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Close up shot of colourful Hungarian goulash in a white bowl.
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Traditional Hungarian Goulash Recipe - Gulyas

Get this traditional Hungarian goulash recipe (gulyas) prepped in just 15 mins, then let your stove or slow cooker do the rest! It’s the ultimate winter comfort food.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Hungarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Servings 8 serves
Calories 499kcal
Cost $20

Ingredients

For the optional galuska noodles:

Instructions

For the Soup:

  • Place the diced beef into a large saucepan and cover completely with water (around 3 cups). Bring to the boil then simmer for 2 hours. Keep topping up with boiling water as needed to ensure the meat is covered while cooking (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 the vegetable oil in a medium frying pan on low-medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes until soft and translucent, but don’t allow them to burn 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, carrot, parsnip, celeriac, dry spices, Hungarian sausage (if using) and beef stock to the pan. Top up with water so all the ingredients are covered (around 2 cups).
    1 hungarian sausage, 700 g potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, ½ celeriac, 2 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 ½ cups beef stock
  • Bring 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 to maintain a soft, soupy consistency.

For the Galuska Noodles:

  • Add the plain flour / all purpose flour, egg, water and optional salt and pepper 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 the soup, 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.

Video

Notes

  • Beef - We use gravy beef, also known as chuck steak as it will give you that perfect melt-in-your-mouth tenderness goulash is known for. It’s also an affordable cut so it won’t break the budget!.
  • Optional Hungarian Sausage - When we first learned this recipe our host added Hungarian csabai sausage for extra flavour. This is a regional flair - some gulyas recipes don’t include it at all so feel free to leave it out. Sub with kolbasz, Polish kielbasa or even chorizo depending on what’s available in your area. 
  • Veggies - You’ll need potatoes, onion, carrot, parsnip and celeriac. Use our recommended quantities or mix and match depending on what veggies you like or have on hand. If you can’t source celeriac, just add an extra potato, parsnip or even turnip if you like.
  • Spices & Stock - The star of this recipe is sweet Hungarian paprika. Sub with regular paprika or smoky paprika to tweak the flavour. You’ll also need ground cloves, black pepper, chilli powder and beef stock. 
  • Optional Galuska Noodle Dough - A simple mix of plain flour / all purpose flour, egg and water, mixed into a runny batter and seasoned with salt and pepper. Place a scoop of dough onto a flat paddle or chopping board, and use the back of a knife to ‘flick’ small slivers of dough into the soup while it’s bubbling away on the stove. Dip the knife into the soup after every flick to stop the dough sticking to the knife. No need to be neat and tidy here – you can make them big, small, thick or thin – it’s up to you! Just have fun with it.  
  • Make it a Stew - For a thicker stew-like consistency, make a cornflour / cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water) and stir it through in the last minute of cooking. OR you can continue to cook it down for longer until it reaches the texture you prefer.

Nutrition

Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 547mg | Potassium: 1219mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 4763IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 7mg