- Country of origin
- 🇷🇺 Russia
- Category
- Main Course
- Difficulty
- ●○○ Easy
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 25 min
- Servings
- 4 servings
History
Beef Stroganoff owes its name to the Stroganov family, a line of wealthy 19th-century Russian merchants and nobles; the most popular legend credits the dish’s creation to a French chef employed by Count Alexander Stroganov in Odessa, said to have devised this sauce for a master with weak teeth, or one entertaining too many guests to carve the meat individually for each.
The dish spread beyond Russia via the city of Harbin in Manchuria and then Shanghai, where a large Russian community that emigrated after the 1917 revolution introduced it to Chinese and Western kitchens, before it became an international classic served with sour cream, mustard, and sometimes paprika.
Ingredients — serves 4
- 600 g (1.3 lb) beef tenderloin or rump, thinly sliced
- 300 g (10.5 oz) button mushrooms
- 1 onion, sliced
- 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) thick sour cream
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp oil or butter
- Salt, pepper
Step-by-step beef Stroganoff recipe
- Sauté the sliced onion in oil or butter until translucent.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and brown them over high heat.
- Sear the beef strips for just a few minutes, in batches, so they don’t stew.
- Return all the ingredients to the pan and stir in the mustard.
- Pour in the sour cream and let it thicken slightly over low heat, without boiling.
- Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately with rice or sautéed potatoes.
Cooking method
Technique: very quick searing of the meat over high heat, in several batches to preserve its tenderness.
Traditional equipment: large cast-iron skillet or high-sided sauté pan.
Tips: the sauce must never boil once the cream is added, or it will split.
Nutrition, per serving
Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided by four servings.
As written — without the rice or potatoes it’s traditionally served over — Stroganoff is a fairly lean main by the standards of a cream sauce: sour cream contributes less fat than a cream- or butter-heavy sauce might suggest, and the lean cut of beef called for keeps protein high relative to fat.
Economic context
A tenderloin or rump cut of beef puts Stroganoff above everyday cooking in Russia, though its 19th-century aristocratic origin has long since faded — today it’s standard restaurant and home fare, no longer confined to the tables it was reportedly invented for.
Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Russia generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.
Who this dish suits
Fits well with
- High-protein eating patterns — 36 g per serving before any rice or potatoes
- Moderate-fat diets, since the sauce is cream-based rather than butter-heavy
Worth knowing
- Dairy-based sauce; not suitable for those avoiding dairy
- 13 g of saturated fat per serving, mostly from the sour cream
- Traditionally served over rice or sautéed potatoes, which adds substantial carbohydrate on top of the figures above
What about you?
In your opinion, where’s the best place or restaurant to enjoy good beef Stroganoff?