Winter is coming… so bring on the cold-weather comfort food! Keto Beef Stroganoff is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Sautéed beef, mushrooms, and onions smothered in a rich, tangy sour cream sauce is the perfect antidote to a dreary day. Pair it with cauliflower puree, instead of noodles, to take this dish from classic to keto.
Know why I like Beef Stroganoff? It always feels like a surprise since it’s one of those dishes that’s not in regular rotation. So whether I’m staring into the recipe abyss, looking for something different – or staring at the Weather Channel, keeping an eye on this week’s impending snow – I appreciate when this particular culinary lightbulb comes on.
It’s one of those meals I always think is more laborious than it is. After a few rounds of polishing this recipe, I can say that there are far more taxing dishes to make – even with the keto adaptation. It’s certainly not a go-all-out dish, like a cassoulet or a wellington. But it’s also not a just-dump-everything-in-a-pot-and-let-it-cook dish, like a stew.
I think I’ve also steered clear because it does tend to inspire a feeling of heaviness even before you’ve eaten it. Like, the same feeling that country gravy brings on. But then I remember the sour cream. And it’s that tang paired with the almost-caramelly onions and mushrooms…that’s where the magic is.
That and the thin-sliced beef. Forget the chunks, people! I’m telling you. Think Chinese food-style beef slices. Bite-sized and practically melt-in-your-mouth. (Goodness, I’m using a lot of hyphens today.) And eliminating a thickener and serving it over cauliflower puree instead of noodles puts this dish right at the sweet spot of “filling” but not “full.”
You should definitely think about adding the ingredients for this Keto Beef Stroganoff recipe to your shopping list ASAP and get to the store before everyone else in town runs out in a mad snow-driven frenzy to stock up before the first storm hits!
What makes this dish keto?
Traditional stroganoff is thickened with flour and tossed with egg noodles. We found that the thickening agent wasn’t needed at all to create a thick rich sauce. Instead of serving over noodles, we serve it over creamy cauliflower puree. One serving yields around 11g net carbs, plus plenty of Vitamin A, calcium, and iron.
How to make keto beef stroganoff
- Saute thin slices of beef until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Sauté mushrooms until golden brown and any moisture has steamed off.
- Push mushrooms to the side of the pan and add onions. Sauté until soft.
- Add garlic and sauté with onions for 1 min before incorporating other seasoning.
- Deglaze using beef broth.
- Reduce heat and add sour cream to make the sauce. Season with mustard.
- Return beef to the pot and cook until warmed through.
- Serve over cauliflower puree.
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Thinly slice the beef. Place the beef in the freezer for 30 minutes, just long enough to firm it up so you can cut very thin, 1/8″ slices.
- If using a wide flat cut like flank steak, divide the steak in half lengthwise before slicing for shorter, more manageable slices.
- Always slice steak against the grain for the most tender bites.
- Cook the moisture out of the mushrooms so the sauce isn’t watered down. At first, the mushrooms will release a lot of water content and the pot will appear very soupy – this is normal! The water will cook off, and the mushrooms will then start to saute in the olive oil.
- Feel free to replace fresh thyme with dried thyme – start with 2 teaspoons.
- Don’t bring the sour cream to a boil, as the high heat will cause it to separate.
What kind of beef should I use?
Beef stroganoff is a fast-cooking beef recipe, so choose an appropriate cut for this cooking method. Select a tender cut with a bit of marbling, such a flank steak, sirloin, ribeye, or tenderloin. When I trim a whole beef tenderloin, I freeze the scraps for a future stroganoff dinner. For more “everyday” cooking, we like flank steak for both its price-point and flavor.
More keto dinner recipes
- Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Butter
- Ground Beef Keto Tacos
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers
- Italian Basil Chicken with Creamy Pan Sauce
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Did you make this healthy twist on beef stroganoff? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Keto Beef Stroganoff
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Ingredients
Beef Stroganoff
- 1.5 lb flank or sirloin steak, thinly sliced, see notes
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small sweet or yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- ¼ c beef broth
- 1 c sour cream
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
Cauliflower Puree
- 1 16-oz bags frozen cauliflower florets
- 1/4 c broth
- 1/4 c nut milk
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Beef Stroganoff
- Heat a large deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the 1 tbsp olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add half the steak to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and saute until browned 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the steak with tongs, set aside onto a plate, and repeat with the remaining steak strips, adding more oil as needed. Remove all steak from the skillet once browned.
- Add the butter and heat until it melts then foams. Add the mushrooms, toss to coat in the fat, and saute, stirring occasionally, until they release their water content and are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Push the mushrooms to the edges of the pan, then add the onions. Saute until soft, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic to the onions and cook 1 minute more.
- Add the fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot, then give everything a good toss and saute 1 minute more. Pour in ¼ c beef broth or water to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Continuing cooking and gently scraping until the bottom of the pan is clean and the liquid has stopped bubbling.
- Reduce the heat to low, then add the sour cream. Mix well until a thick sauce forms, then stir in the mustard.
- Return the beef and any accumulated juices to the pot and heat gently until warmed through, 2-3 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Serve over creamy cauliflower puree.
Cauliflower Puree
- Snip venting holes in each end of the bag of cauliflower. Place into the microwave and heat on high for 7 minutes. Flip the bag over, and heat an additional 7-8 minutes, or until the cauliflower florets are very soft and can be easily mashed with the tines of a fork.
- Transfer the florets to the bowl of a food processor. Add the broth, nut milk, parmesan cheese, and a pinch of salt. Process until very smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and parmesan cheese as needed.
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