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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.
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.