Traditional ingredients of thick chunks of tender beef, onions, garlic, and paprika are the highlights of this authentic-tasting Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash recipe. This comfort food is absolutely delicious and one the entire family is sure to love.

If you’re looking for more beef recipes with an international flare, you’ll love my Slow Cooker Beef Gyros and Slow Cooker Birria Tacos.

What is the difference between Hungarian Goulash and American Goulash?

Traditional Hungarian goulash is very different than American style goulash. Instead of the ground beef and elbow macaroni dish like American goulash also known as American Chop Suey, traditional Hungarian goulash is a rich and flavorful stew that transports your taste buds back to the old world.

American goulash tends to have a more mild and somewhat sweeter flavor (from the often used condensed tomato soup) whereas Hungarian goulash has a bolder and deeper flavor. When thinking of the American version, (which is delicious), think of more of a commercial boxed meal prep item. So…

What is Goulash?

Authentic Hungarian goulash or gulyás is probably one of the most famous Hungarian dishes, no probably the most famous dish in all of Hungarian cuisine, that started as a delicious beef stew with onions, garlic, and sweet Hungarian paprika. However, after the introduction of tomatoes from the new world, they became a modern staple to this authentic recipe.

Bell peppers and potatoes were also later additions but are now viewed as crucial to the dish.

Sour cream was also introduced later from the Germans and is now essential to most goulash recipes.

Recipe Ingredients

• Beef Stew Meat: You can purchase a beef chuck roast and cube it yourself or pick up a pack of already cubed stew meat.
• Bell Peppers: We used both a green and a red bell pepper cut into one-inch chunks. But you can use any color bell peppers you want.
• Onion: Yellow or sweet onions are great in this recipe.
• Beef Broth: We used low-sodium beef broth so we could control the saltiness of the dish.
• Tomato Products: Skip the prep of slicing fresh tomatoes and use both crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. (We’ll tell you later how to use tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.)
• Fresh Produce: Carrots and potatoes (we used russet) that are cute into bite-size pieces.
• Flour: The stew beef will be tossed in flour and seasonings before cooking which will help thicken the sauce.
• Herbs and seasonings: Caraway seeds, marjoram, Hungarian sweet paprika, fresh minced garlic cloves, salt, and black pepper are essential to this recipe, but you can use some hot paprika if you like things on the spicy side. Chopped fresh parsley adds a brightness to the deep flavors of this recipe. Also bay leaves, fresh or dried.
• Sour Cream: technically this item is optional but really, use it; it makes the dish ascend to the next level in flavor.

Step-by-Step Directions

Step One – Place the stew meat in a bowl and toss with the flour, salt, and pepper until coated. There may be some residual flour, that’s ok, it will help thicken the dish later.

Step Two – Add the beef to the slow cooker, then add the crushed tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, red and green pepper, onion, sweet paprika, garlic, marjoram, parsley, and caraway seed.

Step Three – Pour in the beef broth. Toss in the bay leaves.

Step Four – Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW heat for 9 hours (beef and potatoes should be fork tender). Remove a cup or so of the liquid during the last 30 minutes to a medium size bowl, whisk in the tomato paste until smooth. Return this to the slow cooker. Taste! Add the remaining teaspoon of salt if needed and cook for the remaining time.

**Add the sour cream if using during the last 5 minutes by removing a cup of the broth and slowly mixing in the sour creaming. This will temper it and allow it NOT to curdle. Once mixed in, add it all back to the slow cooker, stir, serve, and enjoy! To be special, you can serve over egg noodles and garnish with additional chopped parsley.

** If too thick, you can always use additional beef broth to make this the most delicious comfort food you’ve had in awhile.

How to serve

• If you want to add some carbs, one of the best ways to serve this hearty comfort food is over buttered egg noodles. Although mashed potatoes are amazing too.
• When it comes to bread selections, you can’t go wrong with crusty bread, Texas toast, or even dinner rolls.
• To pair this dish, a light Italian-style salad with romaine, olive, peppers, and cheese is always a hit.
• Pinot Noir goes well with this recipe. However if you’re using hot Hungarian paprika, a semi Riesling or Gewurztraminer is best.

Adaptations

We’re all about the slow cooker (Crockpot) and the toss it in and go recipes. We love them. We NEED them. But sometimes we don’t mind a few extra steps before getting everything into the crock to be slowly cooked. If you’ve got the time and inclination, here’s a few extra steps to make this already delicious Hungarian Goulash even more delicious.

• Pull out your trusty large skillet, Dutch oven, or large pot and SEAR that seasoned floured beef chunks in pork lard (yes, pork lard but NOT bacon fat, it gives it a different taste) or vegetable oil (but not olive oil) until a nice crust forms. Remove it and toss it in your slow cooker.
• Add a bit more pork lard or oil and toss in all the onions. Let them begin to brown and cook down. But don’t let them scorch. Add a pinch or two of salt to prevent scorching. The onions will release their water and allow for a lovely and delicious caramelization. (Have some of my caramelized onions on-hand, skip this step, go to the spices and add them into the crockpot with everything else.
• Just as the onions are finishing, toss in the caraway, marjoram, and paprika with a bit of the broth to help the spices bloom and become vibrant in the dish. When adding the broth, de-glaze the bottom and pull up all those stuck on bits…that’s where the real flavor is.
• Add that to the slow cooker and resume with everything else in step two.
• Using tomato sauce and diced tomatoes: Add these in step two, but your broth swill be a bit thin in the end so we recommend placing the lid askew for the last hour of cooking to allow some of the liquid to absorb/release and thicken. You can also decrease your broth amount to 3 cups instead of 4 cups.

Recipe FAQs

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More Stew Meat Slow Cooker Recipes

• Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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• Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew
• Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Beef Stew