoff.
Notes
Nutritional Information
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Steph
This was really easy and yummy!
Michael Wallen
Do you think this could be made in a pressure cooker?
Recipe looks fantastic.
Fox Valley Foodie
I don't think it would turn out well at all. Plus, it would take just about as much time for the pressure cooker to reach pressure as it takes to make this recipe as written. There are some slow cooker beef stroganoff recipes I have seen that use cream of mushroom soup and/or cream cheese that may work in a pressure cooker.