When you need a dinner that’s rich, comforting, and actually doable on a busy night, this Easy Beef Stroganoff delivers. Tender beef, a creamy savory sauce, and simple pantry ingredients come together fast, making it the kind of meal that feels indulgent without the extra effort. If you’re craving classic comfort food that works for real weeknights, this is the stroganoff recipe to make.

The best part is how simple it really is — quick-seared beef, a flavorful sauce built right in the pan, and a short simmer that brings everything together without fuss. Serve it over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes, and dinner is on the table faster than you’d expect for something this cozy.

Creamy, comforting beef stroganoff made easy — no extra steps, no stress, just real comfort food.

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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Easy Beef Stroganoff

While stroganoff is a dish many of us in the United States are familiar with it actually originated in Russia and is a dish that typically features sauteed pieces of beef with a mustard and sour cream sauce.

My one-pot creamy stroganoff is true to the classic with a few twists designed to make it super-simple for an easy weeknight dinner.

Easy Stroganoff Recipe Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

• Ground Beef – I prefer to use 80/20 ground beef. It’s important to have some fat in your beef so you get that rich taste. Traditionally, you would use thinly sliced beef, but I find that ground beef spreads out more evenly throughout the dish and costs a lot less when you are feeding a family.
• Onion – although this ingredient is optional in the recipe, I highly recommend using it since onions have lots of natural sugars that come out when they are cooked, and it adds a nice complexity to the stroganoff sauce.
• Cremini mushrooms – cremini are actually the same type of mushroom as white mushrooms and portobello but are at a different stage of maturity. Creminis have a mild, earthy flavor and add a meaty texture to this dish. 
• Cream cheese – this adds the creamy richness that you expect from a stroganoff sauce. 
• Water – I use water to thin the cream cheese. You can swap the cream cheese and water for an equal amount of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt if you prefer. 
• Whole milk / Heavy cream – Milk or cream are important for adding richness to the stroganoff. I usually use half heavy cream and half whole milk but you can choose which you want to use based on the consistency you like for your sauce. 
• Salt – salt is essential in every recipe since it makes all of the ingredients come out of their shells and play together to make a cohesive dish. 
• Pepper – pepper is salt’s hero sidekick. It also adds a nice little heat to this dish. You can add additional pepper if you want it to be spicy. 
• Fettuccine – this is a thin flat pasta that I like to use because it coats well in the sauce and the ground beef and mushrooms are able to stick to it better than other thinner pastas. When cooking fettuccine make sure you salt your water (about ½ tsp per 8 quarts of water)
• Green onions / Cilantro – whatever herbs you choose to garnish with make sure they are fresh. I recommend you use green onions especially if you don’t use an onion in the recipe. 
• Parmesan – parmesan cheese has a nice salty tangy sharp bite and adds that to this recipe, plus it looks pretty on the top.

Easy Stroganoff Recipe Steps

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:

Easy Beef Stroganoff Tips and Tricks:

Build flavor in the pan: Let onions and mushrooms cook until golden to create a rich base before adding liquids.

Deglaze properly: Scrape up the browned bits after searing — they add depth to the sauce without extra ingredients.

Keep the simmer gentle: A low simmer prevents the beef from tightening and keeps the sauce smooth.

Add sour cream last: Stir it in off heat or at very low heat to avoid curdling and keep the sauce creamy.

Season at the end: Beef broth and Worcestershire can vary in saltiness, so taste before adding extra salt.

Thin if needed: If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of broth or pasta water to loosen it.

Serve immediately: Stroganoff is best right after cooking while the sauce is silky and the beef is tender.

Cut mushrooms small: if you have fussy eaters and are looking to add mushrooms without the drama, you can dice them to add to this recipe.

Deglaze the pan with wine. One of my favorite ways to elevate a dish is to splash a few tablespoons of wine into the pan right after the mushrooms and onions are browned before I add any moisture. Always use a dry wine that you would drink. I deglaze the pan with white wine for dishes with chicken or fish and red wine for dishes with beef or pork.

Egg Noodle Beef Stroganoff

This recipe is formatted for using fettuccini or any other pre-cooked pasta – but I personally love using frozen egg noodles.

Cook the egg noodles to al dente (this takes longer than dried pasta) and for the most creamy, perfect results, let cook in the sauce for an additional 3-5 minutes. It will soak up a lot of the liquid in the pan, so be sure to add 1 cup of pasta cooking water to the sauce.

Thin Sliced Beef Stroganoff

I’m using ground beef in this recipe since it cooks quickly and easily – and I always have some ground beef on hand. To make this recipe with a more traditional thinly sliced beef, use the same steps as ground beef, but with the following tips in mind:

Use the right cut of beef: Thin-sliced sirloin or flank steak stays tender and cooks quickly, making it ideal for an easy, no-fuss stroganoff.

Slice against the grain: This shortens the muscle fibers and keeps the beef tender, even with quick cooking.

Don’t overcrowd the pan: Sear the beef in batches if needed so it browns instead of steaming.

Cream Cheese or Sour Cream in Stroganoff

If you’re wondering whether to use cream cheese or sour cream in your stroganoff, no worries – the answer is you can use either!

I personally prefer using cream cheese in this recipe to create a thicker, more creamy sauce – but using sour cream is the more traditional pick. Cream cheese is a bit more rich, sour cream has a bit of a tangy kick.

You can use either sour cream or cream cheese – or half and half!

Easy Beef Stroganoff FAQ’s

Sides to Serve with Beef Stroganoff

And if you love this recipe, you’ll love One Pot Creamy Beef Stroganoff Ravioli, One Pan Beef Stroganoff, One Pot Creamy Shrimp Florentine Skillet.

Here are a few of my favorite sides that go well with this, Easy Garlic Butter Texas Toast, Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Salad, Garden Vegetable Greek Salad.

Try these sides:

Easy Garlic Bread

Crunchy Lemon Parmesan Salad

Crispy Roasted Potatoes

Easy Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe

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