Mushroom Stroganoff
Cremini mushrooms cooked in a creamy sour cream and broth sauce over egg noodles. The standard vegetarian weeknight option on every meal planning forum.
Cook egg noodles in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the mushrooms in a single layer. Do not stir for 3–4 minutes — let them sear and brown. Then stir and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the same pan. Cook 5 minutes until softened.
Add garlic, thyme, and paprika. Cook 1 minute.
Sprinkle flour over the onion mixture. Stir and cook 1 minute.
Pour in the broth gradually, stirring constantly, until smooth. Add Worcestershire sauce and Dijon if using.
Simmer 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened.
Return mushrooms to the pan. Reduce heat to low.
Stir in the sour cream. Do not boil — it will curdle. Heat gently for 2–3 minutes.
Add lemon juice if using. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve over egg noodles. Top with parsley.
Mushrooms are the most expensive ingredient here. Buying a 2 lb (907 g) tray is more cost-effective than individual 227 g packages.
- Do not stir the mushrooms immediately after adding them. Letting them sit in the hot pan is what gives them their browned, meaty texture.
- Do not boil the sour cream — gentle heat only or the sauce breaks.
- Serve over rice instead of egg noodles to cut about $0.80 from the total cost.
Estimated values per serving.
This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.
- Replace egg noodles or fettuccine with certified GF pasta or serve over rice (GF pasta adds $1.50–$2.00 to the total)
- Replace flour with cornstarch (use 1 tbsp instead of 2 tbsp) (no meaningful cost difference)
- Replace Worcestershire sauce with GF-certified Worcestershire sauce — check the label (no cost difference)