Canned Soup Is The Star Of This 3-Ingredient Stroganoff

When you're looking for some intense savory protein, beef can always get the job done. But beyond the meat, mushrooms add incredible flavor that is hard to top, rivaling other popular umami-boosting ingredients like MSG or miso paste. Perhaps surprisingly, mushroom broth can even replace the beef in your recipes. However, when paired with beef, the fungi's earthy flavor really brings out the unctuous, deliciously fatty savor of the meat in a way that's not too heavy on the palate. You can make an easy pasta sauce with cream of mushroom soup, and this mushroom-and-beef stroganoff preparation isn't too far off, but you'll want to use the appropriate noodles to get this three-ingredient dish just right.

All it takes to make a simple and tasty beef stroganoff is ground beef, cream of mushroom soup for the dish's robust signature sauce, and egg noodles. Best of all, you can have it on the table in about 15 minutes, and it will feed the whole family. If you've never had the dish, beef stroganoff covers a lot of the comfort food bases — hot, savory, creamy, and filling — without being so rich that it leaves you feeling, let's say, "overly comforted." And you can make it in just a few steps.

Using ground beef and condensed mushroom soup may not be the traditional route for stroganoff, but it makes it incredibly easy and inexpensive, and oh so delicious. While this dish is relatively simple, there are still a few things to keep in mind for the best results. For starters, browning the ground beef is essential, but you'll want to drain the fat before adding the soup to avoid the dish becoming too oily. For a bit more flavor, it wouldn't hurt to add a shake of garlic, onion, or mustard powder, plus salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the stroganoff sauce's consistency by adding as much water or milk as you'd like, and when everything's heated through, simply pour it over cooked egg noodles.

While this simple dish excels with ground beef, you can use an inexpensive chuck roast and cut it nice and thin for just a touch of chew. If you want to go fancy and ultra-tender, you can try a ribeye or filet mignon. Beyond fresh parsley as a garnish, consider adding freshly chopped mushrooms as the ground beef cooks (canned mushrooms will also work in a pinch). For some tangy tradition, you can add a spoonful or two of sour cream — either on top of the dish as you serve it, or with the cream of mushroom soup and beef as they simmer together when making the sauce. But really, no matter how you prepare it, a simple, affordable three-ingredient stroganoff that hinges on canned cream of mushroom soup is hard to beat.