This Ground Beef Dinner Is a Winner When I’m Too Tired To Cook

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received came to me years ago via Molly Wizenberg’s blog Orangette, and it was to make a “Crap I Like to Eat” list. This is a list of all the recipes that always sound good no matter what, no matter when. And on nights when I have zero motivation to make that new recipe I planned and/or I didn’t have time to get groceries and/or I or my partner is hungry but can’t agree on what to eat, I go to this list.

I’ll also add that, in my opinion, the recipes on this list should feel easy because I’ve made them a million times already, and they should also use ingredients I generally have on hand so I can avoid a trip to the store. For me and my husband, Simply Recipes' founder Elise’s Hamburger Stroganoff is at the very top of our list.

This meal never fails to deliver. Besides being ready in about 30 minutes and using mostly pantry ingredients, it’s just an easy weeknight win that hits all the right notes: the sauce is creamy and rich, the pasta with ground beef is chewy and satisfying, the sautéed mushrooms and onions make it extra savory. Friends, this is comfort food at its best.

How I Make Hamburger Stroganoff

I’ve made this meal so many times that I don’t even need to look at the recipe anymore. The base ingredients are ones I almost always have in my fridge and pantry: a pound of ground beef (which I buy when it’s on sale and keep frozen), onions, mushrooms, sour cream, and noodles.

I diverge from Elise’s instructions for preparing the meal slightly. I use a 12-inch non-stick skillet and cook all the ground beef at once instead of in batches. Once browned, I scoop the ground beef into a bowl and then sauté the onions in the beef fat, followed by the mushrooms.

Instead of the sherry or white wine, which I don’t usually have, I often add a few ladles of the starchy water from cooking the pasta or some chicken broth if I have a container open. I let this simmer on low heat until the pasta is done, then I finish the sauce with the sour cream, add the cooked pasta to the pan, and stir everything together.

A Few Variations I’ve Made Over the Years

As you can probably imagine after making this recipe more times than I can count, I’ve made a few adaptations over the years:

• Instead of the parsley, I usually add several big handfuls of baby spinach and cook until wilted. I like the color and the extra nutrition it adds, plus I don’t always have fresh parsley on hand.
• I usually double the amount of mushrooms.
• If I’m out of sour cream, I’ll thin some cream cheese with either milk or starchy pasta water and use that instead.
• It’s unconventional, but I’ve started adding a tablespoon or so of Dijon mustard to the sauce at the end. I first tried this when I was out of lemons and wanted something to brighten up the dish, and now it’s a standard.
• Egg noodles are great, but I more typically have plain dried pasta in my cupboard. I love any shaped pasta with nooks and crannies that will serve as a vehicle for the sauce, like fusilli or cavatappi.

I’ll also add that I don’t generally measure anything anymore. I just eyeball the amounts and taste as I go. No matter what I do—even when I’m totally brain-dead after a long day at work—this meal always gets five gold stars.