Slow Cooked Beef Goulash (Dutch Oven)

Slow cooked beef goulash featuring impressively tender meat and rich, flavour-packed gravy is bound to win favour around the dinner table on cold days. A little soured cream stirred into this easy Dutch oven goulash recipe at the end turns it into pure comfort food heaven.

Need a vegetarian option? Either adapt this recipe to turn it vegetarian or try out my veggie pasta al forno. It's also loaded with flavour.

Rib sticking and deeply satisfying, slow cooked beef goulash with meltingly tender beef is one of life's ultimate comfort foods. Let's be honest, what's not to relish about a bowlful of succulent slow cooked beef alongside plenty of peppers and mushrooms all bundled together in a rich and vibrant flavour-packed gravy?

This easy Dutch oven goulash recipe is well seasoned with mild and gentle spice, but it's definitely not hot. Instead, it has an underlying sweetness driven by the abundance of paprika and red peppers, but it's undoubtedly a savoury meal. It's perfect served in the cooler months and it freezes well, so making a double batch and storing some for a quick heartwarming meal another night is a great option.

This recipe is one of many deeply delicious dinner recipes on my site - why not take a look at the rest? Other comforting meals include beef and mushroom stew, minced beef and onion pie, lamb balti and my steak and stilton pie.

Ingredients Notes

Paprika: This is the star ingredient in any goulash recipe. But not all paprika is born equal. Some people swear by using only Hungarian paprika, which is typically rich with a sweet red pepper flavour. But they can range in pungency and heat, so opt for a mild variety for this slow cooked beef goulash recipe.

If you can't get hold of Hungarian paprika don't worry, select an alternative mild & sweet variety and go with that. You could also substitute in a little smoked paprika or a dab of hot paprika if you fancy switching up the spice profile.

Beef: Stewing steak is the best option as the beef should have plenty of connective tissue that will help tenderise it as the goulash slow cooks. There's no need to go for expensive cuts. Any particularly large chunks of fat can be trimmed away if desired.

Mushrooms: Chestnut mushrooms have a lovely earthy flavour and fantastic colour which both work a treat in this recipe.

Worcestershire sauce: This adds rich depth of flavour and a mild tanginess to this recipe for beef goulash. Worcestershire sauce is easy to find in UK shops but if it's not available around you, opt for soy sauce instead.

Soured cream: This completes the dish by adding a slightly tangy yet creamy edge to the flavour. Try serving a little extra spooned on top for a comforting treat. If you don't have it to hand Greek yoghurt makes a great alternative.

Step by Step Instructions

This easy slow cooked beef goulash recipe can be made in a Dutch oven or another suitable oven-proof casserole dish with a lid:

1. Step 1: Toss the meat in the flour then brown in batches, remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Step 2: Fry the onion and garlic until soft, then add in the mushrooms and peppers and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Step 3: Add the meat back into the pan along with the tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, pepper and the stock. Stir, pop on the lid and cook in the oven for around 3 hours, stirring once or twice.

4. Step 4: Stir soured cream and chopped parsley in before serving.

Making Beef Goulash in a Slow Cooker

This beef goulash recipe can alternatively be made in a slow cooker. To get the best flavour possible, it is essential to brown the meat and to fry the onions until soft before transferring them both to your slow cooker pot with the rest of the ingredients (minus the cream and parsley).

You'll likely need less stock, so begin by adding 175ml (¾ cup) and top up with more, if necessary, as the end of the cooking time approaches.

Cook for 4-5 hours on medium or 7-8 hours on low. Stir in the soured cream and parsley before serving.

Variations

The base recipe for this dutch oven goulash can be adapted in the following ways:

• Caraway Seeds: Add in ½ teaspoon of toasted caraway seeds. Some people swear that this spice is essential to authentic goulash. Caraway imparts a slightly citrusy liquorice flavour to recipes. It is not to everybody's taste (definitely not my family's, I've discovered)
• Omit the flour: Traditional Hungarian goulash was much more soup-like that this version and flour would certainly not have made an appearance in the ingredients list. But this Dutch oven goulash recipe is not pretending to be an authentic traditional recipe, so I've included flour to create a thick and luxurious sauce that liberally coats the other ingredients. Make the goulash without flour to create a thinner sauce and turn it gluten-free in the process
• Swap the meat: Try veal, pork or lamb
• Meatball goulash: Alternatively, leave out the beef but drop in meatballs 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time
• Vegetarian goulash: Replace the meat with more vegetables and stir some pre-cooked black beans through. You'll also need to swap the beef stock for vegetable stock (or even better - mushroom stock) and ditch the Worcestershire sauce in favour of soy sauce.

Serving suggestions

My favourite way to serve dutch oven goulash is to ladle portions into bowls alongside crusty bread for dunking and mopping up that gloriously rich and dark piquant gravy. However, there are plenty of other options:

• Try it with flat pasta noodles such as pappardelle.
• Go traditional and serve it with spaetzle.
• Or gnocchi for that matter.
• Spoon it over creamy mashed potatoes.
• Boiled rice makes a tasty change.
• Get indulgent by upgrading to garlic bread.
• Or add in plenty of baby potatoes for a stand-alone complete meal.
• Alternatively top with dumplings for the ultimate one-pot comfort food.

More comfort food suppers

Have you made this recipe for slow cooked beef goulash? Please give it a rating or comment. I love to hear how you get along with my recipes.

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