Lighter Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash Beef Stew, Paleo, Gluten-free
This Lighter Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash Beef Stew is a comforting Hungarian beef stew that cooks in a crockpot until the meat falls apart. It is full of paprika flavor, potatoes and parsnip.
It’s hard to find a meal more warm and comforting than a good beef stew. This Hungarian Beef stew hits the spot. It is full of flavor, tender beef, potatoes, and carrots. If you are love stews full of flavor, try our Creamy Beef, Kale and Tomato Stew melts in your mouth! ( It is our favorite way to eat kale in our opinion).
Oh and if you are feeling Hungarian recipes, try our creamed peas. Delish!
Why this recipe works:
- It has all our favorite qualities of a Hungarian beef stew. A rich tomato and Hungarian paprika flavor, earthy veggies cooked until softened, and tender stew meat. YUM.
- The ingredients are on the healthier side. There aren’t any refined sugars or flours in this recipe and there is no butter or dairy. This makes for a lighter goulash.
- It cooks in a slow cooker for 9 hours. This makes for a wonderful way to meal prep.
- It works for a variety of diets. This Paleo beef stew is also dairy-free and gluten-free.
Recipe Ingredients
- beef cubes or stew meat– a good quality beef stew meat works great here.
- garlic or garlic powder– fresh or powdered work interchangeably well here.
- onion or onion powder– fresh or powdered work interchangeably well here.
- Hungarian paprika– make sure to use a good quality Hungarian paprika. We prefer the sweet kind.
- tomato paste– this gives the tomato flavor.
- dried thyme and dried rosemary– to flavor the stew.
- coconut flour– this helps thicken the stew a little bit.
- honey– the sweetness brings out the flavors in the soup
- chicken or beef broth– either one works well.
- carrots– baby carrots or larger carrots both work.
- sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips– these are used to accompany the meat.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/Substitutions
- Instead of tomato paste, you can use tomato sauce.
- Instead of coconut flour, you can use tapioca flour or arrowroot powder.
- Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of parsnips, you can use turnips.
Step by Step Instructions:
Step 1
Step 1: Mix the seasoning that will be used to brown the meat.
This includes paprika, salt, pepper. (If you are using onion powder and garlic powder, it will be added here).
Step 2
Step 2: Sear the stew meat with the seasoning and tomato paste.
Step 3
Step 3: Add the seared meat to the slow cooker. Add the coconut flour, salt, honey, thyme and rosemary on top. Mix everything together.
Step 4
Step 4: Add the sweet potato, parsnip, carrots, potato, and broth to the slow cooker. Mix everything together.
Step 5
Step 5: Cook in the slow cooker for 9 hours.
Expert Tips
- Set your slow cooker to low heat.
- We used to try to rush the process and tried setting it to high heat, but the veggies got too soggy that way.
- Since this cooks 9-10 hours, it is a great meal to make either before bed or before leaving for work in the morning. There’s nothing like waking up to or coming home to the smell of simmering beef stew.
- You can add different add-ins.
- Butternut squash and turnips work great here! You can also just use regular potatoes or sweet potatoes if you prefer either one.
- You can also add pasta in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.
- You can thicken the stew.
- If the stew is too liquid for your taste, then mix 1 Tablespoon of tapioca flour with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small bowl, and then put that mixture into the slow cooker and mix.
- Use Hungarian paprika.
- for a more authentic taste, use Hungarian paprika. There is smoked or sweet paprika.
Recipe FAQs
What should we serve this Hungarian beef stew with?You can serve it with bread, on top of pasta, with a side salad.
How do you store and reheat this stew?You can store this stew in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To reheat it, either microwave it or reheat it in a pan on the stove.
If you are short on time, then no. But otherwise we find that it makes the flavors stronger.
Is goulash lighter?Yes! It is full of collagen from the broth and beef. It’s got veggies like carrots, parsnips and potatoes. It has protein from the beef.
Prep 10 minutesCook 10 hoursTotal 10 hours 10 minutesMakes 6
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 2 lbs beef cubes or stew meat
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ( or 2 tsp garlic powder )
- 1 yellow onion, minced (or 2 tsp onion powder)
- 2 Tbs paprika
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 Tbs coconut flour, (we like the Nutiva Organic brand)
- 2 Tbs honey
- 4 cups chicken broth, ( or beef broth )
- 16 ounces baby carrots
- 2 cups sweet potatoes, sliced 1 inch thick and halved ( 3 small )
- 2 cups potatoes, sliced 1 inch thick and halved ( 3 small )
- 3 parsnips, cut into 1 inch chunks
Method
- If you are going to use onion powder and garlic powder instead of fresh onion and garlic, then mix together the 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 2 Tbs paprika, together in a small bowl.
- If you are using fresh onion and garlic, then mix together 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and 2 Tbs paprika, together in a small bowl.
- Then, sear the meat in one or two batches in a large pan (it depends how large your pan is if you can do it in one batch or not).
- If you are searing the meat all in one batch, then heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced onion and garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, Then add the beef cubes, tomato paste and spices. ( Note: if you are using onion and garlic powder, then skip the step where the minced onion and garlic get cooked and just put the beef, tomato paste, and spices into the frying pan). Cook for 2 minutes, then mix and cook for another 2 minutes.
- If you are searing the meat in two batches then do the same thing as the instructions above, but only put half of the ingredients in. Half of the beef, half of the tomato paste, half of the spices, half of the onions and garlic and repeat the step twice.
- Put the seared beef into the slow cooker, and scrape the pan with a spatula, putting everything into the slow cooker. ( we like the Crockpot brand of slow cooker)
- Sprinkle 1 Tbs of coconut flour on top of the meat and mix. Then add 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 Tbs of honey, 1 tsp of thyme and 1 tsp of rosemary on top of the beef.
- Add the sweet potato, parsnip, baby carrots and potato to the slow cooker and top with 4 cups of chicken or beef broth. Mix.
- Set the slow cooker on low heat and cook for 9 hours.
- Note: if your stew is a bit too liquidy for your taste, mix 1 Tbs Tapioca flour with 2 Tbs water and mix, then put into pot and mix.
- Mix the stew before serving and enjoy! 🙂
Notes
- Instead of tomato paste, you can use tomato sauce.
- Instead of coconut flour, you can use tapioca flour or arrowroot powder.
- Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of parsnips, you can use turnips.
