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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Authentic Polish Beef Goulash Recipe - Polish Foodies (13)

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'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 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 gulasch in Polish? ›

Gulasz… a warm and smooth sauce with tender pieces of favorite meat slowly dripping over kluski śląskie or kopytka.

What country has the best goulash? ›

Hungary's most famous food, the goulash, is a crimson-hued beef soup laced with vegetables and imparting the sweet-sharp flavor of fresh paprika. The dish is named after the herdsmen in eastern Hungary — the gulyás — who prepared this hearty soup in large cast-iron kettles.

What country eats the most goulash? ›

Goulash is the most famous Hungarian dish in the world. It's one of Hungary's national dishes -- the symbol of their country. And it is for a good reason. It's a dish made with basic ingredients like meat, peppers and root vegetables elevated to perfection by the use of Hungary's most famous spice: paprika.

What is goulash called in the South? ›

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.

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.

What is the most famous food in Poland? ›

Pierogi is undoubtedly Poland's most famous and simple comfort food. But after tasting one of these delicious filled dumplings, you're likely to find yourself craving more. Perogis can be cooked or fried; stuffed with meat, vegetables, cheese, fruit, chocolate; accompanied by a sour cream topping or just butter.

What is ASA goulash? ›

Asa Goulash is deep fried fish served in a spicy sauce with tomato, onions and other vegetables and usually eaten with injera.

Does wine go in goulash? ›

Do I Need Red Wine in my Goulash? If you want this dish to be as scrumptious as humanly possible, yes. But if you can't use red wine, you can substitute beef broth in its place. You'll still have a pretty rockin' red sauce, but it just won't be like “make me weak in the knees” good.

What's the difference between goulash and paprikash? ›

Both paprikash and goulash are paprika-based stews, but goulash is made with beef and vegetables, while paprikash is most typically made with chicken. Recipes vary, but goulash is usually not thickened with flour like paprikash is, and goulash typically isn't enriched with cream or sour cream.

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 country is goulash from? ›

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

What kind of food do they have in Poland? ›

Among popular Polish national dishes are bigos [ˈbiɡɔs], pierogi [pʲɛˈrɔɡʲi], kiełbasa, kotlet schabowy [ˈkɔtlɛt sxaˈbɔvɨ] (pork loin breaded cutlet), gołąbki [ɡɔˈwɔ̃pkʲi] (stuffed cabbage leaves), zrazy [ˈzrazɨ] (roulade), zupa ogórkowa [ˈzupa ɔɡurˈkɔva] (sour cucumber soup), zupa grzybowa [ˈzupa ɡʐɨˈbɔva] (mushroom ...

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