Easy Beef Stroganoff

4.63 from 93 votes

Tender beef strips, golden mushrooms, and a rich, creamy sauce—this classic Beef Stroganoff is pure comfort food! Ready in 30 minutes with simple ingredients, it’s the perfect cozy dinner for busy nights.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: servings

Calories: 478kcal

Author: Nora from Savory Nothings

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds beef round cut into thin strips
4 tablespoons flour or more as needed
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion finely diced (about 1 cup)
½ pound mushrooms thinly sliced
1 (10 oz) can beef broth
½ cup water or more as needed
½ teaspoon salt
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

Instructions

Prep beef: Toss 1 ½ pounds beef round (cut into thin strips) in 4 tablespoons flour (add 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour for a thicker sauce if desired).
Brown beef: Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef, 30-60 seconds per side (this cut of beef comes out tough if overcooked). Do not overcrowd the pan - work in batches if needed! Remove the browned beef to a plate, tent with aluminum foil and set aside.
Sauté vegetables: Add 1 medium onion (finely chopped) and ½ pound mushrooms (thinly sliced) to the hot skillet and sauté until softened, adding more butter as needed (but do not drown vegetables in butter).
Deglaze pan: Pour 1 (10 oz) can beef broth into the pan, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Simmer until it has thickened into a gravy. Add up to ½ cup water (or more broth) as needed to yield preferred thickness of sauce, and season with ½ teaspoon salt or to taste.
Finish sauce: Stir meat back into the sauce and warm through. Stir a litte of the sauce into 1 (8 oz) container sour cream (to warm it up so it doesn’t split!), then quickly stir it into the sauce in the pan. Do not boil after adding sour cream! Serve immediately with your favorite sides.

Video

Notes

Ingredient notes:

beef: I urge you to use beef round - a stroganoff done the classic way cooks very quickly and is different from stroganoff made with ground beef/in the crockpot. You need a tender cut here. Chicken breast cut into strips can be used as a substitute.
mushrooms: if you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!
beef broth: chicken broth is OK to use if you don't have beef; I recommend adding a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for both color and flavor.
sour cream: I recommend full fat sour cream, I've found it's the easiest kind to add to a hot sauce without curdling.

Cooking tips

do brown the beef in batches (I know it’s annoying, but it’s worth it!) – if you overcrowd the pan, it will turn out soggy
don’t overcook the meat! please don’t believe the recipes telling you to cook stroganoff for a crazy amount of time. This cut of beef is delicate and only needs a short cooking time.
If you don’t like mushrooms, you can just leave them out!

For a thicker sauce:

If your sauce hasn’t thickened enough to your liking, you can add a cornstarch slurry. Place 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch into a jar and mix it with 1-2 tablespoons of cool water.

Stir this into the stroganoff (you need to stir it in quickly and very well to evenly distribute!) and gently simmer until it has thickened.

Not Freezer Friendly!

I frequently get eMails about freezing this dish, but I do not recommend it.

The quality of the meat will not be the same as cooked fresh, and the sauce with the sour cream and mushrooms is not the best for reheating.

Nutrition