Lean beef, extra vegetables, and creamy yogurt keeps this classic beef stroganoff recipe on the better-for-you side.
Creamy and flavorful, Beef Stroganoff was one of my favorite meals growing up. Lean sliced beef, mushrooms and onions in a creamy sauce served over rice or noodles. My mom nailed it.
What is beef stroganoff?
Named after a Russian diplomat, Count Paul Stroganoff, I updated and lightened up this 19th-century classic. Still pieces of tender beef, but more onion and mushrooms plus celery. I traded plain yogurt for sour cream in the tangy cream sauce. It’s good enough for a Count, but easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
It’s no wonder this recipe remains popular. Beef, onion, celery, mushrooms and tomato are all umami-rich foods. The naturally occurring salt in these ingredients add richness to a recipe, a savory deliciousness that lingers. All the powerful flavors make this a craveable recipe.
Serve over cooked rice or noodles.
How to make homemade beef stroganoff
Cook’s Note: Stir the yogurt in after you take it off the heat or dollop it on individual servings. Yogurt will separate if it gets too hot.
Beef stroganoff is a quick cooking recipe, so use a thinly sliced lean cut such as top sirloin, sirloin tip, tenderized round steak. Many recipes use ground beef.
Stroganoff is a beef broth gravy thickened with flour and flavored onion, celery, mushrooms, tomato paste, dried mustard. Traditionally, sour cream adds tangy creaminess. I’ve used plain Greek yogurt to lightened it up and trim calories.
Beef, onion, celery, mushrooms and tomato are all umami-rich foods. These ingredients add richness to a recipe, a savory deliciousness that lingers. Umami is referred to as the fifth taste sensation (along with sweet, sour, salt, and bitter). That’s probably why this recipe is still popular. All the umami flavors make craveable!
Yes! This is one reason to add yogurt just when you serve it. Because yogurt won’t freeze well. Well, it doesn’t thaw well. So freeze the cooked beef and vegetables. Thaw, reheat and then stir in the yogurt. Cooked rice freezes well too!
MORE beef recipes:
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How to make beef stroganoff
Lean beef, extra vegetables, and creamy yogurt keep this classic recipe on the better-for-you side. Serve over cooked noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Traditional
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced small (about 2 cups)
- 6 stalks celery, sliced 1/4-inch (about 3 cups) Save the leaves for garnish
- 8-ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1-pound sirloin steak, cut against the grain into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 14.5-ounce can beef broth
- 1/3 cup red wine (or water)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
Vegetables In a large pan heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Cook onion and celery 15 minutes, until softened. Celery should be tender. Add mushrooms, thyme, salt and pepper, cook 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, set aside.
Beef Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in large pot over medium heat. Add meat, cook until browned and almost cooked through. If the pot is small, you may want to cook the meat in 2 batches, so that the meat browns rather than steams. Add meat to vegetable bowl.
Seasonings In the remaining juices in large pot over medium heat, add flour, tomato paste and dry mustard, stir and cook 1 minute. Slowly put in beef broth and wine (or water), stirring to blend, remove lumps and scare up browned bits from the pot. Sauce will begin to thicken. Add vegetables and meat and any juices, cook 3-5 minutes to heat through.
Serve over rice, cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes, top with a dollop of plain yogurt.
Notes
Plain yogurt replaces the traditional sour cream. Add yogurt after cooking to keep it from breaking down. Top with chopped celery leaves if you like.
Comments
Had left over steak and I like to use it in a different recipe. I followed this essentially except had less steak and mushroom, so used less of other ingredients. I added some sweet paprika, parsley and one teaspoon worchesterchire sauce and instead of red wine used a couple tabs of dry sherry. Very good flavor. Worked out very well. Steamed broccoli great with this. Thank you.
I love hearing how you adapted this to use what you had on hand! Thanks for sharing.
Judy