If you’ve been craving an extra cozy soup for comforting winter meals, Beef Stroganoff Soup deserves a spot on the top of that list. Savory seared beef and tender egg noodles are nestled in a creamy, luscious soup base for an irresistibly hearty soup.
My mom’s side of the family has deep Eastern European roots — Hungary and Austria — and the cuisines of those cultures are as familiar and ingrained in me as an American burger.
Beef stroganoff is a meal from my youth that brings back feelings of comfort and cozy meals around the family table. I don’t actually fix it that often now as an adult but once it occurred to me to make a soup out of it (duh, lol), I think about — and crave — this dish more and more often.
As I’ve said elsewhere on this site, I love turning meals into soup. Not just adding liquids to make something soupy, but to legitimately balance the flavors and textures that create a satisfying soup.
And I think I nailed it. Classic beef stroganoff is awesome. Beef Stroganoff Soup in a crazy big soup mug, curled up in front of whatever I’m binge-watching at the moment. Heaven.
Ingredient Notes
Beef – what cut of beef should you use? It really comes down to how long you plan to cook the soup. My recipe as written below assumes a fairly short cooking time rather than a long, languid simmer. The beef you select should match your short or long cooking preference.
If you’re going the get-it-to-the-table-fast route, choose beef that leans more towards steak, such as top sirloin. This cut of beef is tender and tastes best with a quick sear.
If you’d like a shortcut, some grocery stores slice and package beef in-house for different types of recipes. My Kroger, for example, packages a “stir fry” cut, and that’s what you see in the photos in this post.
But if you want to leave the pot to bubble for a while, you can choose stew meat or beef chuck, which requires a longer cook to break down the fibers in the beef to a tender consistency.
If your grocery store packages the pre-sliced beef options mentioned above, look for “stew” or “stewing” beef.
So if you love the idea of a Sunday afternoon simmer, you can do that with this recipe with two changes: add the seared beef to the pot at the same time as the stock, Worcestershire sauce, and bouillon, and start your long simmer. About 20 minutes before serving, pick back up at the step where you add the egg noodles and complete the recipe as written from there.
Mushrooms — Sliced mushrooms are quite common in stroganoffs and are tasty additions to this version as well. In fact, you can make quite a lovely vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff without skipping a beat.
Mushrooms have that earthy umami that complements many cuisines, and they do great justice to Beef Stroganoff Soup. I used cremini mushrooms but white buttons are fine, too.
Sherry or red wine — Sautéing the beef at the start of this recipe creates super flavorful fond, which means you can/should deglaze the pot after the beef finishes searing. Alcohol isn’t necessary for deglazing — you can use a splash of the beef stock instead — but the extra astringent notes of the alcohol and the resulting sugars are welcome in stroganoff. Sherry is traditional, but red wine is also lovely. I used a cabernet sauvignon this time around (sometimes it’s merlot).
Tomato paste — Tomato paste is another umami-intense ingredient that I turn to for soups. It has two distinct advantages: one significant, one superficial.
The significant contribution is the acidic sweetness that tomatoes bring to a dish. In this case, highly intensified because tomato paste is just tomatoes cooked down to within an inch of their lives. So much flavor!
The superficial element is that takes a brown food and turns it a lovely deep brick red. Brown soups and stews are … challenging for some. I get it. Even as a bonafide soup lover who’s seen it all, the brown-gray tones of soups with beef and mushrooms can be deflating. The coloring side effect of the tomato paste takes care of all that.
Dijon mustard — As I mentioned, my mom made beef stroganoff a lot in my youth, so I’m used to her and my Hungarian grandparent’s preparation of it. But what surprised me to learn recently was that dijon mustard is a common ingredient in the Russian tradition of the recipe. Mustard … I wasn’t sure what to think!
But, I have to say … it’s amazing. With my first spoonful of this soup, I could tell the delicious impact that such as simple ingredient had on the result. It’s not enough to taste like mustard, but the best of mustard’s impressive qualities shine through. Don’t skip it!
How to make Beef Stroganoff Soup
This step-by-step guide walks you through making the recipe, with tips and suggestions for fast and easy results.
Step 1: Sear the beef
First, sear the beef strips to create nice, golden edges as well as leave some fond behind to create an extra layer of flavor. Heat the oil in the pan, season the beef lightly with salt and pepper, and then add to the pan. Let the first side sear and then flip the pieces as best you can, to brown the remaining sides.
Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside. Deglaze the pot with some sherry, wine, or a bit of the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to release the delicious brown bits into the liquids. Let simmer for a few minutes (this will cook off any alcohol, if you’re using wine).
Step 2: Develop flavor and texture
Next, add the aromatics and saute until the mushrooms have given off most of their liquids, and everything is nice and soft. Scootch the vegetables to the side.
Add the tomato paste to the cleared area and stir it a bit. This will bloom and intensify the flavors of the tomato paste. Then mix it into the vegetables. If it’s extremely pasty, add a splash of the beef broth to loosen.
Spoon in the mustard and sprinkle the flour over everything. Stir well. This step will definitely make everything pasty. This is fine. Let the floured vegetables cook for a few minutes to remove the rawness of the flour.
Step 3: Simmer the soup and noodles
Add the liquids, bouillon (if using) and herbs, and adjust the heat to bring up to a low boil.
Stir in the egg noodles. Make sure the soup liquids remain at an active simmer and cook the noodles for the time indicated on the package directions. It doesn’t matter what brand you use, or whether the egg noodles are curly or flat. Just be sure to cook the pasta until al dente.
Step 4: Final touches
Sour cream tends to “break” in hot liquids. That is, the fats separate and become grainy-looking in the soup. While not harmful, it’s unattractive, so take an extra step to keep the sour cream from breaking.
Spoon the sour cream into a small mixing bowl. Add one ladle of hot soup liquids (about 1/2 cup) to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Then pour the tempered sour cream mixture into the soup.
Finally, add the beef and any collected juices back to the soup, along with a nice sprinkling of parsley. Add a pinch or two of black pepper and taste. Adjust with additional salt and black pepper as needed.
And… soup’s on! Serve with extra sour cream on the side.
Beef Stroganoff Soup FAQs
Can you make the soup ahead of time?
As with any soup containing pasta or rice, you won’t get the best result by making the full soup too far in advance. The egg noodles in this soup will continue to absorb the soup liquids, leaving it more like a stew than a soup. Is it awful? Of course not! But it won’t be a creamy soup.
However, you can still take advantage of prepping ahead by slicing and trimming the meat, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. I also love to measure things out ahead of time and store them in bowls in the fridge. A sort of super-early mise en place.
Can you freeze the soup?
By my preference, I would not freeze the soup at any point. While the base soup (up to the noodles in the recipe) can certainly be frozen, I’m not sure that it’s that much of a time-saver doing it that way.
The pasta and sour cream in the soup do not thaw well and the result could be mushy and weird.
How long do the leftovers last?
Refrigerated, the leftovers should last up to five days. I have to say: this is probably one of my favorite leftover lunch soups ever. Yes, the noodles absorb some of the stock, but, as is true with many soups, letting the soup rest overnight lets the flavors marry and intensify. I had the leftovers for lunch three days after taking the photographs in this post and it was amazing.
I hope you’ll try this traditional beef stroganoff reimagined into comforting soup form. It’s one of my favorite recipes this fall and I have to say, it’s pure comfort food and a complete meal in a bowl!
More Beef Soups:
Beef Stroganoff Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 pound beef sirloin, trimmed of fat, thinly sliced into short strips
- 1/4 cup sherry or red wine (optional)
- 8 ounces thinly sliced crimini mushrooms
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mushroom or beef bouillon (such as Better than Bouillon), optional
- 4 fresh thyme stems or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 6 ounces dried egg noodles
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional, but lovely)
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- additional sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium until the oil shimmers on the surface.
- Lightly season the beef with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and let brown, stirring frequently to sear all sides of the strips (about 3 to 4 minutes). Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.
- Deglaze the pot with the sherry/wine or a splash of broth, scraping up any stuck-on bits into the liquids.
- Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the pot; saute until the vegetables have softened, about 8 minutes.
- Scootch the vegetables to the side and adding the tomato paste. Stir until fragrant.
- Add a splash of the broth to the vegetables, and spoon the mustard and flour over them. Stir thoroughly – it might become a bit pasty; that’s okay – for a minute or so to cook off the rawness of the flour.
- Pour in the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and bouillon (if using) and add the thyme. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a light bowl boil.
- Add in the dried egg noodles. Reduce heat to maintain an active simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes (check the noodle’s package for cooking time and make sure you cook them in the soup for at least that length).
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the sour cream and heavy cream (if using). Whisk in a ladle of the hot soup until well combined. Pour the mixture into the soup and stir well.*
- If using fresh thyme stems, fish them out now. The leaves should’ve dislodged from the stems into the soup.
- Add the meat, along with any collected juices, back to the pot and simmer for a few more minutes to cook through.
- Taste, and add more salt if needed.
- Serve in individual bowls, topped with freshly chopped parsley.
Marcella
Monday 5th of December 2022
PS Hope you go on feeling better now <3
Marcella
Monday 5th of December 2022
Hi Karen, I was thinking about sprinkling flour on the meat strips before browning them, rather than on the veggies. I love sautéed floured meat, I feel it’s so much more flavourful and it helps build a nice fond too. But maybe it’s not good for the flavour profile of this dish? Thanks for a killer recipe btw <3
SoupAddict
Monday 5th of December 2022
Hi Marcella, so nice to hear from you! You can absolutely flour the meat - you're right about the fond! The flavors will be fine; the flour is for body in the soup. As long as it's all in there, it should be good. And thanks for the well wishes - it's a journey, that's for sure!