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Ground Beef Stroganoff

By Martis Guleryan Updated

In short: Brown ground beef and mushrooms, add broth and egg noodles to the same skillet, simmer until tender, then stir in sour cream off the heat. It takes about 30 minutes in one pan and serves 4.

  • 30 min
  • 4 servings
  • Easy
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Creamy ground beef stroganoff with sliced mushrooms and egg noodles in a skillet, topped with chopped parsley
Illustrative AI-generated photo.

Why you’ll love this recipe

Ground beef stroganoff takes the classic Russian-American dish and makes it weeknight friendly. The noodles cook right in the beefy mushroom sauce, so the starch they release thickens it and everything lands in one pan.

  • About 30 minutes from cutting board to table.
  • One pan for the beef, the sauce and the noodles.
  • Budget-friendly — a pound of ground beef feeds four.

Getting a creamy, not curdled, sauce

Sour cream is the signature flavor here, and it is also the easiest step to get wrong. Dairy with lower fat and higher acidity, like sour cream, separates when it boils. Two habits prevent that: let the sour cream warm up on the counter while you cook, and stir it in only after the pan is off the burner. The residual heat is enough to warm it through.

The flour cooked with the mushrooms also helps. A little starch in the sauce stabilizes the dairy, which is why this version holds together better than one thickened with sour cream alone.

Ingredient substitutions

Instead ofYou can use
Sour creamPlain whole-milk Greek yogurt, stirred in off the heat. The sauce will be a little tangier.
Cremini mushroomsWhite button mushrooms, or leave them out and add an extra half onion.
Ground beefGround turkey, cooked to 165°F (74°C). Add a little extra Worcestershire for depth.
A bowl of ground beef stroganoff with egg noodles, mushrooms and a dollop of sour cream

Ground Beef Stroganoff

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min

Ingredients

Servings
4 servings

Beef and mushrooms

Sauce and noodles

Metric weights use ingredient-specific densities from King Arthur Baking — Ingredient Weight Chart. For baking, weighing is more accurate than cups.

Instructions

Tap a step number to mark it done.

  1. Step 1: Brown the beef

    Heat a 12-inch deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, break it up, and cook 6–8 minutes until browned and no pink remains (160°F / 71°C). Spoon off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat and move the beef to a plate.

  2. Step 2: Cook the mushrooms and onion

    Melt the butter in the same pan. Add the mushrooms and onion with the salt and cook 5–6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.

    Tip: Let the mushrooms sit undisturbed for a minute or two at a time. Browned mushrooms give the sauce most of its savory depth.

  3. Step 3: Build the sauce

    Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the broth, scraping up the browned bits, then stir in the Worcestershire, Dijon, pepper and the beef.

  4. Step 4: Simmer the noodles

    Bring to a boil, stir in the egg noodles, and reduce to a lively simmer. Cover and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring every 2–3 minutes, until the noodles are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

  5. Step 5: Finish with sour cream

    Take the pan off the heat and let it sit 1 minute. Stir in the sour cream until creamy, taste for salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley.

    Tip: Adding sour cream off the heat keeps it from curdling. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a splash of broth.

Equipment

Tips for the best results

  • Bring the sour cream to room temperature while you cook. Cold sour cream is more likely to break when it hits the hot sauce.
  • Stir the noodles every few minutes while they simmer so they do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • Egg noodle brands absorb liquid differently. Keep a little extra broth nearby and add it if the pan looks dry before the noodles are tender.

Storage, reheating and freezing

Refrigerator
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking.
Reheating
Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of broth or water, stirring until it reaches 165°F (74°C). The noodles keep absorbing sauce, so expect to add liquid.
Freezing
Not recommended. Sour cream sauces turn grainy after freezing and the noodles go soft.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make ground beef stroganoff without mushrooms?

Yes. Leave them out and add an extra half onion, or a bag of frozen peas at the end. The sauce will be a little less savory, so taste for salt and Worcestershire.

Why did my sour cream curdle?

It was added while the sauce was boiling or the sour cream was very cold. Take the pan off the heat, wait a minute, and stir in room-temperature sour cream.

Do I have to cook the noodles separately?

No. In this one-pot version the noodles cook in the broth and their starch thickens the sauce. If you prefer, boil them separately and reduce the broth to 1½ cups.

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Written by Martis Guleryan

Martis Guleryan is the founder of Joyful Home Cooking and writes and edits the recipes and cooking guides on the site, with a focus on easy weeknight dinners, family-friendly baking and clear, practical steps.

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