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Hungarian beef goulash

Published Oct 12, 2016 By Julia 34 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
Hungarian beef goulash is a spicy beef stew with onions and plenty of paprika. Here's an easy recipe for this classic dish where everything cooks in a single pot.
Hungarian beef goulash

Hungarian beef goulash

4.9 from 7 votes
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Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 2 hrs 10 mins
Yield: 6 servings
Calories: 590

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1-2 inch chunks
  • 3 yellow onions about 2 pounds, chopped
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 10 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1/4 cup paprika
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. I used a 6 quart dutch oven.
  • Add onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Coat the beef chunks in a mixture of paprika and cayenne, and add to the pot. Cook until the beef browns, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add stock and tomato paste to the pot, and stir. Cover with a lid and let simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve and garnish with parsley.

NUTRITION

This recipe yields 13 g net carbs per serving. Nutrition information does not include noodles.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Calories 590  
Total Fat 30g 47%
   Saturated Fat 9g 45%
   Trans Fat 1.4g  
Cholesterol 193mg 64%
Sodium 910mg 38%
Potassium 1320mg 38%
Total Carb 17g 6%
   Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
   Sugars 7g  
Protein 63g  
Vitamin A 65% · Vitamin C 18% · Calcium 3% · Iron 51%

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Hungarian beef goulash
I had a delicious and very spicy Hungarian beef goulash at a German restaurant earlier this year. It was a thick beef stew with paprika, egg noodles, onions, and generous amounts of sauce. It was relatively simple in terms of ingredients, but full of flavor with tender beef chunks. It was also extremely spicy, which was a nice surprise. I’m always game for a delicious spicy stew, and I finally got the chance to recreate this comforting dish last weekend. It was perfect for the rainy weather here in Boston.

Hungarian beef goulash
Hungarian goulash is made without any thickeners like flour, and instead it relies on other ingredients like onions, paprika, and tomato to help thicken the stew. In my recipe, I used a lot of onions and paprika; in fact, 3 whole onions and 1/4 cup of paprika for 3 pounds of beef. These ingredients allow for a nice thick stew where everything is simmered for hours on the stove until the beef is tender. For the paprika, you can use Hungarian sweet paprika to be authentic, but really, any kind of paprika will work nicely here.

Hungarian beef goulash
Only one pot is needed for this recipe, and it’s fairly straightforward without requiring much attention once everything is added to the pot. I used a dutch oven (as pictured above) and I recommend using a pot that can hold at least 5 quarts and comes with a lid. I was able to cook up a large quantity of goulash using my pot, so I’ll be enjoying those leftovers over the next few days.

Hungarian beef goulash
Hungarian beef goulash

Filed Under: Vintage Tagged With: cayenne, fall, onion, paprika, tomatoes, winter

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth. She shares simple recipes and guides for keto and low carb diets. Learn more.

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newest oldest most voted
Jeane

I’ve already made this twice ! It’s one of my favorites and I didn’t change a thing !!! ❤️Thank you !

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Mary Arnovitz

This is the best Hungarian goulash recipe I’ve found! I’ve made it at least 5 times and it is always delicious 😋

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Dawn McNeel

Hungarian paprika has a sweet paprika has well as a spicy paprika. Do you think that maybe the heat in dish came from spicy hungarian paprika?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Eve Manuszewski

I always use Hungarian Paparika, in red can. Don’t even need cayenne pepper, spicy enough. Also use rendered bacon grease, always kept in fridge for flavoring instead of olive oil which gives a special flavoring. Serve my goulash with semmeknodel or bread balls. Delicious! Must try.

Vote Up2Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Bob

Just wondering is 2 cups of fluid is enough for this recipe?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Julia

Hi Bob, yes it is enough for this recipe. Hope you get a chance to try it out!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Allan Michaels

I’m making hungarian goulash 4 the second time in the dutch oven, last experience was just wonderful, so flavorful, served with egg noodles, such an easy supper 2 prepare, what I like about this dish over a regular stew, it is very light, not heavy, no potatoes or other vegis, just onions and meat.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Bob

Was 2 cups of broth enough for this recipe?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Heidi Balke

Yes, Bob it is…as the meat renders, the juice from the beef adds to the liquid level.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Rachael Harper

We visited Hungary last year and loved it! Trying this recipe just because the goulash there was so awesome!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Melissa Paycheck

I want to make this but I will be using a Crock-Pot. I will saute onions and brown beef first though…my wuestion is how long do I set the Crock-Pot for. Preferably on low….

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Denise

Why does this recipe have so many Net carbs? I am on a Keto diet.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

Onions and tomato paste have a decent amount of net carbs, followed by the garlic. If you’d like to reduce carbs, omit or reduce them.

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3 years ago
Jackie

Sounds great how long would you cook it for in a slow cooker after browning meat and onions definitely carrots and mushrooms would be great!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Bill

I Grew up in a town that had a large Hungarian population so so this is very close to what I remember most folks made in my parts. I was wondering if you could make it in a pressure cooker to save myself some time at the stove? the only thing I would think you might want to do is to cut back on the liquid? I was considering throwing in some carrots too? What do you think?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

I think it would work well in a pressure cooker: brown the beef and onions on the saute mode, then use the meat/stew mode to pressure cook for 35 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural release. I think carrots sound like a great addition, possibly mushrooms if you like them. Note that these vegetables will add liquid content as they cook. I would start anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 cups broth. If it ends up being too watery, you can use the saute mode at the end to simmer off some of the liquid.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Bill

My beef stew chunks were very lean & smallish so I set the IP for 25 mins at stew/meat instead & 15 mins of natural pressure release.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Debbie Dibble

I did make this, I too will omit the tomato paste next time. Or use just half of the can. The 2 teaspoons of cayanne was just right, spicy, but not too spicy. I enjoyed it! Thank you for receipe! Will make again!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

You’re very welcome, great to hear that you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
William D. Woodard, III

Hi Julia: I’m 80 yrs. old and do all of the cooking at our house. For a Christmas lunch, I printed out the Hungarian Goulash recipe and have already purchased all of the ingredients to prepare this meal for our bunch of folks. As an after-thought, I think my folks would like to have some potato’s included in the recipe. For the 3lbs. of beef, how many Irish potato’s would you add to make the goulash more like a stew? I’m wondering something else, hope you don’t mind: We accidentally left our dutch oven when we last moved and I will be using a six quart crock pot. Should I cook the potato’s separately and add them the last minute or put them in the pot maybe the last hour? Thank you for your input and for the help. I really need it. Merry Christmas

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

Hi William! For 3 pounds of beef, I would suggest adding 1 to 2 pounds of potatoes, which should help thicken the stew. You can cut the potatoes into 1 inch chunks and add them to the pot in the last hour (for fall-apart potatoes) or in the last 30 minutes (for tender potatoes).

You mentioned that you’ll be using a crock pot, which is a type of slow cooker appliance. This recipe is designed for a pot to be used on the stovetop, so if you use a slow cooker instead, the cooking times will vary and you won’t be able to brown the beef and saute the onions.

Merry Christmas, and let me know if you have any other questions!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Bob

Was 2 cups of broth enough for this recipe?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
2 years ago
Jarrett

Great recipe, though I omit tomato paste as it’s not necessary and not traditional. Otherwise I followed the recipe aside from subbing beef broth for vegetable broth. Served over Reames egg noodles, but would be amazing over spaetzle. Delicious!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

Glad you liked it and thanks for your feedback, Jarrett 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Debbie Dibble

I love hungarian goulash. I’m looking for a great recipe. I hope this is it. P.S I like it spicy

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3 years ago
Anniewillequer

One of my favorite dinners Hungarian goulash or used more onions yet they say 1 pound of onion per pound of meat I come from Austria and we also serve serve it with bread dumplings Not everyone likes those you have to get used to them and will have to make some soon

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
cv

is it spicy? 2 tsps of cayenne…yeesh!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

Yes, it is spicy. Might sound like a lot of cayenne but keep in mind this makes 6 servings. You can omit or use less.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Michael Maskill

Great recipe. Make sure you use Hungarian paprika if you want the right flavoring.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Carolyn

Am I reading that right? 1/4 CUP of paprika? Just making sure.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia

Yes, you read that right! 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia @ HappyFoods Tube

Hungarian beef goulash is one of my favorite dishes. It taste amazing. My mom would make them with steamed “bread” or dumplings. I make it with pasta or rice 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Julia

Haha I’m happy to hear that you like hungarian goulash, too! I would love to try your mom’s steamed “bread” and dumplings with the goulash 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago
Patrick A Bowen

Julia – I grew up eating my Mom’s Hungarian Goulash. Your photograph is very confusing, because I can’t tell if the photo shows Noodles, but the recipe does not indicate Noodles. So help me out here. My Mom always made it with Egg Noodles as we grew up in Pennsylvania.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago

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