Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (30 minute recipe) - The Chunky Chef (2024)

FAQs

How can I thicken my beef stroganoff sauce? ›

One way to thicken beef stroganoff is with flour or cornstarch. These are both common cooking ingredients that will help create an excellent thickening agent for beef stroganoff recipes.

Quartered mushrooms and a combination of pearl onions and shallots give the finished dish a more interesting texture and flavor. Adding gelatin to the chicken stock gives it more body, letting the sauce come together more tightly to coat the meat and noodles.

I'm not big on mushrooms and the like, so my usual goto of spicing it up is to add the meat, then garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, pinch of paprika(sometimes none), small amount of cavenders, and occasionally, if Im in a sweet mood, brown sugar.

Pour flour-water mixture into saucepan with beef mixture. This will thicken very quickly! Add sour cream and stir until mixture is smooth. If too runny, add more flour-water mixture and if too thick, add more sour cream.

For an add-in that both thickens and enhances flavor, turn to a versatile, dairy-forward ingredient: sour cream. Sour cream is a common add-in for thickening soups and sauces, but it can also be stirred into gravy for a touch of tang and a smooth, creamy finish.

Keep Stroganoff Sauce from Curdling

Temper the sour cream by adding a few teaspoons of the hot liquid from the pan—one tablespoon at a time—before adding the sour cream to the pan. Turn the stovetop down to low before adding the sour cream and give it a few minutes for the temperature in the pan to actually lower.

And if you want to make it spicy, you can either use the Mexican flavors (ancho & poblano peppers), or use horseradish. To use so many different things together seems like a “kitchen sink” approach. I would cut down the horseradish to about 2/3 of the original amount.

I suggest using a very flavorful broth or else your stroganoff will end up being bland. We use Better Than Bouillon to make our beef broth. Worcestershire Sauce & Dijon Mustard: Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard are added to the broth to add more dimension to the flavor.

Greek yogurt is a healthy alternative to the traditionally used sour cream in beef stroganoff recipes, so you can be confident that your family is getting a satisfying, healthy meal. Fresh dill and paprika will provide a sweet, slightly smoky garnish to top off the dish.

Temper the cream first. Add a liitle bit of tomato sauce at a time to the cream until it is warm and then add it all back into the tomato sauce. This will keep it from curdling.

What if I add too much liquid to my beef stroganoff? ›

Luckily, there's a quick and easy solution waiting quietly in your pantry — cornstarch. Cornstarch is a reliable and widely used thickening agent, that works in sauces, gravies, and soups.

A nice green salad with vinaigrette dressing would go well with beef stroganoff, along with crusty bread. Beef stroganoff is a meal unto itself so I would serve only something light like a salad. It's commonly served with noodles, so you don't need another starch. Almost any vegetables would go well with it.

You are combining essentially what is a hot stew and cold sour cream out of the fridge. This is what causes the cream to curdle. I like to err of the side of caution and I let the pot and its contents cool completely, then I stir through the sour cream, no more curdling!

You made a dish too sour

Sourness comes from acidic ingredients (including tomatoes, wine and vinegar). If your dish tastes too sour try to add sweetness—think sugar, honey (it's healthy!), cream or even caramelized onions. You can also dilute the dish (same as you would with a dish with too much salt).

Sauce Ingredients: Butter, onion, garlic, white wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, flour and plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream) are the ingredients used to make classic beef stroganoff sauce. If you prefer not to cook with wine, feel free to just add in a little extra beef stock instead.

Again, if you want a thicker sauce, whisk together one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of cold water to add to the sauce. Continue doing this until you have the sauce as thick as you want!

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.