Guess what time it is! Comfort-food-o’clock. And there’s no better comfort food than a rich creamy pasta dish, like this One Pot Beef Stroganoff. It cooks in just one pot, just like hamburger helper stroganoff, but it’s homemade and I promise it’s still super easy. You’re going to want to tuck this beef stroganoff recipe into your back pocket for those nights when you’re super tired and need an extra comforting meal. :)
What is Beef Stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff is a Russian dish that features pieces of sautéed beef in a rich and creamy sauce, often served over pasta. For this budget version of beef stroganoff, we’ve replaced the chunks of beef with budget-friendly ground beef, added mushrooms to stretch it a little further, and cooked everything in one pot for a quick and easy meal. It’s not a traditional beef stroganoff for sure, but it definitely is delicious!
Ingredients for One Pot Beef Stroganoff
Here’s what you’ll need to make this deliciously creamy One Pot Beef Stroganoff:
- Garlic: Garlic adds a nice deep flavor to the creamy sauce.
- Butter: We sauté the garlic in butter for extra flavor and richness.
- Ground Beef: Instead of using chunks of beef stew meat, we used ground beef for a more budget-friendly alternative.
- Mushrooms: We used a combination of mushrooms and beef to bulk up this one pot pasta while keeping the price low.
- Beef Broth: We cook the pasta one-pot style in the broth with all of the other ingredients so everything has maximum flavor. 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.
- Egg Noodles: Wide egg noodles have the perfect light texture for this creamy sauce to keep the entire dish balanced.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is stirred into the sauce to give it the classic creamy and tangy flavor of a stroganoff. If you’re looking for an alternative to sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt or heavy cream, which will be less tangy.
Beef Alternatives
I used half ground beef and half mushrooms to stretch my pennies a bit further, but you could do all mushrooms or all beef if you prefer. If you’re doing a vegetarian version with all mushrooms, use mushroom or vegetable broth to replace the beef broth.
Tips for Making One Pot Pasta
Every piece of cookware and every range top is different, so one pot recipes are a bit like riding a bike. You have to feel it out and find the sweet spot for the equipment you’re using. Here are some tips for making your one pot pasta a success:
- Use heavy, thick cookware to help the ingredients heat evenly.
- The broth does not need to fully cover the noodles for them to cook, so resist the urge to add extra water or broth.
- Make sure the liquid is simmering the whole time the pasta is cooking. If the heat is too low, the pasta will just get gummy.
- Stir the pot occasionally to prevent sticking, but not too often or your risk breaking down the pasta.
- Use your judgment. If your pasta looks close to being cooked through, but there is too much liquid left in the skillet, let it finish simmering with the lid off. If the liquid is gone but your pasta is still not tender, add a splash more water or broth and continue to simmer.
Use Good Broth
The broth brings a lot of flavor to this beef and mushroom stroganoff, so make sure you’re using a nice and flavorful broth that has adequate salt. I like to use Better than Bouillon to make broth for recipes because it’s super flavorful, I can mix up any amount I need, and the jar stays good in the refrigerator for months, so there are no leftovers to go to waste. If you still find your stroganoff to be on the bland side in the end, an extra pinch of salt can really help the flavors pop.
Want more One Pot Recipes? Check out our One Pot Recipe Archives!
One Pot Beef Stroganoff
Servings 4 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($2.50)
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($1.49)
- 1/8 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
- 2 cups beef broth ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.02)
- 8 oz. wide egg noodles ($0.60)
- 1/3 cup sour cream ($0.15)
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional) ($0.10)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic. Add the garlic and butter to a large pot or skillet and sauté over medium heat for about one minute, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and continue to sauté until it is fully browned.
- While the beef is browning, slice the mushrooms. Add the sliced mushrooms and some freshly cracked pepper to the pot with the beef. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms are soft (about five minutes).
- Add the uncooked egg noodles to the pot along with the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Stir to combine. The liquid will not fully cover the noodles, but that's okay.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow the liquid to come up to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, give the pot a stir, replace the lid, and reduce the heat to low. Allow the pot to simmer on low heat for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and replacing the lid every couple of minutes. After 7-10 minutes the pasta should be tender and most of the liquid absorbed.
- Once the noodles are tender, add the sour cream and fold it into the noodles until everything is rich and creamy. Give the noodles a taste and add extra salt or pepper, if needed. Roughly chop a handful of parsley leaves and sprinkle over top. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
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How to Make One Pot Beef Stroganoff – Step by Step Photos
Begin by sautéing 2 cloves of minced garlic in 2 Tbsp of butter until soft (1-2 minutes). You can use a large pot or large skillet, as long as it is big enough to hold all of the pasta AND has a lid (the lid will be used later).
Next, add 1/2 lb. ground beef and continue to sauté until it is fully browned.
While the beef is browning, slice 8oz. mushrooms. White button mushrooms are fine, but if you can get these baby bella mushrooms they are even more awesome (shout out to ALDI for carrying these at an affordable price).
Once the beef is browned, add the mushrooms and some freshly cracked pepper. Continue to sauté until they are soft (about five minutes).
Add ½ lb. wide egg noodles to the skillet along with 2 cups beef broth, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and ½ tsp Dijon mustard. Stir to combine. The broth will not fully cover the noodles, but that’s okay. The steam in the skillet will help cook them and they’ll be stirred to make sure even cooking.
Place a lid on the skillet and bring the broth up to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, give it a quick stir to loosen the noodles from the bottom, return the lid quickly, and turn the heat down to low. Let the skillet simmer, stirring occasionally and always replacing the lid, for 7-10 minutes or until the noodles are tender and there is only a small amount of thick sauce left in the skillet.
Finally, add ⅓ cup sour cream and fold it into the noodles until everything is creamy and delicious!
Top off the beef stroganoff with a little chopped parsley for color (because stroganoff is kind of boring to look at) and it’s time to dive into that skillet full of creamy goodness! You might want to give it a taste at this point to see if you want a little extra salt or pepper (again, depending on the salt content of your broth), but other than that it’s time to eat! And only one dish to clean. :)
Made this for dinner tonight, and my husband and I loved it! He’s a super picky eater, and I had to leave out the mushrooms for him, but he also *hates* sour cream… so I just made sure he didn’t see me put the sour cream in it. ;P He devoured it! Will definitely add it to my go to recipes, since it’s so quick and easy. Which was awesome because I was starving when I got home from work, and it only took about 20 minutes to make. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I’ve always liked the idea of Stroganoff but never liked the recipes I’ve tried – this came out really good. I liked that there’s nothing canned in it, so its easier to control the sodium. I added a bit of thyme and some extra sour cream.
I made this last night, and followed the recipe to a T with two exceptions: I added a bag of frozen peas and carrots (which made it more colorful AND added nutrients) and added a couple pinches of kosher salt, as it was a little bland without it. YMMV. Overall, cheap, easy, and delicious :-)
Thanks for this awesome recipe! I love beef stroganoff! It was delicious, easy, and messed one dish :)
Hi I have been looking through your recipes, I love that you are not using “cream of” soups, but real, homemade ingredients, that is how I cook, not a fan of all those preservatives etc, I have celiac disease and your recipes for the most part are very easy to make gluten free!
Thanks
My mushroom-hating child devoured them in this recipe. We served peas alongside and mixed the peas in for leftovers the next day. The only thing I would change next time would be to use one tablespoon of butter instead of two, but perhaps that had to do with the meat I used? Comfort food at it’s finest. All the ease of a “helper” boxed recipe, without any of the fake ingredients. Thank you for sharing this!
Love this! I only mixed sour cream into one bowl since I was skeptical and I do prefer it without. At least now I’ve got a tub of sour cream to make chip dip with! ;) I’m going to try freezing one container.
I’m generally not a fan of mushrooms but this recipe has changed my mind. My picky kids even liked the flavor. I bought baby portabella instead of button mushrooms because I didn’t know the difference, but it still came out great.
I swapped out sour cream for Greek yogurt but otherwise followed the recipe to a T and it came out beautifully. Will definitely be adding this to the rotation for the colder months.
Beth, I just noticed that your newer entries have tags and I wonder if you would consider adding one like ‘freezer-friendly’? One of my favorite features of your book is the little snowflake that indicates when a recipe freezes well.
I’ve thought about that, but that label is a bit tricky because it’s not exactly black or white when it comes to freezability. It’s kind of a continuum between freezes great and does not freeze well. Some texture changes that happen might not bother me, but might be considered inedible to others. :P
Winner for sure. I’ve just used whatever pasta I had in the pantry and so far egg noodle, mini bowties, and elbow macaroni are good noodles.
I don’t like mushrooms, so it being the middle of zucchini season, I just made a small swap. Well, maybe not small as I threw in about a pound of chopped zucchini instead of the mushrooms. It was wonderful, cheap, filling, and my teenagers still scraped the pot clean.
Beth
The recipes on your website are definitely five star in my opinion!
Thanks Again!
Beth
I really like your recipes and the step by step pictures are great and a big help. I am not a great cook probably because I do not enjoy cooking. Your recipes are very easy to follow and the ingredients are ones that I have on hand most of the time. I actually enjoyed cooking the One Pan Beef Stroganoff and I was proud to serve it to my family. I doubled the recipe and even with that I only had a small amount of left overs because everyone enjoyed their dinner and had two servings plus wanted to take a portion to work for their lunch.
Thank You Very Much!
The first time I made this it was awesome. The second time it turned into a big sludgey mess. I think maybe too much flour when I doubled the recipe. I will try again!
I finally got around to making this dish, and oh man am I glad I did! I used ground turkey and chicken broth instead of the beef because it is all I had on hand, but it still had amazing flavor, and it was so simple to make. Definitely a new go-to dinner in my house :)