Creamy Beef and Egg Noodle Skillet
Creamy, beefy noodles in one pan — dinner is decided.
This is the dinner you make when you're tired, a little cold, and just need something that feels like a hug. It's built on the bones of classic beef stroganoff but stripped down so you're not standing at the stove for an hour. Ground beef means no slicing, egg noodles cook right in the pan, and a simple sour cream sauce pulls it all together. Expect rich, savory, and genuinely satisfying — not fancy, just really good. Start to finish in about 30 minutes, and the leftovers (if there are any) reheat beautifully.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef — 80/20 preferred for flavor
- 1 unit medium yellow onion — diced
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 8 oz cremini or button mushrooms — sliced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cup beef broth — low-sodium preferred
- 1 cup water
- 6 oz wide egg noodles — dry, uncooked
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 0.5 cup sour cream — full-fat works best
- 0.5 tsp kosher salt — plus more to taste
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley — chopped, optional for serving
Method
- 1 Heat a large deep skillet or wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through, about 5–6 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
- 2 Add the diced onion to the skillet and cook with the beef for 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more until fragrant.
- 3 Push the beef mixture to the edges of the pan. Add the butter to the center and let it melt, then add the sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms undisturbed for 2 minutes to get some color, then stir everything together.
- 4 Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir well to coat. Cook for 1 minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.
- 5 Pour in the beef broth and water, then add the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Stir to combine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- 6 Add the dry egg noodles, stir to submerge them, and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid.
- 7 Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the sour cream until fully incorporated and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 8 Serve immediately, topped with chopped parsley if you have it.
Variations
- Vegetarian Swap — Skip the ground beef and double the mushrooms (use a mix of cremini and portobello for meatiness). Use vegetable broth instead of beef broth. The sauce will be slightly lighter but still deeply savory.
- Faster Version — Use pre-sliced mushrooms and pre-minced garlic from a jar to cut prep to under 2 minutes. The whole dish can hit the table in about 22 minutes.
- Sour Cream Substitute — Full-fat Greek yogurt works as a 1:1 swap for sour cream — stir it in off the heat the same way. The flavor is slightly tangier but still delicious.
Notes
Don't add the sour cream while the pan is still on high heat — it can curdle. Pulling it off the burner first keeps the sauce silky. If the mixture looks too thick after the noodles cook, splash in a little more broth or water to loosen it up. Leftovers reheat well with a small splash of broth stirred in.
Equipment that helps
- Large deep skillet or wide straight-sided pan (12-inch) — You need enough surface area to brown the beef properly and enough depth to hold the noodles and liquid without it bubbling over.
- Lid for the skillet — Covering the pan traps steam so the egg noodles cook evenly without you having to babysit them.
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