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Beef stroganoff is a delicious Russian dish that since its creation has exploded in popularity not just in Russia but also across much of the world. This hearty dish is wonderfully creamy and perfect when under the weather or when you need something warm on a cold day. However, you may be wondering what to serve with beef stroganoff?
Table of Contents
- What Is Beef Stroganoff?
- What Goes With Beef Stroganoff?
- What To Serve With Beef Stroganoff?
- What to Serve with Beef Stroganoff?
- FAQ – What to Serve with Beef Stroganoff?
What Is Beef Stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff as mentioned above is a dish with origins in Russian cuisine. This dish traditionally consists of tender beef along with sauteed onions and mushrooms in a thick creamy sauce made with sour cream, beef stock and flour.
As it has spread around the world and grown in popularity some altered versions of stroganoff have cropped. For example, many variations of this dish will include mustard in the sauce as well. Additionally, sometimes the creamy sauce will be made in a manner that is more consistent with stew, leading some to incorrectly conflate stroganoff with beef stew.
What Goes With Beef Stroganoff?
Stroganoff is an incredibly hearty and creamy dish that is packed with lots of flavours and textures. As such the best options for sides tend to be quite mild and provide something unique texturally. Additionally, due to stroganoff being incredibly saucy many of the best dishes to serve alongside it will be able to incorporate this sauce in some manner.
What To Serve With Beef Stroganoff?
With the above in mind, there are a great variety of options to choose from when it comes to choosing what to serve alongside your beef stroganoff. However, like when wondering to serve with other Russian dishes like pierogies, there are some tried and true options. Some of which include the following:
- Bread
- Roasted Potatoes
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower
- Buttered Egg Noodles
- Rice
- Braised Red Cabbage
- Green Beans
- Vegetable Salad
Bread
When it comes to near enough any saucy dish whether it’s stroganoff or chicken piccata, a great side option is some bread. Often the thicker and crustier the bread the better as it can be used to effectively mop up the excess beef stroganoff sauce from your plate, or even make an impromptu sandwich without losing structure.
Really any type of bread can work brilliantly. However, something that provides a contrast in flavours such as sourdough, rye bread a French baguette or even garlic bread will be an excellent choice.
Roasted Potatoes
We all know that meat like beef and creamy sauces go wonderfully with roast potatoes. Naturally then, beef stroganoff with roast potatoes should be a perfect combination, right?
The crispy exterior and fluffy interior of the roasted potatoes make for an excellent contrast with the tender and savoury beef soft mushrooms and slightly crunchy onions. Additionally, like with bread, the fluffy interior of the potatoes will soak up the rich beef stroganoff sauce making them even more flavourful.
To maximise the taste contrast of your roasted potatoes seasoning with fresh herbs such as rosemary, parsley and thyme. Additionally, you can also add a light drizzle of honey to add a little sweetness which contrasts wonderfully with the rich sour cream sauce of the stroganoff.
Mashed Potatoes
Another excellent potato-based option for serving alongside beef stroganoff is mashed potatoes. In fact, when discussing what to serve with mashed potatoes, the idea to serve beef stroganoff is often popular.
Part of this is because both dishes are deliciously creamy which results in an even richer and more hearty dish. However, like with roast potatoes, the mash will soak up the sauce of the beef stroganoff. As a result, this then provides structure whilst maintaining a creamy texture with an added umami flavour from the potatoes along with the mushrooms.
Cauliflower
As mentioned before, stroganoff is quite a heavy and rich dish. As such, you wish to have a side with it that is slightly lighter. If so, fortunately, you are in luck as the versatile cauliflower can accomplish this in a number of ways.
For example, you want a low carb substitute for the aforementioned mashed potatoes then mashed cauliflower is a wonderful option. Especially so when made with some sour cream, cheese and butter. Similarly, cauliflower rice can also be used as a low carb substitute for the real deal whilst still tasting delicious.
Cauliflower isn’t just good for imitating other dishes, however. In fact, a wonderful idea for serving it with beef stroganoff is to sprinkle some florets with a generous amount of parmesan and roast them for around ten minutes. The result is a wonderfully cheesy and delicious but somewhat healthy accompaniment for your stroganoff.
Buttered Egg Noodles
When it comes to the popular ways that people tend to eat stroganoff, noodles tend to at least be near the top of the list. Noodles and sauce are practically made for each other after all, so it makes sense.
Additionally, though, the contrast in textures between the chewy noodles and the tender beef, along with mushrooms and onions is truly heavenly.
Whilst plain noodles are a way you can go, buttered egg noodles are an easy way to elevate this classic combination. These can be made with egg noodles, broth, some light seasonings and of course butter. The result is that you get all the benefits listed above but with an extra layer of butteriness that elevates both the noodles and stroganoff sauce.
Rice
Like egg noodles are one of the most popular options, a simple bowl of steaming white rice is definitely is also a common choice. The simple reason being that the more neutral flavour of the rice very much allow the stroganoff to truly shine.
When you top the rice with your stroganoff, the combination is heavenly as the fluffy rice sops up the sauce as it drips down and mixes in. Meanwhile, the rice adds that fluffy but slightly robust texture to the meal without distracting from the taste of stroganoff itself.
Braised Red Cabbage
When serving a Russian dish such as stroganoff, it makes sense to suggest a side that also originates from Russian cuisine, right?
With that in mind, an excellent Russian side to serve with beef stroganoff is braised red cabbage.
The beauty of doing so is that the sweet taste contrasts your main perfectly without dominating the flavour. Additionally, it is also very filling, nutritious and improves the presentation of your meal by adding some bright colour to your plate.
To make braised red cabbage simply braise your cabbage with sugar and apples. The resulting sweet and slightly peppery tastes will be distinct from those of your stroganoff. However, they will not be overpowering, merely complementary.
Green Beans
For a more earthy, light and healthy side, green beans make for a wonderful pairing with beef stroganoff. This is because they add some crunch to your meal along with slightly amplifying the earthy flavours whilst also adding a slight hint of bitterness to the equation.
Whilst there are a variety of ways that you can cook and present green beans, there is one option that stands above the rest in our minds. This is to saute them in butter and serve with crispy diced bacon. This will bring out more flavour whilst adding buttery and salty tastes to the dish.
Vegetable Salad
With beef stroganoff being such a heavy and rich dish, you may only want something light to serve alongside it. With that in mind, a simple vegetable salad makes for the perfect choice. Especially so since it will not only provide extra nutrition and a bit of colour to your meal but also a delicious crunchy texture.
With that in mind, you’ll need to decide what type of salad to have. Fortunately, we have the perfect option in mind. Pair this Russian dish with a Russian salad.
The Russian salad is a simple salad to make but also delicious, with many familiar ingredients. To make it simply combine cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions and dill. Of course, there’s no need for a dressing though as the stroganoff sauce will be rich and creamy enough.
What to Serve with Beef Stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff is truly a wonderfully decadent and flavourful dish. The flavours it brings truly speak for themselves, as such the sides that you choose to pair with it will often be best served to be quite mild or even neutral in flavour. However, them adding some extra unique texture is of course a welcome addition to the dish.
As such, sides such as rice, buttered egg noodles, vegetable salad or mashed potatoes make for wonderful choices. However, which you decide to go for will ultimately come down to the preferences of your own taste buds.
FAQ – What to Serve with Beef Stroganoff?
What should I serve with beef stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff is an incredibly decadent and multifaceted dish in terms of flavour. As such when picking a side dish or two to accompany it, you should choose something that adds a unique texture but is quite mild and neutral flavoured. Some good examples of dishes like this include buttered egg noodles, bread, mashed potatoes, vegetable salad or rice.
How do you make beef stroganoff better?
Beef stroganoff is an incredibly rich and delicious dish that originated from Russian cuisine. Traditionally, beef stroganoff is a dish that consists of tender beef, along with sautéed onions and mushrooms in a thick creamy sauce made with sour cream, beef stock and flour. However, to add extra complexity to the already delicious flavour it is quite common for people to add mustard into the sauce.
What can I add to Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper?
To enhance the flavour of hamburger helper beef stroganoff simply add between half and a full diced onion when cooking the mince, along with one or two teaspoons of garlic powder whilst browning. Additionally, to make the sauce thicker and more hearty sauce, you should use a combination of milk and butter instead of water. If using water though, then adding flour, cornflour or something similar will also be an effective option.
What is traditional beef stroganoff?
Beef stroganoff is an incredibly hearty and creamy beef dish that originates in Russian cuisine. Traditionally, this dish consists of tender beef, along with sautéed onions and mushrooms in a thick creamy sauce made with sour cream, beef stock and flour.
