Creamy Beef and Noodles Recipe

Creamy beef and noodles with stew meat is a great stovetop recipe that is hearty, flavorful, and filling for the whole family.

This is comfort food at its best and always a great option for dinner.

A Classic Dish

I love the way this creamy beef and noodles recipe turned out. It has a few more steps than most stovetop meals, but it is still an easy recipe to make and super delicious. 

This is one of those recipes that you can change a little and add more of what you like or switch things out here and there.

The recipe starts out with a basic creamy gravy that tops the egg noodles for a hearty and very flavorful meal that has become one of our family favorites.

The Recipe Calls For The Following Ingredients:

• Prime stew meat
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• Onion, chopped
• Garlic, minced
• Butter
• Half and half
• Beef broth or water
• Water
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Egg noodles

Full recipe with printable instructions and measurements listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

How Do I Make Beef and Noodles?

1. Cover the stew meat with 1/4 cup of flour and set aside.
2. Add oil, minced garlic, and onion to a saucepan. 
3. Next, add the meat to the saucepan and brown.
4. After browning, remove the meat and add butter, 1/4 cup of flour, and half and half to the saucepan. Scrape the pan to include the drippings. Mix everything together. Add beef broth and mix again. Cook until thick. 
5. Place the stew meat into a saucepot. Add cream of mushroom soup and the gravy. Add more water and mix everything together. 
6. Bring to a boil and lower the temperature to a simmer for 1-1/2 hours. 
7. Pour over cooked egg noodles.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Start off by adding flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Mix it together because you’ll be coating your meat with this flour mixture. 

Then, add the stew meat to the bowl and flip it around until it is covered with flour.

This will put a touch of a crust on the meat when you cook it in the frying pan. It adds a little coating and some flavor with the salt and pepper. 

I bought the stew meat already cut up from the market; however, if they don’t cut up the meat, you can cut it into 1-inch pieces. 

Stew meat covered in flour. Give it all a good coating and set aside for a few minutes. Meanwhile, you can get the skillet heated up and ready for the next step.  

Heat up a large skillet on medium heat.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet and then add the minced garlic and the onions. Let them cook for a few minutes until the onions are somewhat transparent. 

I love the taste of garlic after it has been browned in a skillet. It will really enrich the creamy beef and noodles recipe. 

Keep cooking the onions until they are a little bit transparent, like the ones pictured above. Cooking the onions really brings out the flavor. 

When you’ve cooked the onions and garlic, add the stew meat to the skillet. Cook until the meat is brown.

I took some scissor tongs and turned the meat.

Tongs are probably a little easier to use, but I like to use what I’ve got, and they worked fine to turn the meat. If you don’t have tongs, forks work great, too.

The inside of the meat is not going to be cooked, and the meat will still be fairly tough when you go to take it out of the skillet.

You’ll be simmering it for a while in the gravy beef mixture in just a bit, so don’t worry about it being undercooked at this stage. 

Remove the meat from the skillet and set it on a plate to the side. 

Put the butter into the skillet and scrape it around some. 

There’s going to be a lot of food stuck to the skillet, and that’s ok. That is where your flavor is.

I am always worried that it’s going to be stuck to the bottom of my skillet forever, but as always with gravy, once you get the butter, flour, and milk in there and scrape it around a little, it will all come off and into the gravy. 

Sprinkle the flour around in the skillet and stir it around some.

I always put the flour in before the liquid and stir it.

It will be super thick; however, if you add the flour after the liquid, you’ll spend more time trying to get all of the lumps out. It just seems to work better this way. 

Pour the half and half into the skillet and mix everything together.

Once you mix it, it’s going to get thick again. Pour in a cup of water or beef broth. The beef broth is going to give it much more of a stronger flavor. 

You can use 2% milk if you’d like something lower in fat. It will still taste just as creamy. 

Once you’ve added the broth or water, stir everything together and give it a minute to thicken.

I usually keep it on medium heat because it can boil quickly. If it’s too thin, add a small spoonful of flour, and if it’s too thick, add more water or broth. 

Grab a saucepot and add the cooked stew beef. 

The gravy and the cream of mushroom soup are next to go into the saucepot.

If you’re not a big cream of mushroom soup fan, you can leave it out of the recipe, and it will still be very flavorful.

For this recipe, I used canned soup. It helps give it a creamy mushroom sauce that you will love.

You can also replace it with cream of chicken soup if you’d like. 

Add more water to the pot and stir everything together. Bring it to a boil. 

Lastly, reduce the heat and cover with a lid.

Let the creamy meat and gravy mixture simmer for about 1-1/2 hours. Stir on occasion to keep things from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Once you have fork-tender beef, cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions. Add some noodles to your plate and spoon the creamy beef sauce over the top. 

Can You Add Fresh Mushrooms To The Meal?

Yes, you can add fresh mushrooms to the meal. I would add them when you add the mushroom soup.

How Do You Thicken Beef and Noodles?

By adding flour to the gravy mixture. Add one tablespoon of flour to the mixture until the gravy has thickened. Add more, if needed.

Can I Use Other Types Of Meat?

Yes, you can use ground turkey, ground beef, lean ground beef, or beef tips.

What’s The Difference Between Beef Stroganoff And Beef And Noodles?

Beef and noodles and beef stroganoff are very similar. Beef stroganoff usually has sour cream, while beef and noodles do not.

Can You Freeze Homemade Beef And Noodles?

Yes, you can freeze homemade beef and noodles for up to two months. When you thaw it out you might need to add some broth to add a little more creaminess to the cream.

Add Some Variety to Your Beef and Noodles

1. Instant Pot Beef and Noodles with Soy Sauce: Transform your dish into an Instant Pot delicacy by adding soy sauce for an umami kick, perfect for a delicious meal prepared in no time.
2. Dutch Oven Sirloin Steak Noodles: Cook tender sirloin steak in a Dutch oven with a splash of Worcestershire sauce and some other ingredients, serving it over tender egg noodles for a hearty, satisfying meal.
3. Crock Pot Beef with Heavy Cream: Slow cook the beef in a Crock Pot with heavy cream and beef stock, ensuring each tender chunk of beef is cooked in a rich, creamy sauce. This is the best comfort food and is perfect for a busy weeknight.
4. Golden Brown Beef with Tomato Paste: Brown the beef to a golden perfection, then simmer it in a mixture of beef broth, tomato paste, diced onions, and some garlic powder for a richly flavored sauce. Then, top your cooked noodles.
5. Cornstarch Slurry Beef Noodles for Thick Sauce: Thicken your sauce with a cornstarch slurry, creating a rich gravy that covers your noodles and meat.
6. Creamy Mushroom and Red Wine Beef Noodles: Elevate the dish with a cup of red wine and chunks of fresh mushrooms, creating a balanced meal with layers of flavor.
7. Green Beans and Beef Noodle Stir-Fry: Add green beans to your beef and noodles for a healthy, balanced meal, stir-frying everything together for a delicious fusion of flavors and vegetables.

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Creamy Beef and Noodles

Creamy beef and noodles are the perfect meal for a cool evening. The simple recipe cooks up tender meat and a rich sauce for a pure comfort dinner.

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