Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff

It’s winter and you want to feel cozy.

You’re craving a dinner that is meaty, carby, and also creamy.

You’re into the idea of something a little retro.

What you don’t want, however, is anything with dairy.

Beef stroganoff seems to check most of these boxes, but it’s typically made with a rich sour cream gravy. Until now!

Hypothesis 1: We can make an easy sour cream substitute using a pantry staple.

Hypothesis 2: Our dairy free beef stroganoff will be delicious and full of cozy vibes.

Method

Recipe Source: Insta Pot Beef Stroganoff from allrecipes

Note: No Insta Pot? No problem! I’ve made this on the stove and in the slow cooker too. Keep going!

Dairy Free Modifications:

Sour cream is replaced by a DIY cashew cream. Read on to the procedures for all the details, as well as other tips to optimize this recipe.

Procedures:

Part 1: As soon as possible, prepare your cashew cream. You can find recipes online, but I’ve had success just “winging it” each time.

1. First, pour some raw cashews into a sealable bowl or right into your blender.

2. Second, cover with boiling water. Recipes might give you specific ratios if you want to be precise. I prefer a loose 1:1 ratio by volume (see Figure 1).

3. Third, leave as long as possible for ultimate creaminess.

4. Fourth, when you’re ready to add it to the rest of the dish (see below), blend the cashews and soaking water very well (see Figure 2) and add it straight to the pot.

Figure 1. Cashews soaking in boiling water in my blender cup.

Figure 2. Blended cashew cream.

Part 2: Prepare the beef stroganoff per recipe instructions.

I’ll add a few notes along the way, as we’ve made this recipe many times now. Keep reading below for my own slow cooker/stovetop variation as well.

1. Note: I skip the onions browning because of a devastating intolerance in my family. To make up for it, I add onion powder in Step 3. We don’t use mushrooms for the same sad reason.

2. Brown the beef in the Insta Pot using the saute function. If making in the slow cooker/stove top, you’ll want to brown in a large pan or Dutch oven.

Figure 3. Browned beef.

3. Add in the flour and other seasonings.

Figure 4. Seasonings and flour added in.

4. Once that is all stirred in, add in your broth. Often, I use boullion or vegetable broth instead of beef broth, and it’s still amazing. I typically increase the volume to 4 cups so that I it adequately covers the pasta later.

Follow the instructions for the Insta Pot to cook on high pressure. If using a slow cooker, I’ve let it cook on low for 8 hours or high for about 5 hours. On the stove, you’ll probably need about an hour for the beef to become tender.

Figure 5. Drop the stock!

Figure 6. All braised and smelling delicious.

5. Patience, young grasshopper, we’re getting close! We have to do one final cooking step with the pasta. I like this recipe for not requiring an extra pot to boil the noodles in, plus the noodles can really soak in the flavor from the broth. The recipe calls for egg noodles, which is traditional, but we like this hearty fun pasta as well (Figure 7). Pro tip: just add as much pasta as you can fit with the broth covering the noodles (Figure 8). This is why I recommend adding in extra broth as well. Otherwise, you’ll end up with some dry noodles - but not today! (See Figure 9).

For the slow cooker or stove top, you COULD cook the noodles separately. But I have found adding them with about 20-30 minutes left of cooking to be adequate (if using the slow cooker, consider turning it up to High). Then, remove from the heat immediately, otherwise you might overcook the pasta.

Figure 7. My noodles of choice. I used most but not all of the bag.

Figure 8. Getting all the pasta covered in broth.

Figure 9. All soft and savory.

6. Finally, add in the blended cashew cream from Part 1 (Figure 10) and stir in (Figure 11). Now you’re ready to serve and enjoy!

Figure 10. Cashew cream and beefy noodles, about to become one.

Figure 11. Mmmmmm.

Results

I wish you could smell and taste this screen. But I can offer you the next best thing- these steps and inspiration to make it yourself!

Figure 12. A hearty scoop of dairy-free beef stroganoff, anyone?

Figure 13. Come over for a bowl!

Conclusions

Results strongly demonstrate that both hypotheses were supported. Though the cashew cream lacks any sour cream tang, it offers a rich creaminess to this and other dishes. It serves reliably as an excellent substitute for sour cream at the end of this beef stroganoff recipe.

Alternatively, you can purchase dairy free sour cream substitutes to use instead of cashew cream. My personal favorites are by Tofutti and Violife.

Results are bolstered by strong evidence for reliability - I.e. we’ve made this recipe MANY, MANY times. One limitation might be that my modifications rely on a nut-based substitute, which may not be applicable for everyone. If that’s the case for you, consider one of the sour cream alternatives mentioned above, or check out my post on Whipped Tofu and give that a try!

I highly recommend adding this dairy free beef stroganoff to your winter dinner rotation!

Let me know on Instagram what you’d like to see next @dairyfreewithemily!