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Hungarian Goulash

Hungarian goulash is a paprika-forward beef stew simmered until tender, with onions cooked down and paprika stirred in off-heat to avoid scorching. The result is a rich, rustic broth with beef chunks, potatoes, and bell peppers—perfect spooned over bread.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Hungarian
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

beef chuck
  • 2.5 lb beef chuck cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
lard or vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp lard or vegetable oil
onions
  • 2 onions large, diced
garlic
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 3 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
caraway seeds
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
red bell pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
green bell pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
beef broth
  • 5 cup beef broth
salt
  • 1 tsp salt
black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper
bay leaf
  • 1 bay leaf
potatoes
  • 1 lb potatoes cubed
carrots
  • 2 carrots sliced
sour cream for serving
  • 1 sour cream for serving

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Brown the onions and bloom the spices
  1. Heat lard or vegetable oil in a Dutch oven and cook diced onions for 10 minutes, stirring until golden with translucent edges. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
  2. Remove the pot from the heat, then stir in sweet Hungarian paprika and caraway seeds. Cook no longer—keep the mixture off the burner so the paprika doesn’t burn.
  3. Add the beef chuck cubes and stir to coat evenly. Return to medium heat and cook 5 minutes, letting the beef pick up a deeper color.
Simmer the goulash base
  1. Stir in tomato paste, diced red bell pepper, diced green bell pepper, beef broth, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour, keeping a gentle bubbling visible around the edges.
Cook potatoes and carrots, then serve
  1. Add the cubed potatoes and sliced carrots to the Dutch oven. Simmer for 45 minutes until the beef and potatoes are tender, stirring once or twice so nothing sticks.
  2. Remove the bay leaf and ladle the goulash into bowls. Serve with sour cream on top.

Notes

For the deepest paprika flavor, keep the pot off the heat when stirring in sweet Hungarian paprika and caraway seeds so the spices don’t scorch. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days in a covered container; rewarm gently on the stove. Freezing is yes—cool completely, freeze up to 3 months, and thaw in the fridge. For a lighter option, use vegetable oil instead of lard.