Beef stroganoff is such a great comfort meal; strips of beef are seared and then simmered in a flavorful mushroom cream sauce. Traditionally served over egg noodles, it’s a one bowl meal that is comforting and delicious. My lightened-up healthy beef stroganoff features all of the classic ingredients, but modified to be lower calorie.
What you’ll need to make healthy beef stroganoff
- lean sirloin steak
- this cut of beef is lean and tender, usually inexpensive and readily available
- other substitutions: top round, chuck roast (this is a fattier cut)
- kosher salt
- garlic powder
- fresh cracked pepper
- olive oil spray
- shallots
- mushrooms
- Worcestershire
- Dijon
- light butter
- all purpose flour
- beef broth
- sour cream
- plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)
Lightening up a not-so-lightened-up recipe
The key to doing this is mirroring the traditional flavors of the dish, but just using less of them. I have learned over the years that when a recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of olive oil, I can probably sub in olive oil spray and save a bunch of calories and points there.
The same goes for the creamy part: I use real sour cream, but I stretch it out by also using plain non-fat Greek yogurt. It adds more creaminess without racking up the calories, and it does not taste like yogurt here.
Traditionally, this dish is served with egg noodles (as shown here). A standard serving of egg noodles is 2 ounces (weighed uncooked) or about 1 cup cooked. The stats for this serving of egg noodles is approximately 200 calories, or 6 WW points (may vary based on brand).
If this is not in your calorie or point budget, don’t fret. You can easily substitute lower-calorie options, whole wheat pasta, veggie spirals, or even potatoes as a side for this dish. This recipe is only for the beef and sauce portion.
There are not many shortcuts taken here to lighten up this dish; all of the ingredients are real ingredients, just like the traditional recipe calls for. The differences are as follows:
- light butter instead of regular butter
- smaller amounts of butter, flour and sour cream
- Greek yogurt to stretch the sour cream amount
The cut of beef I use for this recipe is a lean, tender cut of beef, and is pretty macro-friendly.
How to make healthy beef stroganoff
Seasoning and searing the beef
This recipe comes together very quickly. It all happens in one pan, too. To make this recipe, I recommend using a large frying pan with deep sides in order for everything to fit in one pan.
To make this recipe, start off by slicing the steaks into strips or chunks. Then, season the beef with the kosher salt and garlic pepper and toss to coat.
Preheat the frying pan over medium-high heat, and add a generous spray of olive oil. Then, sear the meat quickly on both sides, for a total of 2-3 minutes. The meat will not be cooked through, but will be browned on the outside and still tender. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Building the sauce
In the same pan you cooked the steak in, add more olive oil spray. Thinly slice the shallots and add them to the pan, along with the mushrooms. Cook this mixture for 10 minutes, tossing frequently to prevent burning and sticking. Add more olive oil spray if needed.
After 10 minutes, the mushrooms and shallots will be cooked down. Add the Worcestershire and the Dijon, and stir to coat the vegetables. Then, add the butter and flour, and whisk into the vegetables so that they are coated. Cook this mixture for another few minutes so that the flour is incorporated. Then, add the beef broth.
Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce becomes thick from the flour. Then, stir in the sour cream and yogurt. Add the beef back in, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and add kosher salt and pepper if needed.
The finished sauce will look like this:
If your sauce appears too thick, you can add more beef broth as needed! If you are preparing this in advance, you can add more beef broth right before serving to “bring it back to life.”
How to serve healthy beef stroganoff
This dish is traditionally served over egg noodles; boil them separately, and spoon 1 cooked cup of egg noodles into serving bowls, and top with the cooked beef and sauce. The egg noodles pair perfectly with the creamy sauce, for the ultimate comfort meal!
To keep this low carb, you can use other varieties of pasta, or veggie spirals.
Healthy Beef Stroganoff
Equipment
- large frying pan with deep sides
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs lean sirloin steak, about 4 steaks
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- fresh cracked pepper
- olive oil spray
- 2 cups shallots, sliced, about 4 small ones or 2 large ones
- 16 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp dijon
- 1 tbsp light butter, I use Land 'o Lakes
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- parsley for garnish
- optional: egg noodles or pasta for serving, also works with potatoes or veggie spirals
Instructions
- Start off by slicing the beef into strips or chunks.
- Season the beef with the kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, and garlic powder, and toss to coat evenly.
- Preheat a frying pan over medium high heat, and then spray with olive oil spray.
- Sear the beef on both sides, for a total of 2-3 minutes. It will not cook through here; we are just looking for some color on the outside and to lock in flavor.
- Remove the beef from the pan and set aside on a plate to rest.
- Slice the mushrooms and shallots. Add more olive oil spray to the same pan, and add the mushrooms and shallots.
- Cook for 10 minutes, tossing frequently to prevent burning and sticking. Add more olive oil spray as needed.
- After 10 minutes, add the Worcestershire and Dijon to the cooked mushrooms and shallots, and whisk to combine.
- Add the butter and flour, and stir to coat, ensuring to break down the flour and incorporate it throughout the pan.
- Add the beef broth.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce for about five minutes, or until the sauce thickens from the flour.
- Stir in the sour cream and Greek yogurt.
- Return the cooked beef to the pan, along with any residual juices that collected in the dish as the beef rested. Cook for another 5 minutes for the flavors to combine and the beef to cook through a bit more.
- Taste the sauce for seasoning; add more salt and pepper as desired.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley for a pop of color.
Notes
- 7 WW points (all WW plans) for 1 heaping cup
Nutrition
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This looks great. Can I do w out the beef to lower the points more?
Loved it!!! Super flavorful.
Another amazing dinner thanks to Steph! The whole family loved this – super flavorful! I had mine with Natural Heaven Hearts of Palm “noodles” and made egg noodles for everyone else. I will definitely be making this one again!
This is so good!! I will definitely be using this recipe again!! I used sirloin steak and sliced it very very thin. It was perfect!
Hi Steph the recipe when printed does not give instructions on preparation, you have to have the above page open to reference. Could you add instructions to the printed recipe. Thanks
hi Linda, the instructions are there in the recipe card
Super yummy!
Tried this today and it came out great. My ww app even calculates only a point less (might be due to me using ingredients you can easily find in Germany). But in any case, really tasted good and was super filling
5 stars for sure!!! This recipe came together so quickly and my whole family loved it.
Made this the other night and it did not disappoint!!! I swear every recipe I make of hers is delicious!!!
Really enjoyed this dish! I mixed the noodles into the steak and it was so good and flavorful! Definitely adding to my winter rotation!!
Made this for the 1st time tonight and my husband loved it. Definitely his favorite of all Steph’s dinner recipes I’ve made. Trust me that is saying a lot. He is so picky.
This recipe was incredible for being the healthy version of this dish. Growing up this was one of my favorite things my mom made so I was so happy that Steph had a version. We were out of worchestershire so I subbed balsamic vinegar and it came out so well. The only thing was the sauce didn’t get super thick so we just added a little cornstarch slurry and it was awesome. Will definitely make again!
Amazing recipe! It is a staple on our menu rotation.
Excellent meal! First time to make this tonight my husband went crazy for it! He lived the flavorful “gravy” as he is also a big fan of mushrooms. He says it compares higher to him than Chicken Marsala due to the “gravy” and he prefers beef to chicken. So glad you love beef so I can make dinners that my husband enjoys. You are the best influencer on the planet. Thanks Steph!
Very flavorful. I used a lot less broth because I worried about making it too liquidy. Seems like my sauces don’t thicken enough when using full amounts of liquids in most sauces. But OMG this was amazing. I also cheated and used beef that was already cubed in the store. Oh and one more adjustment I almost forgot about, I don’t care much for dijon so I used regular yellow mustard. I will definitely put this on the repeat list. Love Steph’s recipes.
So delicious!!
Definitely a do over. It was very good! I used light sour cream and served with yolk free noodles
This is not low calorie because everyone makes this with egg noodles. Nice try tho.
Would rice be a lower calorie option?..
Amazing flavor!
Hi,You might want to search out how they make Worchester Sauce. Not a very healthy product.
I’m making this today for the first time, and didn’t read the directions correctly. I bought extra lean ground beef. Will this work for this recipe? TIA!
Easy and delicious! I substituted fresh garlic for shallots and had the sour cream and Greek yogurt on the side because some of my family like it without. I’ll definitely make this again.
This is hands down the BEST beef stroganoff I’ve ever had! My picky husband loved it also.
I ended up using ground beef because that’s what I had on hand. Delicious! It will definitely be in my dinner rotation.
Loved this! So easy and perfect for a cold fall day.
Another winner! Everyone was wanting more sauce! They couldn’t get enough! Will be on rotation for sure!!!
Hi there, was wondering if this could be done in the crock pot?
I made this recipe with lean ground beef…… so filling and easy to make!
This recipe is so delicious. As a college student I struggle to find cheap and healthy meals to make. I can’t afford steaks currently so I subbed ground beef and it was SOO good!!!
YOUZA!
This stroganoff recipe was delicious! It has an earthy/beef flavor.
You won’t be disappointed.😋😋😋😋😋
Hi, is this really using 2 cups shallot? I feel 2-4 of my shallots will no reach 2 cups.