This classic Beef Stroganoff recipe creates melt in your mouth strips of sirloin in a perfectly seasoned, rich and creamy mushroom gravy. A truly comforting, memorable meal.
I’ve always loved beef stroganoff. It’s a dish I’ve made since I first moved out on my own, armed with my Betty Crocker’s Cookbook and not much else. That old recipe called for ground beef which suited us and our economic situation just fine. It also called for cream of chicken soup so I knew instantly it was a winner! This is no joke, we loved those old cream soup recipes.
Since then I’ve made beef stroganoff a gazillion times and it has evolved into the dish I’m sharing here. This version is quite different from Betty’s. It is slightly more sophisticated and it is SO good. It has always been a favorite of Boy #4 since he was just a little tiny guy. Apparently he was a little tiny guy with a pretty darn discriminating palate.
Tender strips of beef and meaty mushrooms cooked together in a luxurious sauce. This is Beef Stroganoff, friends.
Ingredient Notes
The Best Cut of Beef for Beef Stroganoff
My cut of choice for beef stroganoff is top sirloin, thinly sliced. It’s an economical choice as far as the more tender cuts of beef go and plenty flavorful. It becomes perfectly fork tender after simmering in the stroganoff sauce for under an hour. Save the tougher cuts like chuck roast or top round for beef stew and recipes that have a longer simmer time.
Traditionally, beef tenderloin is used for beef stroganoff but it’s a very expensive cut and I think best cooked using other methods of preparation like my Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Port Wine Gravy and served for a special occasion. You can experiment with other tender cuts like strip steak or boneless ribeye but both are more expensive options than sirloin. Check out Certified Angus Beef for more information on all of the basic cuts of beef.
The Best Mushrooms for Beef Stroganoff
Cremini mushrooms are my mushroom of choice for most dishes, but especially beef stroganoff. They are exceptionally “meaty” and wonderful! Sometimes you’ll see them labeled as baby portobellos and they are usually in a bin next to the white button mushrooms in the produce section of the grocery store.
How to Make Beef Stroganoff
- Brown the beef quickly in melted butter and oil, in batches so that you don’t over-crowd the pan. Season with salt and pepper while cooking. Transfer the browned beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add onion and garlic to beef drippings and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add a nice, full-bodied red wine and cook for another minute or two. Add the low-sodium beef broth, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Flavor!
- Add the beef strips back to the pan with the sauce and stir it all together. Bring the mixture to a low boil – increasing the heat under the pan if necessary, then cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until the beef is fork tender. Remove a small amount of the cooking liquid from the pan into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and stir well until it has dissolved into the liquid. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the pan and cook and stir for a minute or two as the sauce thickens slightly.
- Mushrooms are added at the very end of the cooking process. They will only need to simmer in the sauce for about 10 minutes to become tender. Finally, add a little cream cheese and sour cream. This is what adds a creamy, velvet-like texture to this amazing sauce. Cook and stir until the cream cheese melts and is well incorporated. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
I love using fresh chives as a finishing touch for a dish like this. It really wakes it up and makes for a nice presentation.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve beef stroganoff over long grain white rice but it’s also delicious spooned over cooked egg noodles or a mound of buttery Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes.
To round this meal out I typically serve my Beef Stroganoff with simply cooked green beans or roasted asparagus on the side.
More Comforting Beef Recipes
- Classic Stovetop Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Tender Eye of Round Roast Beef with Gravy
- Instant Pot Beef Burgundy
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Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless top sirloin
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup full-bodied red wine
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 12 medium cremini mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)
- ⅓ cup cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened
- ⅓ cup sour cream, (I use light sour cream)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, *see notes below
- additional salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives,
- long grain white rice or egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
Instructions
- Trim edges of sirloin of any excess fat. Thinly slice the meat and then slice each piece in half again lengthwise. Slices should be about ½-inch thick by about 2-inches long.
- In a large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat, melt the butter with the vegetable oil. Brown the beef strips quickly in batches, seasoning with salt and pepper as they cook. Be generous with the pepper. Remove beef from pan to a dish and repeat with remaining beef.
- Once all the meat is cooked, add onions and garlic to beef drippings in empty pan. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes. Add wine and cook for a minute or two. Add beef broth, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce and cook and stir for another minute. Add beef strips and combine well. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until beef is fork tender.
- Remove about ¼ cup of the cooking liquid from the beef stroganoff to a small bowl. Add cornstarch to the liquid and mix until cornstarch has dissolved. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the beef stroganoff and cook, stirring, for a minute or two as sauce thickens slightly. Add sliced mushrooms and allow to cook, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes. Add cream cheese and sour cream, stir to combine and allow to cook another 5 minutes or until the cream cheese has completely melted into the sauce. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with fresh chives and serve over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on November 9, 2011. It has been updated with new text and images.
Cozy Dinner Ideas
Was very good, am making it again tonight
I cooked this for the first time a few months back and loved it. I now make it for people when they come to the house or I go to their house. I use beef tenderloin in mine. Kroger sells it for 9.99lb. I’ve made this now five or six times in just a few months.
This is soooo good. Made the first time exactly as the recipe specified and worked a treat. But 2 hours for dinner was a little much for me so did it in the crockpot this time and man it’s still delicious and the meat was so tender it was melting in my mouth. Highly recommend.
Added a bit more red wine because I used dried mushroom instead of fresh and the dried mushroom flavor was a bit overpowering. The recipe is excellent with the right level of detail and the dish came out like restaurant-quality!
The use of sour cream instead of the typical heavy whipping cream really adds something to this recipe, but my taste buds demand a little more!
My recipe is nearly identical, but I add lemon pepper seasoning while browning the meat, and a tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, basil and sage to the sauce.
I like ground sirloin instead of sirloin strips because the texture and shape of the pieces seem to compliment the dish better.
I use double the fresh garlic (2Tbsp) and double the sour cream (2/3 cup).
I use 1/2 cup of red wine (Marsala) and a 1/2 cup of white wine (Chablis).
I also add a 1/2 cup of beef and chicken stock.
And then adjust the flour/corn starch as needed to and simmer til thickened.
I strongly encourage people to use rice instead of egg noodles, as serving it up this way is tastier and more visually appealing.
This sounds incredible…however…I would like to omit the beef and cook this in my Instant Pot. Can you provide a modified recipe? I’m a newbie!!! Thanks!!
Well now that would be a very different recipe in both the ingredients and method. I really couldn’t comment without testing.
I just made this!! Seriously, the BEST beef stroganoff EVER. And I loved my recipe. I love the addition of cream chz that DID make it silky. I also think the Worcestershire (altho I am not a huge fan..) added just the perfect touch. Love-love your version & will certainly share it. Thank you so much!!
mine didn’t come out thick and creamy. very loose liquid. and followed it to a tee
Hi Tracy. The thickness of the sauce is a very easy thing to control. If you’d like it thicker just mix up more cornstarch slurry and add as much as needed to reach the desired consistency. I prefer the sauce on the thinner side as you can see from the photos.
You omitted the part about adding the mushrooms to the pan, assumed just after returning the beef to the pan. I’ve never added cream cheese to stroganoff before, terrific addition. Very delicious recipe.
Hi Perry. The mushrooms are added towards the end of the cooking process, just before the cream cheese and sour cream are added. It’s there in the last paragraph of the instructions on the recipe card. So glad you liked it!
I just wanted to let you know this is now my go to beef stroganoff, it is so delicious! I have made it at least 5 times now, exactly to your recipe and the beef is always tender and the sauce has such a great flavour! The picture lay out is so helpful when making it for the first time. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!
Yay, Kim! Thanks for reminding me that I need to make this soon. It is Boy #4’s favorite dish.
Mmmm, sounds so yummy!
I miss having a rich and creamy Beef Stroganoff over some wide pasta noodles or rice. This looks delicious!
I’ve made this stroganoff a couple times now, it’s fantastic! I added fresh thyme and a bit more red wine and Dijon this go around and served it over mashed potatoes. A family favorite! Thank you for the recipes!