Lightened Up Beef Stroganoff

There are some meals that just scream, ‘comfort food’ rather than ‘health food.’ I’d dare to say Beef stroganoff is on that list. Ha. Truthfully I haven’t even wanted to try until Ross made a request, and we were shocked at how easy it was to keep the macros in check! Here’s my lightened up beef stroganoff for anyone who loves this classic meal, but doesn’t want the heavy calories! 

A Lighter Version of A Classic Dish

When you think of beef stroganoff, you probably think of the heavy sour cream- based sauce of your childhood. While I love a good, creamy sauce, I didn’t want to sacrifice all of my macros for one meal. To help cut the fat in this recipe and make this family favorite more macro friendly, I’m substituting nonfat Greek yogurt for the traditional sour cream in the sauce. You won’t notice much of a difference in flavor, but your macros will thank you! 

Prep Your Ingredients

To get started when prepping your ingredients for my lightened up beef stroganoff, you will need to get out your favorite knife and cutting board, and chop a few things. First, you need to thinly slice and chop the flank steak. I know some recipes call for ground beef, but we love it with flank steak!

Once your beef is sliced thinly and chopped into 1 inch pieces, set it aside and grab your onion. You’ll need 1 large onion for this recipe, and you will need to dice it into small pieces. Set it aside as well, and grab 1 pound of white button mushrooms. I like short cuts, so buy them pre-sliced. But you can do it yourself if you’re ambitious like that!

The last prep you need to do is mince 3 cloves of garlic. UNLESS, you’re taking another shortcut like me and using frozen cubes which are the GREATEST INVENTION ever. I use them in EVERYTHING. No weird flavor like jarred, but no hassle like fresh. I promise you the best of both worlds.

Lightened Up Beef Stroganoff

Now that everything is chopped and ready to be cooked, grab a large, heavy skillet and heat it over high heat. I always use my giant cast iron skillet because it handles the high heat so well. Spray the pan with a quick mist of olive oil and let it get screaming hot. 

Before you cook your flank steak, sprinkle the meat with kosher salt and black pepper. Add it to the hot pan in a single layer. This is important. If your pan isn’t large enough to cook your meat in one single layer, cook it in batches. You want the meat to brown, and it can’t do that properly if it’s too crowded. Once your meat is in the pan, don’t touch it for a minute or two so it can get nice and brown. Salt and pepper the tops of the pieces (if needed) and then flip the pieces of flank steak to cook the other side for a minute or two. Remove the meat from the skillet and set it aside. 

Grab your diced onions and add them to your hot pan. Let them cook for a minute before adding your sliced mushrooms. Cook both of these together for about 5 minutes or until they have cooked down and are very soft. You’ll see the mushrooms release their liquid during this time. To the mushrooms and onion mixture, add your garlic, some dijon mustard, thyme, and a little flour. Mix this all together well and let it cook for a minute. The flour in this step will help to thicken your sauce. But don’t let it scare you! It’s not enough to add many carbs. No biggie.

Finish Your Sauce

All right, you’re almost done! With your pan still hot, add 2 cans of beef broth to your onion and mushroom mixture. Use the broth to deglaze the pan. Scrape all of the browned bits of vegetables and beef off the bottom of the pan. This is where the flavor is! Bring your mixture to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to let the sauce thicken. 

While the sauce is simmering, add a few tablespoons of the hot beef broth from your pan to your greek yogurt to warm it up a bit and then stir this mixture into the sauce. By warming the greek yogurt with the broth, you’ll prevent those weird lumps you can get from adding cold dairy to a hot mixture. 

Once your sauce is complete, add your flank steak pieces back into the pan and combine it well. Garnish your finished lightened up beef stroganoff with chopped parsley, chives, or even green onions. 

Time to Eat- Lightened Up Beef Stroganoff

To serve my lightened up beef stroganoff, you have a few options. My kids love to eat this over egg noodles for that traditional meal. For me, I love to eat this lighter beef stroganoff over roasted spaghetti squash and broccoli. 

For more tips and tricks for tracking macros, and to see what I eat on the daily, check out my Instagram account @lillieeatsandtells. Love this dinner recipe? Check out more of my dinner recipes here.

Lightened Up Beef Stroganoff

My lighter version of a classic, family favorite dish. This lightened up beef stroganoff is big on flavor without being big on calories!

Print Pin Rate

4.34 from 3 votes

Author Lillie

Course dinner

Cuisine comfort food

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 5 servings

Calories 316 kcal

Ingredients

• 1.25 lb flank steak sliced thin and chopped into 1 inch pieces (570 g)
• Kosher Salt and Pepper
• 1 large onion diced 280 g
• 1 lb white mushrooms sliced (665 g)
• 3 cloves garlic minced (or frozen cubes)
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 10.5- oz cans of beef broth 21 oz total
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt 240 g

Instructions

• Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat. I like to use my giant cast iron. Spray with a quick mist of olive oil spray and let it get nice and hot. 
• Sprinkle chopped steak with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Then add it to the hot pan in a single layer. Let it cook undisturbed and uncrowded for a minute or two until browned, salt and pepper the tops (if you haven’t already) before you flip. Then cook for just a minute on the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add onions and cook for a minute, then add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions and mushrooms have cooked down and are very soft. Add garlic, dijon mustard, thyme, and flour. Toss the flour around well and cook for just a minute.
• Add broth and deglaze the pan, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to let it thicken.
• Add a few Tbsp of the hot beef broth to the Greek yogurt to warm it up a bit (this will help it from separating when it's mixed into the hot broth), then stir the Greek yogurt into your sauce.  Add back in steak and combine well. Garnish with chopped green onion, chives, or parsley.
• Serve over egg noodles for a more authentic stroganoff, or use whatever pasta your kids love! I love mine over roasted spaghetti squash and broccoli.

Notes

• Find this recipe on My Fitness Pal by searching: Lillie Eats and Tells Lighter Beef Stroganoff
• If you want yours creamier, feel free to mix in a little more Greek yogurt.

Nutrition

Serving: 300gCalories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 13.5gProtein: 39gFat: 9gFiber: 1.4g

Keywords beef, family dinner, flank steak, greek yogurt, mushrooms, stroganoff

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