To all lovers of cold-weather comfort food, I’m dedicating my Homemade Beef Stroganoff in 30 Minutes recipe to you. If you think this is a complicated dish, think again! It’s super-easy…even the homemade white sauce!
Homemade Beef Stroganoff in 30 Minutes
For this recipe, forget the slow-cooker and the oven…you don’t need them. You can even use cooked beef for this recipe, or if you have uncooked beef, just slice it thin and sauté it to a lovely, medium-rare temperature in just a few minutes. You can also use ground beef for this recipe. It’s awesome either way!
I personally prefer to have one less cooking task when it’s time to throw down a busy weekday dinner. This is actually one of my secrets to make super-efficient weeknight meals.
The white sauce for this recipe is made entirely from scratch. Yeah, there are a few more steps involved in homemade white sauce, but do yourself a solid and skip the usual can of salty, mushroom soup often called for in stroganoff recipes. The homemade stuff happens fast, tastes spectacular, and is 100% worth the little effort required.
What’s also cool is that once you know how to make a basic white sauce, you’re on your way to any number of gravies, cheese sauces and creamy soups. Yum! And no, you are not required to use whole milk to make a white sauce. I always use 1% milk for mine.
Yes, we’re substituting 1% milk for heavy cream…and it rocks!
Some may balk at the substitution, and I do love decadence, but I find 1% milk to be a healthier choice for a weeknight meal and the sauce still has a thick, rich consistency if cooked properly.
That said…are you in? I hope so! Here’s my recipe for homemade Beef Stroganoff. I will love to hear how yours turns out!
Yields 2 quarts
Make your own lean, Beef Stroganoff in 30 minutes with an easy béchamel (white sauce) recipe that uses 1% milk instead of heavy cream. Easy to make!
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups Penne Pasta
- 3 quarts Water
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 large Onion (1/4” slices)
- 4 cloves Garlic (chopped small)
- 2 cups Mushrooms (1/4” slices)
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp All-purpose Flour
- 1 cup 1% Milk (warmed - hint…I microwave it for 1 minute)
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- 2 tbsp Red Wine
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/2 lb cooked Sirloin (thinly sliced into strips)
- 1/4 cup fresh Oregano (chopped; reserve some for garnish)
- 1/2 cup NonFat Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream (for garnish only)
Instructions
- Gather ALL ingredients, measure, and implement prep steps (chop, dice, etc)
- Cook pasta according to package instructions (to al dente; i.e., slightly undercooked)
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat OLIVE OIL on medium heat until it shimmers (about 2 min)
- Add ONION and GARLIC; sauté until very soft (about 5 min); add MUSHROOMS; sauté until slightly soft (about 3 min); Remove all veggies from skillet and set aside (they’ll be added back later)
- In the same skillet on medium heat, melt BUTTER; whisk in FLOUR to combine; continue whisking until it forms a paste and turns a golden brown color (2-3 minutes)
- Add the warmed MILK (about 1/4 cup at a time) and continue to whisk over medium heat until all milk is in the pan and sauce starts to thicken (about 3 min); stir in BEEF BROTH, RED WINE, SALT, PEPPER, BAY LEAF.
- Fold SIRLOIN into the sauce; cover and simmer about 5 minutes
- Stir in all cooked PASTA, sautéed VEGGIES, and OREGANO to the sauce, continuously (but gently) stirring until warm enough to serve (about 5 min)
Notes
To serve, top with NONFAT GREEK YOGURT or SOUR CREAM and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped fresh OREGANO
If the sauce becomes too thick during the final stages of the cooking process, add more warm milk 1/2 cup at a time and no more than 1 cup. You can always step up the white sauce in this recipe to a traditional Bechamel by adding a pinch of nutmeg at the same time you're adding the salt and pepper One last note, if you're vegetarian, this recipe works terrific with any meat substitute.
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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