Slow Cooker Goulash

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Slow Cooker Goulash. You will love this traditional Hungarian goulash recipe that is cooked slow in the slow cooker. Loaded with paprika, peppers, beef, and potatoes, this is easy to set up and forget and let your Crockpot do the hard work.

Also known as a paprika beef stew, this is a fun alternative to your classic Sunday beef stew and perfect for slow cooking in your slow cooker.

This best ever beef goulash is an update on a 2017 recipe. We have made the recipe more traditional and updated photos and added extra info for you.

slow cooker beef goulash
Slow Cooker Beef Goulash

Beef Goulash

You will probably be surprised to read, that the person that introduced me to the delicious beef stew was my Grandad. He was born in the spring of 1917 and was of a generation where the woman did everything. She cooked, she cleaned, she raised the kids and she made sure everything was perfect for the man.

But in my grandparent’s household they helped each other, whilst raising five beautiful daughters (one of which was my mum) and OMG as a fisherman my grandad was an amazing cook and I loved it when he made old school food like a beef stew, or his sage loaded fishcakes that I have since converted to the air fryer.

The stew leftovers would often have extra vegetables loaded into them to stretch into another meal and whenever I have a beef goulash it reminds me of my grandad’s leftover stews.

For today’s generation of home cooks, I would be recommending that if you want to have a beef goulash as cheap as chips, that you wait for a beef deal.

What I do is view the weekly flyers for what meat is cheap that week, then bulk buy and add it to the freezer.

You can do the same.

Or when a supermarket has some beef stewing steak reduced in price, that you buy it for a beef goulash.

Then it can help keep the cost down.  

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What Is Slow Cooker Goulash?

Put simply, it is goulash cooked in the slow cooker.

You might also know it as paprika beef stew, Hungarian beef stew, or even beef and pepper stew.

It is a slow cooker beef stew of Hungarian heritage that is cooked with green peppers, red peppers, potatoes, red wine, and onions.

I love a classic goulash because it is something different compared to the beef stews that most families eat on a Sunday.

Can You Make Goulash In A Slow Cooker?

Yes, you can. Cooking goulash in a slow cooker is AMAZING and the meat just falls apart as you bite into it.

But what I do recommend is that you get a slow cooker like this one I am using. That is because it has the ability to sauté on the stovetop. You can then sauté onions, brown meat, and of course deglaze your slow cooker with red wine. If you don’t have a slow cooker like this, then you need to go from one pan to the slow cooker and this in my opinion, defeats the purpose of the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Beef Goulash With Potatoes

There are two main ways to cook beef goulash in the slow cooker. One with potatoes and one without.

This easy slow cooker goulash recipe is made with potatoes. Your potatoes are then your carb in the dish and what helps to fill you up.

The second Hungarian beef goulash recipe is to swap the potatoes for serving the goulash with pasta or rice. Personally, I prefer my goulash in the slow cooker with potatoes.

extract for slow cooker ebook

Slow Cooker Goulash Main Ingredients

Beef – Any beef that is fit for a stew is perfect for goulash in the slow cooker. I prefer braising steak which is also known as chuck roast. Though whatever you choose, do make sure it is thawed before it enters the slow cooker.

Peppers – I love the colour of the peppers in a goulash. They give the classic stew such wonderful colour. I normally add one green and one red. But you can mix and match.

Potatoes – Any peeled potatoes that are chopped like roast potatoes are perfect. You can also swap for sweet potatoes if you prefer.

Red Wine – I love how rich adding the red wine to your paprika stew makes the end dish. Its amazing. You can of course, use any red wine or just some you have leftover in a bottle that you forgot about.

Paprika – There is a reason why its often referred to as the paprika stew. The taste of paprika is the main seasoning and it gives it a wonderful warm flavour.

Extras. Those are the main ingredients for your slow cooker goulash that I mentioned above. I also like to add onion, garlic, and a selection of seasonings. You can of course mix and match with ingredients to hand.

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this goulash slow cooker recipe, it has just been our Crockpot. We have this one and its wonderful for stews because it can be used on the stovetop making it fantastic for browning your meat or reducing your stock.

How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?

slow cooker goulash step by step
  • Prep. I recommend you get your kitchen organised first and do the prep. Peel and dice anything that needs it and give it a wash before cooking. Then you can put it to one side and use the goulash ingredients as you need them.
  • Brown. Start by sauteing the onion and garlic and browning the meat. This adds the flavour to the slow cooker, and this is followed up with deglazing the slow cooker with your red wine.
  • Load. Load up your slow cooker, stir and cook on high for approximately 3.5 hours.
  • Cook. After your slow cooker, drain off the excess fat and liquid, mix with tomatoes, cook a little longer and then serve.

How Long To Slow Cook Goulash?

The ideal cook time for goulash in the slow cooker is almost 4 hours on high. Though this doesn’t take into account the time required for browning the meat and sauteing the onion.

What To Serve With Goulash?

I love to enjoy my goulash as it is in a big bowl and then warm my hands on the bowl on a cold winter’s day.

However, sometimes we are making the goulash to feed more mouths and we want to add some sides to make it stretch.

Here are a few serving suggestions I have:

More Delicious Beef Stew Recipes

Slow Cooker Goulash

Slow Cooker Goulash

Slow Cooker Goulash. You will love this traditional Hungarian goulash recipe that is cooked slow in the slow cooker. Loaded with paprika, peppers, beef, and potatoes, this is easy to set up and forget and let your Crockpot do the hard work.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Slow Cooker
Servings: 4
Calories: 354kcal

Ingredients

Kitchen Gadgets:

Slow Cooker Goulash Ingredients:

Instructions

  • Start by doing your prep. Peel and dice your onion and potatoes. Remove the seeds and dice your peppers.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?
  • Sauté your onion and garlic in the slow cooker with some extra virgin olive oil, until the onion has started to soften. Add your stewing steak into the slow cooker and allow it to brown for a couple of minutes.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?
  • Deglaze with red wine and then add in the beef stock. Add in everything but the tinned tomatoes, stir and place the lid on your slow cooker.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?
  • Cook for 3 and a half hours on high, or 6 hours on low.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?
  • Then drain any excess liquid (this is great for removing excess fat) and stir in your tinned tomatoes.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?
  • Cook for a further 20 minutes to warm the tinned tomatoes through before serving.
    How To Make Slow Cooker Goulash?

Notes

Potatoes. I love to add potatoes to my goulash because they help thicken it up. If your goulash is too watery, you can then blend a couple of potatoes and have a thick creamy stew.
Draining. You will notice that in many of my slow cooker stews and casseroles that I recommend draining towards the end of cooking. This prevents your stew from being over fatty and then you can create a creamier stew. Such as when I make a slow cooker Lancashire hotpot.
Thanks for reading our slow cooker goulash recipe on Recipe This. We have many more slow cooker recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like more slow cooker casseroles, then I recommend you try our slow cooker chicken casserole recipe next.

Nutrition

Calories: 354kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 1054mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3160IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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slow cooker goulash recipe
Recipe This

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes. Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie marker and several other kitchen gadgets. CLICKING HERE →

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