My weeknight beef stroganoff with seared beef strips, mushrooms and a creamy sour cream sauce. One pan, 25 minutes, served over egg noodles.
Beef Stroganoff
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Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
5 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Stroganoff’s one of those weeknight dishes I keep coming back to because it delivers a creamy, savoury sauce in under half an hour. It started life as a Russian dish in the 1800s and the technique hasn’t changed much since: hot pan, fast sear on the beef, then build the sauce in the same pan so you pick up all the fond off the bottom. The sour cream goes in at the end on a gentle heat so it stays smooth and doesn’t split. Get those three things right and the rest is hard to mess up.
I serve this over wide egg noodles or pappardelle because the sauce clings to them properly, but any short pasta works. The whole thing comes together in one pan, which makes it ideal for a midweek dinner when I want something rich without standing over the stove for an hour. Leftovers reheat well the next day with a splash of stock to loosen the sauce, so it’s worth doubling the batch if you’ve got the appetite.
Ingredient Notes
Beef strips: I look for thinly sliced rump, sirloin or scotch fillet. The cut needs to be tender enough to cook quickly because it’s seared hot and fast. If you only have steak, freeze it for 20 minutes then slice it thinly across the grain.
Swiss brown mushrooms: These have a deeper, earthier flavour than button mushrooms and they hold their texture better in the sauce. Slice them around 5mm thick so they don’t disappear once they cook down. If you can’t find Swiss browns, portobello or chestnut mushrooms work well too.
Sour cream: Use full-fat. Low-fat sour cream is more likely to split when it hits the hot sauce, and you lose the richness that makes this dish what it is. Take the pan off the boil before stirring it through.
Equipment
Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Tongs
Heavy-based frying pan or skillet
Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 800g beef strips
-
sea salt and cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 brown onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 6 sprigs thyme, leaves chopped
- 200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1½ cups (375ml) beef stock
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup (180g) sour cream
-
pasta or egg noodles, to serve
-
chopped parsley, to serve
Directions
Heat oil in a heavy based frying pan on medium-high.
- Cook beef strips for 2-3 minutes, turning, until browned, season with salt and pepper.
- Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, until starting to soften. Stir in garlic and thyme, cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes while stirring until starting to soften.
- Sprinkle over flour and stir into mixture, then add mustard and stock and stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, until starting to thicken.
- Stir in Worcestershire and sour cream, bring to a simmer, stirring to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve over pasta and garnish with parsley.
Recipe notes
Chef Tips
Don’t crowd the pan
If the strips are packed tight they’ll steam instead of brown. Use a pan wide enough to spread them out in a single layer, then leave them alone for the first minute so they take colour. That browning leaves fond on the bottom of the pan and it’s what flavours the sauce.
Add the sour cream off the boil
Sour cream splits if it hits a rapid boil. Pull the pan off the heat or knock it down to low before you stir it through, then warm it back to a gentle simmer. The sauce stays glossy and smooth.
Storage
Stroganoff keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it because the sour cream changes texture once thawed. Reheat gently in a pan over low heat with a splash of stock or water to loosen the sauce. Avoid microwaving on high, the sauce can split.
FAQs
Can I use a different cut of beef? Yes. Rump, scotch fillet or sirloin all work. The key is slicing it thinly, around 5mm, and cooking it fast so it stays tender. Avoid cuts like chuck or blade unless you’re prepared to braise them for much longer.
Can I make this gluten-free? Yes. Swap the plain flour for cornflour or a gluten-free flour blend, and use a gluten-free Worcestershire sauce. Serve it over rice or gluten-free pasta.
Why did my sauce split? This usually happens when the sour cream hits too high a heat. Pull the pan off the boil before adding it, stir it through gently, then bring it back to the lowest simmer. Full-fat sour cream is also more stable than low-fat.
