When the temperature drops, a pot of Hungarian Goulash is always on our menu. It is made with tender beef, sweet onions, and a savory broth that fills the house with the best cozy aroma.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich and hearty with sweet onions and tender chunks of beef in a delicious paprika broth.
- Technique: Cooking the soup low and slow tenderizes the meat.
- Budget Tip: Hungarian goulash is a great way to turn a less expensive cut of meat into a tender and delicious meal. Adding potatoes and carrots will stretch the meal further.
- Recipe Note: Hungarian Goulash is very different from an American goulash recipe, which is a pasta and ground beef dish!
Ingredient Notes For Goulash
- Paprika: Hungarian paprika is made from ground dried peppers that range from mild to hot, so its flavor varies by region. Paprika can be smoked, sweet, or hot, but this recipe usually uses the mild or sweet varieties.
- Vegetables: Families often customize this dish with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, peppers, or tomatoes. Some Hungarian Goulash recipes use only onions or serve veggies on the side.
- Beef & Broth: Use chunks of either stew beef or chuck roast.
How to Make Hungarian Goulash
- Sauté onions in butter until soft, then sear the beef until browned.
- Add broth to deglaze, then mix in tomatoes, more broth, and spices.
- Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer (full recipe below) until the meat is tender.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the goulash on its own or over homemade egg noodles, elbow macaroni, or mashed potatoes. Top it with a dollop of sour cream and fresh parsley.
Add a side of crusty artisan bread and butter, 30-minute dinner rolls, or biscuits to soak up any leftover gravy.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, warm over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of beef broth if it is too thick. Or, reheat single servings in the microwave in short intervals, stirring occasionally, and adding liquid if needed.
Must-Try Soups and Stews
Did you make this Hungarian Goulash? Leave a rating and comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salted butter oil, or lard (preferred)
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1½ pounds stewing beef or chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth or water, divided
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes drained
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Optional
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced, optional
- 3 medium carrots diced, optional
- chopped fresh parsley and sour cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in caraway seeds and paprika.
- In a bowl or zip-top bag, dredge the beef with flour and shake off any excess. Add the beef to the onion mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add ¼ cup of beef broth while scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining broth and diced tomatoes. Add potatoes and carrots if using. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for about 1½ -2 hours or until the beef is fork-tender.
- Garnish with parsley if desired and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Hungary© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
My husband found this recipe while going through my Pinterest to find recipes for the weekend. He found this and I’m so happy that he did. It was so good. I made it just like the recipe and we had some toasted crusty bread on the side. Very amazing dinner. Neither one of us wanted to stop eating it . Luckily we were at home and didn’t have to be rolled out of a restaurant anywhere lol. Thank you for sharing your wonderfully amazing recipe with us.
It makes my day to hear how much you and your husband enjoyed the goulash recipe Jessica!! You’re welcome!
Made this today and loved it. My husband really enjoyed it.
I’m going to make this tomorrow and i will put in a review on how it came out. I was wondering if adding fresh thyme would be tasty. Have you ever add that to this recipe before? Also I got a couple of sweet red baby tomatoes and instead of can i was going to quarter them and put them in the stew. Hopefully that would be great too.
Can’t wait to hear how you like it! Thyme would be a lovely addition (along with your tomatoes).
What do you do when your hubby won’t eat tomato? He will eat sauces but if he can see a tomato I can just hang it up :-(
In this case I would leave them out. Some Hungarian goulash recipes don’t use tomatoes at all. If he can eat tomato paste, you could add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste.
Can i use smoked paprika?
Smoked paprika will work for this recipe.
I can’t find Hungarian paparki can I just use regular???
Yes, that works just fine in this recipe. You can also order Hungarian Paprika online!
Hi Kimberly I’m making this dish tomorrow. If you have a ShopRite near you in the area they carry the Hungarian paprika. I just bought on today. It comes in a little tin like bottle rectangle shape
Thank you for sharing Lorraine!
I would like to make this for a large group. Can I triple the recipe and how should I adjust cooking time? Thank you!!
Yes you can triple this recipe. As long as your pot is large enough, the cook time should remain close to the same once it begins to simmer. You want to make sure the beef is fork tender.
Tried this last night for a quick and hearty meal. The kids loved it, so did I!
So glad your family loved it!
I was craving some real comfort food, so we cooked this in our Nesco today! One pot, so it was super easy to cook and clean up. There was almost none left! The kids even liked it! It’s definitely going to be a go-to recipe for winter pot-lucks!
So glad your family loved this Danielle!
I have this cooking on the stove now. I will post an update once we’ve tasted it. It looks like a very yummy cool weather food – too bad it’s 85 here today.
It really is a yummy “any” weather food! Enjoy Loretta!
Have you ever made this is the crockpot?
I have not tried this in the Crock Pot but I do think it would be delicious. Please let us know how it goes if you try it!
Hi Holly, what would be the cooking time for this recipe if cooked it in a slow cooker?.
I haven’t tried this recipe in the slow cooker but I would suggest 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 on high. Let us know how it goes.
I have cooked Hungarian Goulash in the crock pot many many times.. Need to cook the onions and the meat first and than transfer into the crockpot and add all the other ingredients.. Cook on low for 8 hours.. The meat is so tender that it melts in your mouth..
When you say diced tomatoes do you mean out of a can or fresh? Thanks so much!
They are canned. I’ve updated the recipe to include this information. Enjoy! :)
I’ve been making this for years, however we don’t call it hungarian goulash, we just called it beef stew!
:) Yummy! My beef stew recipe is more of a beef broth base instead of a paprika base.
Yes, yum Chichi!
Hearty and oh so delicious Bintu. We love it!
This just looks so comforting!
Enjoy Amy!
Your goulash looks wonderful. I’ve wanted to make Hungarian goulash ever since I had it in Hungary whilst staying with friend there! Somehow I’ve not gotten round to making it yet! Have to try your recipe!
Enjoy Jaqueline, you’ll be so glad you made it!
What a wonderful traditional goulash recipe. So hearty!
Thank you Linda!
This is delicious! I will prepare this evening for my partner. Thank you very much
Enjoy it Marco! You’re welcome