30 Minute Skillet Ground Beef Stroganoff

One-pot 30-minute skillet ground beef stroganoff! This recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners because cleanup is a breeze, and it all comes together fairly quickly! Happy tummies all around!

Happy Monday! 

Is it just me or are Sunday’s after a long weekend the saddest? I mean, Monday will inevitably roll around, and it’ll be full of all the Monday things. The thought makes me feel all gloomy. And so for days like today, I love making a one-pot dinner recipe.

Today’s ground beef stroganoff happens to be a family favorite. I love it because it requires just one pot to make and minimal chopping and prep work. I’m lazy, so I buy my mushrooms pre-sliced, so all I’m chopping is an onion. It also happens to be hubby’s favorite because he’s a meat and potatoes kind of guy. But also because he does the dinner dishes and there isn’t that much to clean with this on the table.

Ground beef stroganoff has everything you love about the regular recipe but it takes a lot less presswork and cooking time. It’s also made in one pot – noodles and all. And when I say 30 minutes, I mean prepping, searing, cooking, boiling, simmering and finishing it off with parsley, like you’re salt bae (remember him?)

Over the years (7 to be exact,) I’ve learned that Anees has a soft spot for things like my beef tips with mushroom gravy, Swedish meatballs, and beef stroganoff. So when he found out I turned one of his favorites into a one-pot recipe complete with noodles, he was stoked. It’s creamy from the noodles being cooked right in the same pan, finished with sour cream for a hint of tang, and since we’re using ground beef instead of steak, the beef gets into all the swoops of the egg noodles, and you get a little bit of it in every bite.

It’s also a whole lot more economical than using steak, so if you’re feeding a crowd, ground beef stroganoff is the way to go!

What is stroganoff?

Invented by the Russians, beef stroganoff is a dish that typically uses steak cut into thin strips that are seared and simmered in a brown sauce that is flavored with sour cream or creme fraiche. Now, of course, over the years we have certainly Americanized it quite a bit. And I’ll admit, my ground beef stroganoff is quite a loose interpretation of stroganoff, where it’s all done in one pot. More authentic takes on stroganoff are made with a red-brown sauce and the sour cream is served alongside so the person eating it can stir it in themselves.

What do you need to make skillet ground beef stroganoff?

• Butter: you could swap this with olive oil if you’d like
• Mushrooms: Pre-sliced mushrooms work great here. If you slice them yourself, I suggest slicing them thick so that they can stand up to longer simmer time with the noodles and ground beef.
• Diced onions: I use a yellow onion here, but even a white onion would do. If you don’t like the harshness bite of onions, don’t worry, it cooks right out!
• Ground beef: I prefer to use lean ground beef for this recipe, something like 90% lean or even 95% lean ground beef. If you use anything with more fat, you might want to drain most of the grease after you cook the meat, so the dish doesn’t taste greasy at the end. You could also skip the tablespoon of butter used to brown the beef if you use something with higher fat content.
• Beef stock: I suggest using low sodium stock for this recipe. We’ll be using both Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce (umami!) so using a low sodium stock will prevent it from becoming too salty.
• Seasonings: We use a little smoked paprika (it is stroganoff after all!), thyme, and garlic powder. 
  • One other ingredient that I highly suggest is Umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s or even mushroom powder. It’s optional, but this little ingredient packs a flavor punch!
• All-Purpose flour: to help us thicken the stroganoff
• Egg noodles: see below for substitutes
• Sour cream: or creme fraiche. Both work equally well for this recipe. We add this at the end to make it creamy and just to tie the whole thing together in a neat package!

Can I use something other than egg noodles for this?

If you’re just not that into egg noodles or don’t happen to have any on hand, I’ve found that replacing the egg noodles with equal parts dry rotini pasta works pretty well here too. Just be sure that your pasta isn’t the quick-cooking kind, and it will take just a bit longer than the egg noodles to soften, maybe in the ballpark of 10-15 minutes. It will definitely not be the 30-minute recipe I intended to make but again, it does work just as well.

Can I use something other than sour cream for the sauce?

I’m confident that greek yogurt would work in place of the sour cream. I won’t have that same creamy flavor that stroganoff is known for, but it does make a decent substitute if you’re trying to watch the calories!

How to make skillet ground beef stroganoff:

1. Veggies: start by cooking the mushrooms and sautéing them for 5 minutes. This is where the mushrooms have a chance to get nice and golden and leave all that flavor in the pan. Then, add the onions and cook them for just a couple minutes, they pick up all the mushroom flavor, soften, and sweet up a bit. Remove them to a plate.
2. Meat: Add the remaining butter and the ground beef and brown the beef until it cooks all the way through. Season the ground beef with all of the seasonings. The heat will cause the seasoning to bloom and really develop more flavor in the beef.
3. Noodles: Now add all the remaining flavors: dijon, Worcestershire, and soy sauce, and scrape the pan to release all the fond that is stuck to the pan, that will help flavor your both further. Add the broth, allow it to start simmering, then add noodles, cover and allow them to cook. Check a few minutes before done, if you have extra liquid in the pan, kick the heat up a bit, and remove the lid and allow the pasta to cook and for the excess liquid to evaporate.
4. Finish: When the pasta is cooked through, stir in the sour cream and let it all heat through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm!

How long can you store leftovers?

Yes, you can store any leftover stroganoff in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It should come back to the normal consistency when you reheat it. You could also add a couple of tablespoons of water or stock to loosen things up if you prefer it a bit more saucy.

Other one-pot recipes to try:

• one skillet chicken with lemon garlic cream sauce
• balsamic tomato baked chicken with mozzarella
• one pot cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole
• one pot greek chicken and rice pilaf
• cheesy baked bbq chicken

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Yield: 4-5 servings

30 Minute Skillet Ground Beef Stroganoff

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

One-pot 30-minute skillet ground beef stroganoff! This recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners because cleanup is a breeze, and it all comes together fairly quickly! Happy tummies all around!

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EACH: butter AND Worcestershire sauce
• 12 ounces baby bell mushrooms, cut into thick slices
• 1 cup chopped yellow onions
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon EACH: smoked paprika, dried thyme AND mushroom powder (optional, but so good)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon EACH: dijon mustard AND low sodium soy sauce
• 9 ounces dried egg noodles
• 4 cups low sodium beef stock
• 2/3 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)
• 2 tablespoon chopped parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. VEGGIES: Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet or sauté pan (one that had a lid) over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté them for 5 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Add the onions and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes stirring so nothing sticks. Season lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper and remove to a plate. 
2. MEAT: Add the remaining tablespoon of butter along with the ground beef and crumble and cook the beef. Season with garlic, smoked paprika, dried thyme, and mushroom powder and continue to cook until well browned; roughly 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and onions back into the pot. Stir in the flour and allow it to cook for roughly 1 minute.
3. NOODLES: Add the dijon, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen all that flavor. If it isn’t enough liquid, add a couple of tablespoons of the beef stock. Once scraped, add the remaining beef stock, along with the dried egg noodles and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and allow the stroganoff to simmer until the pasta cooked all the way through, roughly 8-10 minutes.
4. FINISH: When the pasta is cooked, stir in the sour cream and stir to combine and heat everything through. Serve topped with parsley!

Have you made this recipe?

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