Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (2024)

This traditional Polish beef goulash recipe or gulasz wolowy gives you succulent and tender chunks of beef slow-cooked in a sweet onion and mustard gravy. Serve with bread, kopytka, or boiled potatoes.

What Is Goulash? Where Did Goulash Originate?

Goulash is a traditional Polish meat stew or meat soup that originated in Hungary. Its name comes from the Hungarian word gulyás which means herdsman, and so the dish was called gulyásleves or meat prepared by herdsman that came to be called ‘goulash soup’.

The original recipe was cooked by Hungarian shepherds as portable meals. Meat was dried in the sun and packed in sacks of sheep stomach. These sacks could easily be boiled with water to become a meal.

Now made in most Central European countries, goulash can be made with pork, veal, lamb, or beef meat. Some modern versions include potatoes, red peppers, and other veggies, or even noodles. Sometime after the 16th-century paprika was brought to Europe and was also included in the dish.

The Polish version called gulasz is typically made with pork meat, but beef, chicken, or turkey can also be used sometimes. It’s also much thicker than the original Hungarian version.

Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (1)

How To Make Authentic Polish Beef GoulashAt Home?

To make gulasz wolowy, first cut washed beef into half-inch pieces and coat with salt and pepper. Refrigerate in a covered pot and allow it to rest for a few hours or overnight.

The next day, chop an onion finely and caramelize it with butter or ghee. Coat the beef cubes with flour and add to the fried onions. Keep turning it over till it changes color to golden-brown.

Once the beef has cooked, add the garlic, mustard, and a cup of water or broth. Cover with a lid and allow to slow cook for an hour, stirring occasionally. You can cook it for longer if you want the beef more tender.

Serve with kopytka, kluskie slaskie, or bread.

Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (2)
Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (3)
Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (4)

Tips For Making The Best Polish Beef Goulash

  • Half-inch by half-inch beef pieces are ideal, but you can make them bigger or smaller if you want to.
  • Add more water or broth if you want more gravy.
  • For a tastier goulash, add beef broth instead of water.
  • If you want a thicker gravy, add some sour cream or potato starch to the broth five minutes before taking it off the stove.
  • Top with sour cream, parsley, or other herbs before serving.
  • Goes really well with placki ziemniaczane.

FAQs About Making Polish Beef Goulash

What Other Meats Can I Use To Make Goulash?

You can make goulash with pork, chicken, or turkey. The Polish pork goulash is often served with potato pancakes and called Placek po wiegersku.

What Other Types Of Polish Goulash Are There?

Some other types of Polish goulash include:

  • pork goulash
  • goulash with wild mushrooms
  • goulash with bell pepper
  • pork goulash with pancakes

What To Serve Beef Goulash With?

Serve the Polish beef goulash with any of the following:

  • rice
  • kopytka
  • kluskie slaskie
  • boiled or mashed potatoes
  • groats
  • bread
  • egg noodles
  • potato pancakes
  • dill pickles
  • beetroot salad
  • red cabbage salad
  • carrot salad
  • Chinese cabbage salad

Is It Possible To Make The Beef Goulash Gluten-Free?

Yes, to make the beef goulash recipe gluten-free simply replace the all-purpose flour with potato flour or rice flour.

Is It Possible To Make Polish Goulash Vegetarian?

Yes, to make the goulash vegetarian, replace the beef with button mushrooms or portabella mushrooms.

How Long Can I Store Leftover Polish Beef Goulash?

Store leftover Polish beef goulash in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days, or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. Reheat well before serving!

Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe

Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (5)

This traditional Polish beef goulash recipe consists of tender chunks of beef slow-cooked and served with bread, kopytka, or boiled potatoes.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Resting Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½ lb of beef
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • ¼ tsp of black pepper
  • 2 tbsps of all-purpose flour
  • 1 onion
  • 1 tbsps of butter or ghee
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp of mustard

Instructions

  1. Wash and dice the beef (½’’/ ½’’ each piece).
  2. Coat the meat with salt and pepper and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
  3. After resting, coat the meat with flour.
  4. Finely chop the onion and carmelize it with butter or ghee.
  5. Add meat and fry until it changes the color to golden-brownish.
  6. Add water or broth, crushed garlic clove, and mustard. Cover the pan/pot with a lid and cook slowly until the meat is soft (for 1-2 hours). Stir as often as possible, making sure the stew won't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 347Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 469mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 30g

These data are indicative and calculated by Nutritionix

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Did you like this Polish beef goulash recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

6 Responses

  1. I think you need to decide whether you’re making an authentic polish goulash or you’re making something else with a different name. If you want to make authentic polish goulash then you need to make it with pork and mushrooms because that’s how authentic polish goulash is made. If you’re making it with something else then generally it has a different name and you should ask someone who is Polish and understands polish cuisine what the name of that dish is. It’s the same as when someone talks about making Hungarian goulash with chicken which actually is a different dish with a specific name, chicken paprikash. Think of it this way.. when you make beef stew from chicken you don’t call it beef stew anymore, you call it chicken stew. And no polish or Hungarian herder would be making a stew based on pork or chicken because they don’t herd pigs and chickens. They heard cows goats and sheep and would be making their dishes from those animals.

    Reply

    1. I do have another recipe on the blog for goulash with mushrooms 🙂
      https://polishfoodies.com/goulash-with-mushrooms-recipe/

      Reply

  2. How much broth or water in goulash recipe. It’s not on ingredient list

    Reply

    1. 1-2 cups depending on how thick you want your goulash to be.

      Reply

  3. Love it ❤
    P.S. just a small spelling correction to make your post even better – “It’s name…” should read “Its name…”, no apostrophe.

    Reply

    1. You’re right! Thanks for pointing this out, Kali 🙂

      Reply

Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (2024)

FAQs

What is Polish goulash made of? ›

The meat used is usually beef. You need a cut with a good fat content such as stewing steak, and it needs to be cooked slow and long in order that the meet is as tender as butter. The fat content will help that. Two other ingredients which set goulash apart from regular stew are tomato paste, and paprika.

What is the difference between American and European goulash? ›

American goulash is a one-pot dish of ground beef, pasta (often elbow macaroni), tomatoes and cheese. Sometimes it includes paprika, like its Hungarian counterpart. Since American goulash calls for ground beef, it cooks much faster than Hungarian goulash which relies on low-and-slow cooking to render the beef tender.

Is goulash popular in Poland? ›

In Poland, goulash (Polish: gulasz) is eaten in most parts of the country. A variant dish exists that is similar to Hungarian pörkölt. It came to being around the 9th century. It is usually served with mashed potatoes or various forms of noodles and dumplings, such as pyzy.

What country is famous for beef goulash? ›

goulash, traditional stew of Hungary. The origins of goulash have been traced to the 9th century, to stews eaten by Magyar shepherds.

What does goulash mean in Polish? ›

Goulash is another meal borrowed by Poles that became  traditional dish in Polish Cuisine. Goulash is a Hungarian soup but in Poland it is cooked to be more like a thick beef stew. Goulash (pol. Gulasz) is made of stew Beef, Bell Pepper, Mushroom, Carrot, Onion and Paprika as base ingredients.

What are the two types of goulash? ›

Hungarian goulash and American goulash. Hungarian goulash is a thick soup with meat and vegetables, usually seasoned with paprika. American goulash is very different. It generally has tomato sauce, macaroni and beef.

What is goulash called in the South? ›

What Is American Goulash? American goulash, sometimes called slumgullion, American Chop Suey, or even Beef-a-Roni, is an American comfort-food dish popular in the Midwest and South. Besides the name, there is no real connection to Hungarian goulash in terms of the flavor or ingredients.

What is the difference between beef stroganoff and beef goulash? ›

Traditional goulash is a stew/soup, usually using a cheaper cut of meat suited to slow cooking. It usually contains potatoes and other vegetables, as well as noodles. A true stroganoff consists of paprika-dusted fillet steak quickly pan fried with mushrooms and onions in a sour cream and brandy sauce.

What's the difference between goulash and Hungarian goulash? ›

Hungarian Goulash is a thick meat and vegetable stew with a broth that's heavily seasoned with paprika, while American Goulash is a quick dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs, and elbow macaroni noodles. It also goes by the name of American Chop Suey.

What is the Polish signature dish? ›

Pierogi are filled dumplings containing either meat, vegetables, cheese, fruit or chocolate. Pierogi is undoubtedly Poland's most famous and simple comfort food.

What is the Polish national dish? ›

Bigos stew is the national dish of Poland. It can be made with any kind of meat from pork to rabbit or venison, but should always have spicy Polish sausage.

What is the most eaten meat in Poland? ›

Pork accounts for the largest share of meat consumption in Poland and is also the most commonly used for meat products. Thanks to its universality, pork is used in a variety of dishes, and the culinary tradition of Poles further favours its consumption.

Who invented beef goulash? ›

The invention of goulash began with one of the humblest groups in Hungarian society, the cowherds, according to the distinguished Hungarian ethnologist Eszter Kisbán.

Which country has the most delicious beef? ›

Argentine beef is widely regarded as the best beef globally, with its grass-fed and hormone-free farming methods resulting in leaner, healthier, and more flavorful meat.

What to serve with beef goulash? ›

Searching for the perfect accompaniment? Try mashed potato, dumplings or your favourite veg.

What's the difference between stroganoff and goulash? ›

Goulash is a stew, and stroganoff is a sauce

It's also usually cooked in a slow cooker as it's made with a cheaper cut of meat that needs time to become tender.

What is the difference between chili and goulash? ›

Chili mac is very similar to American goulash — a one-pot meal made with ground beef, pasta, tomato sauce, and cheese. American goulash, however, doesn't call for evaporated milk, and also isn't made with beans.

What is the difference between Hungarian goulash and Czech goulash? ›

Czech goulash differs from Hungarian goulash, of course. It tends to be milder and beefier, with fewer vegetables than its Hungarian counterpart; it's sometimes made with beer, and it's always served with houskové knedlíky, the ubiquitous Czech bread dumplings, not noodles, potatoes, nor sour cream.

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