Recipe: Beef Stroganoff Soup

by Holly Hanks on November 6th, 2018 | No Comments »

The autumn season is in full swing, and this means many of us have comfort food on our minds! If you are like me, you want something a little different but still not too time consuming or difficult to make.

Building a soup on a crisp fall day is one of the most satisfying cooking experiences there is. It's also a fantastic skill to have in your cooking arsenal. It takes a minimal amount of time, is fairly flexible and forgiving, and you can generally work with what you have on hand and still put together a fantastic meal that doesn't stretch the budget too far.

This recipe for Beef Stroganoff Soup fits that description perfectly. The effort involved isn't extensive. You just take the time to dice up a few simple vegetables, brown some meat, stir, and put it all together. When it's ready you have a thoughtful meal to serve to your loved ones.

You can eat this as a soup with some crusty bread, or eat it the traditional way and serve it over some egg noodles. The ingredients are upgraded a bit so this feels a bit more special and out of the ordinary. The addition of a good steak makes this an affordable way to serve a nice meal to your family or guests without breaking the bank.

Red bell pepper brings a bit more color and flavor to the party, and if you are feeling really fancy you could use some baby portabello mushrooms in place of the usual button mushrooms and garnish the dish with some fresh chives.

The recipe also makes a decent amount—not too little and not too much—and reheats nicely if you have leftovers. Since there are a couple of different ways you could serve this you don’t have to feel like it is the same meal all over again either. It is the perfect size for a family meal or for a couple of people with some modest leftovers. You won’t be left feeling like you'll be eating it for the rest of the season! If you want to make this for a larger gathering the ingredients are easily doubled without much fuss.

Let's be realistic here. This is not diet food. But then, when is comfort food really meant to be? This classic recipe with its few updates is an indulgence, so feel free to plan it for a nice meal and enjoy (even though you could easily make this on a weeknight!).

Beef Stroganoff Soup

Recipe created for Mom It Forward by Holly Hanks, phemomenon.com

Makes approximately 2 quarts or 6-8 servings. Ready to serve within about 45 minutes.
This soup is thick, creamy, and filled with bits of mushrooms, peppers, and steak.

Ingredients

For the Stroganoff:

1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1/2 cup butter
6-8 oz ribeye or New York strip steak, sliced thinly and cut into small, bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced small
8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, stemmed if desired and sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups beef broth (preferably low sodium)
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream or half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream
Chives for garnish (optional)

For the Roux

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

Directions

In a large pot (at least 2-quart size) melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat.
Add the diced onions and season with a little salt and pepper.
Stir occasionally and cook about 5-7 minutes until the onions are translucent and starting to brown just slightly.
Add the diced red pepper and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes more until the red pepper is tender.
While the onions and peppers are cooking, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the steak pieces and mushrooms and season with some salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the steak is just browned on all sides, about 5-6 minutes.
In the meantime, make the roux in a small pan melt 1/2 cup butter and whisk in the 1/2 cup flour to create a thick paste.
Over low heat allow the butter and flour to cook and bubble together for a few minutes while continuing to stir.
Whisk the heavy cream or half and half into the roux and stir thoroughly to smooth any lumps. Season with a little more salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Add everything from the steak and mushroom skillet to the pot with the onions and peppers.
Add the beef broth and stir to combine.
Stir the cream and roux mixture and stir well over medium-low heat.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and turn it down to low heat so the cream doesn't burn.
Stir frequently to keep things moving and allow it to thicken slowly, about 12-15 minutes.
Once the mixture is as thick as you want it (thinner for soup, a little thicker to serve over noodles) remove it from the heat and stir in the sour cream well.
Serve immediatley.

*Note: Serve as soup with crusty bread or over hot egg noodles.
Since the soup has sour cream stirred in at the end it isn't really a candidate for the freezer, but if you left the sour cream out, froze the soup in containers, and just added the sour cream in once you have thawed and heated your soup this is easily adapted into a freezer meal.

What is your favorite soup in the fall?

Holly Hanks (aka, PheMom) is the sleep-deprived mama behind the blog, pheMOMenon.com which she has been writing, cooking, and baking away at since January 2008. She has two wild and funny little boys who are working on perfecting their sarcasm, and one sweet baby girl who rocks her extra chromosome. She is also married to a wild and crazy man who is a professional skydiver and BASE jumper. She uses her kitchen as her happy place in an attempt to keep what sanity she is hanging on to while trying to keep up with all her family's shenanigans. You can find her sharing too many pics of food, kids, and the dog on Instagram and Facebook, pinning her little heart out on Pinterest, and sending out the occasional tweet into the universe.