Recipie for Hungarian Beef at Cookscom
Gulyas is the ultimate comfort food. What's not to love about slow-simmered beef and potatoes infused with spicy paprika and homemade galuska noodles? This Hungarian goulash is zero effort, ALL flavour.
Why We Love This
Get this dish prepped in just 15 minutes, then let your stove or slow cooker take over the hard work. Gulyas is a dish that's full of those traditional Hungarian paprika notes, warming for the soul, but not too heavy on the belly.
You can cook up a big batch to store in the freezer for cold winter nights or when you justdon't feel like cooking.
What is Gulyas?
Our whole lives we thought Goulash was a stew, and while the American version is, in it's origin country of Hungary, Hungarian Goulash isn't a stew at all. It's actually more like a chunky soup.
For one thing, it's got a much thinner consistency than stew, but is still packed with that rich, warming flavour that we all know and love.
The key to that flavour is paprika – it is 100% essential for this dish.
The remaining ingredients – Hungarian sausage (csabai), chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, celeriac and onions – are slow simmered in a pot or pressure cooker until soft and tender.
Next up flicks of homemade egg noodles called Galuska are added to the gulyas soup before being served with thick slices of crusty bread.
What You'll Need
While there are more than a few ingredients in this dish, most are just meat and vegetables with a couple of spices thrown in. You should be able to get all the ingredients (or the closest substitute – looking at you Hungarian Sausage) at your local supermarket.
Celeriac may be one vegetable that may not be available or in season. If not, you can substitute with an extra potato, parsnip or turnip if you like.
For the sausage, we understand this may be a tricky one to track down, so if you can't replace with kolbasz, Polish kielbasa, chorizo or leave out completely. (Some other traditional gulyas recipes don't include sausage at all – it all depends on the region!)
Now with the homemade pasta, before you freak out, galuska noodles are SUUUUPER SIMPLE to make, and you definitely WON'T need to crack out the pasta machine.
All you need is a mixing bowl, your egg-based batter, a flat paddle like this (or a chopping board) and a knife to 'flick' small slivers of the dough into the soup while it's bubbling away on the stove. It doesn't need to be neat and tidy – make them big, small, thin, thick – it's up to you. Just have fun with it.
But! Before you ask, yep, you can omit the homemade noodles if that's more convenient for you. But when it's so fun why would you?
How to make Traditional Hungarian Goulash Soup with Galuska Noodles:
For the Soup:
First step is to slow cook the beef. Pop it in a pot (or pressure cooker) and cover completely with water (around 3 cups). Bring to the boil then allow to simmer for 2 hours (or 1 hour if you're using a pressure cooker). As it boils, keep topping with boiling water as needed to keep the meat covered (around 3-4 cups). The beef may still be tough at the end of this stage, don't worry, it will soften by the end.
While the beef is cooking, heat a medium frying pan on low-medium heat and add your vegetable oil, onions and garlic. Cook carefully until soft and translucent. Keep your eye on the onions, you want them just cooked and not burnt as it will change the flavour.
Once the beef has cooked, add in the cooked onion and garlic along with the potatoes, carrot, parsnip, celeriac, dry spices, Hungarian sausage and beef stock to the pan. Top up with water so all the ingredients are covered (around 2 cups). Bring it all to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for one more hour, topping up with extra water as required to keep everything covered and maintain a soft, soupy consistency.
For the Galuska Noodles:
While the soup is simmering, it's time to create your galuska noodles. Add the white flour, egg, water and salt & pepper (optional) to a mixing bowl, mix until smooth and well combined, then allow to rest.
In the last 10 mins of cooking, pop a dab of dough onto a paddle and flick small slivers at a time into the soup using a knife. Dip the knife into the soup after every flick to stop the dough from sticking to the knife.
Serve immediately with hot crusty bread and butter. YUMMMM.
Wandercook's Tips
- Watch the onions and cook them slowly. If they burn, it will totally change the flavour, so keep your eye on 'em.
- Serve gulyas soup with hot crusty bread and butter. YUMMMM.
- If you want to put the lid on to boil the beef and then the soup, leave a gap, otherwise it will boil over.
- Make sure to dip the knife into the soup after every flick to stop the dough from sticking to the knife.
- If you need to use up the other half of celeriac, why not whip up a batch of Dutch Split Pea Soup?
FAQs
Can I cook goulash in a slow cooker?
Yes. If you're going to use the slow cooker, cook the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil first then add the remaining ingredients (except for the galuska noodles) all together. Cook on high for 8 hours. 10 minutes before serving, whip up the galuska noodle batter and start flicking the noodles in!
What cut of beef is best used for this soup?
We used and recommend gravy beef, which is also known as chuck steak. This cut is perfect for cooking in stews and soups as it gives you the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness you want in a dish. It's also an affordable cut so it won't break the bank.
Can I freeze gulyas?
Yes, which is fabulous. There's nothing better than not having to cook dinner, and getting to warm up a mouth-watering chunky soup that's ready to devour in minutes, not hours!
Variations
- If you can't find Hungarian csabai sausage, you can substitute with kolbasz, Polish kielbasa, chorizo or leave out completely.
- Feel free to omit the galuska noodles to make this soup a little easier. Or throw in a handful or penne or macaroni in the last 20 minutes of cooking if you still want some pasta in it.
- No celeriac? No worries. Sometimes it may not be available or in season. If that's the case, you can substitute with an extra potato, parsnip or turnip if you like.
Want more winter warmers? Try these next:
-
Erwtensoep – Dutch Split Pea Soup -
Easy Greek Moussaka Bake -
White Bean Soup – Albanian Jani Me Fasule -
Easy Nyonya Chicken Curry
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating below!
Servings: 8 serves
Calories: 499 kcal
Cost: $20
- 1 kg beef cut into cubes
- 1 hungarian sausage sliced
- 700 g potatoes diced
- 2 onion chopped
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 parsnip sliced
- ½ celeriac chopped into 1 cm cubes
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika optional heaped tbsp
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 9 cups hot water
For the Soup:
-
First step is to slow cook the beef. Pop it in a pot (or pressure cooker) and cover completely with water (around 3 cups). Bring to the boil then allow to simmer for 2 hours (or 1 hour if you're using a pressure cooker). As it boils, keep topping with boiling water as needed to keep the meat covered (around 3-4 cups). The beef may still be tough at the end of this stage, don't worry, it will soften by the end.
1 kg beef, 9 cups hot water
-
While the beef is cooking, heat a medium frying pan on low-medium heat and add your vegetable oil, onions and garlic. Cook carefully until soft and translucent. Keep your eye on the onions, you want them just cooked and not burnt as it will change the flavour.
2 onion, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 clove garlic
-
Once the beef has cooked, add in the cooked onion and garlic along with the potatoes, carrots, parsnip, celeriac, dry spices (sweet paprika, black pepper and chilli powder), Hungarian sausage and beef stock to the pan. Top up with water (around 2 cups) so all the ingredients are covered.
1 hungarian sausage, 700 g potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, ½ celeriac, 2 tbsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 ½ cups beef stock
-
Bring it all to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for one more hour, topping up with extra water as required to keep everything covered and maintain a soupy consistency.
For the Galuska Noodles:
-
While the soup is simmering, it's time to create your galuska noodles. Add the white flour, egg, water and salt & pepper (optional) to a mixing bowl, mix until smooth and well combined, then allow to rest.
½ cup plain flour / all purpose flour, 1 egg, 1 tbsp water, Salt and pepper
-
In the last 10 mins of cooking, pop a dab of dough onto a paddle and flick small slivers at a time into the soup using a knife. Dip the knife into the soup after every flick to stop the dough from sticking to the knife.
-
Serve immediately with hot crusty bread and butter.
- Watch the onions and cook them slowly. If they burn, it will totally change the flavour, so keep your eye on 'em.
- Serve this soup with hot crusty bread and butter. YUMMMM.
- If you want to put the lid on to boil the beef and then the soup, leave a gap, otherwise it will boil over.
- Make sure to dip the knife into the soup after every flick to stop the dough from sticking to the knife.
- Can I cook goulash in a slow cooker? Yes. If you're going to use the slow cooker, cook the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil first then add the remaining ingredients (except for the galuska noodles) all together. Cook on high for 8 hours. 10 minutes before serving, whip up the galuska noodle batter and start flicking the noodles in!
- What cut of beef is best used for this soup? We used and recommend gravy beef, which is also known as chuck steak. This cut is perfect for cooking in stews and soups as it gives you the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness you want in a dish. It's also an affordable cut so it won't break the bank.
- Can I freeze goulash? Yes, which is fabulous. There's nothing better than not having to cook dinner, and getting to warm up a mouth-watering chunky soup that's ready to devour in minutes, not hours!
- If you can't find Hungarian csabai sausage, you can substitute with kolbasz, Polish kielbasa, chorizo or leave out completely.
- Feel free to omit the galuska noodles to make this soup a little easier. Or throw in a handful or penne or macaroni in the last 20 minutes of cooking if you still want some pasta in it.
- No celeriac? No worries. Sometimes it may not be available or in season. If that's the case, you can substitute with an extra potato, parsnip or turnip if you like.
Nutrition Facts
Gulyas – Traditional Hungarian Goulash Soup with Noodles
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Source: https://www.wandercooks.com/authentic-hungarian-goulash/