This Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup recipe is the perfect classic cold-weather soup that’s hearty, full of flavour, and so easy to make!
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Since we moved to Romania from Canada almost 3 years ago I’ve fallen into a love-hate relationship with the food here – there are some traditional dishes I just can’t get behind no matter how hard I try, and then there are others that I’ve come to love so much they’d be hard to live without. This Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup has become an absolute staple recipe in our family, especially during the cold winter months, and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you today!
There’s just something so comforting about stews and soups in the winter, and this Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup is one of our family’s favourite ways to warm up on a cold day. It’s packed with tender meat, lots of root vegetables, locally grown red bell peppers, all in a tomato-based broth that’s perfect soaked up by some crusty bread at the end of the meal!
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Like this Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup? You’ll LOVE this Best Ever One Pot Beef Stew or this Crock Pot French Onion Soup with White Beans!
We live in Transylvania, an area of Romania populated by many German Saxons and many Hungarians which has had a big impact on the traditional local cuisine. In fact, I purchased the gorgeous soup bowl in these photos at a local market and it’s one of my favourite pieces. It was made and hand painted by a local artist in the traditional Transylvanian style and it’s the perfect vessel for this amazing traditional-style Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup. I just know you’re going to love this stew as much as our family does!!
If you’re looking for a good Dutch Oven pot for recipes like this Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup, here’s my advice- My Dutch Oven pot is a total beauty from Le Creuset (affiliate link) and I use it almost ever day throughout the year for all kinds of soups, stews, sauces, curries, and even for baking bread (if you want my original Dutch Oven Crusty Bread recipe, grab it HERE! It goes GREAT with this Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup!). A pot like mine is definitely a financial investment, but considering how much I use mine and considering its high quality, it’s definitely a worthy investment since it will last for 10 or 20 years, or even longer! I’ve also used similar cast iron pots from other brands, like THIS ONE from KitchenAid and THIS ONE from Lodge Cast Iron (both affiliate links) if you’re looking for something a little less expensive but still high quality that’ll do the job well.
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I hope you love this Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite local cultural recipe from where you live? I’d love to know!
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QUICK & EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS
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Homemade Hungarian Goulash Soup
Recipe: Equipment
Recipe: Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 2 pounds stewing pork cubes (approximately 1 kilogram)
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 3 medium carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons Hungarian smoked paprika
- 1 regular bottle your favourite beer (I used Stella Artois)
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 cups room temperature chicken or beef stock
- 1 cup plain tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup pickled roasted red peppers, chopped (or plain roasted red peppers from a jar, plus 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar)
- 4-5 medium potatoes, skin on, cut into chunks
- sour cream and fresh parsley for garnish
Recipe: Instructions
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot (cast iron dutch oven pots are PERFECT for this recipe) over medium heat.
- Add the chopped bacon and cook until just barely crisp, and remove the bacon to a large plate lined with kitchen paper
- Keep at least 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pot (feel free to drain the rest if there's too much, and if there isn't approximately 3 tablespoons of bacon grease left, add a little olive oil).
- Season the pork cubes with salt and pepper, and add them to the hot pan, browning them in the bacon fat on all sides. Be careful not to overcrowd the bottom of the pan, or the pork will steam and not brown. Brown in batches, if needed.
- Remove the browned pork cubes to the plate with the bacon and add the onions, carrots, garlic, and paprika to the pot.
- Saute the veggies until the onions are soft and translucent and the carrots are beginning to soften. Add the beer and de-glaze the bottom the pot, scraping up all those brown bits left behind after cooking the meats and veggies, combining them with the veggies.
- When the beer has reduced a little bit, add the bacon and pork back into the pot and stir everything together.
- Separate about 1/3 cup of the room temperature chicken stock and stir the flour into it with a fork until the flour is dissolved.
- Add that mixture to the pot, along with the rest of the chicken stock and the tomato sauce.
- Add the pickled roasted red peppers and the potatoes to the pot and stir everything together very well to combine.
- Turn the heat to low and let the stew simmer for about 35-45 minutes (or even longer if you have the time - up to 2-3 hours), stirring regularly, until the potatoes are cooked through and the stew has thickened up slightly.
- Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top and some chopped fresh parsley, with crusty bread for dipping.
Recipe: Notes
Storage Instructions
Store it in the fridge for up to 3 days after cooking (for meal prep).Reheating Instructions
Reheat this stew in the microwave, or in a pot on the stove until heated through.Freezer Instructions
This stew freezes well, stored in airtight containers, for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and then reheat in a pot on the stove.Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This looks amazing! Do you have an idea of where I’d be able to buy the Hungarian smoked paprika?
Try Trader Joe’s or a Europen deli
You can find it at Bulk Barn, sometimes at Superstore in the international foods section, and always on Amazon 🙂
Actually real Hungartian goulash needs no smoked paprika. it needs sweet paprika and some strong hot paprika.
I am going to try this but I am wondering why you say to stir it every 30-45 minutes. I have been told that every time you lift the lid on a slow cooker, it takes 30 minutes for it to get back to full heat.
Because this recipe isn’t made in a slow cooker, it’s important to stir it to prevent it from burning on the bottom and overcooking in some spots and undercooking in others.
If you use a slow cooker, there is no need to stir the contents.
I made this soup last night and it was so good. I allowed the vegetables to caramelize well as per the instructions and the flavors that developed were completely delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
This looks absolutely delicious! Saving!
Thanks!Enjoy! 🙂
So hearty! So delicious! So perfect for this season! I want it right now!
Thank you!
This is my type of lunch. I would eat it every day! Yummy!
Glad you liked the recipe!
Goulash has always been a staple at our house. I am always looking for different ways to spruce it up. Saving this for later.
Hope you enjoy it!
Such a comforting recipe! My family would love this!
I know, right!? I hope you give it a try!
YUM!!! I love this delicious version!!!
Thanks!
hi, I am Hungarian, born in Hungary, grew up in Hungary. Just a couple of things for your information.
1. Transylvania was part of Hungary for over a thousand years, up until about a 100 yrs ago, when after loosing the War, they took this part of our country and it became part of Romania. So there is no big Hungarian impact on the local cuisine, it IS the local cuisine. 🙂
2. The second thing is, that Goulash (written in Hungarian as ‘gulyás’) means cowboy. So this meal is definetely not made of pork or chicken or anything else, but beef! And only beef. Always! 🙂
3. In Hungary, we always saute the onion first in the lard or oil (or could be bacon fat), and then you pull the pot off the stove and put in the paprika. Then you stir it well and then put the beef cubes in and put the pot back on the stove. This is a trick to get the beautiful color of the paprika, but not to burn it, so it does not become bitter. 🙂
4. The traditional Goulash does not have bell peppers in it, as we did not have bell peppers until the ‘iron curtain’ fell. But I guess it can be a variation. Never heard about anybody putting in bell pepper or any other pepper at all though. 🙂
5. We also never make it with beer. We might put in red wine though. Dry red wine if we want to go fancy. yumm.
And yes, this is one of the best soup in the world, I absolutely agree! I hope this info helps to understand a little more about this great dish. By the way, your dish bowl is also decorated in a very old and traditional Hungarian pattern. And it is beautiful! 🙂
Thanks for the information! As with most cultural recipes, they vary from region to region and family to family. I formulated this recipe after a few different variations I’ve enjoyed in traditional restaurants here, and ones made by friends. 🙂