Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff

How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

For a quick two-cent version of how to make this beef slow-cooker stroganoff, check out this recipe overview. Then when you’re ready to dive in, use the recipe below for all the juicy details:

Brown the Steak

Melt butter in a large skillet and add your cut beef sirloin steak strips, chopped onion, and garlic. Cook and stir the mixture until the beef strips are browned. They won’t be cooked completely through at this point, cooking them with the onion and garlic just gives them a jumpstart on flavor before they go into the slow-cooker.

Slow Cook Beef and Veggies

In your slow-cooker add the beef mixture from the skillet, the can of soup, mushrooms, and salt & pepper. Cook until the beef is tender, which takes about 5 to 6 hours. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid and peek. Each time you remove the lid, it can add as much as 30 minutes of cook time.  

Stir in Sour Cream and Cream Cheese

First stir in the cream cheese until it’s melted. Then stir in the sour cream. If you try to add both at the same time, it will take a lot more mixing to get them smooth and melted. Your sauce will be in the thinner side, don’t be surprised, it’s not meant to be as thick as gravy.

Serve and Enjoy

Lay a bed of noodles or rice on a plate. Then ladle the beef, veggies, and sauce over and enjoy.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Ingredients

Each ingredient plays an important role this simple, flavorful beef stroganoff with cream of mushroom soup slow-cooker recipe:

Butter: It pulls double-duty in this dish. It’s used to both brown the beef, onion, and garlic, and is the base flavor for the creamy, rich sauce.

Beef: Sirloin steak is the perfect cut to use for this slow-cooker recipe. It’s an economical steak cut but it also stands up to the long cook time in the slow-cooker without becoming tough and rubbery. Don’t bother using a more expensive cut of steak in this version of the recipe. This cooking method is meant for less tender cuts of meat. And while stew meat would be another terrific cut that achieves tender and flavorful results in the slow-cooker, we don’t recommend it for this recipe. It takes a few more hours of cooking to get it nice and tender, and that would overcook the mushrooms.

Onion and Garlic: They both contribute savory flavor to the meat as well as the sauce. It just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Condensed Soup: This one ingredient is a quick way to start sauce, without a lot of other ingredients and cook time. Either golden mushroom or cream of mushroom soup are delicious. Don’t dilute the soup—use it straight out of the can without adding any liquid, to keep the sauce from becoming overly watery.

Mushrooms: You can use sliced regular button mushrooms or baby portabella mushrooms, for a slightly more earthy flavor. They contribute a subtle taste that grounds the sauce with rich complexity.

Salt and Pepper: In just the right amounts, these seasonings bring out the all the flavors of the sauce to make it taste well-rounded.

Cream Cheese: Adds a creamy dairy flavor to the sauce and helps to thicken it slightly. You don’t need to soften it before adding to the slow-cooker, but you will want to cut it into cubes to help distribute it through the sauce so it can melt faster. For the most flavor, use regular variety. Or if you’re looking to slash a few calories or make this dish a little less rich, you could use a reduced-fat version.

Sour Cream: Another ingredient contributing to the rich dairy flavor of the sauce. It also lends a hint of tang which goes amazingly well with mushrooms and is key to the classic taste of this dish loved by so many.

Hot Cooked Noodles or Rice: We love cooked egg noodles to serve this dish over. Their wide surface area and curly edges grab onto and hold the sauce. No egg noodles on hand? Feel free to substitute cooked white or whole grain brown rice, instead.

Storing and Reheating Beef Stroganoff

If you have any leftover beef stroganoff, it can be a delicious option for lunch the next day or a reheat-and-eat dinner when you’re too busy to cook.

Refrigerator Storage: Promptly place the beef stroganoff cream cheese slow-cooker mixture and egg noodles into separate air-tight food storage containers. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. The sauce will thicken slightly as it is stored.

Freezer Storage Directions: Freezing is not recommended for this dish, as the sour cream can curdle during the freeze and thaw cycle.

Reheating Directions: You can reheat the stroganoff mixture in a saucepan and the egg noodles in the microwave or reheat the entire dish in the microwave. To reheat the stroganoff mixture in a saucepan, heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 165 °F when an instant-read meat thermometer is inserted into a piece of beef. To reheat the noodles, place in a microwavable bowl. Cover and microwave on Medium-High (70%) about 1 minute or until hot.

To reheat the entire dish in the microwave, place a serving of the egg noodles on a microwavable plate, top with a serving of the stroganoff mixture. Cover and microwave on Medium (50%) 2 to 3 minutes or until it reaches 165 °F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted into a piece of beef.