5-Ingredient Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
This creamy beef stroganoff is comfort food made in the crockpot!
This is one of my most popular recipes for entertaining. It combines tender beef with savory mushroom sauce to make a hearty meal that’s deceptively easy.
Another thing I love about this easy recipe is that you can use “lesser” cuts of beef. The meat spends a long time in the crockpot, which means that you will end up with tender chunks of beef no matter what you start with.
What’s in this 5-ingredient beef stroganoff recipe?
This easy slow-cooker recipe uses simple ingredients you can find at the grocery store:
- Beef Stew Meat: I use the cheap beef stew meat you can get for this recipe. Once it’s cooked long and slow, it’s mouth tender and delicious! You can also level up by using a different cut of beef, like beef tips, chuck roast, chuck steak, or sirloin steak.
- Cream of Mushroom Soup: You will need two 10.5 oz cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup. Golden mushroom soup is also an option here for a slightly different take.
- Dry Onion Soup Mix: One packet of dry onion soup mix lends so much flavor to the finished product. If you want to make your own, this recipe from Allrecipes works great!
- Sour Cream: You will use this to add creaminess at the end. You can sub this for greek yogurt or heavy cream, although the flavor is slightly different with each of these subs.
- Egg Noodles: Traditional beef stroganoff is served over egg noodles, and this recipe is no different. You can use your favorite brand of egg noodle here.
Making crockpot beef stroganoff
Optional Step | Brown the Beef
If you’d like your beef stew meat to have a pretty color, you can brown it in a large skillet. You don’t want to cook the meat all the way through, but you do want a nice brown color on the outside. This should take you about 5 minutes, if you choose to do it. Once you’re done browning the meat, you can put it in the crockpot.
Step 1 | Make the Sauce
In a small bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix until you get a sauce.
Place your beef stew meat in the bottom of the slow cooker, then pour the sauce over the top.
Step 2 | Cook
Place the lid on the crockpot and allow it to cook for 6-8 hours on low, or 3-4 hours on high. This is the fun part where you go about your day while not worrying about dinner.
Step 3 | Make the Noodles and Finish the Sauce
Just before you want to serve the stroganoff, bring some water to boil and make the egg noodles according to the package directions. Cook them to al dente, then drain.
Next, add your sour cream to the meat sauce in the crockpot and stir it to get that delicious creaminess!
Step 4 | Enjoy!
This is the best part, right? To serve, you can either put the meat sauce on top of a bed of egg noodles, or you can mix the egg noodles into the perfect creamy sauce. Add a little chopped fresh parsley and some cracked black pepper for garnish, and you have a gourmet meal you can feel proud to serve.
We usually eat this with a few side dishes, often these quick dinner rolls and a steamed veggie. It’s a low-stress meal the whole family loves!
Why’s it called beef stroganoff?
This recipe is actually named for a Russian aristocrat, Count Pavel Aleksandrovich Stroganoff. His family basically owned Siberia, so when he asked his French cook to incorporate some Russian elements into a new dish, the cook was only too happy to oblige. The cook added sour cream to a French mustard beef dish, creating the first beef stroganoff.
The recipe has changed quite a bit over the years, most notably when it was super popular in the 50’s and 60’s here in America. That version used ground beef and condensed soup.
Nowadays, there are tons of versions, from gourmet recipes that use creme fraîche and cognac, to the very simple one in this post. Beef stroganoff’s come a long way since Siberia!
More Easy Comfort Food Dinners
FAQs
Yes, the beef stroganoff sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it gently on the stove top and cook the egg noodles fresh when ready to serve.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of water or broth if the sauce thickens too much.
Yes! Fresh mushrooms are a classic, and peas or spinach are great additions. Add them in when you’re combining the sauce and noodles.
5-Ingredient Crockpot Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef stew meat
- 21 oz cream of mushroom soup (2 small cans)
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 8 oz egg noodles
Instructions
- Optional: Brown the beef stew meat in a large skillet.
- In a small bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix.
- Place beef stew meat in bottom of crockpot. Pour soup mix over the top.
- Place lid on crockpot and allow to cook for 6-8 hours on low.
- Before serving, cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and place to the side.
- Stir sour cream into beef sauce in crockpot.
- Either stir noodles into beef sauce, or serve beef sauce on a bed of noodles. Enjoy!
