Ground Beef Stroganoff Recipe

This easy ground beef stroganoff recipe is weeknight comfort food at its best: seasoned ground beef, mushrooms, and tender egg noodles folded into a creamy, from-scratch sauce. No canned soup, and dinner's on the table in 40 minutes.

I grew up on stroganoff made with canned soup, so the first time I made the sauce from scratch I was annoyed at how much better it was. Cream cheese and sour cream, that's the whole trick. If you like this kind of low-effort comfort food, my ground beef orzo with creamy tomato sauce is in the same family.

This is also the recipe I make when I need to feed a lot of people without thinking too hard. Two pounds of beef, one big pot, serves ten — it stretches further than my marry me chicken orzo, which is why it shows up whenever we've got extra mouths around the table.

Why You'll Love This Ground Beef Stroganoff

• 🥫 No canned soup — the sauce is made from scratch with cream cheese and sour cream
• 🥩 Built to feed a crowd — two pounds of beef, serves 10
• ⏱️ 40 minutes start to finish, most of it hands-off simmering
• 🍄 Real mushrooms and bell pepper for actual flavor, not filler
• 🧒 Kid-approved comfort food — creamy, beefy, served over egg noodles

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• Recipe Overview: Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Why You'll Love This Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Key Ingredients
• FAQs
• More Comfort Food Recipes You'll Love
• Ground Beef Stroganoff

Key Ingredients

The full ingredient list with measurements is in the recipe card below.

Ground Beef

An 80/20 blend gives the best flavor here. Brown it well and drain off the excess fat before building the sauce.

Mushrooms

Fresh mushrooms, not canned. Sauté them until golden — that's where a lot of the deep, savory flavor comes from.

Cream Cheese

This is what makes the sauce rich and creamy with no canned soup involved. Let it soften first so it melts in smoothly.

Sour Cream

Stirred in off the heat at the very end so it stays silky instead of curdling.

Egg Noodles

Wide egg noodles are the classic pairing. They catch the creamy sauce better than anything else.

First tip, Sneak in veggies.

This is a great recipe to sneak in some extra veggies for picky eaters. Mushrooms, onions and peppers are a must, but I love when I have zucchini or celery to add too. You don't need to chop them as finely as I do, but because it's easier for the kids to eat them like that, I put in the extra effort. The step of chopping up vegetables is something I try to get done in the morning. I've made myself a habit of taking some time in the morning to work ahead on lunch and dinner. That includes chopping vegetables I know I'll need, putting meat out of the freezer or marinating meat if I put it out the night before, feeding sourdough or mixing a loaf, and things like that.

Cook and drain the ground beef. Sautee your veggies in your cast iron or dutch oven. I will include measurements below, but definitely measure as you prefer, and also add whatever vegetables you have that would fit in. I like a ton of mushrooms, I feel that that makes the dish so good and hearty.

When my vegetables are ready, I push them to the side and make a hole in the center, where I add butter and minced garlic, and let that cook until aromatic. Mix it all together, and pour over 2 cups of beef broth. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk/flour mixture and cream cheese.

Next, add the ground beef.

Mix, taste, add salt and pepper as necessary. When you are satisfied with the taste, add sour cream and then turn off heat.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions. You can use any sort of pasta, I've used spaghetti, and we've had it with chickpea pasta. You can't go wrong. I make my own egg noodles and my family loves those with this dish. I'll link a recipe for homemade sourdough pasta here.

I also roast a spaghetti squash that I eat along with this to lessen the carb load. My oldest has started to add about 5 strings of spaghetti squash to hers, and thinks she's very nutritious. I laugh but it's a start. I didn't either until I was an adult.

Now, my favorite part is where I explain how I make this recipe into another meal,..

Ground beef stroganoff casserole.

First of all, you have to make double of everything. When the fam is done eating and are like whoa mom, you made enough to feed an army. You just smile and take out your casserole dish, pour in enough pasta for another meal, drizzle some oil or butter over them. Next spread your leftover stroganoff on that, and then cover it with any white cheese like mozzarella, provolone, or an Italian mix.

Sprinkle with dried parsley, cover with foil and refrigerate. Next day or in two days, you just bake it uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. I think I love it more as leftovers with that cheese than when it's fresh. It's amazing. You can also freeze the casserole, but some people say their sour cream curdles when doing that, although I haven't had any issues with that.

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other recipes using ground beef for more family week night dinner ideas.

http://theproverbskitchen.com/lightened-up-bacon-cheeseburger-soup/

FAQs

More Comfort Food Recipes You'll Love

If you try this ground beef stroganoff, leave a star rating below and tell me how it went. I read every comment.