For those days when you’re craving comfort food without the calories, try this easy light Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff. It has the rich flavor of the classic dish without the extra fat and calories.
Beef Stroganoff is a hearty stick-to-your-ribs dish that makes a great cold weather meal. But the traditional method of preparing it requires a lot of high fat and calorie-laden ingredients, like sour cream, butter and sometimes heavy cream.
This Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff recipe has been lightened up and has fewer calories and less fat than the classic Russian dish. But it’s still deliciously filling. A serving, including egg noodles, has fewer than 500 calories.
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Jump to:
- ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What is the Best Meat to Use for Beef Stroganoff
- What Should I Serve With Beef Stroganoff?
- 🥘 Ingredients
- How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- 📖 Substitutions & Variations
- Storage
- Can You Freeze Beef Stroganoff?
- More Healthy Recipes
- Printable Recipe Card
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is such a satisfying meal — meaty, rich and with carbs! — that doesn’t leave you feeling deprived or with any after-dinner cravings like so many lower-calorie recipes.
It’s also easy to make, which probably explains why beef stroganoff was such a popular dinnertime choice for 1950s home cooks. The slow cooker method simplifies the recipe even more.
Looking for more meal ideas for your Crock-Pot? Try this White Chicken Chili, Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew or Italian Style Pot Roast.
Want to see a brief overview of the process before diving into the recipe? Watch my web story on how to make beef stroganoff in a slow cooker.
What is the Best Meat to Use for Beef Stroganoff
When making beef stroganoff, choose a tender, flavorful cut of beef. Since you’re making this recipe in the slow cooker, you can also get away with using more economical cuts, like beef stew meat or chuck roast.
Good choices for Crock-Pot beef stroganoff include:
- rump steak
- top round
- sirloin
- ribeye
What Should I Serve With Beef Stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff is typically served with egg noodles, but you can pair it with other starches, including:
- brown rice or white rice
- mashed potatoes
- roasted potatoes
- another type of pasta
- toasted bread
As for sides, try it with these vegetables:
- steamed or roasted carrots
- steamed or roasted broccoli
- baked sweet potato
- roasted brussels sprouts
- a side salad
- green peas
- roasted winter squash
- sauteed cabbage
- steamed green beans
🥘 Ingredients
To make this creamy beef stroganoff recipe, you will need:
- lean beef roast, such as top round roast or round tip roast
- onion
- mushrooms, dried or fresh
- garlic
- dried dill weed or fresh dill
- Dijon mustard
- beef broth
- all-purpose flour
- light, low-fat sour cream (don’t use nonfat)
- egg noodles
- salt and pepper
- fresh parsley
See recipe card for exact quantites and the full recipe.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
For this recipe, you’ll need a pound of lean beef, like top round roast or round tip roast, trimmed with the fat removed. Cut the beef into thin strips, slicing against the grain.
Season the beef with salt and pepper.
Chop a white or yellow onion, enough to make a cup, and finely mince 2 to 3 garlic cloves.
Combine the beef, onion, garlic, fresh parsley, dill, Dijon mustard and mushrooms in your slow cooker.
You can use either fresh or dried mushrooms for this recipe. I used a dried mushroom blend. Since fresh mushrooms can go bad in a minute in the fridge, I love having these dried ones on hand in my pantry.
Since the slow cooker beef stroganoff cooks for longer than 15 minutes, there’s no need to reconstitute the mushrooms before using them in this recipe.
Give everything a good stir to coat the beef and mushrooms.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and beef broth until well incorporated and free of lumps. Pour the mixture over the meat.
Stir again, then pop the lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for 1 hour.
After an hour, you can remove the lid and give the slow cooker beef stroganoff a quick stir. But resist the urge to peek too often!
Next, lower the heat to low and cook for about four hours. The beef will become more tender the longer you cook it, so you can leave it for longer than four hours, if you like.
The sauce also thickens as the beef stroganoff cooks, so you do want to watch to make sure it doesn’t burn or overcook. You don’t want it becoming too thick and sticking to the crock. But you definitely want to cook it until the beef is fall-apart tender.
Once the has cooked until tender, remove the lid from the slow cooker and turn off the heat.
Allow the beef stroganoff to cool slightly and stand for about 10 minutes while you’re cooking the egg noodles. Just before serving, add light sour cream to the the slow cooker and stir until blended.
💭 Cook’s Tip: Use reduced calorie or reduced-far sour cream, not the fat-free kind. It just doesn’t have the same creaminess.
Dish up some noodles, top with the beef stroganoff sauce, garnish with more fresh parsley and dill and dig in!
A serving is a half cup of noodles topped with 1 cup of beef stroganoff.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
- For more, flavor, sear beef lightly in olive oil before adding it to the slow cooker with the other ingredients.
- Use fresh mushrooms instead of dried in this recipe.
- Try this recipe with different types of mushrooms. (Shitake, button and crimini mushrooms are all good options.)
- Substitute ½ Tablespoon of fresh dill for the dried dill in this recipe.
- Instead of egg noodles, serve beef stroganoff over rice or mashed potatoes.
Storage
Store leftover beef stroganoff in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I suggest storing the egg noodles and beef stroganoff separately.
How to Reheat Beef Stroganoff
Reheat stogranoff in the microwave or on the stovetop, until heated through. You may find it necessary to add some more beef broth when reheating if the gravy is too thick.
Add a tablespoon of water to the egg noodles before reheating them in the microwave so they stay moist and don’t dry out.
Can You Freeze Beef Stroganoff?
To freeze beef stroganoff, allow the beef and gravy mixture to cool before transferring to airtight freezer-safe containers or freezer bags. (For best results, do not freeze the noodles with the beef and mushroom sauce.)
Freeze beef stroganoff for up to three months.
When you’re ready to eat the frozen meals, allow the beef stroganoff to thaw in refrigerator before reheating.
More Healthy Recipes
Looking for other delicious lighter recipes? Try these:
- Weight Watchers Air Fryer Recipes
- Weight Watchers Soup Recipes
- Hearty Shrimp Soup Recipe
- Vegetable & Beef Sloppy Joes
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Pin This! Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Recipe
Printable Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 pound top round roast or round tip roast trimmed of fat and sliced
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cups dried mushrooms
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 cup beef broth
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces light, low-fat sour cream
- 4 ounces egg noodle pasta
Instructions
- Trim fat from roast and cut against the grain into thin slices. Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Combine beef, onions, garlic, dried mushrooms, dill, Dijon mustard and parsley in a slow cooker. Stir.
- Measure flour into a separate bowl or measuring cup, and slowly add beef broth, whisking until incorporated.
- Pour broth mixture into the slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the lid and stir the beef stroganoff. Lower the heat to low and cook for 4 more hours.
- Once cooking time is complete, turn off the slow cooker and remove the lid. Let stand for 10 minutes
- Boil water on stovetop and cook the egg noodles, according to the package directions. Drain in a colander.
- After the beef stroganoff has cooled slightly, uncovered, for 10 minutes, add sour cream to the slow cooker and stir well.
- Serve beef stroganoff over egg noodles and garnish with fresh parsley, if you like.
Notes
Substitutions & Variations
- For more, flavor, sear beef lightly before adding it to the slow cooker.
- You can use 2 cups of fresh mushrooms instead of dried in this recipe.
- You can substitute ½ Tablespoon of fresh dill for the dried dill in this recipe.
- Instead of egg noodles, serve beef stroganoff over rice or mashed potatoes.
Storage, Freezing & Reheating Instructions
- Store leftover beef stroganoff in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- For best results, store the egg noodles and beef stroganoff separately.
- Reheat stogranoff in the microwave or on the stovetop, until heated through. You may find it necessary to add some more beef broth when reheating if the gravy is too thick.
- Add a tablespoon of water to the egg noodles before reheating them in the microwave so they stay moist and don’t dry out.
- Allow the beef and gravy mixture to cool before transferring to airtight freezer-safe containers or freezer bags. (For best results, do not freeze the noodles with the beef and mushroom sauce.)
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating
[…] Beef Stroganoff […]