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Wonderfully creamy and tender, this simple slow cooker beef stroganoff gets your crock pot to do all the hard work and makes the perfect comfort food on colder nights.
Who doesn’t love a “love it and leave it” recipe? This easy slow cooker beef stroganoff is quick to put together and can be left alone to meld into a delicious, warm hug in a bowl. Cooking your beef stroganoff in the slow cooker isn’t just easy, it cooks the beef perfectly whilst keeping its texture buttery and soft (it’s what makes this recipe the best of the bunch).
Whether you serve it the traditional way with pasta or like to experiment, make sure you soak up as much of the delicious stroganoff sauce as possible when you enjoy this dish. Grabbing some slices of crusty bread and mopping up every last drop is very much encouraged!
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Beef: Stewing steak, sirloin steak, ribeye, chuck roast, or any tougher cuts of beef tend to work best for this recipe because the low and slow cooking process tenderizes the meat beautifully.
- Mushrooms: Use button mushrooms for no chopping, or use any variety you enjoy.
- Onion and Garlic
- Beef Broth: You can use store-bought or homemade beef broth, both bring a lot of flavor to the sauce.
- Sour Cream: If you don’t like or don’t have sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, crème fraiche or a thicker soy or cashew cream will work great.
- Cornstarch: Otherwise known as cornflour, this is going to make the “slurry” that will thicken the sauce.
- Oil: I use extra virgin olive oil, but any flavorless vegetable oil will work fine.
- Mustard: I like English or Dijon mustard, but you can use whatever you prefer – including spicy, wholegrain, or standard yellow.
- Worcester Sauce: This is a great seasoning for beef – its umami flavor brings out the best of the beef and mushrooms during cooking.
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper: To season.
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients: Chop up the onion and mince the garlic. Set aside. If not already prepped, cut your beef into cubes – about 1-1½ inches in size. Toss the beef cubes in the salt and pepper to season completely.
Sear the Beef: Add half of the oil and butter to a pan over medium-high heat. Then, add the beef cubes to the pan to brown and sear for 30 seconds to a minute. This will lock in flavor, but not fully cook the beef all the way through. Transfer the beef to a heat-safe dish and set aside.
Sauté Onions and Garlic: In the same pan, sauté the onions and the garlic with the remaining oil and butter, letting all the amazing beef juices meld with the vegetables. Cook until the onion begins to turn translucent, then remove from the heat.
Slow Cook and Thicken the Stroganoff: Add the cooked beef along with the cooked onions and garlic to the crock pot. Then, add the rest of the ingredients, keeping the cornstarch and sour cream aside. Cover the slow cooker and leave to cook for 5-6 hours on LOW or 3-4 hours on HIGH. Cook until the beef is tender and soft – it should fall apart when cut with a fork and is a medium-rare color on the inside, slightly pink and a little soft.
30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, make your slurry. Mix the cornstarch and water until it forms a white liquid, then add to the crockpot. Stir the mixture so it incorporates fully, then leave to cook for the last 30 minutes.
Add Sour Cream and Serve: Just before serving the slow cooker beef stroganoff, add your sour cream and stir until combined.
Can you freeze beef Stroganoff
Yes – but be sure to mix your sour cream into the sauce completely before freezing or it will change the texture of the overall dish. Once your slow cooker beef stroganoff is completely cooked, allow it to cool before transferring to freezer-safe containers or Ziplock bags. Portion it into serving sizes, and write the date on the front. It should keep for up to 3 months when stored properly.
To reheat: Thaw the frozen stroganoff in the refrigerator overnight. Then, reheat on the stovetop over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s heated through.
What to serve with beef Stroganoff
- Beef Stroganoff is a very filling meal all on its own, a classic beef stroganoff is served with a sprinkle of fresh parsley to garnish and on a bed of pasta.
- Generally, thicker egg noodles are best for the rich sauce. Think fettuccine, tagliatelle, or spaghetti, either homemade or store-bought.
- But, if you don’t want pasta, this recipe works great with fresh rice or creamy mashed potatoes.
- Alternatively, serve alongside slices of fresh, crusty bread or pieces of garlic bread – they’re perfect vessels for mopping up any leftover juices at the end of the meal!
More slow cooker recipes
If you try this slow cooker beef stroganoff recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb ribeye steak or other stewing beef
- 2.5 cups beef broth
- 22 oz white mushrooms
- 10 oz onion 1 large
- 0.42 oz garlic 3 cloves
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp mustard yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the cornstarch slurry
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 5 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Chop up the onion and mince the garlic. Set aside. If not already prepped, cut the beef into cubes – about 1-1½  inches in size. Toss the beef cubes in the salt and pepper to season completely.
- Add half of the oil and butter to a pan over medium-high heat. Then, add the beef cubes to the pan and brown and sear for 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer the beef to a heat-safe dish.
- In the same pan, sauté the onions and the garlic with the remaining oil and butter. Cook until the onion turns translucent, then remove from the heat.
- Add the cooked beef along with the cooked onions and garlic to the slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients, only keeping the cornstarch and sour cream aside.
- Leave to cook for 5-6 hours on LOW or 3-4 hours on HIGH. Cook until the beef is tender and soft – you should be able to pull it apart with a fork.
- 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, make your slurry. Mix together corn starch and water until it forms a white liquid, then add to the crockpot. Stir the mixture so it incorporates fully, then leave to cook for the last 30 minutes.
- Just before serving, add your sour cream and stir until combined.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
