This meatball stroganoff is a simple and family-friendly variation of a classic beef stroganoff recipe. With a savory sour cream gravy accented with nutmeg and black pepper, slurp-worthy noodles, and tender meatballs it’s sure to become a favorite in your dinner rotation soon. Using frozen meatballs means that the prep for this dish is easy and quick. You can have this on the table in 30 minutes!
This recipe can be prepared on your stove top for a quick meal or made in your slow cooker for a more hands-off prep. Both methods yield tender meatballs in a gravy that’s hard to resist. The mushrooms are another delicious part of the stroganoff, and they melt into the gravy as they cook.
Mushrooms instantly make dishes more hearty with their earthy flavor and texture. Try this recipe for Polenta with Mushrooms and Gremolata or Miso Mushroom Pasta next! Love meatballs? Try your hand at Homemade Turkey Swedish Meatballs, too.
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Ingredients
I include ingredient notes here when I think they’ll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!
- Wide Pasta or Egg Noodles - You can serve meatball stroganoff over almost any cozy carb, but wide pappardelle noodles or classic egg noodles are peak comfort food vibes. Use any pasta shape you prefer!
- Salted Butter - This recipe was developed with salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter on hand, add an additional ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pot.
- Nutmeg - Nutmeg is a spice that is often associated with sweets, with its nutty, earthy, clove-like aroma. It adds a distinctive flavor to stroganoff and plays well with savory flavors and the tang of the sour cream. Nutmeg can be purchased already ground or you can freshly grind the grape-sized whole seed on the finest side of a box grater.
- All-Purpose Flour - Flour is used in the roux along with the melted butter to thicken the sour cream gravy.
- Beef Stock - Use a low-sodium version of beef stock or beef broth for this recipe. If you don’t have a low sodium version available, wait to add salt after the sour cream is stirred into the gravy and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Mushrooms - Use any variety you enjoy in this recipe, we use button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms most often. Slice them thinly to melt into the gravy or quarter them if you enjoy their meaty texture.
- Frozen Meatballs - Use any variety of meatballs you enjoy, we use beef meatballs to stay closest to the classic beef stroganoff. If your meatballs are bite-sized, no prep is needed. If they are large, it’s best to quarter them before adding them to the beef stock mixture. Thaw the package of meatballs in the refrigerator the morning you are going to prepare the stroganoff for the speediest prep.
- Sour Cream - Use regular sour cream in this recipe for the richest texture. Light sour cream will work, but be sure to do the tempering step to avoid any curdling when you add it to the gravy.
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the egg noodles or pasta according to the package directions. Drain them and place them back in the cooking pot along with one tablespoon of butter to coat. Keep them warm while the meatball stroganoff is prepared.
While you wait for the pasta, heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Melt two tablespoons of butter in the pot.
Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the butter and toast the spices until they are fragrant.
Add the flour to the butter mixture and whisk it well. Cook it for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is smooth.
Pour the beef stock into the pot in a slow stream, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming.
Continue to whisk the mixture and cook until it is smooth and bubbling.
Add the meatballs and the mushrooms to the beef stock mixture and stir to coat all of the ingredients.
Reduce the heat to low. Cook the meatballs for about 8-10 minutes, until the meatballs are tender and the mushrooms are soft.
Remove the pan from the heat. In a medium bowl, add the sour cream and about ½ cup of gravy from the pot. Whisk this together until it is smooth.
Transfer the sour cream mixture back into the pot with the meatballs.
Stir well until all ingredients are incorporated.
Ladle the meatball stroganoff over your cooked noodles and sprinkle everything with chopped parsley.
Top Tip
Adding the hot gravy mixture to the cold sour cream in a bowl before adding it to the meatball mixture is tempering the sour cream. This means we are bringing the temperature of the sour cream up to be closer to that of the meatball mixture so that the sour cream doesn’t curdle when you add it. It also ensures that the sour cream blends more easily into the beef gravy mixture for a smooth and creamy sauce. I just want to dive into the pot with those swirls of sour cream!
Slow Cooker Instructions
You can make meatball stroganoff in your slow cooker, too! Start by adding the beef stock, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the crock of your slow cooker. Stir everything together to combine. Melt two tablespoons of butter and stir that into the stock mixture.
Add the meatballs and mushrooms and stir everything to coat. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. About 30 minutes before the cooking is complete, start a pot of water and cook the noodles or pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and coat it with one tablespoon of butter.
While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the sour cream and flour in a medium bowl. Add a couple ladles full of the hot stock mixture (about ½-cup) to the sour cream and whisk until it is smooth. Add the sour cream mixture to the cooking meatballs and stir well. Continue to cook for 30 minutes and serve the stroganoff over the pasta or noodles when they are ready. Garnish with parsley.
Substitutions and Variations
The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!
- Use Your Favorite Meatballs - You can use beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or any combination of meatballs in this recipe. We most often use beef meatballs to keep the recipe close to the classic beef stroganoff, but any frozen meatball will do.
- Top with Dill - Fresh dill in place of (or in addition to) parsley as the final garnish for this meal is so delicious. Dill has a way of pairing perfectly with the tang and smooth creamy flavor of the sour cream in the gravy.
- Add Onions - If you love a softened onion in your stroganoff, slice a medium yellow onion in half from root to tip and then into ½ inch slices. Add them to the melted butter and sauté for about 5-7 minutes before continuing with the recipe by adding the nutmeg, pepper, and salt.
Equipment
Meatball stroganoff can be made with simple kitchen tools and equipment. Here are a few notes on my favorite items for this recipe:
- Dutch Oven - An enameled cast iron Dutch oven is a great pot to have in your kitchen for all sorts of recipes. They can go from stove top to oven, are good for deep frying, and are perfect for stews, braises, and soups.
- Whisk - I have what may be an excessive number of whisks to choose from, but an 8-inch whisk I got years ago as a wedding gift is my favorite! I use it in this recipe for both whisking the flour into the butter as well as whisking the sour cream and hot beef stock together.
- Wooden Spoons - I purchased my favorite wooden spoon in college and still use the same one to this day! The one pictured in this post is especially good because of its angled head, great for scraping along the edges of pots.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your Meatball Stroganoff over noodles or pasta and alongside steamed or roasted broccoli for a complete meal. You can also serve it over mashed potatoes or rice, anything that will soak up that rich gravy.
Make This Recipe Kid Friendly
Cooked mushrooms are a hard pass for the kids at our table. If yours are the same, consider quartering the mushrooms instead of slicing them. This way they cook down with a sturdier texture or are easier to remove altogether. You can also set aside some raw mushrooms and see if your kids prefer them fresh as opposed to cooked. This is one of the strategies I describe in this Keeping Peace with Picky Eaters post!
Storage
Store the meatball stroganoff in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave, so this is a great option for a work lunch!
FAQ
The best defense against your sour cream curdling in the sauce is to first temper the sour cream with a bit of the hot beef stock mixture. Add the tempered sour cream back to the meatballs off of the heat so that the gravy doesn’t come back to a boil.
Traditionally beef stroganoff is made from strips of beef tenderloin, which can easily dry out in the process of browning and preparing the sauce. Beef meatballs make a more fun (and failproof) version!
Meatball stroganoff and Swedish meatballs both have a creamy gravy, however meatball stroganoff uses tangy sour cream while Swedish meatballs use heavy cream. The spices are different as well, although many versions of each recipe exist with a wide variety of spices.
Easy Stovetop Dinners
Meatball stroganoff can be on your table in 30 minutes with the help of frozen meatballs and a simple prep recipe. Here are some other quick and easy stovetop recipes to try:
More Pastas for Family Meals
Pasta can be an easy win for families with picky eaters. Here are some other recipes to try:
Try It and Share
I hope you try this Meatball Stroganoff and enjoy the recipe as much as I do. I want to see your results! Tag your photo with #planeatpostrepeat and mention me @planeatpostrepeat on Instagram or Facebook. I can give you a virtual high five and thank you for cooking one of my recipes! Comment below with any questions and please leave a review so others can find this recipe more easily.
Recipe
Meatball Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 8 oz wide pasta (egg noodles, pappardelle)
- 3 tablespoon salted butter (divided)
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium beef stock (or broth)
- 8 oz mushrooms (sliced - use your favorite variety)
- 16 oz frozen meatballs (thawed and quartered if not bite-sized)
- 8 oz sour cream
- 2 tablespoon parsley (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
Stovetop Preparation
- Start a large pot of water to boil. Cook egg noodles or pasta as directed on package and drain the noodles. Put them back into the cooking pot with one tablespoon of butter to coat and keep warm.
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the nutmeg, black pepper, and salt over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and the spices are fragrant, add in the flour and stir until smooth.
- Add in the beef stock a little at a time, whisking to keep the sauce smooth.
- Add the mushrooms and the meatballs to the pan and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Ladle out about ½ cup of the gravy and stir it into the sour cream in a small bowl until smooth, tempering the sour cream so it won't curdle when it's added to the meatballs.
- Pour the sour cream mixture back into the pan with the meatballs and stir to combine. Taste the mixture for salt and adjust for seasoning if desired.
- Serve the meatballs over the egg noodles and sprinkle with parsley.
Slow Cooker Preparation
- To the crock of a slow cooker, add the beef stock, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Melt two tablespoons of butter and add that to the stock mixture. Stir to combine the ingredients well.
- Add the mushrooms and meatballs and stir to coat them in the stock mixture. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
- During the last 30 minutes of cooking, start a large pot of water to boil. Cook egg noodles or pasta as directed on package and drain the noodles. Put them back into the cooking pot with one tablespoon of butter to coat and keep warm.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and flour. Add about ½-cup of the hot stock from the cooking meatballs to the sour cream. Stir it into the sour cream until smooth, tempering the sour cream so it won't curdle when it's added to the meatballs.
- Add the sour cream mixture to the meatballs and stir well to combine. Continue cooking for 30 minutes on low until the noodles or pasta are prepared. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Serve the meatballs over the egg noodles and sprinkle with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts caculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Cassie Waltman says
This meal is perfect for chilly nights from fall through spring!