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Traditional Croatian Goulash

⏱ ~80 min (est.)MediumBeefCroatian
Traditional Croatian Goulash

A weeknight-friendly Croatian beef built around beef, carrots and red wine — roughly 80 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 9 steps.

You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and large pot. At medium difficulty across 9 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.

What you'll need

Servings4

Shopping list (3)

Pantry staples (you likely have these)

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How to make it

  1. Clean the meat from the veins if there are some and cut it into smaller pieces, 3 × 3 cm. Marinate the meat in the mustard and spices and let it sit in the refrigerator for one hour
  2. Heat one tablespoon of pork fat or vegetable oil in a pot and fry the meat on all sides until it gets browned. Once the meat is cooked, transfer it to a plate and add another tablespoon of fat to the pot
  3. Cut the onions very fine, peel the carrots and shred it using a grater. Cook the onions and carrots over low heat for 15 minutes. You can salt the vegetables a little to make them soften faster
  4. Once the vegetables have browned and become slightly mushy, add the meat and bay leaves and garlic.
  5. Pour over with wine and simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
  6. Now is the right time to add 2/3 the amount of liquid
  7. Cover the pot and cook over low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally. After the first hour, pour over the rest of the water or stock and cook for another 30-45 minutes
  8. Allow the stew to cool slightly and serve it with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and few slices of fresh hot pepper if you like to spice it up a bit
  9. Slice ​​some fresh bread, season the salad and simply enjoying these wonderful flavors

You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Large pot · Saucepan

Watch how it's made

Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.

Ingredient substitutions

Red Wine
beef stock + 1 tsp red wine vinegar · grape juice + vinegar

What to serve with Traditional Croatian Goulash

Tips & common questions

How long does Traditional Croatian Goulash take to make?

About 80 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 9 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of red wine?

Try beef stock + 1 tsp red wine vinegar. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

How should I store leftovers?

Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.

Recipe data for Traditional Croatian Goulash via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.