It’s that time of year again! The leaves are turning beautiful colors, the air is crisp, and I want to spend all my time curled up with a hot cup of tea and a book. On evenings like these I love my paleo beef stroganoff recipe because it’s warm, comforting, and can be thrown together in under 30 minutes. No kidding! I often make it with my favorite popover recipe from My Paleo Patisserie, and both recipes combined take me just 30 minutes. I suggest serving them with a spin on the traditional sides: paleo bread or paleo noodles and something tart like pickles or sauerkraut.
My first encounter with beef stroganoff as an adult, was when a Russian friend created a meal for us. She served it with the traditional caviar, Russian vodka, and sour pickles. The flavor combinations made for a memorable evening as we cut the rich flavor of the beef with the sharp vodka and tart pickles. When I went to recreate an easy, flavorful version of the dish, I borrowed from the Soviet era love of mayonnaise and substituted the mayo mixed with stock for sour cream. The switch helped thicken the dish, along with some tapioca starch, so that the dish traditionally served with noodles would work well with my popovers. Plus that makes it dairy free! I either make my own mayo (which is super easy), use the Chosen Foods brand from Costco (paleo!), or Mark Sisson’s from Thrive market.
I used ground beef in place of the traditional cuts since we always have a ton on hand and it’s a very affordable way to add grass fed beef to your diet. Adam and I eat a lot of ground beef and cheap cuts so that I can afford to buy solely grass fed. Check out my 30 minute roast beef recipe if you’re looking for ideas!
Ground beef is a great protein source as it contains more of the connective tissue and thus more collagen and glycine. So apart from being a cheaper way to eat grass fed, it’s also got some of the best bits we normally shun for lean, muscle cuts.
Paleo Beef Stroganoff Recipe
Ingredients:
1 slice of bacon
1 cup diced red onion*
2 teaspoons diced garlic*
1.3 pounds of ground beef
2 cups baby bella mushrooms cut into thin strips*
1 cup paleo mayo
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
*all measurements are done after cutting
Directions
Heat a large cast iron pan over medium heat. Cut the bacon into small strips and cook in the pan until crisp. Then add garlic and onion and cook until the onion begins to turn translucent, about 1 minute.
Add the ground beef and cook, stirring often, until liquid begins to appear. Then add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the beef is about 80% browned. Reduce heat to medium low and continue stirring until the beef has just fully browned.
Whisk mayo and stock together then add with salt, pepper, and spice to the pan. Stir to combine and then allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes.
Finally, turn off the heat and stir in the tapioca flour.
