This made from scratch beef meatball stroganoff recipe has a creamy sour cream sauce with no canned soup or frozen meatballs. It’s still quick and simple enough to make for a busy weeknight in just 30 minutes, but it will taste like you worked on it all day.
Traditional beef stroganoff is made with sliced beef but for meatball stroganoff, you’ll use ground beef to form meatballs. The meatballs are then cooked in a skillet and all the flavor from the beef is absorbed into a rich sour cream sauce the whole family with love.
Your version of meatballs might be with a can of cream of mushroom soup, which is the classic dish that I grew up with. While those are good, the homemade creamy mushroom sauce is so much better and hardly any work. It’s soon to become a family favorite and is on my list of comfort food.
This is a “lick the pan” kind of gravy, so rich and creamy. Serve it over egg noodles or rice to sop up any extra, you won’t want to miss a drop. It’s as good as the marsala gravy I make for chicken marsala meatballs.
You don’t need a lot of time for this beef stroganoff recipe, start to finish in 30 minutes. If beef’s not your thing but you still love meatballs you can use ground chicken instead of beef but the flavor will not be the same or, try my chicken parmesan meatballs.
Juicy meatballs are a fun and delicious way to add protein to your meal, it makes it easy to vary the portion size which can be difficult when you are serving chicken breasts or steak. Whether it’s Swedish meatballs, parmesan meatballs, or marsala meatballs, they all have a unique sauce which is why we traditionally serve them over wide egg noodles.
What is stroganoff sauce made of
There are a lot of variations for stroganoff sauce, but the one thing they all have in common is sour cream. The sauce starts with mushrooms and beef broth, a little wine and seasonings and then is finished with cream and sour cream. This recipe doesn’t need flour, cream thickens the sauce giving it a rich flavor but without gluten or carbs.
Reasons to try ground beef stroganoff
- Quick dinner
- Creamy beef flavored sour cream sauce
- Portion size is easier to adapt
- Great for leftovers
Ingredients you’ll need to make meatball stroganoff
Ground beef – I typically choose ground chuck which is 80% lean and 20% fat and will give you tender meatballs. Lean ground beef, or ground sirloin which is 90% lean and 10% fat can be a little dry for meatballs.
Worcestershire sauce – this adds a salty, savory boost of flavor when added to ground beef, the secret is anchovies.
Fresh parsley – this is added to the ground beef. You can substitute dried instead, the general rule when using dried instead of fresh is one-third the amount of dried per fresh, so in this recipe, 1 tablespoon dried.
Onions and garlic – these are the base for your flavor
Fresh mushrooms – any type will work it this recipe, I generally use the white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, you will be browning them with onions and garlic.
Red wine – just a splash for flavor.
Beef broth – you can use chicken broth instead, you’ll still get beef flavor from the ground beef.
Sour cream and heavy cream – you can use low fat sour cream, but you’ll need the fat in the cream to make a creamy sauce.
Pantry staples – onion powder, garlic powder and butter.
Simple steps for making a meatball stroganoff recipe
Step 1 – form meatballs
Mix the ground chuck with parsley, garlic and Worcestershire sauce and use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to form into balls.
Cook the meatball mixture in a large skillet until cooked through and remove to a platter. You can use a meat thermometer, the USDA recommends 160º, or just break one open and make sure it’s only slightly pink.
Step 2 – start the sauce
To the same skillet, add mushrooms and onions and cook until the mushrooms are browned and the onions are soft, then add wine and broth to get up all the browned bits. Let it simmer.
Step 3 – make it creamy
Add cream and sour cream and add meatballs back to the skillet to simmer.
Don’t loose any of the creamy rich sauce, serve it over tender egg noodles, pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes. If you don’t want the added carbs, then serve over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
What to serve with beef stroganoff
A strawberry spinach salad would taste great along side your meatballs. Add a biscuit or dinner roll for a full meal. You could always throw in some roasted asparagus which only takes about 10 minutes to cook.
Stroganoff meatball FAQ’s
Beef meatballs will freeze and reheat very well. Let cool and place meatballs and sauce in an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months. To reheat, let come to room temperature and cover and place in the oven for 5 minutes or microwave.
To freeze meatballs with sauce, let it come to room temperature. Place meatballs with some sauce in an airtight container or vacuum seal them to keep them for longer periods of time.
You can use chicken instead of beef but they will not have the same flavor since the beef is cooked first in the skillet.
Looking for more quick dinners
- Make dinner more interesting with apricot dijon chicken
- Go Tex-Mex with chicken and rice
- Try a baked apple pancake and have breakfast for dinner
- Pasta with lemon chicken is a quick and easy choice
More recipes with ground beef
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Stroganoff Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb ground beef
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine
- ½ cup onion diced
- 6 ounces mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup beef stock
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, half the garlic and seasonings. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and form into balls.
- In a skillet over medium high heat, cook the meatballs , browning on both sides, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, add butter, olive oil and wine. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, mushrooms and the rest of the garlic. Saute until onions are starting to turn brown and mushrooms are tender. Add beef broth and cook until slightly reduced. Stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Add meatballs back to the pan and let simmer uncovered on low for about 10 minutes.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- You can substitute chicken broth for beef broth.
- Ground beef should be cooked to 160º, use a. meat thermometer to determine when they are fully cooked so they don’t over cook.
- You will need to use cream and not milk to get a creamy sauce.
- Use ground chuck for more flavor with an 80/20 ratio.
Nutrition
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Best Rating possible
Tried this about 2 months ago but forgot to pin to my favorites… It is EASY to prepare and the family ate every bite!
Got to thinking about dinner at 5PM. It was ready to eat by a little after 6PM. Most of the extra time was getting interrupted by the grandkids!
Glad it was a hit!
Can I make this meal ahead of time before my guest show up? Suggestions?
I would make the burgers, taking them out before they are cooked through, then make the sauce and wait until your guests arrive before adding the burgers to the sauce. That will keep them from being overcooked.