Hungary · Soups · Gluten-free

Goulash

Name: Goulash
Prep time: 39 min
Cook time: 91 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Hungarian
Ingredients: 1 kg beef, cut into 3-4 cm cubes; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp butter; 2 large onions; 4 cloves garlic; 2 red bell peppers; 2 tomatoes; 2 carrots; 2 potatoes; 4 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp caraway seeds; 1 bay leaf; 1 liter beef broth; to taste salt and freshly ground black pepper; optional fresh parsley for garnishing

Beef chunks braised low and slow with sweet Hungarian paprika, onions, and caraway seeds until the meat falls apart into a thick, rust-colored broth. The paprika does all the heavy lifting — use the best you can find.

130 min 375 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌾Gluten-free🇭🇺Hungary★★★★★4.9· 7 reviews

Ingredients

ServingsMetric

1 kgbeef, cut into 3-4 cm cubes
2 tbspolive oil
2 tbspbutter
2 largeonions
4 clovesgarlic
2 red bell peppers
2 tomatoes
2 carrots
2 potatoes
4 tbspsweet Hungarian paprika
1 tspground cumin
1 tspcaraway seeds
1 bay leaf
1 literbeef broth
to tastesalt and freshly ground black pepper
optionalfresh parsley for garnishing

Note from Sergei

Sergei Martynov

“Here's something most people outside Hungary get wrong: goulash is a soup, not a stew. In Budapest, it's a brothy, paprika-rich soup with potatoes and small pieces of beef. What the rest of the world calls "goulash" — the thick, stew-like version — Hungarians call pörkölt. The quality of your paprika is the single most important factor. Hungarian sweet paprika should be bright red, fragrant, and no more than a year old. Old paprika tastes like dust. I use a generous two tablespoons for a pot that serves four, stirring it into the onions off the heat so it doesn't scorch and turn bitter.”

Always remove the pot from heat before adding paprika to the onions — paprika burns in seconds and turns bitter. Use a mix of sweet and hot Hungarian paprika (4:1 ratio) for depth without overwhelming heat.

Method

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and fry until golden on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.
In the same pot, add the chopped onion and roast until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add paprika, cumin and caraway seeds and stir-fry for 1 minute to release their flavor.
Return the beef to the pot. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. Stir all ingredients together.
Pour in the beef broth and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and braise over low heat under a lid for 1.5-2 hours, until the meat is soft and tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley. Goes well with bread, egg noodles or dumplings.

FAQ

Authentic Hungarian goulash is a soup, not a stew. Three things set it apart: a large amount of sweet paprika (at least 2 tablespoons per 500g of meat), onions fried until golden, and beef with plenty of connective tissue (shank or shoulder) that yields a rich broth during long braising. No thickeners are needed — the consistency comes from gelatin released by the meat and starch from the potatoes.

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Comments (1)

Sergei Martynov✍ Author
29d ago
This goulash tastes significantly better the next day. I make it in the evening and reheat gently for lunch — the flavors meld and deepen overnight in a way that same-day cooking simply cannot replicate.