Why you’ll love this dairy free stroganoff
I absolutely love beef stroganoff. It’s creamy, savory and loaded with carbs, so what’s not to love? It’s the ultimate comfort food. By swapping the traditional steak for ground beef, and the sour cream for dairy free, you get a milk-free stroganoff that’s budget friendly and comes together in about 30 minutes.
Since there is a protein and a carb already built in to this dish, I always try to serve my ground beef stroganoff with a green vegetable or salad. Lately, we’ve been choosing frozen peas because they’re my daughter’s favorite, but oven roasted broccoli or a nice green salad with easy Dijon vinaigrette are my other go-to options.
More stroganoff recipes to try: Brazilian stroganoff / turkey stroganoff / halloumi stroganoff – some of these aren’t dairy free, but they are worth trying if you can!
Ingredient notes:
- Dairy free sour cream – I used vegan sour cream in this recipe to make it dairy free, but you can easily use regular sour cream if you prefer. If you want to make this dairy free but are unable to find a vegan or dairy free sour cream, you can make this recipe with a dairy free milk + cornstarch slurry, see notes in the recipe card for instructions.
- Beef bouillon – Many bouillon cubes contain some sort of dairy (in the form of whey or added proteins), so make sure you check your labels. I usually use this beef base because it’s allergy friendly. Use what’s best for you and always double check labels because manufacturer’s can change ingredients!
- Ground beef – I like to use leaner ground beef for the best flavor (typically 90/10), but any ground beef will work as long as you drain any excess grease. You can also swap in ground turkey if you prefer.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips + tricks:
- Want to add mushrooms? Slice 8 ounces of cremini or baby bella mushrooms and sauté them with the onions until they’re soft and browned before moving on to the roux step. They add a ton of flavor and some extra protein and fiber.
- Low heat for sour cream. High heat can cause dairy free sour cream to break, making the sauce thin and grainy. Make sure you reduce the heat when adding it to the pan and keep the heat at a simmer.
- Make it ahead. The sauce stores great in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can even freeze it for up to 6 months. But, cook the noodles fresh when you’re ready to serve so they don’t absorb too much liquid.
Frequently asked questions
I love using ground beef to make stroganoff, but if I can’t use that, I recommend using a decent quality steak, such as a sirloin steak. Just make sure you slice it against the grain before cooking.
Stroganoff sauce is a gravy-type sauce, usually made from thickened beef stock. It’s generally flavored with other ingredients such as sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard. In this recipe, I’ve used plant-based sour cream to make the recipe dairy free.
You can use vegan sour cream, cashew cream or even milk (plant or dairy). If you using milk, you’ll want to use a little less than the amount of sour cream the recipe calls for and add additional thickeners and a bit of acid from lemon juice or vinegar (about 1 teaspoon).
This stroganoff sauce is thickened with all-purpose flour, but you could also substitute cornstarch (use half the amount of flour listed)
Definitely not. You can serve this over potatoes, rice or any carb you prefer. We just like egg noodles the best.
More beef recipes you’ll love: Cincinnati chili recipe / beef barley soup / grilled meatloaf / chipotle pineapple beef
Ground Beef Stroganoff (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce package egg noodles
- 1 – 1½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1/2 cup dairy free sour cream, see notes for alternatives
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon beef base, 2 bouillon cubes*
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Salt & pepper, to taste
To make this with dairy free milk: replace sour cream with 1.5 cups dairy free milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the egg noodles according to package directions for al dente. When they are cooked, drain and set aside.
- Make the sauce. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks.Add the onions to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent and soft – about 5 minutes.
- Thicken and simmer. Sprinkle the flour over the beef and onion, stirring to evenly coat and allow the flour to absorb oil.Add the beef stock, sour cream, Dijon, Worcestershire, and beef bouillon to the pan. Stir until combined, and allow the sauce to simmer until thickened.
- Toss the noodles. Transfer the cooked noodles into the pot with the sauce and stir until evenly coated. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper and garnish with parsley before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Thank you! I modified your revipe a bit. I used steak slices. which I seared prior.I added mushrooms with the onions in the same pan and used a cabernet to make an initial reduction then added the flour before adding the beef broth and mustard to the mix and followed the rest of your recipe. It was delicious!!! Mt husband went back for seconds.
Did the recipe recently change?? I have this recipe saved and love it but the old recipe called for 1.5 cups of dairy free milk not sour cream. I cannot find that recipe at all. Please help. I’m lost. 🙂
I did change it, but I’m going to add the previous instructions so that anyone that wants them has it. You’ll want to use 1 1/2 cups dairy free milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch (whisked together), and it will take a bit longer to reduce.
There is WAY too much liquid in this recipe, and far too little flour & cornstarch to come close to thickening it. It came out more like a soup. I had to add a ton more cornstarch.
Should I make this again, I’ll cut back the milk to 3/4 cup and increase the flour and/or cornstarch accordingly.
Also, the directions are confused. You have us add the milk to the pan, and THEN whisk in the cornstarch & flour.
I am a cook by trade, I would change the wording on recipe, other than that I am surprised by this, I meant to get mushrooms to add and I forgot. Was so good, Even with brown rice noodles
My family loves this recipe! I cannot figure out why but every time I make it, it is very watery. I have tried adding more cornstarch, but it is noticeable.
Can you please repost the original version of this recipe as well? I like it better with the coconut milk than trying to find dairy free sour cream. Thanks! It’s one of our mainstay recipes!
Yes. I’m so sorry! I wanted to update it to reflect how we make it now, but I should have realized that you guys might want the old recipe. I’m adding it back in now.
SO good & easy to make!! Used a dairy free cream cheese which worked perfect, definitely a staple meal:)
Hey, so in your blog portion of this recipe you say to use dairy free milk you will need to use a bit less than the amount of sour cream….but then you say to use 1 1/2 cups of dairy free milk! Which is it? I’ve tried with 1 1/2 cups of milk but it took forever to reduce. Should it be made with less than 1/2 cup like the blog post suggests? Thank you,
Can I freeze this meal?
I’m confused where you got the calorie count from for this? I just added everything up and for 6 servings it comes out to 477 calories. I wish it was 283! I even used lean ground beef. If you did keep the calories that low, I’d love to know how! Thanks
Hi Sarah. Unfortunately, the nutrition calculations are just a reference point and they can vary from service to service so there can be discrepancies. It might change depending on which vegan sour cream you’re using and the percentage of fat you have in your ground beef. We used 96/4 beef, so maybe that is the difference?
I’ve been looking for a good dairy free version for my picky 12 year old. This was it!! I used Forager DF sour cream and it was delicious. We all had seconds and it was super easy. I’ll be checking out more of your recipes. Thank you!!