This beef goulash is a hearty, warming stew of slow-cooked, fall-apart beef in a rich and slightly smoky tomato and paprika sauce.
You can make it in the oven or the slow cooker. I love to use two different types of paprika for extra layers of flavour.
This is my version, passed down to me from my dad and it's the best I've ever had.
I thought it was time to pull this one out of the archives again as it's so flippin good.
Tender chunks of beef in a thick tomato and pepper sauce - spiced with beautiful smoky paprika (don't go easy on the paprika now - this stew can take plenty).
I'll happily admit - this isn't a 100% authentic Hungarian goulash. Traditional goulash, I'm told, is more of a soup that doesn't rely on flour for thickening. Tomato is also a fairly modern addition.
There are a number of Hungarian and non-Hungarian variations of goulash out there (according to Gundel's Hungarian cookbook) some using beans, wine, flour, potatoes and some are extremely simple.
My version (passed down from my dad, with a few little tweaks) is a rich, slightly smoky, tomato-based version. I like to add slices of red bell pepper, then serve with pappardelle pasta and lots of sour cream.
What do we need?
- Beef braising steak, plus flour, salt and pepper to dredge the beef in - this adds flavour, plus the flour also helps to thicken the sauce
- Garlic and onions - I tend to go for the sweeter, smaller brown onions
- The vitally important paprika. I like to use two types:
- A sweet (you can replace with hot if you prefer) Hungarian paprika (<--affiliate link). The different in taste of an authentic Hungarian paprika and regular paprika is unbelievable. Totally worth the extra effort to buy some from Amazon or a local spice shop. However...if you can't source any, don't worry, regular paprika still tastes great.
- Smoked paprika - I do just use regular supermarket smoked paprika for this. You can just add an extra tablespoon of the Hungarian paprika if you prefer though.
- Tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and beef stock for the sauce base
- A little honey - to neutralize some of the acidity from the tomatoes
- Also red bell peppers - for a bit of extra texture and veggie boost
- Plenty of soured cream - for stirring in and also for spooning on top. The soured cream adds a creamy richness and slight tang. So good!!
How to make this Beef Goulash
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
-
Dredge the beef in the flour, salt and pepper and fry in 2-3 batches until well-browned. Then remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
-
Add the onions in the pan and cook for a few minutes, until softened. Add in the garlic and tomato puree, stir, then add the beef back in.
-
Add the paprika, tinned tomatoes, beef stock and honey. Bring to a simmer, then place a lid on and place in the oven for 3 hours 30 minutes.
-
Check and stir 2 or 3 times during cooking to ensure nothing is sticking and that there is still plenty of liquid (you can add a splash of water if needed).
-
Add in the peppers, stir and put back in the oven for 30 minutes.
I like to serve mine with pasta and extra sour cream.
Other accompaniment ideas for Goulash:
- Boiled rice
- Homemade Pasta
- The smoky wedges from this post
- Creamy mashed potato (if serving with mash then swap out the peppers for mushrooms - I think they work better)
So versatile, it's worth making a double batch and serving it with different accompaniments two days running.
I love making stews in a dutch oven (<-- affiliate link) as I find they seem to thicken a little better. Also, the initial browning of the beef means the base of the pan gets covered in a dark brown crispy bits. It might seem a bit alarming at first (as it looks like it's sticking), but a few minutes after pouring the stock and tinned tomatoes in and you'll find you can stir all of those bits into the goulash - which results in a richer flavour.
I love how the sauce bubbles away and splashes the sides of the pan as it's cooking in the oven. It WILL look dark and covered in well-cooked sauce when it comes out, but you've got to admit - it does look pretty inviting.
Although I used my dutch oven pan for this, you can also use a slow cooker. Simply fry everything off up to step 3, reduce the amount of stock by half a cup, and cook on medium for 4-5 hours or low for 5-7 hours.
Love cooking with your Dutch Oven? Here are some more recipes you can use it for:
- Slow Cooked Beef Massaman Curry – Rich, fall-apart slow cooked beef curry in a spicy homemade sauce with new potatoes.
- Beef Short Ribs - Fall-apart beef served with a rich and meaty red wine gravy - I cook this in the slow cooker, but also include Dutch Oven instructions
- Big Batch Chinese Beef - A tasty, make-ahead meal of slow-cooked saucy Chinese beef.
- This Spicy Pork Ramen Noodle Soup dish…..oh boy. It’s takes a little effort, but it’s so worth it!
- Chris's famous Chilli Con Carne
Ingredient swaps:
You can swap out the beef for pork if you like. If you fancy a chicken version, I've got a lovely chicken paprikash in my new ebook.
You can also swap out the red peppers for green peppers, or you could include some even add some chopped chilli peppers for a bit of spice.
Scale it up or down
You can halve the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. So to make it for four people you would reduce all of the ingredients by half.
It will likely need 30-45 minutes less in the oven. Keep a close eye on it after the first 90 minutes of cooking, just to ensure it doesn't cook dry. If it starts to look a little dry, add a good splash of stock or water.
Watch how to make it:
Stay updated with new recipes
***Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every Monday and Thursday) and Instagram (behind the scenes stories & beautiful food photos).***
Beef Goulash Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 lb (900g) beef braising steak, cut into bite-size chunks
- 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 brown onions - peeled and diced
- 2 fat cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika - just use regular if you don't have smoked
- large pinch of salt and pepper
- 28 oz (800g/two tins) canned chopped tomatoes in juice
- 2 ¼ cups (600ml) hot beef stock (water plus 2 stock cubes is fine)
- 1 tbsp honey - optional - this is just to neutralize some of the acidity from the tomatoes
- 2 red bell peppers - deseeded and sliced
- 1 cup (225ml) sour cream
To Serve:
- Cooked pasta - such as pappardelle, tagliatelle or penne
- handful of chopped parsley
- Extra sour cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 170C/325F. Heat up the oil in your dutch oven or oven-friendly casserole dish.
- Dredge the beef in the flour, salt and pepper and fry in 2-3 batches until well-browned.
- Once browned, remove from the pan and place in a bowl.
- Turn down the heat and place the onions in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring (try to scrape up a some of the brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat low to ensure it doesn't burn).
- Add in the garlic and tomato puree, stir, then add the beef back in.
- Sprinkle the beef with the paprika, salt and pepper and stir to coat.
- Then pour in the canned tomatoes, beef stock and honey. Stir and bring to a simmer.
- Once simmering, scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan and stir. Then place a lid on and place in the oven to cook for 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Check and stir 2 or 3 times during cooking to ensure nothing is sticking and that there is still plenty of liquid (you can add a splash of water if needed).
- After 3 and ½ hours, add in the peppers, stir and put back in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Take out of the oven, stir, then swirl the soured cream on top, sprinkle with parsley and serve with pasta and extra sour cream.
Video
✎ Notes
- Chuck steak (braising steak) – comes from the forequarter- Consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade, and upper arm.
- It’s a tough but very flavorful cut of meat. It has a lot of connective tissue, which needs long slow cooking to break down and become tender. Cut into bite-size chunks, or you can use bigger chunks and shred the beef into strips.
- Silverside (bottom round) – comes from the hindquarter – just above the back leg
- It’s a leaner, inexpensive cut of meat with little marbling. The lack of fat means it doesn’t have as much flavour as chuck steak, so make sure you use good quality stock to cook it in. It’s good for slow cooking, but must be cooked with moisture/liquid so doesn’t dry out and become tough.
Nutrition
Equipment:
In order to make this Hungarian Beef Goulash recipe you will need:
-
- A good Kitchen knife. I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.
- Chopping Board
- Garlic Press
- Casserole pan
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Jug
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.
This recipe was first posted in December 2015. Updated in August 2019 and again in July 2020 with new photos, video and tips.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Abitha says
Going to make this tomorrow but for two people in a slow cooker - what should I adjust the timing to?
Chris Corbishley says
Hi Arbitha,
Personally, I'd recommend halving the recipe and freezing any leftovers. You can halve the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. So to make it for four people you would reduce all of the ingredients by half.
It will likely need 30-45 minutes less in the oven. Keep a close eye on it after the first 90 minutes of cooking, just to ensure it doesn't cook dry. If it starts to look a little dry, add a good splash of stock or water.
There are some notes in the post about slow cooker times.
Hope you enjoy
Thanks
Chris
Clare Underhill says
If freezing half, would you only add the sour cream to the half you are going to eat or could you stir in the sour cream and then cool and freeze?
Nicky Corbishley says
It should be fine either way. The sour cream mixes in well with the sauce, so it should be fine upon defrosting and reheating.
Clare Underhill says
Hi. I have just cooked on hob and transferred to slow cooker as my casserole dish isn’t large enough. I have put it on high. Not sure if it should be medium. Will be cooking for 4.5 hours. May refund d to medium after 2 hours. What would you suggest please?
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Clare,
How did it turn out?
I would have thought 4.5 hours on high would be fine for this.
Maree says
This goulash is totally to die for; so delicious! ! I did add some garlic; just a dash of red wine vinegar and served it with polenta, which makes it over the top scrumptious!
Anna Baars says
Added some cumin and crushed garlic and a tiny bit of wine vinegar.
Fabtastic!!!!!!
Chris Corbishley says
Thanks Anna, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Chris & Nicky
tracy taylor says
Help. I have just put this in my slow cooker and realised that I used hot paprika as I had nothing else in and thought it was ordinary paprika. Will this be a disaster?
Kankana Saxena says
What a delicious looking meal! Perfect comfort lazy weekend meal.
Emily says
We love this recipe! If I halve the quantities, will the cooking time be impacted?
Richard Taylor says
Absolutely delicious. A great recipe. I also used a glug of red wine. Couldn't let it go off could I?? Thank you Kitchen Sanctuary. Will certainly be back to visit you again.
Jan says
Made this with Beef skirt so the meat did rather disintegrate and a big glug of wine. Totally delicious recipe and I will definitely make this again
Carl says
I cooked this last week and it is really delicious.
I first cooked it in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours before transfering to a skillet, added the peppers and cooked for another 45 minutes which also much reduced the liquid. At the end I also added a tablespoon of cornflour to further thicken at the same time that I added the sour cream.
I had it with thick ribbons of pasta which you suggested but on first thinking about it you would have thought, better with say jacket potatoes? Hope there is so much sauce that with a bowl of pasta it is just great! The meat just fell to pieces it was soooo tender!
This easily serves 4-5 people.
Frances Walch says
Unable to pin recipe.
Chris Corbishley says
Hi Frances
Are you able to pin now? I have tried and am not seeing an error. If you are still having issues can you send me a screen shot of the error to [email protected]
Many Thanks
Chris
Tibor Paller says
Hi Nicky
It sound like a gorgeous recipe. You are right. A Goulash (Gulyas) is actually a soup and this beef stew is what hungarians call 'Porkolt" . You are also right about the slow cooked aspect with minimal liquid. It has to cook in its own juices . Please, dont be cross if I point out though that true Hungarian Goulash is NEVER: have smokey paprika or honey in it and never served with ribbon pasta. but with Nokedli,
thank you
Nicky Corbishley says
Many thanks for the info Tibor - it's great to get some insight on more traditional versions of the recipe 😀
John says
Question re your Smoked Paprika. The store I shop at offers 3 versions of Spanish Smoked Paprika: Sweet, Bittersweet, and Hot. Which would you recommend for this dish? Thanks!
Andy says
Sweet or hot
Kathryn Clayton says
Tried your version of Hungarian Goulash this weekend and loved it. We had it with rice, but so super tasty and comforting in this chilly weather.