Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
A fast and easy crock pot beef stroganoff that takes just a few minutes of prep work for a fantastic, hearty, family friendly meal. This is one of the most popular recipes on my site with hundreds of thousands of shares and positive reviews. There is a reason this recipe is well-liked. Easy, flavorful, economic, and hearty; it is a family favorite.
We love this stroganoff with Garlic Bread Twists and Italian Garden Salad, but it is hearty enough to be satisfying on its own.
Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
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Get excited for this simple yet elevated, mouthwatering Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff Recipe! With beef, seared and slow cooked in a creamy gravy to savory perfection, you will soon be enjoying this Stroganoff with a smile on your face.
Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff is simple to make, it only takes a few ingredients and a few minutes of your time. Plus it is a real winner as far as taste and flavor goes. Just look at the comments and reviews, this recipe is a reader favorite!
What Cut of Beef Do I Need?
Different options: There are several different cuts of beef that can be used from stroganoff, from ground beef to high end marbled steaks and tenderloin or chuck roasts. So when should you use which cut?
Quick Recipes: In shorter cook time recipes (30-40 minutes), usually a more expensive cut of beef is called for, such as tenderloin or sirloin, as they can break down and become tender, more quickly.
Mid range cooking time: You can use anything you used for the quick recipes, or ground beef is also a great option.
Slow Cooking: Value cuts like chuck roast are excellent. Tons of flavor. Great value.
Slow Cooker Cut = Chuck
In this particular recipe I use a chuck roast because it breaks down to tender perfection while it cooks slowly in the crock pot, uniting with the other ingredients to create a harmony of flavor! Just chunk it up into bite sized pieces, or buy already cut “stew meat” at the grocer.
The nice thing about cooking low and slow is you can use a cheaper cut of meat. Which means you get more value for your money with this meal. You can get away with this tougher cut because you are giving it time to cook.
Low and slow cooking means that tough connective tissue has a chance to break down, giving you tender, delicious meat at a fraction of the price of a more expensive cut.
Why we use it: I love offering my readers more economic options for recipes, and by choosing to work with a chuck roast not only will you save some coin, but giving this roast a chance to cook slowly will release its rich flavor by breaking down its nice balance of meat and fat.
How to make it amazing: Even though we want to keep things simple with this recipe, giving your meat a quick sear to brown the exterior will make this meal all the more magical by giving a little extra boost of flavor. A quick sear on high heat takes on a few minutes, and can make a huge difference in the flavor.
Although its totally up to you as the chef and how much time you want to invest. After that, its just a matter of letting the slow cooker do the rest! Giving it at least 4-6 hours to tenderize, making it juicy, not chewy.
What is Stroganoff Sauce Made of?
This savory classic sauce is simple and rewarding in flavor using only a few easy ingredients. This gravy-like sauce contains ingredients you will most likely already have in your fridge or pantry!
Using only an onion, garlic salt, milk, cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream cheese, when combined and given the opportunity to fuse together in the slow cooker, you will be amazed it was truly that simple!
Of course you can make substitutions and add fresh mushrooms to the gravy, or make your own version of cream of mushroom soup. But the fact remains, simple ingredients, incredible flavor.
Steps for Making Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Prep: Gather your ingredients. And get your slow cooker ready. I used a 5 quart crock pot. You can use bigger, but not smaller.
- Brown Meat: Brown your meat and cook onions slightly in a skillet. I realize this is a slow cooker meal, and it might seem counter productive to use a skillet as well. You can just dump your meat into the slow cooker and let it cook. But trust me, the flavor you get by adding a little browning to the exterior is worth the extra effort.
Get a nice sear on the exterior by patting the meat dry first, and don’t give into the temptation to stir it. Let it sit until the brown crust forms. - Mix Sauce: Mix together sauce, and put both sauce and meat and onions in 5 quart crock pot. You can mix the sauce in a separate bowl, or just dump everything into the crock pot and mix it there.
- Slow Cook: Cook for 4-6 hours on low. This really gives those flavors a chance to meld. Delicious.
- Add Noodles: Add in cooked egg noodles. I do not add the egg noodles to the slow cooker to cook with the rest because I feel like it produces inconsistent results. They end up either mushy or crunchy. Noodles only take a few minutes to prepare, so it is worth it to me to cook them separately.
Customize your Stroganoff
- Mushrooms: Many readers, and myself included, have added mushrooms into the slow cooker during the cook time and the results are amazing. I love using Bella Mushrooms as they have such great complexity to their flavor, but sliced white mushrooms work well too!
- Peas: If you love green peas, rinse a cup or two of frozen or fresh green peas and add them to the beef stroganoff slow cooker with the noodles at the end. They will warm up fine and just right! They add a nice sweetness to the dish.
- Diced tomatoes: When adding tomatoes, make sure you add them closer the the end of the cook time (last 20-30 minutes) as tomatoes break down more quickly and if cooked too long, can turn mushy.
- Grated carrot: When adding carrot, you can throw them in at the beginning, since they take longer to make them soft.
- Grated zucchini: Since zucchini are also a more dense vegetable, you will also want to throw these in at the half way mark.
- Chopped baby spinach leaves: Spinach breaks down and softens very fast, so always add it in at the very end. Giving it a quick stir through will be all it takes!
Really you can use any of your favorite veggies. Get creative and give it a try to up your veggie intake!
Share your favorite add-ins in the comments below.
Storing Leftovers
Fridge:
As recommended by the USDA, you should only store beef in the fridge for 3-4 days after cooking. Its always important to practice sanitary cooking and hand washing. Getting your left-overs into the fridge fast enough is also a component for freshness. Do not let your food sit out for too long after preparing it, and seal it in an air tight container.
If you follow good food safety procedures you can enjoy these delicious leftovers later in the week!
Freezer:
Freezing left-over stroganoff is a great option, if you want an easily re-heatable meal in the more distant future. This stroganoff recipe is freezable because the ingredients won’t congeal, just make sure you store it in an air tight container or a heavy-duty freezer bag. When re-heating, stir the stroganoff well as it heats, to prevent it from curdling.
You may also need to add a little liquid when reheating to get the sauce to the right consistency.
Other Make Ahead Meals to Get Dinner on the Table Quick:
- Beef Tips and Gravy Slow Cooker
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos
- Easy Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Recipe Credit: I got the inspiration from Pinterest from a great looking stroganoff. However, the link was bad, so I couldn’t get the recipe and do not know who to credit for the inspiration. There was a picture to help me get started; and the comments had some good info.
I sort of just looked at that, and made up the rest. Then tweaked it over and over until, voila; a perfect crockpot beef stroganoff.
My kids and husband ask me to make slow cooker beef stroganoff regularly. It is one of those recipes I have a lot of fun with. One thing to keep in mind is to use quality egg noodles otherwise they break and aren’t as good!
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Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1 lb beef stew meat Cut into bite sized pieces, if not already in bite chunks
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 16 ounce package egg noodles
Optional Ingredients (Note: Many have adjusted this recipe, these are things that have been found to work well)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms
Instructions
- Start by chopping up your onion, and putting it in fry pan with your stew meat.
- Season with the garlic salt
- Cook just until the onion starts to get translucent and meat is browned on outside, but not cooked through.This will help keep the meat moist while it cooks in the crock pot. You can skip this and just dump everything into the crock pot, but it won't be as moist and tender when it is done. Taking a few minutes to brown the meat helps a lot.
- In a separate bowl, mix together milk, mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, and cream cheese. Stir well so not too lumpy. (If adding in the sour cream and mushrooms, do that here)
- Put sauce mixture and meat and onions in crock pot, put lid on, and cook on low for 4-6 hours. You can stir occasionally.
- Just before finished, boil water and cook noodles according to package directions.
- When noodles are cooked through, and drained, stir into crock pot. Let sit about 5 minutes, then serve.
Video
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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