Flavoursome, creamy, and packed with veg, this delicious mushroom stroganoff makes a quick and easy vegetarian family meal.
Have you ever eaten Stroganoff? If you were vegetarian through the 1990s, I’m sure you have!
Food trends come and go, and back then, mushroom stroganoff was often the default vegetarian option. As a result, I have eaten what is probably more than my fair share! These mushroom stroganoffs ranged from overly creamy but otherwise tasteless, to really quite spicy and not very saucy. I suspect that none of them were particularly authentic.
Classic Stroganoff
There are those who believe you shouldn’t tinker with ‘classic’ dishes like mushroom stroganoff. However I would like to remind these naysayers that mushroom stroganoff itself is a derivative of the original – beef stroganoff. But strips of beef in a creamy sauce isn’t much use to a Jewish vegetarian!
Mighty mushrooms
Mushrooms are a great vegetarian alternative as they have a dense meaty texture that stands up to the creamy sauce. The classic stroganoff sauce contains fried onions, paprika, and either cream, soured cream, or yogurt. It complements the mushrooms wonderfully well.
Updated recipe – spinach & mushroom Stroganoff
I decided to add spinach to my stroganoff, because I love the flavour alongside mushrooms, plus it adds another vegetable to the dish! When making this spinach and mushroom stroganoff, I included all of the classic sauce components, and also added a squeeze of lemon for freshness. The resulting dish was very flavoursome, and creamy without being cloying.
Spinach and mushroom stroganoff ingredients
To make this delicious vegetarian dish, you will need the following ingredients:
- mushrooms – of course!
- fresh spinach – ditto!
- onion
- garlic
- butter – or use vegetable oil or olive oil
- paprika – for that classic Stroganoff flavour
- vegetable stock
- double cream – or you can substitute a plant-based alternative like oat creme fraiche to make this vegan
- lemon juice
Delicious Stroganoff!
DH was quite taken with it, as was our daughter Kipper. She’s been going through a non-mushroom-eating phase recently, but enthusiastically tucked into this spinach and mushroom stroganoff. And while her cutlery skills often leave something to be desired, she showed just how deft she could be with a spoon, scooping up the rice and the lovely paprika-scented sauce.
On the side
We ate our spinach and mushroom stroganoff with rice for a tasty family meal. If you’re not a fan of rice, this would be great with mashed potatoes, or even with a chunk of crusty bread to soak up the delicious creamy sauce.
This made enough for two generous servings, or three small-normal sized ones. DH and I could have polished off the lot, but felt compelled to share it with Kipper!
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📖 Recipe
Spinach and mushroom stroganoff
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 20 g butter
- 300 g mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 100 ml vegetable stock
- 250 g spinach
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 75 ml double cream
- Cooked rice, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Peel and slice the onions. Melt the butter over a medium heat, add the sliced onions, and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened.
- Quarter the mushrooms and add to the pan with the crushed garlic and paprika. Stir and cook, covered, for a further 4-5 minutes.
- Wash and shred the spinach leaves. Add the stock and spinach to the pan and cover. Cook for a few minutes to allow the spinach to wilt, then stir into the vegetable mixture.
- Finally, add the lemon juice and cream, allow to heat through, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious mushroom recipes
Other delicious vegetarian dinners featuring mushrooms and spinach include yummy mushroom shakshuka, delicious and easy spinach and mushroom one-pot pasta, and fabulous cheesy barley bake with mushrooms and spinach.
Given that this dish is traditionally made with only mushrooms, and no spinach, I’m entering it into the Extra Veg challenge – Extra Veg is hosted by Sarah from Maison Cupcake, and organised by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy.
Fuss Free Helen
thank you so much for sending this to #ExtraVeg , it sounds delicious, and I am always adding an extra handful of spinach into dishes.