If your beef stroganoff has ever turned out chewy, bland, or curdled, you are not alone! Even the best home cooks have made easy mistakes that make stroganoff disappointing. The good news is that all of these common mistakes are avoidable, and in this recipe, we’ll work through them together. These tips and tricks create a creamy, tender, and flavorful stroganoff every time! That’s why we firmly believe in its name – better than Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff! But first, let’s answer the question: What are common mistakes when making beef stroganoff?
What ingredients go in beef stroganoff? What is it traditionally made with?
Basic beef stroganoff ingredients include beef, onions, and mushrooms. From there, cooks focus on making enough sauce volume as well as providing a tangy taste. Each cook has their own preferences, producing a variety of different seasoning and sauce combinations! You may be wondering, what are the basics of this dish? Understanding how the dish works is essential to making the dish your own!
Usual additions are beef broth, herbs and spices, and sour cream. Some, like this recipe, use a combination of heavy cream and sour cream to produce a creamy sauce. It is more forgiving, reducing the risk of a curdled, separated sauce! To boost the tang that is lessened when the amount of sour cream is reduced, this recipe uses more Dijon mustard than others might!
This dish also requires a thickener. Unlike alfredo sauce that thickens as it is reduced, this dish comes together quickly and does not have time to reduce. Additionally, higher heat for longer periods increases the risk that the sauce will curdle or separate! The solution is to add a flour or cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce quickly!
We also add a couple “secret ingredients” that we’ll discuss further down!
What is the best cut of meat to use for beef stroganoff?
The best cut of meat is a cut that is already tender. We would recommend avoiding stew meat or chuck cuts of beef. These cuts benefit from a low and slow cooking method, but this dish comes together quickly. We recommend looking for stir fry beef! Generally, this cut of beef is tender and already cut into strips, making dinner come together even faster and easier!
If stir fry beef is not available, we recommend other tender cuts like a whole sirloin (what stir fry meat is generally made of), ribeye, tenderloin, and flat iron. Home cooks then cut the steaks into strips on their own. To make that process a little easier, we would recommend partially freezing the steak and slicing it straight from the freezer. The freezing process shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes.
What is the secret ingredient to make beef tender? How do you make beef stroganoff not chewy?
There isn’t a “secret ingredient” that makes beef tender. However, there are some things you can do to make beef tender! First, using a tender cut as discussed above is essential. It’s easier to keep a tender piece of meat tender than it is to make a tough cut tender! Second, avoid overcooking your beef! Depending on the thickness of the beef strips, the cooking time may differ. If using stir fry strips as suggested, we recommend only searing the strips on each side. This sear is important, as it provides flavor that does not come from any other source! Further cooking is not necessary at first, though. At the end when the beef is returned to the pan, it cooks a bit more.
Why does my stroganoff taste bland?
This is a common concern. While recipes with fewer ingredients may be attractive, especially on busy weeknights, taking the time to fully build the classic layers of flavor in beef stroganoff is the secret. This is the step that makes our recipe produce a better than Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff!
Some may skip adding mushrooms, as they may not like mushrooms. It’s okay – and perfectly normal – to have preferences! However, mushrooms are an integral ingredient to this dish, so if you do not add them, the dish may not be as flavorful.
What’s the secret to a flavorful stroganoff?
Our recipe contains three “secret ingredients.” The first is brandy. While it may seem tempting to skip this ingredient, you should know this: brandy adds a warm, slightly spiced, caramel-like flavor. It really is a great ingredient to have on hand! Even if you don’t like to drink it alone (which we don’t), it is a great addition to other things like our sangria, Christmas drinks like eggnog or buttered brandy, or poached fruit!
Second, another of our “secret ingredients” is allspice. This spice is a traditional ingredient in beef stroganoff. However, modern recipes don’t usually call for it. Unlike leaving out brandy, we feel that this recipe would produce a delicious beef stroganoff without the allspice. (We know this because we’ve done it!) However, allspice adds a depth to the flavor profile. It is one of those ingredients that is difficult to place because it fits so seamlessly into the dish!
Finally, our last “secret ingredient” is actually a larger amount Dijon mustard. Many recipes use tiny amounts, 1/2 tsp or so. We use at least a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. We frequently even add more to taste! Why do we do this? As discussed above, this recipe is a bit more user-friendly because we reduce the amount of sour cream and add heavy cream. This helps prevent curdling and separation of the sauce. However, because sour cream adds tang and we have decreased the amount in our recipe, we must add back the tang! And so we add more Dijon mustard! This also adds a delectable brightness to an otherwise heavy, creamy sauce.
What’s the secret to a creamy stroganoff?
There are many ways to get a creamy stroganoff. However, many of them require temperature control that just isn’t feasible when making a dish quickly for a weeknight meal. Adding sour cream to a hot pan runs the risk of creating a curdled, separated mess. However, this risk is less when using heavy cream due to its fat content! When adding in the dairy products, removing the pan from the heat for a minute, adding heavy cream first, and then adding sour cream will produce a creamy, delicious product every time! That’s why we call it better than Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff!
Why isn’t my beef stroganoff thickening up?
As discussed above, beef stroganoff isn’t a dish that is typically reduced to produce its characteristic thick sauce. This is partially why it is such a great weeknight dish! However, that does beg the question – how does the sauce become thickened? The sauce is generally thickened with a slurry of flour (or cornstarch) and water. This method of sauce thickening is very common in Asian dishes! It’s a good tool to have in your toolbox!
Problems around thickening beef stroganoff sauce are typically related to the flour or cornstarch. Some don’t add it at all, and they have a watery sauce. Some add it directly to the pan, creating lumps and decreasing its thickening effect on the sauce. Finally, some don’t add enough and produce a sauce of middling texture.
What is beef stroganoff served with?
Beef stroganoff is traditionally served with mashed potatoes! However, there are other options available. In the United States, it is very common to serve beef stroganoff with noodles (like Hamburger Helper does). Others still serve beef stroganoff with rice. In our opinion, regardless of your carb choice, it is nice to pair it with a steamed veggie to add color, crunch, and a lighter way to offset the heavy dish.
Okay! Now that we’re through the FAQs, let’s dive into the instructions!
How to make better than Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff
Prepare the beef
Depending on the beef available in your area (and your preferences), you may need to slice your beef. The easiest way to do so is to freeze your cut of beef for 20 minutes. Then, slice with a sharp knife. Season the sliced beef with a bit of flour, salt, pepper, and allspice.
Sear the beef
Searing the beef is all the cooking that is needed! You can see here that some of the beef retains some of its pink color. That’s okay! The beef will continue to cook at the end of the recipe process. This step allows the Maillard effect to add flavor to the beef that cannot be duplicated any other way. Additionally, when the beef is removed from the pan, it leaves its fat and flavor behind to help season the sauce!
Brown the onions and mushrooms
Browning the mushrooms requires a bit of technique, as well. If the mushrooms are overcrowding the pan, the mushrooms will steam in their own juices rather than browning. If that is what you prefer, that’s perfectly fine! However, may people prefer a drier mushroom. To do this, brown the mushrooms in a single layer, turn halfway through, and then remove from the pan. Working in batches may be necessary, depending on how many mushrooms you are using, as well as how thin they have been sliced.
Create the sauce
To prevent burning, we remove the mushrooms and onions from the pan before beginning this step. Once the pan is empty, turn up the heat to medium high and add the brandy. Cook the brandy until the alcohol smell is gone. Then, remove from the heat, and add the beef broth, seasonings, and mustard. This will bring the temperature of the pan down a bit, and prevent curdling of the cream products.
Immediately add heavy cream, and stir to combine all ingredients. Then, immediately add the sour cream, and stir to distribute ingredients evenly. Then, create the slurry of cornstarch/flour and water. Stir into the sauce and cook until the sauce begins to thicken. If the sauce is not as thick as you’d like, create a smaller amount of slurry and add it to the dish. Continue to do so until it is the consistency that you want! Conversely, if the sauce is too thick for your liking, feel free to add a bit of beef broth or heavy cream at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Last thing, add the mushrooms, onions, and beef back to the pan. Depending on how long it took to create your sauce, you may want to cook the ingredients in the sauce to warm them a bit. Generally, though, this is not necessary.
In conclusion…
Congratulations! You’ve made Better than Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff! Did you like the recipe? Did you make adjustments, and if so, how did they turn out? Let us know in the comments! You can also click the link in the recipe card to save our recipe on Pinterest so you never lose it. Trust us, you’ll want to make this again and again! You can also sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly updates on what we’re cooking!
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Better than Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff
Equipment
- 1 Kitchen knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 Large pan
- 1 Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef in strips
- 1 tbsp flour for dusting
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 onion sliced
- ½ pound brown mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup brandy
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ cup beef broth
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ½ tsp parsley
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- If your beef is not already in slices, slice your beef into thin strips. Coat the strips in a thin coat of flour and allspice. Then, sear the beef in a large pan over medium high heat. Remove the beef from the pan.1 pound beef, 1 tbsp flour, ½ tsp allspice
- Add the sliced onions and sliced brown mushrooms to the pan. Brown them on both sides, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan. Work in batches if necessary. Add garlic in the last minute, and cook until fragrant. Remove onions, mushrooms, and garlic from the pan.1 onion, ½ pound brown mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic
- Add brandy to the pan and cook until it no longer smells like alcohol. Then, remove from the heat, and add Dijon mustard, beef broth, and seasonings. After about a minute of the pan cooling down, add heavy cream and stir to combine. Finally, add sour cream and stir to combine.¼ cup brandy, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, ½ cup beef broth, salt, pepper, ½ tsp parsley, ½ tsp oregano, ½ cup heavy cream, ⅓ cup sour cream
- Combine flour and water to create a slurry. Add to the sauce and cook until the sauce begins to thicken. This will take a minute or two. If the sauce is too thick, add some beef broth and/or heavy cream to thin it out to your liking. If the sauce is too thin, create a half batch of slurry (of 1/2 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp water) and add to the sauce. Don't forget to allow a minute or two of cook time before judging if the sauce is thick enough. Repeat this process as many times as needed to create a sauce of your desired thickness.1 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp water
- Add the onions, mushrooms, garlic, and beef back to the pan. If they have cooled too much, cook in the sauce for a few minutes to warm through. Then serve!
