Crock Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff is the hands-off version of the creamy classic: browned ground beef and onion slow cooked for hours in a rich mushroom sauce made from cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire, garlic and a packet of onion soup mix, then finished with sour cream and a pot of egg noodles. It feeds 6 with about 15 minutes of work.
How to make it: Brown 2 pounds of ground beef with a chopped onion and drain the grease. Put it in the slow cooker with the soup, Worcestershire, water, garlic and onion soup mix, and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. Stir in sour cream and cooked egg noodles just before serving.
Why You’ll Love It
- 15 minutes of work: brown the beef, dump everything in, and walk away.
- Pantry sauce: canned soup and an onion soup packet make the gravy, no roux needed.
- Feeds 6: two pounds of beef makes a big pot.
- Easy to change: add mushrooms, or swap in stew meat.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef and onion: Two pounds of beef and a cup of chopped onion, browned together and drained before they go in the crock.
Cream of mushroom soup: Four cans of condensed soup make the base of the sauce.
Onion soup mix, Worcestershire and garlic: One packet of onion soup mix, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of minced garlic season the sauce. Half a cup of water loosens it.
Sour cream: One cup, stirred in at the end.
Egg noodles: Cooked on the stovetop and added at the end, or served underneath.
Mushrooms: Sliced mushrooms are optional; add them with everything else if you want more mushroom flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- Sliced mushrooms (optional)
- 1 cup sour cream
- Egg noodles, cooked, for serving
How to Make Slow Cooker Ground Beef Stroganoff
1. Brown the beef. Brown the ground beef with the chopped onion in a large skillet until no longer pink (160°F). Drain the grease.
2. Fill the slow cooker. Put the beef and onion in the slow cooker with the cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire, water, garlic, onion soup mix and mushrooms, if using. Stir to combine.
3. Slow cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
4. Cook the noodles. Near the end, cook the egg noodles on the stovetop and drain.
5. Finish. Stir the sour cream into the slow cooker, add the noodles, and serve hot (165°F).
Should You Brown the Ground Beef First?
There are two ways to handle the beef. Here is what each one involves.
Browned first (this recipe). Cook the beef with the onion in a skillet until no pink remains, then drain the grease before it goes into the crock. Two cups of cooked ground beef is about one pound, which helps if you are using beef you browned ahead.
Raw in the crock. The other way puts thawed raw ground beef straight into the pot, break it up with a spoon, then break it up again once it has cooked. If you go this way, you cannot drain the grease first.
Either way, start with thawed beef. USDA FSIS says to always thaw meat before putting it into a slow cooker, since the cooker may take several hours to reach a safe temperature.
Tips for Success
- Drain well: pour off the fat after browning, before the beef goes in.
- Add the sour cream last: stir it in just before serving, with the noodles.
- Cook the noodles separately: boil them on the stovetop near the end of the cooking time and drain before adding.
- Keep the lid on: lift it only to stir, as FSIS advises.
Variations
- With cream cheese: cook 1 pound of lean ground beef with 1 cup of beef broth, onion, dill, garlic powder and 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms on LOW for 4 to 6 hours. Turn the cooker to HIGH, stir in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water, 1/2 cup of sour cream and 4 ounces of cream cheese, and cook until the sauce thickens. Top with diced green onion.
- Tomato style: add tomato sauce, a little tomato paste, beef bouillon and paprika to the sauce, thickened with flour.
- Stew meat: use stew meat in place of the ground beef.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave to 165°F; FSIS does not recommend reheating leftovers in a slow cooker. Cream sauces do not freeze well, according to FSIS, so keep this one in the refrigerator.
What to Serve With It
Serve it with a green salad or steamed green beans. For the stovetop version, try our ground beef stroganoff, made in one pan with broth, mushrooms and sour cream. For more slow cooker noodle dinners, there is slow cooker Amish beef and noodles, 4-ingredient beef and noodles, Amish ground beef noodle casserole and Amish ground beef gravy noodles, plus Instant Pot beef stew for a faster pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put raw ground beef in a crock pot?
It can be done: the thawed raw beef goes in, gets broken up with a spoon, and cooks through on LOW. This recipe browns and drains it first. Either way, use thawed beef, never frozen.
Can I make beef stroganoff with hamburger in a crock pot?
Yes. This recipe is built on 2 pounds of ground beef, slow cooked in a creamy mushroom sauce.
When do I add the sour cream?
At the end, together with the cooked egg noodles, just before serving.
Do the noodles cook in the slow cooker?
No. Cook them on the stovetop near the end, drain, and stir them in or serve the stroganoff over them.
Final Notes
Brown and drain the beef, let the slow cooker do the rest, and add the sour cream and noodles last. If you make it, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Crock Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 4 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 packet onion soup mix
- sliced mushrooms optional
- 1 cup sour cream
- egg noodles cooked, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef with the chopped onion in a large skillet until no longer pink (160°F). Drain the grease.
- Put the beef and onion in the slow cooker with the cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire, water, garlic, onion soup mix and mushrooms, if using. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.
- Near the end, cook the egg noodles on the stovetop and drain.
- Stir the sour cream into the slow cooker, add the noodles, and serve hot (165°F).
