Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff recipe made dairy-free and gluten-free. This simple recipe comes together in just over 30 minutes, is big on flavor and so incredibly filling!
As a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with beef stroganoff. It was one of the few meals I would request on repeat and would always eat seconds or thirds.
Inspired by classic beef stroganoff, I just had to make a gluten-free, dairy-free version!
With lots of positive reviews, this recipe has become a household staple for so many families!
Beef stroganoff, in case you haven’t heard of it, is sliced steak engulfed in the creamiest dreamiest rich mushroom sour cream sauce and served with egg noodles.
In fact, I posted a Paleo Beef Stroganoff using steak a few years ago, and it has been a very well-visited recipe ever since!
Traditionally, Beef Stroganoff is made with sour cream for an ultra sultry, creamy, tangy sauce.
I mentioned this in my Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Baked Ziti post, but neither my husband nor I do well with large amounts of dairy.
For that reason, I made this beef stroganoff dairy-free by replacing the sour cream with full-fat canned coconut milk plus lemon juice and mustard. The creamy sauce has rich, tangy flavor and tastes remarkably similar to the classic beef stroganoff recipe.
The combination of these three ingredients yields that rich, creamy, tangy sauce! Miracle of miracles!
I like to eat the ground beef version with gluten-free spiral noodles, but it goes well with steamed white or brown rice as well.
If you’re low-carb or keto, serve it up with cauliflower rice instead of noodles.
This easy dinner recipe will surely please the whole family for a quick weeknight meal. It’s a family favorite for us!
Let’s dive right into the super simple ingredients!
Ingredients for Ground Beef Stroganoff:
Avocado Oil: Used for sautéing in this recipe, avocado oil has a high smoke point and a neutral flavor, which makes it ideal for any application involving cooking at high heat! You can also use coconut oil or olive oil.
Onion, Garlic, Fresh Mushrooms: Flavor makers! The combination of onion, garlic and fresh mushrooms provides that big, bold rich flavor that rounds out a meal and a touch of earthiness.
Ground Beef: Rather than using sliced steak for this stroganoff, we’re going with one pound of ground beef! Not only does this cut down on some prep (now we don’t need to slice the steak), but it makes the cooking process so straight-forward and simple.
You don’t need to worry about overcooking the meat, and in fact, the longer the sauce cooks, the better it tastes!
I always use grass-fed ground beef that is 80% lean. Feel free to use lean ground beef (90/10 or leaner) for less fat. Ground turkey and ground chicken work too although the dish will have less richness.
Full Fat Canned Coconut Milk: A ground-breaking ingredient for replacing heavy cream, half & half, or sour cream in any recipe for a dairy-free option. Full-fat canned coconut milk provides such a rich and inviting sauce here!
Can you taste the coconut? No! The coconut flavor in coconut milk is fairly subtle to begin with and it’s easy to mask with just the addition of onions and garlic.
Plus, the ground beef, lemon juice and mustard are big on flavor as well. It’s the combination of coconut milk, lemon juice and mustard that replaces the sour cream in traditional beef stroganoff.
You’ve me replace cream with coconut milk in many recipes, including my 30-Minute Creamy Mushroom Chicken, Crispy Skillet Salmon with Lemon Dill Caper Sauce, my 30-Minute Creamy Lemon Garlic Chicken, and more!
If you aren’t dairy-free, you can replace the coconut milk with half & half.
Lemon Juice & Dijon Mustard: These two ingredients when combined with the coconut milk help provide that iconic tanginess you get in beef stroganoff. We’re replacing the rich tanginess of the sour cream here.
Stone ground mustard works too! Any brown (not yellow) mustard will taste great in this. Some people have reported back that they would reduce the amount of mustard the next time they make the recipe. If you aren’t huge on mustard, replace 1 of the tablespoons with 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: Used for thickening the sauce, we just need a couple of tablespoons of flour. If you prefer, you can use tapioca flour or arrowroot flour. If you aren’t gluten-free, feel free to use regular all-purpose flour.
Noodles or Rice for Serving: I use Tinkyada Brown Rice Spiral Noodles, but you can go with your favorite brand of noodle or steamed brown or white rice. I do recommend a carb source for soaking up all that delicious sauce, be it pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice.
Now that we’ve covered the fresh ingredients for this easy ground beef stroganoff recipe, let’s make it.
How to Make Ground Beef Stroganoff:
Heat the avocado oil to medium-high heat in a large skillet and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to caramelize, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, garlic, and sea salt and stir well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms soften up, about 3 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium heat at any time if the vegetables begin to cook too quickly.
Make room for the ground beef in the center of the skillet then place it on the hot surface. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping and browning for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Use a spatula to chop up the meat into smaller pieces and mix it in. If you’re using a fattier beef (80/20) and want to drain excess grease, feel free to do so.
Just note that the fat content is partially responsible for the flavor of this great recipe.
In a bowl or measuring cup, combine the coconut milk, lemon juice, mustard and flour and whisk well until combined.
Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet and stir well.
Bring mixture to a full boil and stir occasionally until the sauce is thick, about 8 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the noodles according to package instructions (or prepare the rice ahead of time). I typically cook noodles for 1-2 minutes less than the package directions for al dente noodles.
Once cooked, drain the noodles then transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet with the creamy mushroom sauce. Stir well until the noodles are well-coated in sauce.
Taste the pasta for flavor and add sea salt and black pepper to taste. You can also add more lemon juice or a splash or Worcestershire sauce.
Sprinkle with dried or fresh parsley and enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
This pasta becomes even more flavorful the next day and the 2-3 days following prep. The noodles soak up the sauce with such precision that the whole thing becomes even better over time.
For this reason, I see this as an amazing make-ahead meal prep recipe if you have the time! If not, it is still great same day!
If you enjoy this recipe, also try my Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Hamburger Helper or my Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Chicken Stroganoff recipe.
If you love meals that use ground beef, also be sure to check out my 18 Healthy Ground Beef Recipes!
These creamy dreamy beefy noodles are just what you need when you’re looking for classic comfort food.
Even picky eaters have reported back that this easy recipe is a family staple for busy weeknights!
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Ground Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- ½ yellow onion sliced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
- ⅓ cup beef broth or water for deglazing the skillet
- 1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 to 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce optional
- 2 Tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour*
For Serving:
- 8 ounces gluten-free spiral noodles**
- Dried or fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil to medium-high in a large skillet and add the onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to caramelize, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and sea salt and stir well. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms soften up, about 3 minutes.
- Make room for the ground beef in the center of the skillet then place it on the hot surface. Brown for 2 to 3 minutes before flipping and browning for another 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spatula to chop up the meat into smaller pieces and mix it in.
- In a bowl or measuring cup, combine the coconut milk, beef broth, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and flour and whisk well until combined.
- Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet and stir well. Bring mixture to a full boil and stir occasionally until the sauce is thick, about 8 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, cook the noodles according to package instructions (or prepare the rice ahead of time).
- Once cooked, drain the noodles then transfer them to the skillet with the sauce. Stir well until the noodles are well-coated in sauce.
- Taste the pasta for flavor and add sea salt and/or more Dijon mustard or Worcestershire sauce to taste.
- Sprinkle with dried or fresh parsley and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I loved it! I added worcestershire sauce and fresh thyme to it because it’s just what I’ve always done, lol. I either added too much lemon or too much mustard, but I didn’t mind! Next time (and there will be a next time), I will just be more careful with the measurements of those. I served it with roasted paprika cauliflower.
Hi Hope! Thanks so much for sharing! I love the idea of adding Worcestershire sauce and fresh thyme. Sounds delicious!
I get your recipes emailed to me, which I absolutely love! Today I decided I should look for a dairy free stroganoff recipe and decided to Pinterest it for a recipe, the second recipe I clicked on was yours, which I immediately thought “of course”! Your recipes are always winners with me, and I love every one I’ve made! Keep up the great work!
Aww I love hearing that, Susan! Thanks so much for the sweet words!! xo
Can i use almond milk instead of coconut milk?
Hi Denise! Almond milk won’t yeild the rich flavor and creamy texture that full-fat canned coconut milk will. I think you’d also be able to taste the almond milk which may be a bit strange tasting. If you’re willing to experiment but based on trying almond milk in the past for sauces, I don’t think it would turn out super great. Wish I had better news for ya!
I have never commented on a recipe before but i had to for this.
This turned out wonderful!! Literally perfect! I did only a couple things differently bc of what I had on hand. I diced the onions due to our family liking them that size, used coconut cream instead of coconut milk,and deer instead of beef. I salt and peppered the meat once it was chopped up and was still more raw than cooked. We had grilled zucchini fries that had olive oil and garlic and herb seasoning for the side. My family absolutely loved this meal and they do not usually like my dairy and gluten free recipe experiments. I had a 2nd helping and I never do. I also took it to work for lunch the next day! Absolutely adding this to our meal rotations!
All of that sounds amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing your experience and providing all those details – this is so helpful to others who want to try the same things! Much love to you and your family! xo
I was excited to try this, but I must’ve done something wrong. It was very sour – too much lemon or too much dijon or coconut milk too old?
Hi Theresa! I’m sorry to hear you found it too sour. I haven’t heard this feedback from anyone else, so I’m not sure what the culprit is. Hopefully it wasn’t bad coconut milk although that could be the case. It could also just be personal preference. If you try the recipe again, you could omit the lemon juice and mustard and only add it at the very end if you feel the meal needs it. xo
@Julia, we just made this also and had the same very sour taste, and you could even smell that it was going to be sour. Definitely something in the sauce. Kinda sounds like maybe we got some bad coconut milk (even though it was factory sealed in a can). Not sure. We’ll try to give it another shot.
Super delicious! One thing I did different was I added just a splash of vinegar to kind of “sour” the coconut milk, since a typical stroganoff uses sour cream. I found it just needed a bit more of a zip haha. Delicious though, this will be a regular in my go-to meals!
A splash of vinegar would be great! I agree – it will help the sauce have that sour cream essence 🙂 Happy you enjoy the recipe! xo
This sounds incredible as we embark on a limited diary diet. I am looking to stock our freezer with premade meals to make dinner time a little easier with a newborn. Any experience in freezing this and eating at a later date? I am curious if the noodles will hold up as I have not always been successful with frozen gluten free noodles after the fact. Either way, I look forward to adding this to our menu rotation. Thanks!
Love the idea of turning this recipe into a freezer meal! It should hold up great in the freezer because there is plenty of sauce and fat. I’ve found Tinkyada and Jovial make the best GF noodles that stay held together nicely, so I’d try those if you haven’t already 🙂
I can’t have mushrooms and rest of the family don’t like them. So what other options could I use? I been trying to decide, I know that I can just leave them out. But I would like to add something more… any suggestions would be great. This looks so good!!
That’s a great question! My top recommendations for replacing the mushrooms in this recipe are cauliflower, eggplant (most people don’t love eggplant, so potentially not ideal, especially if some members of your family don’t like strange textures), broccoli, or even butternut squash. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and let me know what you end up trying! xo
@Shan, try green beans!!
Could this be made in a crockpot? And can it be frozen?
Ooh, that’s a great question. I don’t have much experience cooking pasta in a crock pot, so I’m not sure what changes (if any) you would need to make in order to get it to work out. I’m not sure about the cooking time, either. I wish I could be more help! May be worth googling a crock pot stroganoff recipe to see about the liquid and cook time. xoxo 😀
I rarely comment, but I have to on this recipe. It is the best beef stroganoff I’ve ever tasted. I followed a tasting note and added some basil, marjoram and thyme along with the rest and it was insanely delicious!! Using only the finest beef and other quality ingredients, I served it over chickpea fusilli, and I will never make a soup-based stroganoff ever again!! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
I also used cremini mushrooms in place of the ones called for. Delicious!
YUM! So happy you enjoy the dish! Thanks so much for swinging back around to share your changes and the kind words! xoxoxo 😀
I cannot accurately express how delicious this recipe was. I am going to be making this for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for making this childhood favorite accessible to me again!
My pleasure!! I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoy the recipe as much as I do! It’s just such an easy, comforting meal! xo
Very delicious. 💗
Thank you, Paula!
Really good. I added smoked paprika, and 1 tsp of beef bouillon.
Love those additions! Thanks for sharing, Michele! xo
Super yummy, just what I was hoping for! Easy, delicious and filling. Next time I may add peas.. because I’m always trying to add more veggies to stuff. I also used turmeric chickpea spiral noodles. The turmeric flavor blended in okay. Thank you for this recipe, adding it to my arsenal!
I’m so happy you like it, Regina! I love the idea of adding peas and turmeric! What lovely inspiration for my next round!
@Regina Yanito, green beans are also an amazing addition to stroganoff!
When and how do you use the beef broth?!?
Hi Sarah!
Apologies for the confusion. You stir it in with the coconut milk, lemon juice and mustard – it’s used for the sauce 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Julia!
This was sooo good! I was worried it would taste like coconut, but NO, it does not. I did add a tablespoon of Worcestshire sauce (don’t ask me why! LOL). I did not need the broth at all. I used the brown rice/quinoa pasta from TJ’s, and subbed the ground beef with Impossible burger. Some roasted brussel sprouts on the side…I wanted to eat the entire pan!
So happy to have some stroganoff in my line-up! Thank you!
I’m so happy you like it, Denise! I was blown away by how tasty it was…I definitely had a difficult time stopping too! xoxo