Ground Beef
$1.71per plate
Prep
10 min
Ground Meats · Ground Turkey
Ground Turkey Stroganoff
Ground turkey stroganoff is the creamy, savoury end of the ground turkey shelf: mushrooms and turkey in a sour cream gravy over egg noodles, feeding six for about $1.38 a plate. It is the one dinner here that is neither tomato-based nor spiced, which is exactly why it earns its place. Our ground beef stroganoff costs $1.71 a plate and relies on beef fat to carry the sauce; with turkey you build that richness from a spoonful of butter and the mushrooms instead. The one rule that matters is the sour cream: off the heat, always, or it splits. Find it with our other ground turkey recipes.
$1.38per plate
Estimated recipe total
$8.29 · serves 6
Cook
30 min
Total
40 min
Serves
6
Recipe from Budget Plates · https://www.budgetplates.com/ground-turkey-stroganoff
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Pot for the noodles
Variations
- Use full-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream; stir it in off the heat at room temperature.
- Leave out the mushrooms for a plain creamy turkey gravy; add a diced carrot and celery stick with the onion.
- Serve over rice or mashed potatoes instead of egg noodles.
1 How to make it
1
Boil the noodles
Get a pot of salted water on for the egg noodles and cook them to just under package time; they will sit for a minute before serving and should not be soft. Drain and set aside.
2
Brown the mushrooms first
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high and add the mushrooms in one layer. Leave them 3 or 4 minutes without stirring, until they are properly browned, then add the onion for 3 minutes more. Browning them first is the difference between a stroganoff and a beige pan of stew.
3
Cook the turkey
Add the ground turkey, break it up and cook 6 to 8 minutes until no pink remains and it reaches 165 degrees F. Stir in the garlic for the last minute. There will be almost no fat in the pan; that is expected and the butter has already covered for it.
4
Make the gravy
Sprinkle the flour over and stir for 1 minute so it coats everything and loses its raw smell. Pour in the broth and the Worcestershire, scraping the bottom, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes until it thickens enough to coat a spoon.
5
Sour cream off the heat
Take the pan off the heat entirely and let it stop bubbling, then stir in the sour cream. This is not optional: sour cream added to a simmering pan curdles and goes grainy. Season, fold the drained noodles through, and serve.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Greek yogurt for sour cream. It works and is often cheaper, but it splits even more readily, so it must go in off the heat and it should be at room temperature. Full-fat only.
- No mushrooms. Leave them out and it is still a good creamy turkey gravy over noodles, though not really a stroganoff. Add a diced carrot and celery stick with the onion so the sauce keeps some body.
- Rice or mashed potatoes for the noodles. Both catch the sauce well. Egg noodles are the cheapest and the most traditional; mashed potato makes it heavier and closer to comfort food.
3 Budget tips
- At $3.99 a pound, turkey brings this in at $1.38 a plate against $1.71 for the same dish made with 80/20 beef.
- Egg noodles are among the cheapest pasta in the store, often under a dollar for a 12 oz bag, and they cook in six minutes.
- Whole mushrooms are usually cheaper per pound than pre-sliced, and slicing them takes two minutes. Buy them loose if your store sells them that way.
- See more recipes priced per serving in the Budget Plates Index.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Sour cream sauces are best fresh; they tighten in the fridge and want loosening when reheated.
Freezer
This is the one dinner here we would not freeze. Sour cream sauces separate when thawed and turn grainy. If you want to freeze it, stop before the sour cream, freeze the turkey and mushroom gravy alone for up to 3 months, and stir the sour cream in fresh after reheating.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of broth or milk, stirring until it comes back together. High heat will split the sauce, exactly as it would have during cooking.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
405
Protein
26g
Fat
13g
Carbs
45g
Estimates per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
Why did my stroganoff sauce curdle?
The sour cream went into a pan that was still hot enough to simmer. Dairy that acidic splits above a gentle heat. Pull the skillet off the burner, wait until it stops bubbling, then stir the sour cream in. The same rule applies when you reheat it.
Can you make stroganoff with ground turkey instead of beef?
Yes, and it is one of the better swaps, because the sauce carries the dish rather than the meat's fat. The one adjustment is the butter: turkey renders almost nothing, so the pan needs a fat of its own to brown the mushrooms and build the gravy.
What is the best pasta for stroganoff?
Egg noodles. They are wide and slightly slippery, so the sauce clings without sliding off, they cook in six minutes, and they are the cheapest option in the aisle.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- 12-inch nonstick skillet. A wide nonstick skillet browns ground meat, fries rice, and builds a one-pan sauce with less oil and easier cleanup. Best for everyday stovetop dinners like skillet meals, fried rice, pasta sauces, and patties.
- Cast iron skillet. Cast iron holds heat for a deep sear and moves from stovetop to oven, and it lasts for decades with basic care. Best for searing chops and chicken, and recipes that start on the stove and finish in the oven.
- Chef's knife. One sharp chef's knife handles almost all the chopping, from onions to chicken, and replaces a drawer of gadgets. Best for all-purpose prep in essentially every recipe on the site.
- Cutting board. A large, stable cutting board makes prep faster and safer, which matters when you cook most nights. Best for everyday chopping of onion, garlic, and vegetables across nearly every recipe.
Feeding a crowd tonight? This one is also part of our Easy Family Dinner Recipes collection.
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