The BEST Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff features tender chunks of beef and hearty mushrooms in an all-natural sour cream sauce for an easy, comforting, slow cooker dinner made with real ingredients!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff with text overlay.


 

If you enjoy hearty, comforting stroganoff, you'll also love Ground Beef Stroganoff and Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Soup!

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff is a slow cooker favorite that's an all-around hit when I make it for my family. My kids happily eat it, my husband raves about it, and I'm a happy camper because this tasty dinner doesn't require me to slave over the stove all day.

Close-up of Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff over noodles.

No Canned Soup

You may have seen a Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe before that relies on canned cream of mushroom soup as the base for its creamy sauce...but not this one.

While you can definitely count on some shortcuts to hasten the preparation of this meal -- such as buying beef stew meat already cut up and fresh mushrooms already sliced -- canned soup is not necessary.

Instead, stirring two ingredients into the broth towards the end of the cooking time is all you need to do to create that signature thick and silky stroganoff sauce!

Ingredients

So what are the real, all-natural ingredients that make this Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe THE BEST?

Labeled ingredients to make Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe.
  • Beef stew meat. Trimmed. You can also start out with a chuck roast and cube it yourself, which will end up being more economical per pound. But I wouldn't substitute leaner cuts, as those will result in slow-cooked beef that's less tender and succulent.
  • White mushrooms. Cleaned and sliced.
  • Minced garlic. You may certainly use fresh garlic cloves, but as with most crock pot recipes I cook, I use a refrigerated jar of minced garlic in lieu of chopping up the fresh stuff. I find that after cooking for so many hours in the slow cooker, the jarred garlic turns out just as good as fresh minced garlic, so I like to save myself the chopping time.
  • Beef broth or stock. Or you can use water mixed with Organic Better Than Bouillon Beef Base.
  • Red wine. Optional but recommended. Don't open a whole bottle of red wine just for the sake of this recipe. But if you already have a bottle open, or if you're going to be opening a bottle to drink with dinner, you can add a splash to your Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff for another layer of flavor.
  • Worcestershire sauce + Dijon mustard. To further boost the flavor.
  • Dried herbs + spices. Specifically, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, dried thyme, and a bay leaf.
  • Flour. For effortless thickening. (Or scroll down a few headings for cornstarch slurry instructions if you'd prefer to avoid flour.)
  • Salt + pepper. To taste.
  • Cream cheese + sour cream. Both at room temperature. These are stirred into the broth after the beef is cooked to create that traditional creamy, silky stroganoff sauce that we all know and love!
  • Fresh chopped parsley. Also optional but highly recommended, as it adds a pop of brightness, freshness, and color to the dish at the end of the cooking time.
  • Egg noodles. For serving.

As for the onions that you might notice are missing from this recipe? Well, if you know me or have been following this blog for any period of time, you have probably noted that I abhor onions. Like, loathe them. Like, they make me gag. And I never ever buy them, much less include them in anything I cook. I tend to add extra garlic instead when a recipe calls for onions (is it weird that I simultaneously love garlic and hate onions?).

Anyway, I apologize for my inconvenient food aversion, but all of that is to say...I realize that beef stroganoff sometimes includes onions. So if you are an onion fan, by all means, feel free to slice a medium onion and add it to the slow cooker along with the mushrooms! I promise to look the other way. 😉

How to Make Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

  1. Place beef, mushrooms, and garlic in the bottom of a large slow cooker.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine beef broth, red wine (if using), Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, dried herbs and spices, and flour. Whisk the mixture until the flour is completely dissolved. 
Sauce ingredients in glass bowl.
Sauce ingredients combined for Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff.
  1. Pour the mixture into the crock pot over the beef and mushrooms. Add a bay leaf.
Slow Cooker with beef, mushrooms, garlic, and sauce ingredients.
  1. Stir until all ingredients are combined and coated.
Beef Stroganoff Crock Pot ingredients combined and ready to cook.
  1. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW (or 4 to 5 hours on HIGH) until the beef is fall-apart tender.
  2. About 20 minutes before serving time, add cubed, softened cream cheese to the crock pot and replace the lid. 
Adding cream cheese to slow cooker.
  1. After 10 minutes, stir the warmed cream cheese into the sauce, smashing it with the back of a spoon to break it up and incorporate it into the sauce.
  2. Carefully stir the sour cream into the sauce until well-combined, as well as some fresh parsley (if using).
Stirring sour cream into Beef Stroganoff Crock Pot.
  1. Replace the lid on the crock pot for a few more minutes until the sauce is heated through.
  2. In the meantime, boil and drain some egg noodles.
Egg noodles boiling on stove.
  1. Remove the bay leaf from your Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.
Easy Beef Stroganoff in crock pot.
  1. Serve over hot egg noodles and garnish with additional fresh minced parsley.
Aerial view of Crock Pot Beef Strognoff recipe over noodles on plate.

Gluten-Free Option

If you'd like to make this recipe gluten-free (and therefore need to avoid using any flour), you may use cornstarch as a thickener instead. However, instead of stirring it into the liquid ingredients at the beginning of the recipe, it will need to be added towards the end of the recipe as a slurry.

  1. Once the beef is tender at the end of the primary cooking time, stir 2 tablespoons cornstarch into 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl until completely dissolved.
  2. Mix this slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker, cover, and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes to thicken.
  3. Continue following the original recipe directions, adding the cream cheese and then the sour cream.

For a truly GF meal, please just also double-check that your other ingredients (such as the Worcestershire sauce) are certified GF.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff with mushrooms on table.

Can I Sear the Beef?

You don't have to! I find that this Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff turns out perfectly delicious as a dump-everything-into-the-slow-cooker recipe without any additional steps. After all, I always prefer slow cooker recipes with minimal steps. 🙂

That being said, if you prefer searing your beef in a pan on the stove before adding it to the crock pot, feel free to do so.

  1. Preheat a pan and add a bit of EVOO.
  2. Season your stew meat with some salt and pepper.
  3. Cook the cubed beef until it's brown on all sides.
  4. Deglaze the pan with the red wine or a bit of the beef broth.
  5. Finally, dump your browned beef (and deglazing liquid) into the slow cooker and proceed with the recipe.

If you wish to sauté the mushrooms (and onions, if using) after the beef, you may do so in the same pan. Or you can just toss the raw veggies into the slow cooker on top of the seared beef. Either way, this recipe is pretty forgiving.

Close-up of Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe in a bowl.

Freezer Meal Option

I do not recommend freezing leftover beef stroganoff simply because the sour cream and cream cheese may cause your sauce to separate and/or curdle during thawing and reheating. If you do decide to freeze it, stir well while reheating and before serving to try to avoid this issue as much as possible.

That being said, if you'd like to make this Crockpot Beef Strognoff ahead of time as a freezer meal, go ahead and prepare it in the slow cooker as directed except leave out the cream cheese and sour cream. Once cool, transfer the stroganoff to a freezer-safe container (or a freezer-thickness baggie with all of the air squeezed out), label, and freeze for up to 3 months.

When you're ready to enjoy it, thaw the stroganoff, reheat it as desired, and then stir in the room temperature cream cheese and sour cream until well-incorporated, allowing the sauce to completely heat back up before serving.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff recipe close-up garnished with parlsey.

The BEST Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff is easy to make, hearty, tasty, and beyond comforting! It's mighty popular around here, and I hope that you all enjoy it as well. 🙂

More Comfort Food Recipes

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff in shallow white bowl.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff features tender chunks of beef and hearty mushrooms in an all-natural sour cream sauce for an easy, comforting, slow cooker dinner made with real ingredients!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 389kcal
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds trimmed beef stew meat, OR trimmed & cubed chuck roast
  • 12 ounces white mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
  • 1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
  • 2 tablespoons red wine, optional
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried parsley, OR ½ cup fresh parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 6 tablespoons flour
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Egg noodles

Instructions

  • Place beef, mushrooms, and garlic in crock pot. In a medium bowl, mix together beef broth, red wine (if using), Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley (if using), dried thyme, and flour. Whisk mixture until the flour is completely dissolved. Pour into crock pot, add bay leaf, and stir all ingredients until combined and coated. Place lid on crock pot and cook for 8 to 10 hours on LOW (or 4 to 5 hours on HIGH).
  • About 20 minutes before serving time, add softened cream cheese to crock pot and replace lid. After 10 minutes, stir the warmed cream cheese into the sauce, smashing it with the back of a spoon to break it up and fully incorporate it. Stir sour cream into sauce. Stir in fresh parsley at this point as well (if using). Replace lid and cook on LOW for a few more minutes until heated through.
  • In the meantime, boil egg noodles according to package directions and drain. Remove bay leaf from Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff, taste, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot egg noodles and garnish with additional minced parsley, if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.

Video

Notes

  • Don't open a whole bottle of red wine just for the sake of this recipe. But if you already have a bottle open, or if you're going to be opening a bottle to drink with dinner, you can add an optional splash to this stroganoff for another layer of flavor.
  • Instead of 2 tablespoons dried parsley, you may use ½ cup of fresh minced parsley. However, add fresh herbs to the recipe at the same time as the sour cream (as opposed to adding dried herbs at the beginning of the recipe).
  • The cream cheese makes the stroganoff sauce extra creamy, but you may leave it out if you prefer to make this dish lighter.

Nutrition

Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 357mg | Potassium: 999mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 399IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 4mg
Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

Post originally published on January 25, 2014, and updated on February 27, 2021, and February 1, 2023.

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83 Comments

  1. It’s in the crock pot right now. Smells delicious! nervous that I may have ruined it by adding the fresh parsley at the beginning. May want to add the note about not adding the fresh parsley - if using it - to the ingredients list.

    Looking forward to noshing on this tonight.
    Thanks!
    -Megan

    1. Hi Megan! Adding the parsley at the beginning wouldn't have ruined this recipe...the flavor of the parsley just may have gotten a little lost over the long cooking time. But you can always add more at the end if you like. 🙂 Hope your stroganoff was a hit!

  2. 5 stars
    Oh wow. This is sooooo yummy. Cooked to perfection for 9 hours, with the cream cheese, sour cream and FRESH parsley (as well as a sneaky sliced onion in at the start ;-), this is the best strog I've made. Thanks!

    1. I love hearing that this was a hit, Katie! 🙂 And I forgive you for adding the onion -- since I started working on my cookbook, I've learned to cook with them, too...ha! 😉

  3. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight cut recipe in half just the two off us empty nesters. It was delicious!! Thank you

    1. So happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Ginny! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂 Hope you're having a great week!

  4. 5 stars
    just made this delicious beef stroganoff recipe! I wanted to thank you for a great recipe without cream of anything in it!!!! My husband is lactose intolerant so I'm always trying to find good "creamy" recipes that I can tweek a bit for him. I just substituted "sour supreme" for the sour cream and omitted the cream cheese. It turned out fantastic!!!! Thanks for the great comfort food!!! I will definitely make this again!

    1. You're very welcome, Mary! I'm delighted that this stroganoff was such a hit for you and your husband and I really appreciate you sharing your adaptations to make it lactose-free. I'm sure that will help someone else down the line with the same question! Hope y'all enjoy this recipe for years to come... 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    I pinned this a while back because I love beef stroganoff and the fact that there is no canned cream soup in this recipe caught my eye. Finally made it tonight (a little risky because I am the only person in our house that eats mushrooms). I absolutely love it - the sauce is amazing; the rest of the family says I can make it again if I keep my mushrooms separate 🙂

    1. Ha, Beth...yay for a recipe that the family gave you permission to repeat! I have a few mushroom "dislikers" as well, so I completely understand. 😉 I'm glad that this was such a hit and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Hope you have a great weekend!

  6. 5 stars
    Thanks for the great recipe! Just finished having a bowl over egg noodles. It's been so hard for me recently to find good crock pot meals. This turned out the perfect consistency…not watery at all yay! I omitted the cream cheese but added a little extra wine :-). I was afraid the mushrooms would be too mushy but they were totally fine being thrown in at the beginning.

    I sort of halved the recipe (1.25 lbs stew beef, 10 oz mushrooms) and cooked it for longer than 5 hours on high because the beef seemed too tough. Unfortunately it came out a bit too dry…maybe it was actually ready at 3-4 hours? Or it's possible the cut of meat was too lean. I'll have to watch it more closely next time I make it.

    I made a couple of subs: I didn't have Worcestershire sauce, so I used soy sauce, some vinegar, and tomato sauce. I also didn't have mustard but amazingly had wasabi (how do I have ketchup but not mustard? I have no clue!).

    Turned out great! Next time I'll add more mushrooms because it's actually my favorite part. I like how they soak up the juices.

    Thanks again and I'll be looking at more of your recipes.

    1. I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed this, Amber, and that the recipe worked out with your substitutions. Some crock pots run hotter than others, but if you reduced the amount of beef, it's definitely possible that it would have been cooked in less than 4 hours on high. The cut of meat can also make a difference, of course. Hopefully it won't dry out if you try it again, and in looking around the site, I hope you found some more recipes to try. 🙂 Thanks for the comment and have a great rest of the week!

  7. Haha, I'm right there with you, hate onions & love garlic!! So let me tell you how excited I am to find a stroganoff recipe with no onions OR cream of junk soup!! Cant wait to try it 🙂

    1. Ha, Melissa...sounds like we're stroganoff soul mates! 😉 Hope this onion-free, soup-free version is a hit when you have a chance to try it... 🙂

  8. 5 stars
    5th time I'm making your version of stroganof this winter. Kids pooh-pah'd it at first, now the crock pot is scraped clean every time. My hubby says it's better than his mom's (omg!) fresh herbs, sour cream and cream cheese really make this a delish high quality meal in contrast to ccreepy canned soup. Thanks a bunch, new family fave!

    1. I'm so happy to hear that your family loves this stroganoff, Rachel, and I'm honored that it's made it onto your regular menu rotation! 🙂 I'm all about avoiding creepy canned soup as well -- ha! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know that this has been a hit, and I hope you're having a great week!

  9. I was wondering if you know how much, in cups, a serving would be? I made this tonight and I was wanting to log it into MyFitnessPal. I know there are six servings but I didn't know if you knew a more precise measurement in cups?
    However, this is SUPER good! My six year old asked if there were mushrooms in it, since he doesn't like them, nor do I for that matter, but I cut them up small enough that we can't tell. Anyway, he loved it! I used Chobani 0% Plain yogurt instead of sour cream and it's DA BOMB! I love anything that doesn't use Cream of X Soups, since my husband eats a Low Sodium diet, and because they are awful.
    Thanks for the yummy recipe!!! I will now scour your other recipes to see what treasures I may find!

    1. Gosh, Caitlin...I wish I could help you, but I don't have an actual cup measurement for this recipe. I hope you're able to guesstimate close enough to give you an answer...? However, I'm so glad to hear that this was a hit at your house, even with the (tiny) mushrooms! 😉 Yogurt is a great substitute for the sour cream, and I'm with you on the Cream of X soup...I haven't bought it in years. I have quite a few recipes on the blog that are adapted not to use condensed cream soup, so I hope you find another dinner idea that is met with equal enthusiasm. 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment, and sorry again that I don't know the serving size in cups. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

  10. 5 stars
    Samantha, tried your french dip recipe a couple weeks ago. Loved it. Thought I'd have another go at one of your concoctions, and gotta say this did not disappoint.

    This was served a lot when I was a kid, and your version is damn close. I honestly have had trouble recreating the recipe as I remembered, this is the closest I have gotten thus far. I had never considered cream cheese as part of it, yet it totally works.

    Are you looking at publishing a cookbook at some point? 10/10, would buy. Just sayin'

    1. I love it that this recipe came close to replicating the Beef Stroganoff recipe from your childhood, William...that's the best kind of compliment! And ha, no plans for a cookbook, but I'm so happy that you're enjoying my recipes enough to buy an imaginary one. 😉 Have a great rest of the week!

  11. We are going camping this weekend and I want to try this out on our friends. Can you tell me how many this recipe feeds? There will be 8 adults and I need to know if I should double this. Thanks and can't wait to try this.

    1. Hi Sharon! Sorry...the yield is kind of hidden at the very top of the recipe. 🙂 This recipe makes about 6 average servings. So depending on how big your eaters are, you might want to consider at least making 1 1/2 times the recipe. Hope y'all enjoy it and have fun camping!

        1. No problem at all, Sharon...I'm glad you asked so that you could be sure to plan accordingly. 🙂 Hope y'all had fun camping and that this recipe was a hit!

  12. 5 stars
    Not sure if I've ever written and told you this but I started following your blog when I read your comment about how you "abhor onions"! That would be my husband. Always have to adjust recipes with that in mind. I did make your Beef Stroganoff recipe and it was fantastic! Thanks much from one who has to always eliminate onions!

    1. Ha ha, Gwen...good to know I'm not the only onion hater out there! Hopefully people who like onions can figure out how to add them back to my recipes, because I honestly have no experience cooking with them! 😉 Tell your husband he's in good company, and I'm so happy that y'all enjoyed the stroganoff. 🙂 Hope you had a very Happy New Year!

    1. Yay, Ponee...it makes me very happy to hear that! Hope you enjoy this recipe for many years to come... 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to let me know that it was a hit!

  13. 5 stars
    I absolutely love this recipe (and love its lack of onions)! Even my kid who won't eat mushrooms totally inhaled it! I want to make it for some friends but one is gluten free. Can I substitute corn starch for the flour?

    1. I'm so glad your family enjoyed this recipe, Lyndsay...and that you didn't even feel compelled to add onions -- ha! 😉 I'm sure that it could be adapted to using cornstarch instead of flour, but I would probably adjust the recipe a bit to accommodate the change.

      Instead of stirring the cornstarch into the broth at the beginning of the recipe, I wouldn't add it until after the stroganoff is finished cooking. Then I would stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into a tiny bit of cold water or broth to dissolve it and stir the slurry into the stroganoff. If you want the sauce thicker, I'd repeat again with another tablespoon of cornstarch/slurry until you reach your desired consistency. Since cornstarch is much more "powerful" than flour, it shouldn't take as much, and the sauce will also be glossier with cornstarch than if you had used flour. After the sauce has thickened, I would proceed with the recipe, adding the softened cream cheese and sour cream.

      Again, I haven't tried this substitution, but if I were going to, that's how I would do it. 😉 Good luck, and I hope your friends enjoy it as much as y'all did! 🙂

    1. I'm so happy to hear that, Natalie! Thanks for coming back to share that this recipe was a hit for you. Hope you enjoy it many more times to come! Have a wonderful week!

    1. You are very welcome, Melissa! I'm glad you enjoyed this stroganoff, and I agree that the touch of cream cheese makes it even better. 😉 Thanks so much for stopping back by to let me know that it was a hit. Hope you have a great week!

  14. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. An absolute keeper. My husband and I loved it. Will definitely serve this to company and I will make sure to have your recipe handy as I know they will want it. We have a wonderful butcher shop close by and they make their own au jus so I used that for the beef broth and it worked fabulous. Thanks again. Will definitely be trying more of your recipes and sharing your blog with family and friends

    1. I am so happy to hear that you and your husband loved this recipe, Terri! I bet it was particularly tasty with the fresh au jus. I really appreciate you sharing my blog and I hope you find some other recipes to try that you end up enjoying just as much. 🙂 Thanks so much for the sweet comment...have a wonderful week!

  15. Recipe looks fabulous, and I have it ready to go for the crockpot tomorrow! One question about the Better than Boullion - are you concerned about the yeast extract, dried whey, or hydrolized soy protein in it? It's my understanding that this is a form of msg. I've recently started making my own broths, but I would love to find a clean 'back-up' to use.

    1. Hi Jill! That is a great question. As mentioned in my post, I use Organic Better Than Bouillon, and the reason for that is I am concerned about some of the ingredients in the non-organic variety. I do not claim to be an expert on this topic, and I would say that making your own broth is going to be the only surefire way to control your ingredients. But I do keep organic BTB on hand as a shortcut ingredient, and I feel that it has far fewer processed ingredients than regular bouillon cubes.

      I'm looking at the jar of Organic Beef Better Than Bouillon from my refrigerator, and out of the ingredients you asked about, the only one I see on this label is yeast extract. (Maybe dried whey and hydrolized soy protein are found in the non-organic version?) Here's an article that I remembered reading awhile back addressing the yeast extract ingredient: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/myths-and-misconceptions-msg But again, there are certainly others who claim that it is not good for you, and I'm not an authority to assure you one way or the other! So I think you are smart to do your research and avoid products with ingredients that make you unsure or uncomfortable. And this recipe will work just fine with regular beef broth if that's what you prefer to use. 🙂

      Thanks again for the great question and I hope you enjoy the stroganoff! 🙂