Hovězí guláš (beef stew or goulash) is undoubtedly one of the famous Czech foods everybody should try when visiting the Czech Republic. Slow-braised and seasoned right, this goulash is characterized by rich and hearty color, aromatic flavor, and insanely delicious taste.
➜ What is Czech goulash
Czech beef goulash comprises big chunks of beef meat in a thick onion-based gravy. It’s served with bread dumplings or fresh bread garnished with onions and a piece of green parsley or other greens.
Together with Svickova or Rajska tomato sauce, the goulash is a staple of Czech cuisine.
There are many goulash recipe varieties all around central Europe: Hungarian, German, or Slovak. Each country uses a few different ingredients. I learned this traditional Czechoslovakian goulash recipe from my parents when Czechs and Slovaks lived in one country.
➜ Pronunciation
I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word guláš (I’m a native Czech). The first word in the clip is "guláš", and the second is "hovězí guláš", which means beef goulash.
➜ Ingredients
Essential ingredients for great goulash are onions and meat in almost the same ratio, then typical Czech spices—dried marjoram and caraway seeds—and, of course, slow cooking!
To make Czech goulash, you’ll need:
- Stewing beef; boneless beef chuck or beef shank, well-marbled, cut into 1-1.½ inch cubes
- Yellow onion; coarsely chopped, you will need almost as much onion as the beef weighs
- Pork lard; or vegetable oil such as sunflower or Canola
- Caraway seeds; crushed or ground
- Salt
- Black pepper; ground
- Sweet Hungarian paprika; ground. I recommend adding a teaspoon of hot paprika powder for those who like a strong taste. The goulash gets a real kick with hot paprika!
- Tomato paste; do not use tomato passata or ketchup.
- Bay leaves
- Water; or beef broth for a richer flavor
- Dried marjoram
- Fresh garlic; pressed or crushed cloves
- All-purpose flour; to thicken the goulash. You can skip the flour because the stew contains a large amount of onions, which will soften through long, slow cooking and naturally thicken the goulash. On the other hand, I use only one tablespoon of flour for the recipe. I thicken the stew with flour with one nifty trick, which I'll reveal during the recipe. If you are based in the UK, use plain flour.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions
The most important rule is that a delicious goulash starts with thoroughly processing the ingredients at the very beginning. The onions, like the meat, have to be fried brown and seasoned in the proper order. Only then will the goulash be exactly what you expect—with a distinctive flavor and vibrant color.
STEP 1: Peel the onion and chop it roughly. Cut the beef into 1-1.½-inch pieces.
STEP 2: Melt the lard or vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a pot with a thick bottom (I use a heavy iron cast Dutch oven). Fry onions until almost brown. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Finally, add the crushed caraway seeds and stir for another minute.
STEP 3: Add beef chunks, season with salt, and fry them from all sides until a golden brown crust is created. Expect the meat releases some juices when fried. Stir frequently, and scrape off the burnt residue on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. If necessary, reduce the heat or add a spoon or two of water.
STEP 4: Turn the stove on medium heat, and add ground pepper, sweet paprika, and tomato paste. Fry for 1 minute while stirring. The base can’t get burnt, or else the goulash will taste bitter. Add 1-2 spoons of water to prevent burning.
STEP 5: Pour in water so the meat is almost covered. Add bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a minimum, cover with a lid and allow the beef to simmer for 2–2.5 hours or until soft.
Check the goulash from time to time. Add some water if the level of liquid in the pot falls. When the gulas contains too much water, cook it uncovered at the end. The liquid will be reduced, and the gulas will gain a richer flavor and a nice red color. Stir occasionally.
STEP 6: When the beef cubes are soft, add flour to thicken the stew. I'll provide a helpful method for making the stew sauce smoother and more cohesive.
Take off the pot's lid. Using a small sieve, carefully dust the surface of the stew with a tablespoon of flour. Do not stir. Cover with the lid and leave to cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. The sauce will be just thick enough!
Good to know: feel free to skip this step, especially if you are sensitive to the gluten included in the flour.
STEP 7: Remove bay leaves, add crushed garlic and dried marjoram, and stir. Season with salt to your liking. Cover with a lid and let it rest off heat for 10 minutes.
➜ Serving
Serve the goulash in a deep bowl with a piece of bread or warm slices of Czech dumplings (an iconic side dish!) arranged on the side of a plate. Top the dish with a few raw onion circles and sprinkle some green parsley for the final touch.
A less common side is pasta, typically elbow pasta (kolínka).
MY TIP: Once you visit Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, try to order “guláš se šesti” in a pub. Literally translated, it means “Goulash with six slices of dumplings.” This is a typical number of dumplings that bold Czechs are used to getting in a restaurant. And of course, don’t forget chilled Pilsner beer!
A fan of stews? Don’t miss this delicious Austrian goulash!
➜ How to store
If you have any leftover goulash, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
Reheat the stew slowly on the stove while stirring. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water.
➜ Tips for the best goulash
- Add the marjoram to the goulash at the end of cooking, off heat.
- There is one unspoken secret: Czech goulash always tastes better the next day.
- Instead of water, cook the goulash with beef stock. The flavor of this lovely Czech meal will be even more decadent!
➜ FAQs
Cheaper cuts of beef such as beef chuck or shank (kližka) are the best for Czech goulash. The beef should be fat-marbled, else goulash will be dry.
Czech goulash is thickened with plenty of onions. Use almost as much onion as the beef weighs. Bohemian grandmas used to thicken goulash with bread, bread crumbs, or a little flour.
Slow simmering in a covered pot is necessary, and it takes about 2 hours until the beef is soft and tender.
More Czech dishes:
- Pork goulash
- Czech sausage goulash (burtgulas)
- Wiener Schnitzel – made with veal
- Šunkofleky – ham and noodle bake
- Braised beef cubes – slow simmered beef with garlic
Czech Beef Goulash (Gulas)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck or shank (900 g)
- 1.½ pounds onion (675 g)
- 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil sunflower or Canola / pork lard
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds crushed or ground
- 2 Tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika ground + optionally 1 tsp hot paprika powder
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 4 cloves garlic peeled, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
- salt
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour to thicken the goulash, optional
- 4 cups water (720 ml) or beef stock
Instructions
- Peel the onion and chop it roughly. Cut the beef into 1-1.½-inch pieces.
- Melt the lard or vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a pot with a thick bottom (I use a heavy iron cast Dutch oven). Fry onions until almost brown. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Finally, add the crushed caraway seeds and stir for another minute.
- Add beef chunks, season with salt, and fry them from all sides until a golden brown crust is created. Expect the meat releases some juices when fried. Stir frequently, and scrape off the burnt residue on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. If necessary, reduce the heat or add a spoon or two of water.
- Turn the stove on medium heat, and add ground pepper, sweet paprika, and tomato paste. Fry for 1 minute while stirring. The base can’t get burnt, or else the goulash will taste bitter. Add 1-2 spoons of water to prevent burning.
- Pour in water, so the meat is almost covered. Add bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a minimum, cover with a lid and allow the beef to simmer for 2–2.5 hours or until soft.
- Check the goulash from time to time. Add some water if the level of liquid in the pot falls. When the gulas contains too much water, cook it uncovered at the end. The liquid will be reduced, and the gulas will gain a richer flavor and a nice red color. Stir occasionally.
- When the beef cubes are soft, add flour to thicken the stew. In the next step, I'll provide a helpful method for making the stew sauce smoother and more cohesive.
- Thickening of goulash with flour (optional): Take off the pot's lid. Using a small sieve, carefully dust the surface of the stew with a tablespoon of flour. Do not stir. Cover with the lid and leave to cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. The sauce will be just thick enough!
- Remove bay leaves, add crushed garlic and dried marjoram, and stir. Season with salt to your liking. Cover with a lid and let it rest off heat for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Makes 6 yields.
- SERVING: Serve the goulash in a deep bowl with a piece of bread or warm slices of Czech dumplings (an iconic side dish!) arranged on the side of a plate. Top the dish with a few raw onion circles and sprinkle some green parsley for the final touch. And of course, don’t forget chilled Pilsner beer!
- A less common side is pasta, typically elbow pasta (kolínka).
- Instead of water, cook the beef in beef stock, and the flavor of guláš will be even richer.
- There is one unspoken secret: Czech guláš always tastes better the next day!
- STORAGE: If you have any leftover goulash, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
- REHEATING: Reheat the stew slowly on the stove while stirring. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chartNutritional Estimate pro portion
Note: This is an updated version of the goulash recipe that was originally published on 6/2021.
Taty
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Vicky
I made this goulash recipe last night and it was fantastic! My boyfriend is Czech and he misses home cooking - he loved it! The only thing I changed was to add a bit of minced fresh garlic at the end with the marjoram.
I also used your recipe for knedliky, and together, they made a fantastic Czech dinner! Thank you for posting!
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Vicky, thank you for your message and nice feedback! Minced garlic is a perfect enhancement; I think it makes the goulash taste even more Czech 🙂 Right, goulash goes best with dumplings, and I'm glad you had success with this dish! Best wishes from Bohemia, Petra
Grace P
I made this goulash, your knedliky, and your apple carrot salad for my family's Christmas dinner, and all the recipes worked perfectly! They were very easy to follow and the pictures were really helpful. All of the dishes turned out exactly as they should have, even though I had never made any of them before. I'm excited to try more of your recipes, thank you for sharing them!
Petra Kupská
Ahoj Grace, thanks a lot for your lovely comment! I am glad to hear all the recipes turned out well and your family like them 🙂
Laura
Very good recipe and super quick & easy to make! First time to make a Czech goulash as my heritage is Czech and was very impressed with the flavors - added an additional two tsps of paprika to spice up the flavor a notch
Petra Kupská
Thanks a lot, and I’m glad the Czech goulash was a hit with your family! Adding quality paprika to a goulash is always a good idea 🙂 Best wishes, Petra
Gerardo
Hi, the recipe sounds delicious, I have a question: could I serve it with the potato dumplings instead of the bread ones?
Petra Kupská
Hi Gerardo,
Thank you for reaching out!
The Czech goulash is best suited to bread dumplings, they are fluffier than potato dumplings, which are denser. Potato dumplings go great with roast duck or goose, or with roasted pork and sautéed spinach.
Try it, though, you might like the combination of beef stew and potato dumplings!
Kristina
Your recipes bring back so many memories of my grandmother cooking for us in Australia, love goulash and dumplings she would also have make a side dish of cabbage with caraway seeds . Then for breakfast we would have the left over dumpling fried with eggs. YUM. Thank you
Petra Kupská
Thank you, Kristina, for your lovely comment. Just as you write, goulash with dumplings, and leftover dumplings then fried until golden brown for breakfast with eggs. Typically Czech!
Barbara
Please give your recipe for the dumplings! Thank you.
Petra Kupská
Hi Barbara, here are the recipes for Czech dumplings:
Bread dumplings - made with yeast, perfect for goulash and Czech sauces
Potato dumplings - made with shredded boiled potatoes, excellent for poultry or braised beef with sautéed spinach, slow-cooked pork roast
Marketa
This looks interesting, I have never made goulash adding marjoram and raw garlic at the end, I will try it soon. Step 7 of the summarised recipe (bottom of this page) does not mention garlic, I think it has been accidentally not included.
Petra Kupská
Hi Marketa, thank you very much for your sharp eye. You're right; in the recipe, I forgot to include information about when to add garlic to the goulash, I have fixed it. Thank you once again!