Making the best Beef Stroganoff is easy! All you have to do is to follow my detailed instructions!
The two times in my life when I remember my Russian food cravings becoming especially strong were the times I was pregnant with my babies.
It seems I am at it again. No, not the pregnant bit but the longing for food I grew up with. When life gets especially hectic cozy Slavic food laced with butter and sour cream comes to the rescue once again.
I guess it came at a good time since I will be flying to St Petersburg in 3 short weeks. Just for a weekend and strictly for work but how can I not get excited when I haven’t been back in more than a decade!
I just found out that my hotel is offering complementary tea and fresh pastries 24/7.
What! I am simultaneously thrilled…and terrified. I guess 3 days can’t do too much damage on my waistline…or can they?
I’ve been thinking lately that I don’t share nearly enough Russian recipes here. This needs to change. Pronto. I guess Beef Stroganoff to a Russian is like a Carbonara to an Italian.
Something we just whip up without a recipe in little time using very few ingredients.
The outcome is always the same-immediate bliss followed by a food coma. It’s good and it’s very easy. If you follow a few simple rules you will make the best stroganoff.
How to make best Beef Stroganoff
What meat is used for Beef Stroganoff?
First off, the beef quality is paramount; avoid stewing beef and buy sirloin or rump steak. You only need a pound so buy the best you can afford.
Secondly, if steak is too expensive go ahead and buy a more affordable pork loin. Really, it’s allowed. Many Russian cooks make Stroganoff with pork.
Lastly, use a heavy bottomed skillet and avoid a non-stick. You want your meat to stick to the pan so it gets coated with brown bits because once you hit it with a shot of brandy they get released into the sauce and that’s where wonderfully complex flavour comes from.
What is beef stroganoff served with?
I know it sounded like I just mentioned the last thing but I have more. Dill pickles and mounds of mashed potatoes make beef stroganoff the best dinner EVA!
Don’t even think about serving your Stroganoff with egg noodles. So wrong. No idea where it came from. No noodles.
You can watch me make it here!!
For Creamy Chicken Stroganoff recipe click here!
If you make my Best Beef Stroganoff , I would love to see your photos! Tag me @vikalinka on Instagram when you are sharing your delicious plates! Are you following me on Instagram? If not, let’s be friends!
Authentically Russian beef cooked in creamy mushroom sauce.
- 1 tbsp-oil
- 1 tbsp-butter
- 1- onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 lbs- crimini mushrooms sliced
- 1 lbs-beef steak cut in strips
- 1/4 cup- brandy
- salt
- pepper freshly ground
- 1/2 cup-beef stock
- 1- bay leaf
- 1 tsp-whole grain mustard
- 1 cup- full fat creme fraiche or sour cream
- 3-4 sprigs-flat-leaf parsley chopped
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Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet and cook onions and mushrooms over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
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Add cut steak to the same skillet and quickly fry over high heat for 3-5 minutes.
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Add brandy and continue cooking until alcohol burns off, add stock, mustard, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release all the brown bits, they will add much flavour to the sauce.
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Bring mushrooms and onions back to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until everything is heated through and bubbling.
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Stir in sour cream and parsley and take off the heat.
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Serve with mounds of mashed potatoes or rice.
Thank you. This brings me back to my Ukrainian Grandmother making this, and yes, ALWAYS over mashed potatoes. I tried to recreate hers but it never tasted the same. I now know i was missing the brandy. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
You are very welcome, Kathy! Mashed potatoes is the perfect fodder for this brandy laced beef stroganoff! 🙂
If I double the recipe would it serve 12? I go to the beach with 12 on a Saturday and am in charge of Sunday dinner. If I make this ahead, will it freeze and reheat? Any help appreciated.
Hi Jeanette, if some of those 12 are children, then yes! I would make sure there are sides like salads, bread, rice or potatoes to stretch this meal over 12. I wouldn’t freeze Beef Stroganoff, some brands of sour cream tend to separate after being frozen and reheated. It’s perfectly safe to keep it in the fridge for a couple of days. Also, reheat over low heat once again to avoid separation and curdling.
Hi. I have a simple question. Could this be topped over buckwheat kasha? Or would this be non-traditional?
I will be trying this recipe later for dinner!
You can absolutely eat beef stroganoff over buckwheat kasha and it will be very traditional!! I often do.
I don’t want to say this recipe is the most popular for a reason. There are so many other recipes on here that should definitely be tied for most popular. HOWEVER, that being said, this recipe is the most popular, for a reason. 🙂
Hahaha, thank you, Erin. The popularity of this recipe really took me by surprise since it’s such an easy one and something that we eat so often!
Sounds absaloutley delish
Thanks, Karl!
Hi There!
Two questions:
1. I don’t know much of anything about brandy… Is there a particular type I should get (or avoid?) I know there are flavored brandies… Are there better/worse brands?
2. I’ve been scouting Strog recipies because I’m going to serve this for a Russian family I’m friends with and I wanted to make them something homey. In other articles I’ve read, people have said that the inclusion of mushrooms is an American thing — that Russians don’t usually add mushrooms into this dish. Is that true?
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Lili, you will need a regular brandy, no flavour. Any brand you can afford. I assume you are not a brandy drinker, so I wouldn’t splash out on an expensive bottle. AS far as mushrooms go there are absolutely mushrooms added to Russian Stroganoff. Mushrooms are a huge part of Russian cuisine and they are added to Stroganoff unless people are allergic to them or don’t like them for some reason.
This is truly the best beef stroganoff I have ever had. I tried it with the non-traditional pasta made from scratch and with the mashed potatoes and Wow! Amazing!
I had to make a few modifications because I didn’t have everything in stock. So I used homemade cream of chicken soup (not store bought) in lieu of the beef stock and Jamesons’ Irish whiskey instead of the brandy.
This will be the only recipe I use for making this ever!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us:)
Spaciba Bollshoi (they need to add a Cyrillic alphabet)
I am so happy to hear that, Pamela!! I often use whiskey myself when I am out of brandy! 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight; minus the mushrooms (family’s ; though not my preference). It was delicious! I was skeptical about the brandy; but it definitely added a depth of flavor. I have saved this to my “keeper dinners” and will make it again for sure. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you for a lovely feedback, Cindy! Hopefully one day you can make it with mushrooms just for yourself. It’s divine! Best, Julia
I wonder, could Morel mushrooms be used for Stroganoff?
I’ve never tried but I can’t see why not, Mike. Morels are wonderful and will probably add another dimension of flavour to this dish.
I just cooked this last night and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe! xx
I am so happy to hear it, Erika! Yay!! 🙂
I had a craving for beef stroganoff, I have not made it in years, (hubby hates onion and mushroom) this recipe was sooo good. I had some creme fraiche left over from Christmas which initially inspired me, and a pound of chuck roast left over from another recipe, I was expecting it to be a little tough due to the cut of meat, but I added a little extra stock and let it simmer for an extra half hour, it wasn’t as tender as a good steak would have been, but it wasn’t too bad at all. And the flavour.. reallllly good!! I did serve it with mashed cauliflower, perfect for a low carb meal. Even my mushroom and onion hating husband ate it (some mushrooms pushed aside though)
I love the cauliflower mash here, Shannon. I am going to do it myself as I am going low carb after Christmas to shed a few holiday pounds. So happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed it! It’s such creamy comfort!
I must say I haven’t made Beef Stroganoff for a long time, My son just asked me to make some. I have a recipe in my (very old) Time/Life cookbook. I haven’t looked at it for ages, as I, too, am a great believer of “winging it”. It is a recipe from Sofka Skipwith’s book: Eat Russian. Funny, when I last looked, Mr Google hasn’t yet been invented. Just discovered she is quite famous (for things other than her cookbook)
Anyway, reading your recipe sounded quite familiar, so I dragged the book out to compare. It is very similar, except it has a tablespoon of pureed tomato and 30gr of flour(which is made into a roux)
I will definitely try your version, sounds simpler.
The one thing she says (which may answer one of the comments above) is: “If the meat is cut too thin, it hardens in cooking”
I just looked her up Judy and wow, what a remarkable woman. I’ve never heard of her before or her book. I am going to try and find it. Good luck with my recipe. I hope you like it. Best, Julia
I made this dish for my boyfriend tonight and if I get a marriage proposal in the near future, I’ll have you to thank. It was unbelievably delicious, each bite revealing another layer of beauty. Thank you!!!
iPad glitch! 5 star rating for sure!
Favourite comment of the year!! I hope the marriage proposal is on its way!! Best, Julia
I seem to have a problem with my sauce curdling, just a little, after I add the sour cream or yogurt; any suggestions as to what I’m doing wrong? Other than that it’s a very good recipe. Thank you.
Hi Linda, sour cream can sometimes curdle at high temperature, so I would suggest lowering your heat a bit or take the pan off the heat, add sour cream and warm it through on low simmer. If you are doing all that and it still separates, I would try another brand of sour cream as it also can be a factor. DO let me know if that helped!
Hi i made this last night for myself and my Mother, i am currently on a non dairy health kick so made this recipe exactly but subsituted butter and cream/sour cream for non dairy alternatives and it was still beautiful! Definately one of my go to recipes now!
Oh and i served it with wild rice and lemony green beans (i am from the uk) 😉
That is so awesome that the recipe still works with non-dairy substitutes! Thanks for sharing, Carley!
Hi, Vikakinka,
I found and prepared your recipe last night, substituting white wine for brandy and omitting beef stock and parsley because I didn’t have any. I threw in some Worcestershire sauce to help compensate for the missing beef stock. A roaring success!
I’m writing because, by coincidence, I came across a recipe that was in a fund-raising cookbook published in 1948, by some US military wives then living in Germany.
After ready many of the comment on this page and ascertaining that no one had confessed to using “catsup” in their version, I thought this would be worth contributing. The cookbook is charming, too.
BEEF STRAGENEUFF
(Is that a German spelling of Stroganoff, or a little joke?)
1 large onion (sliced)
1 T butter
2 lbs. round steak (cut in strips)
3 T soy sauce
6 T catsup
2 C sour cream
***
1 T flour
2 T water
1/2 C mushrooms
Cook onion in butter until clear. Add meat and brown.
Add seasonings and cream. Cook slowly until meat ls
tender. Mix flour and water together and add, stirring
until thick. Add mushrooms and serve on rice.
The article about the book is here, on slate.com:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2017/08/04/a_cookbook_published_by_american_women_during_the_berlin_blockade.html
and a scan of the book itself is here:
http://www.berlinbrats.org/pdfs/49Vittles.pdf
This is interesting because of the book’s historical value but definitely an Americanised version of Stroganoff. There wouldn’t be catchup or soy sauce in an authentic recipe since they are very non-Russian ingredients. 🙂
This recipe looks amazing, but I don’t like sour cream. Could I substitute milk or whipping cream instead?
You could use whipping cream, Michael but a slightly tangy taste is what characterises Beef Stroganoff, otherwise it will just taste like a classic French dish. Russian smetana (sour cream) tastes less sour if you have an Eastern European shop nearby!!
What’s up with the mashed potatoes, I was always taught it was pan fried potatoes. I can’t stand pickles = YUCK!
My grandmother used to make hers with dill pickles and it was SO GOOD! never been able to find a recipe with them included until today. Спасибо!
You are welcome, Conor! Enjoy!
I made it one time in 1975 for a guy I was dating that was from Bulgaria. A friend of mine gave me a recipe he had from an International cookbook. I must have spent a half a weeks salary on the ingredients (made a sour cream cake too). He sits down and says “I’m not very hungry” and puts about a tablespoon of everything on his plate. I was so pissed when he did that…but then he took his first bite and his eyes lit up and says “This is fantastic! I have had this is Russia and this is just as good or better!” He ate two whole plates of it, plus my cake. I was very pleased. Have not made it since then, but may just have to make it this week. Your recipe looks very good and easy too.
Hahaha I love your story, Priscilla! You were vindicated by your cooking! 🙂 Let me know how you like my recipe.
I am looking forward to trying your recipe. My Grandfather was from Russia, and he made excellent stroganoff. It is one of my favorite things to eat.
Great! Let me know how you like it, Laura!
I prepared this today and added some garlic, a little bit of low sodium soy sauce and a little tapioca flour to thicken it up a little. The mustard and brandy really give it a very nice flavor and this is by far the BEST Stroganoff I have ever made. I served it with Jasmine rice. If you are looking for a good Stroganoff recipe, then look no further – this is it 🙂 Thank you for sharing such a wonderful dish.
Thanks you for your feedback, Desiree! I am happy to hear you enjoyed my Beef Stroganoff and you are very welcome. I hope you can try other recipes on my blog! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I appreciate authentic recipes that reflect tradition. I’m going to make this today with the proper sides of potatoes and pickles. Yes, please post more Russian recipes! I adore Russian borscht; there is a version I always have at the Olive Tree Cafe in Greenwich Village NY, made with beef flanken; a Ukrainian friend told me that it’s authentic. They won’t give away the recipe but has dill, cabbage, beets, tomato and a touch of apple. If this is indeed Russian, I would adore a recipe. 🙂
I hope you do like it, Silvana Filomena. There are quite a few Russian recipes on the blog. You can find them here https://vikalinka.com/category/recipes/russian/. Enjoy!!
My Mom always dredged the steak strips in flour which thickens the sauce a bit. Sauteed the onions and added just a little garlic. Usually thick enough for us and we always had ours served over wide noodles, Fresh green beans seasoned with bacon drippings and thick crusty hot bread.
My first time making beef stroganoff! Your recipe was so easy and so amazingly delicious! Will definitely be making it again! Thank you! 🙂
Awesome! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!!
Vikalinka, I love your responses to people’s questions, and variations. I’m one to look at a whole lot of recipes for what I want to make, then choose the best of what I see. And I like to adapt recipes to what I have on hand, what is available locally, or what I can afford.
My local market had a sale on small crimini mushrooms, which made me think of stroganoff.
I bought stew meat. Okay, not the best, but I will cut it into strips as best I can. I will get some Brandy, as that seems to add a lot of flavor. I’m accustomed to serving over noodles, so I will probably do that. I’ve thought about Dill, versus parsley, and will probably add dried dill, as that’s what I have on hand.
Creme Fraiche is very expensive here, so I’ll probably opt for sour cream.
I love chefs, like you, who allow for, and accept those who need to make changes, because of cost, availability, or convenience. There are so many wonderful recipes which can be adapted, and it’s a real shame that some chefs insist on following their recipes to the letter.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!`
Great to hear your feedback, Joyce!! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Just made it and eating it now. I made it with rump steak and it is gorgeous xxxx
Yes, so happy to hear it! Rump steak is perfect for it, Audrey. Bon Appetit!
Ultimate comfort food. Does not get old. Thank you for the recipe!
You are so welcome, Yulia! We never get tired of Stroganoff around here either!
Never have purchased Brandy in my life. What should I look for when purchasing or what brand would be good to purchase?
I would just buy something that is within your price range and what is available in mini bottles since it doesn’t sound like brandy is something you drink, Jessica. I just use whatever I have on hand and what my husband buys. I am not even sure about the brand.
I’ve tried your beef stroganoff. My husband loves it. I followed what you said and used a grade ASAP beef. Definitely will cook this for friends.
That’s so great, Darna!! It makes me so happy when my readers find my recipes helpful and delicious.
Great meal.
Can you freeze the left overs or will the sauce split?
Yes, I would expect for the sauce to split, Charlie. Eat it all up while it’s fresh! 🙂
My husband is very fond of beef stroganoff but was also protective of the way he made it which I didn’t really enjoy. I made this recipe and he smiled so big saying “you can make this for me again!” I think I made my Russian grandmother proud!
What a great story, Mara! I love it when my recipes are a win for my readers!! I made beef stroganoff last night as well and used leftover roast beef, it was still pretty darn good!
Ik zal dit recept gebruiken op kerstavond met fijngesneden paprika en zelf gemaakte kalfsfond en vodka. Een rosbeaf van “het puntje” goed aan gebakken en bleu in sneetjes, overgoten met de ,vooraf gemaakte, saus, en aardappelkroketjes. Dank voor het receptje. Kan niet wachten om er samen met de kinderen en kleinkinderen van te genieten !!!
I will use this recipe on Christmas Eve with chopped peppers and homemade veal stock and vodka. A rostbeaf of “tip” well cooked and bleu slices, topped with the pre-made sauce and potato croquettes. Thanks for the recipe. Can not wait to enjoy with the children and grandchildren !!!
Sounds wonderful, Lieljan!! Merry Christmas!
Made this 2 weeks ago. Definitely a keeper! We love egg noodles with this; no apologies! Great recipe ????
Love your unapologetic attitude, Kathy!! In retrospect, perhaps I was a bit harsh in regards to noodles! 😉
I love that 2 years later you are still getting prayers about this. I was looking for a Stroganoff recipe as we decided to do that for our family supper on Christmas eve. I will use your recipe I feel confident it’ll be just the thing! Sorry turkey supper…. lol I’ll come back and rate it after the holidays 😉
You might not like my story, as my family was very poor on welfare, so mom made me beef stroganoff with hamburger, flat noodles, sour cream, and a packet that said stroganoff from the store. I really liked it. I like sour things. I do not drink either, and mom didn’t add any. Would Pinot noir work? Or for your recipe can you suggest alternatives if do not have Brandy on hand?
Is boiling beef bad? Can’t just fry it afterwards? I ask cuz I can make beef stick with boiling beef and onions and garlic.
Beef stock not stick
If you don’t have brandy on hand, you can just skip it, Dave. Pinot Noir or any other red wine is just a wrong flavour for Stroganoff, you can use a splash of white wine though. Also, are you asking if you can first boil beef and then fry it? I am afraid it would make it quite tough and flavourless. Searing the beef and then deglazing the pan with some brandy is what give flavour to the sauce.
I want to make this and have some the following day would I leave the crime fraiche out of the next days portion and add when hearing it? Or can I reheat with creme fraiche?
You can definitely make it and reheat it on the following day, Nicole!! Creme fraiche does okay when reheated as long the heat is not too intense.
Can this recipe be doubled for 8 people? Thanks
Looks delicious
This looks good, something like the Brazilian Stroganoff my Wife makes.
Thanks Paul, I am so curious what makes your wife’s stroganoff Brazilian? 🙂
I just cane across this recipe and want to cook it tonight, however as I’m not much of a drinker I don’t want to buy a whole bottle of brandy. However I agree if the way alcohol deepens the flavor so, I recently got a bottle of dark rum, do you that that would do the job?
You can use the dark rum in place of brandy, Marie, although it will change the flavour a little bit it will do the trick.
Question, Boris the gopnik puts vodka in his stroganoff. Is this recommended or conventially done in Russia?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDybFLoOcGg
I have no idea who Boris the gopnik is but I do know that adding vodka to stroganoff or cooking with vodka in general is not traditional to Russia. I hope this helps.
Absolutely the Best Stroganoff recipe!!!!! Thank you Julia!!!!
Yes! Thank you so much for sharing, Ekaterina! 🙂
I just made this over the weekend. I followed the recipe exactly accept I added a bulb of shallot. When I cooked down the onion I had a good amount of liquid left over. Also, when I seared the beef (maybe because I do not have a cast iron pan) I had liquid leftover. I used all the liquid and added a bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken it a bit. Oh, I also added a bit of half and half too. I wish I could find some Russian sour cream! Thank you for this recipe, it is so delicious. We still have leftovers and we are enjoying it!
I am happy to hear you are enjoying it, Tony! I love where they are delicious leftovers in the fridge, especially after work!
How do you thicken it up? To thin
You can cook it longer, which will reduce the liquid and thicken the sauce or use higher fat content sour cream.
Hi
Excited to try this recipe this evening. Do you chop the dill pickles and add them, or just serve them on the side? Thanks, Gwyn
Pickles are served on the side, Gwyn! Let me know how it goes!!
Finally made this 3 days later! So tasty and full of flavour. I made a 3x batch as we love leftovers and I can only imagine it will just get tastier…..! Family wants me to dice the pickles next time and add to the stroganoff. Hope you don’t mind!! 🙂
Sounds wonderful, Gwyn!! Thank you for sharing and I definitely don’t mind, I love when my readers adjust my recipes to their taste!
I like way you add brandy to it to give it a twist, 2 Table. Dill chopped, some flower and hevey wippen cream on top of cooked beef drippens. I know im boring you so god bless and keep yo the good work.
A bit confused…another commenter asked if dry bay leaf is fine and you replied yes. Does your recipe call for fresh bay leaf? Also, you said in the comments that you add dijon mustard yet the ingredients call for whole grain mustard…which is the best to use? I’ve never tried whole grain mustard. It probably does not make a huge difference but I want to try it the exact way first. Thanks!
You can use fresh or dry bay leafs, April, just like we any herbs. 🙂 I usually use dry ones as they are a staple in my pantry but photos in the recipe show a fresh bay leaf and that is why a commenter asked the question. The same with the mustard, I use either dijon or wholegrain depending on what I feel like at the moment or what I have on hand. To answer your question which one is better, it all depends on which flavour you prefer. If you don’t like or never had one of them you might not like it in the recipe, so maybe start with dijon mustard.
This was Awesome! I was nervous about adding the brandy because all I had was e&j and that didn’t seem appealing to me. It turned out fantastic with it. I doubled this recipe and added I believe it was a McCormick stroganoff sauce mix packet to the sauce with a bit of heavy cream. Some thyme and as well as chopped garlic with the mushrooms and onions. It surprised me how delicious it was! Seriously, this is a total keeper…it’s going in my recipe box for sure.
No parsley, add green onion, & I like creole mustard & just a little more. Awesome with strip steak, cut into strips.WOW
I just made this tonight (with pork) and it was delicious! I’m trying to cook more Russian dishes since I’m half Russian and tend to favor my Italian heritage in the kitchen, but I absolutely love Russian food. Thanks for this, will definitely make it more often!
Russian and Italian combination has got to be the best there is!! I am full Russian but definitely have a lot of Italian in me. I am happy to hear you enjoyed my Stroganoff. 🙂
About to make tonight for dinner wife love beef strokinoff but havent found one she loves hope she likes it from looks of it i know i will
I want to make this for some friends but one of my guests is a vegetarian. I figured I could make two batches and just leave out step 2 for the veggie batch. Is there anything else I would need to add? I’m not sure what do about the beef stock either. I read somewhere to add a tablespoon of soy sauce to replace the meatiness lost from the beef and beef stock. Is this something you would recommend? Or can you suggest anything else? Thanks in advance.
I’d be interested to hear how it turns out but am afraid I am no help at turning something like this vegetarian. The flavour of this dish comes from the beef and I am not sure it would stand up well without it. I tend to make vegetable stir frys and curries when I go vegetarian. Here are a few of my favourite recipes. Truffled Lentil and Kale “Risotto” Green Vegetable Thai Curry
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! Tons of flavour! First time cooked in cast iron pan, and i am sure this is the way for me now to cook meat!
Awesome news, Irina!! I love my cast iron pan. It’s also amazing for blini, the thick bottom gives such beautiful colour.
Being a Croatian-American I agree that we must retain our cultures cuisines as it’s in our blood! 🙂
I’m looking forward to making this tonight for my Ukranian fiance who “INSISTS” on egg noodles so go figure!?! (I’d have rice or tatos)
Keep up the Russian Recipes as I am sure I’ll be pleased with the results!
Thank you, Mike! Egg noodles are totally comfort food for some!! I hope you enjoyed your dinner!