Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Crockpot beef stroganoff with 5 ingredients and cooks all day in your slow cooker. The best way to make tender beef with a creamy sauce. If you loved our beef stroganoff casserole this is a lot less work and cooks all on it’s own.

This is the best Crockpot beef stroganoff recipe I have been making for years for my girls. It doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and you can really jazzz it up with the spices your family desires. Here’s how you make one of our favorite crockpot recipes.

The reason I love this (other than it is delicious) is that it cooks by itself all day. You just throw it all in and forget about it until you are home.

As far as the main protein used I do like stew meat recipes because it is cheap to buy, breaks down to tender easily and I don’t have to cube it myself. You could dice up a chuck roast if you would rather too. 😉

Of course you can cut steak into bite size pieces but this is already in chunks and sold that way. It is super cheap too which is another win!! I am all about easy when it comes to cooking dinner for my family. Finding something that all 5 of us love is a must too.

There is something about slow cooker beef stroganoff that just takes me back to when we went to my Grandma’s house for dinner. The smell itself makes me think of her. 😉

Of course she didn’t cook it in a crockpot, but with 3 kids it’s kinda’ necessary for us. If you love stroganoff you’ve gotta’ try this easy crockpot beef stroganoff recipe of ours. You seriously just throw everything in and it cooks by itself.

Do you have to brown meat to make stroganoff?

It is helpful but not a necessary step. Some insist on browning the meat first because it does lock in more moisture but it is an added step so if I am in a hurry I will skip too. If you do this, you will want to deglaze the pan with a bit of red wine and pour that into the pot as well.

How thick is the stroganoff sauce supposed to be?

It should resemble a gravy, but exactly how dense it is is up to you. What I do so that it isn’t chunky is to whisk together 1/3 c. flour, 1 c. sour cream and scoop enough of the warm beef broth out of the pot to create your rue (this thickens the sauce).

Put this thickening mixture into your crockpot and cook for about 30 min. longer. If you like it thicker you can combine more to your mixture. Serve over egg noodles! If you’re in a hurry try our other stew meat in Instant Pot recipe

What cut of beef is best to make stroganoff?

If you are making ground beef stroganoff then 80/20 is best. Fat = flavor. If you don’t want meat for a stew like suggested you could cube up a chuck roast instead. That has a decent amount of marbeling so ti will get tender as you slow cook it.

Can you cook noodles with stroganoff?

Unlike our Instant Pot stroganoff casserole where the pasta and meat are cooked together you’ll need to boil it separately this go around. About 1/2 hr. before serving cook the egg noodles separately in a pot (you will serve meat over these), and in a bowl combine the 3 ingredients to make your rue. Over mashed potatoes is wonderful too though.

Variations and Substitutions

Now Greek yogurt, plain can be used instead of sour cream if you prefer. If you want to make this dairy free just use lactose free products. they really do taste the same, Lactaid has great products we have used and nobody knows the difference.

Ground beef or slow cooker beef tips can be used instead with the same other instructions but would need to be browned first in a skillet and then added, or made in a skillet like our hamburger helper beef stroganoff recipe. In this case since it’s smaller pieces and already precooked it doesn’t take long to get done. Just a few hours is all you would need for that version.

Here is another easy crockpot recipe you can try for 5 ingredient chili. It’s my most popular post and recipe!!

Can you make beef stroganoff with frozen meat?

Forget to defrost? NO problem, you can actually use frozen stew meat with these same directions. The timing doesn’t change whether it starts out rock hard or defrosted! The only thing you need to do is make sure the pieces are separated, or break apart halfway thru. Once you see this is possible, give our Crockpot frozen roast a whirl too.

How can you make stroganoff better?

Ok so hear me out on this one, it is a game changer!! This is comfort food is a great recipe during the chilly winter months but can be made even better with just one thing on the top. Often I’ve added 1/2 cup of crispy fried onions to the top of this to take it over the top too!

Livens up our Crockpot steak and potatoes or Instant Pot steak too when you just want a little salty crunch to it.