Hungarian Goulash (or Pörkölt) is a rich meat, paprika, and onion stew primarily flavoured with sweet paprika. Served over spätzle, wide egg noodles, or even boiled potatoes for a rich and hearty meal.

My first taste of Hungarian food was at my brother-in-law’s house – he had been to Hungary and fallen in love with the food there. He made a Hungarian goulash for us and I was instantly intrigued. The massive amount of paprika and the teeny amount of other spices while having this incredible flavour blew me away.

Then I knew I needed to find the most authentic hungarian goulash recipe and recreate it! Plus I love having more recipes that use beef stew meat – we don’t always just want stew.

From everything I’ve read on Hungarian food, the key to a good dish is using fresh spices – particularily paprika. Since there’s so few ingredients, each ingredient needs to be carefully prepared and selected to ensure a perfect dish.

Beef browned in lard, fresh onions to scrape up the fond (browned bits on the bottom), garlic, fresh peppers, and gently toasted spices along with a homemade or high-quality stock makes this stew a winner.

Also I want to put something wild in perspective for you. This recipe has 4 tbsp of paprika (1/4 cup). To create this much paprika, I had to grind up 12 dried paprika peppers…. 12. That’s 3 per tbsp. Meaning 1 pepper creates 1 tsp of paprika powder. Isn’t that crazy? I was pretty shocked but it makes sense when you think of all the flavour from the paprika.

Pörkölt or Gulyás?

Technically, the Hungarian word for goulash is gulyás – however, this is actually the name of a different soup called gulyás or gulyáshús. Gulyás is more of a soup than a stew, with lots of vegetables, potatoes, and dumplings. Pörkölt (this soup) is richer, more meat-forward, and much less broth.

The Key to Hungarian Goulash

• Fresh & authentic Hungarian paprika. Now, you don’t HAVE to use Hungarian paprika if you can’t find it, but please (please!) use fresh paprika. This is the primary seasoning/flavour of the dish and if it’s not fresh, it will not taste as good!
• Sear the meat. Brown = flavour. Plus you need all the browned bits on the bottom that will be scraped up with the onions.
• Use bacon grease or lard for the fat. Traditionally, this is the fat you use! Tons of flavour and great for high-heat cooking. If you don’t have any, use tallow or another neutral flavoured, high-heat safe oil.
• Cook the soup in the same pot. You can’t lose all that flavour! Don’t use a separate pan or pot for searing. Pörkölt means to roast – meaning that all of the ingredients are “roasted” together to layer flavour and this results in an incredible stew.
• Toast the spices. Heat and oil are spices best friends! Let them bloom a bit before adding the liquid ingredients.
• Use high-quality or (even better) homemade beef broth. Most of the flavour in a soup or stew is heavily dependent on the quality of stock or broth you use. You can taste the difference a homemade broth makes! If you don’t have time or ingredients, find a higher quality broth that you like.

How to Make Hungarian Goulash

Step 1: Pat your stew meat dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside while you preheat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Step 2: Once the Dutch oven is ripping hot add the bacon grease or lard. Add HALF the seasoned stew meat. Sear on two sides until browned (about 1-2 min per side). Remove the seared meat to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining beef.

Step 3: Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the onions. Stir often for the first 30 seconds to help the fond lift from the bottom of the pot (the brown bits). This is flavour!

Step 4: Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).

Step 5: Add in the peppers and garlic. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 4 min.

Step 6: Stir in the chopped tomato and tomato paste. Stir well to combine and cook for 1 min until the tomato paste darkens and the entire mixture begins to lightly “stick” to the bottom.

Step 7: Add the paprika, marjoram, and caraway seeds. Stir well to incorporate and let the spices warm and toast for 30 seconds.

Step 8: Return the beef and all of its juices to the pot. Stir in the broth and wine along with the bay leaf and salt. Bring the stew up to a gentle simmer before reducing the heat to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender.

Step 6: Serve over spätzle, wide egg noodles, or boiled potatoes. Try serving it with a quick cucumber salad or a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

Looking for More Hearty Stews/Soups?

Try my Dad’s Wild West Chili with Flaky Cheddar and Chive Biscuits on a cold afternoon. My Easiest Chicken Pozole Verde is a great recipe to use up extra cooked chicken (think rotisserie) and canned goods. For something filling but quick and easy, try my Minestrone Soup. For the vegetarian, try my Hearty Vegan Mushroom & Bean Vegetable Chili. Enjoy!

Author: Laurel Braun

Hungarian Goulash (Pörkölt)

5 from 1 vote

Hungarian Goulash (or Pörkölt) is a rich meat, paprika, and onion stew primarily flavoured with sweet paprika. Served over spätzle, wide egg noodles, or even boiled potatoes for a rich and hearty meal.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Lunch & Dinner, Main Course, Soups and Stews

Cuisine: Eastern European, Hungarian

Servings: 6

Calories: 401 kcal

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 2 ¼ lbs beef stew meat, ¹ 1" pieces
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 4 tbsp bacon grease or lard, ²
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, green is traditional – I used red
• 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped small (not minced)
• 1 small roma tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼ cup Hungarian sweet paprika, or regular paprika³
• 1 tsp marjoram
• ½ tsp caraway seeds, optional, but highly recommended
• 1 large bay leaf, or 2 small
• 2 cups low-sodium beef stock, homemade if possible
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt

Equipment

• Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot

Method

1. Pat your stew meat dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside while you preheat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Once the Dutch oven is ripping hot and your hood fan on, add the bacon grease or lard. It will smoke. Immediately add HALF the seasoned stew meat. Sear on two sides until browned (about 1-2 minutes per side). Remove the seared meat to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining beef.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the onions. Stir often for the first 30 seconds to help the fond lift from the bottom of the pot (the brown bits). This is flavour! Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
4. Add in the peppers and garlic. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 4 minutes.
5. Stir in the chopped tomato and tomato paste. Stir well to combine and cook for 1 minute until the tomato paste darkens and the entire mixture begins to lightly "stick" to the bottom.
6. Add the paprika, marjoram, and caraway seeds. Stir well to incorporate and let the spices warm and toast for 30 seconds.
7. Return the beef and all of its juices to the pot. Stir in the broth and wine along with the bay leaf and salt. Bring the stew up to a gentle simmer before reducing the heat to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender.
8. Serve over spätzle, wide egg noodles, or boiled potatoes. Try serving it with a quick cucumber salad or a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 40gFat: 18gSodium: 1661mgPotassium: 1085mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 3245IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 5mg

Notes

Calories do not include any suggested additions like spätzle or noodles. 

Note 1: Beef stew meat is often “off-cuts” from round or chuck roasts. These meats are best for slow-cooking. 

Note 2: Can substitute with tallow or another high-heat neutral cooking oil. 

Note 3: If you can’t find Hungarian, regular paprika is fine. Many people on cooking reddit agree with this. The key is freshness – try to use a fresh jar or one opened within the last 6 months. 

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This recipe was adapted from the Hungarian Goulash recipe in The Joy of Cooking.