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    Home » Dinner Recipes

    Mom's Beef Paprika

    BY: Ben Rayl PUBLISHED: 27 Feb, '22 UPDATED: 27 Feb, '22 19 Comments

    RecipeVideoPrintComments
    4.50 from 4 votes
    Beef paprika

    This slow-cooked beef paprika recipe is so easy to make in one pot and irresistibly comforting. It's made with tender beef in a thickened sweet paprika sauce similar to the Hungarian beef goulash recipe but slightly different.

    Beef paprika featured
    Contents
    • ⭐ Why this recipe works
    • 🍽 Key Ingredients
    • 🔪 How to make
    • 💭 Cooking tips
    • 📖 Recipe Variations
    • 🥗 What to serve with
    • 🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
    • 🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating
    • 🍳 Related Recipes
    • 👪 Serving Size
    • 🎥 Watch how to make it
    • 📋 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    ⭐ Why this recipe works

    Beef paprika is a savory dish similar to Hungarian beef goulash that is slow-cooked for 2 hours to tenderize the meat in the delicious sweet tomatoey sauce. It's a simple recipe that the whole family will love and that any home cook can make in 5 easy steps.

    The secret ingredient that makes beef paprika stand out from all the other beef stews is the authentic hungarian paprika. This type of paprika has a robust sweetness that works well with tomato-flavored dishes and stew-like this beef paprika recipe.

    The whole dish is put together in a dutch oven or slow cooker, making clean-up a breeze, and apart from some good stewing beef, the rest of the ingredients is garlic, onion, and spices mostly found in your pantry.

    It's the perfect family meal that's rich and flavorful to enjoy with noodles. The sauce is perfectly spiced with the sweetness of the brown sugar and ketchup combined with the mustard and cayenne pepper heat.

    🍽 Key Ingredients

    Beef paprika is a delicious tender beef stew that's made in a dutch oven using authentic Hungarian paprika and some good stewing beef.

    Beef paprika1

    Beef - Ask your butcher for some good cubed stewing beef. It doesn't have to be the expensive stuff as it's gonna be really tender and delicious after 2 hours slowly cooked.

    Paprika - Try to get your hands on some Hungarian paprika. It makes a big difference to the overall flavor compared to regular paprika.

    Aromatics - Garlic and onion to cook with the beef.

    Other sauces and spices - To give the sauce its sweet, rich flavor, you're gonna need some ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, dry mustard, and cayenne pepper.

    Substitutions

    Paprika

    Hungarian paprika is not always readily available at grocery stores, and if this is the case, you could substitute it for Spanish smoked paprika. Sometimes called pimenton.

    🔪 How to make

    Beef paprika is such an easy recipe to make for your family, and you can learn how to make it with my foolproof cooking instructions and walkthrough video. It's as simple as throwing the ingredients into the dutch oven and letting the machine do the cooking.

    You could use a crock pot or instant pot and use the slow cook setting if you have one.

    Preparations

    • Dice the onion and garlic, and trim the stew meat.

    Cooking Instructions

    Step 1
    Melt the butter over medium heat in a dutch oven and cook the meat.

    Butter over medium heat in a dutch oven and cook the meat

    Step 2
    Add onion and garlic to the pot. Cook and stir until the meat is brown and the onion is tender.

    Onion and garlic to the pot

    Step 3
    Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, paprika, mustard, cayenne, and 1½ cups water.

    Ketchup, worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, paprika, mustard, cayenne, and 1½ cups water

    Step 4

    Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 2 to 2½ hours.

    Simmer

    Step 5
    Blend corn starch with ¼ cup water and stir gradually into the meat mixture. Bring the heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

    Step 6 beef paprika 1

    Step 6
    Once the sauce has thickened, the beef paprika is ready to serve.

    Step 7 beef paprika

    Step 7
    Serve over noodles with a dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley.

    Step 8 beef paprika

    💭 Cooking tips

    Thickener

    Add the corn starch gradually to the sauce to bring it to your desired thickness. It will thicken immediately upon pouring the corn starch into the boiling sauce.

    📖 Recipe Variations

    Beef paprika is a delicious beef stew that everyone will absolutely love and a recipe that tastes great with other ingredients added like garden vegetables.

    Veggies - To make this beef stew more filling, you could cut 1 large potato and add it to the stew to simmer for 2 hours, as well as a can of green garden peas, mushrooms, and 1 chopped carrot.

    Bacon - One of my go-to additions to give beef stew recipes smokiness is pancetta or smokey bacon. Buy the block form and cut it into small cubes. Cook it on high heat until crispy before adding the stew meat.

    🥗 What to serve with

    Beef paprika is pure comfort food served over long egg noodles, pasta, rice, or alongside potatoes.

    Potatoes

    Potatoes are a frequent side dish in my house, and these roast potatoes pair nicely with rich stews like this one. They're crispy with a touch of garlic and rosemary for flavor.

    Rice

    A simple side dish of jasmine white rice is perfect for soaking up the delicious thick gravy and tender beef.

    Pasta

    If you don't have egg noodles on hand, you could use any shaped pasta or spaghetti to serve with beef paprika.

    Beef paprika2

    🙋 Frequently Asked Questions

    What is Hungarian-style paprika?

    Authentic Hungarian paprika is made from red peppers that have been roasted and blended into a fine powder. The peppers have a distinctly sweet smokiness that creates a wonderful aroma and flavor in stews.

    What cut of beef is best for beef paprika?

    A lean beef cut that's inexpensive like chuck, top round, bottom round, or skirt is best for stewing. Buy the beef cut as a roast and cube it yourself, trimming the fat for a delicious rich in flavor stew.

    🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating

    Beef paprika tastes even better the following day as the flavors infuse into the beef, and it's easy to store and reheat.

    Fridge - Transfer the cooled leftovers to an airtight container and place them in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    Freezer - You can freeze and leftovers in freezer bags or a freezer container for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight for reheating.

    Reheating - The quickest way to reheat leftover beef paprika is to microwave the contents in a microwavable bowl on high-power at 1-minute intervals until piping hot.

    Or you could reheat leftovers in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 - 8 minutes until hot.

    🍳 Related Recipes

    If you love my moms beef paprika recipe. Try one of these fantastic dinner recipes for your next meal including my braised beef shank.

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      Hungarian Chicken Paprika
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      Hungarian Mushroom Soup
    • Classic simple beef stroganoff wesbsite
      Beef Stroganoff
    • Beef shanks featured image 3
      Braised Beef Shank

    👪 Serving Size

    This beef paprika recipe will provide you with six generous servings, or you could scale the recipe to cater to more guests. It's perfect for freezing and reheating purposes because it lasts for ages, making this beefy stew ideal for meal prep.

    It's easy and finger-licking tasty! I hope you love it as much as I do!

    🎥 Watch how to make it

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    Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.

    Try one of my comfort dinner recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!

    📋 Recipe

    Beef paprika

    Mom's Beef Paprika

    This slow-cooked beef paprika recipe is so easy to make in one pot and irresistibly comforting. It's made with tender beef in a thickened sweet paprika sauce similar to the Hungarian beef goulash recipe but slightly different.
    4.50 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved! Share
    Course: Dinner, Main Dish
    Cuisine: Hungarian
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 279kcal
    Author: Ben Rayl

    Ingredients
     

    • 4 tablespoon butter
    • 2 pounds stew meat - cubed
    • 1 large onion - diced
    • 3 cloves garlic - minced
    • ½ cup ketchup
    • 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoon salt
    • 3 teaspoon hungarian paprika
    • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
    • a dash cayenne pepper
    • 1 ½ cups water
    • 2 tablespoon corn starch
    • ¼ cup cold water

    Instructions

    • Melt the butter over medium heat in a dutch oven.
    • Add the meat, onion, and garlic, and cook and stir until the meat is brown and the onion is tender.
    • Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, paprika, mustard, cayenne, and 1½ cups water.
    • Cover and simmer for 2 to 2½ hours.
    • Blend cornstarch and ¼ cup water and stir gradually into meat mixture and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
    • Serve over noodles.

    Video

    Notes

    Thickener
    Add the corn starch gradually to the sauce to bring it to your desired thickness. It will thicken immediately upon pouring the corn starch into the boiling sauce.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 1113mg | Potassium: 708mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 617IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 4mg

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Jen

      December 08, 2017 at 6:01 am

      What type of noodles are these?. Thank you!

      Reply
    2. Judit

      November 21, 2017 at 3:38 pm

      O.k. So as a true Hungarian by birth, this is not a traditional Hungarian version of this dish. #1. To get the true flavour of Paprika it should be incorporated in and broken down in the hot fat., carefully so as not to burn the paprika. #2, no ketchup or brown sugar ,yuck. Not needed" use a tomato and some green pepper instead. . Also we do not normaly brown the meat first. #3. No worchester sauce is needed and in many cases no extra water needed as the beef should release enough moisture. We would use a pinch of hot hungarian paprika instead of cayane pepper or mustard. Salt and pepper would be the only other seasonings. And no cornstarch, if you must thicken this dish use flour and water mix, or sour cream and flour misture. Then this dish would be beef paprikas.

      Reply
    3. Nancy McCullough

      November 09, 2017 at 11:07 pm

      How would this be in a crock pot?

      Reply
    4. Tina McFadden

      November 09, 2017 at 11:27 am

      5 stars
      This was a fabulous recipe. Everyone enjoyed it. The only thing I did differently was to add more chili pepper flakes ..... we love hot foods. Tina

      Reply
    5. Elaine

      November 07, 2017 at 5:34 am

      If I use regular paprika will it taste the same? Can't seem to find Hungarian paprika here.

      Reply
    6. Beth Taylor

      November 06, 2017 at 10:37 pm

      could this be made in an Instapot, or regular pressure cooker?

      Reply
    7. Sheila

      October 05, 2017 at 9:14 pm

      3 stars
      Is there a way to just print the recipe without all the ads? It would be nice to print a recipe card instead of a sales catalogue.

      Reply
    8. Staci

      September 27, 2017 at 6:05 pm

      5 stars
      Omg my whole family loved it. It was absolutely delicious. The sauce. Wow

      Reply
    9. Angie

      August 11, 2015 at 1:33 pm

      Pork is less expensive, so I cut up a small pork roast and use that in place of the beef-still good! Thanks

      Reply

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    Chef Ben Rayl

    Hi, I'm Ben!

    I believe comfort food unites us, and I want to inspire you to cook at home with everyday ingredients. It is easier and takes less time than you think, costs less than eating out, and tastes a million times better.Read More

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