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Tender and juicy beef steak strips with mushrooms and onions, smothered in a savoury sour cream sauce. Making classic Beef Stroganoff is easy and quick too: ready in just 30 minutes! All you have to do is to follow my detailed instructions!
Serve this classic Russian dish with out creamy Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and our homemade Rye Bread for a truly unforgettable meal.
Whenever Russian cuisine comes up in conversation, it usually starts with beef stroganoff. And it’s easy to see why.
Savoury beef pieces cooked in a creamy and slightly tangy sour cream sauce is the sort of thing that will go down well with so many people. It hits all the right notes in all the right ways, which explains its enduring popularity.
But I’m also convinced that most people haven’t tried beef stroganoff the way it is meant to be enjoyed. Even with just a few ingredients, it has astonishingly complex flavours for such a comfort food.
Just follow my authentic recipe to discover the best possible version of this legendary dish!
Traditional Beef Stroganoff
Invented and named after a member of a Russian noble family Count Stroganoff by his personal chef, this delicious beef recipe has travelled far and wide across the globe since the 19th century. It’s time I share my version, which I have to admit is classic.
The classic beef stroganoff recipe was heavily influenced by the French cuisine, which was very popular among the aristocrats in the 19th century Russia. You can see that in the creamy sauce.
However, the use of traditionally Russian ingredients like mushrooms and sour cream made this elegant dish stick around for centuries in its homeland. Given how popular creamy meat dishes are, it’s not a surprise that it has become popular the world over.
Although beef is traditional in stroganoff, the dish can be made with more. Meatball Stroganoff is particularly good and using pre-made meatballs makes the dish especially easy to make.
You can even use chicken as I did in this impossibly popular version of Chicken Stroganoff. I varied the recipe a bit to make the delicate meat of chicken shine. Or even more off the beaten path, I’ve made Beef Stroganoff Soup!
It seems to me that 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. And most importantly when extra comfort is needed.
The outcome is always the same. Immediate bliss followed by a food coma. It’s good and it’s very easy.
What cut of beef is best?
First off, the beef quality is paramount. Avoid stewing beef and buy sirloin or rump steak. I find ribeye too fatty for this dish since the sauce is already rich. I prefer using a leaner beef for a more balanced meal. Whatever cut of steak you choose buy the best quality you can afford. You only need a pound of it!
Secondly, if a steak is too expensive, go ahead and buy a more affordable pork tenderloin. Really, it’s allowed. Many Russian cooks make Stroganoff with good quality pork.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Be careful not to steam the mushrooms and take the time to brown them. It’s important to get a good colour on them, so turn you heat up to make them look extra deep golden brown.
- A combination of olive oil and butter is a great way to get even more delicious flavour. Or use clarified butter to avoid burning as it has a high smoke point.
- Use a This is an affiliate link.heavy bottomed large skillet and avoid a non-stick frying pan. You want your meat to stick to the pan, so it gets coated with brown bits.
- The taste of sour cream in stroganoff can be too strong for some people, in which case heavy or double cream can be used in its place. Just make sure not to use low fat sour cream as it tends to produce a thin sauce and may cause the sauce to split.
- The brown bits are important because they get released once you hit the pan with a shot of brandy and go into the sauce. That’s where the wonderfully complex flavour comes from. Scrape the bottom of the skillet with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the pieces get released.
- The recipe calls for deglazing with brandy but madeira, sherry or a dry white wine will all be perfectly good substitutes. It’s important that dry wine, rather than sweet wine is used. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, it is possible to use the same quantity of apple juice with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
Serving suggestions
Dill pickles and mounds of mashed potatoes make beef stroganoff the best dinner ever! If you are wondering why pickles are necessary, I am happy to oblige. Their acidity breaks up the richness of this dish and provides a great balance! The parsley garnish helps with this as well.
You might be surprised but potatoes are the most traditional pairing for Beef Stroganoff in Russia. We serve mashed potatoes at home and indulge in fried shoestring potatoes in restaurants. Give them a try and you won’t be able to go back to egg noodles.
You can, of course, serve beef stroganoff over egg noodles like I did with my vegetarian version here. This creamy dish also goes extremely well over plain rice or pasta. Let the sauce provide all the flavour!
Storage and leftovers
Sour cream and crème fraîche have a tendency to separate after freezing, making the texture less appetizing. To preserve a smooth sauce, it’s better to use double or heavy cream instead.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days when stored in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container. Warm in a microwave or over low heat on a stovetop. Let the pieces of beef get hot all the way through, but be careful not to boil the sauce.
More Russian Beef Recipes
- Porcupine Meatballs in Creamy Tomato Sauce “Tefteli”
- Cabbage Rolls “Golubtsi”
- Russian Meat Patties with Wild Mushroom Sauce “Kotleti”
- Russian Sweet and Sour Beef Stew Solyanka
Best Beef Stroganoff
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 225g/1/2 lbs crimini mushrooms/chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 450g/1 lbs beef steak (I used sirloin), cut in strips
- 60ml/1/4cup brandy
- salt
- pepper, freshly ground
- 125ml/1/2 cup beef stock
- 1 This is an affiliate link.bay leaf
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.whole grain mustard
- 250ml/1 cup full fat creme fraiche or sour cream
- 3-4 sprigs-flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 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.
- Add cut steak to the same skillet and quickly fry over high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- 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.
- Bring mushrooms and onions back to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until everything is heated through and bubbling. Stir in sour cream over low heat to prevent the sauce from splitting. Sprinkle parsley and take off the heat. Serve with mounds of mashed potatoes or rice.
Video
Notes
- If the sour cream taste is too strong for you, replace a half of it with heavy cream.
- Do not use low fat sour cream as it tends to produce a thin sauce and sometimes cause the sauce to split.
- If you do not want to cook with alcohol, substitute the brandy with the same amount of apple juice plus one tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
The way I have always prevented curdling is that you add a bit of the hot stroganoff to the cream mixture, stirring well, than a bit more, etc, before then adding the mixture back to the pan. Adding the hot ingredient gradually to the cold sour cream tempers.
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!!