Gulyás
Gulyásleves
The Hungarian original: a brick-red beef and paprika soup with potatoes, carrots and pinched csipetke pasta, not the thick export stew.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Gulyásleves.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 2 hr 30 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 2 hr 55 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
In Hungary gulyás is a soup. Cubes of beef shin cook with a great deal of onion softened in lard; the pot comes off the heat for the paprika so it does not scorch; then caraway, garlic, tomato and green pepper go in, with enough water to make it a soup rather than a stew. After an hour and a half, potatoes and carrots. At the end, csipetke, little pinches of a stiff egg dough, cook directly in the broth. It should be loose, brick red and eaten from a deep bowl with bread and a jar of hot paprika paste on the table. The thick brown stew sold abroad as goulash is a different dish, and Hungarians would call it pörkölt if they called it anything.
What you'll need
16 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Ingredients
- Csipetke
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Beef, shin or chuck, 2 cm cubes800 g
- Onion, finely chopped3 medium
- Lard40 g
- Paprika, sweet Hungarian, fresh and bright red44 ml
- Caraway seed, crushed4.9 ml
- Garlic, chopped3 clove
- Tomato, chopped2 medium
- Bell pepper, Hungarian wax peppers if you can get them, otherwise green or yellow bell, chopped2
- Carrot, thick slices2 medium
- Potato, waxy, 2 cm dice500 g
- Water2 l
- Salt9.9 ml
- Black pepper2½ ml
Csipetke
- Wheat flour100 g
- Egg1
- Salt1.2 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Melt the lard in a heavy pot and cook the onion over low heat for 15 minutes until soft and golden, not brown. This is the base of the whole thing; do not hurry it.
15 min
Step 2
Take the pot off the heat, stir in the paprika for 20 seconds, then immediately add the beef and stir to coat. Return to the heat, add caraway, garlic and salt, and cook 10 minutes in the meat's own juices.
11 min
Watch: Paprika burns in seconds in hot fat and turns bitter. Off the heat, then meat straight in.
Step 3
Add tomato, peppers and a litre of water. Cover and simmer gently for 90 minutes until the beef is nearly tender.
90 min
Step 4
Meanwhile knead flour, egg and a pinch of salt into a stiff dough. Rest it under a bowl.
5 min
Step 5
Add carrots, potatoes and the second litre of water. Simmer 25 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
25 min
Step 6
Pinch fingernail-sized pieces off the dough straight into the simmering soup. Cook 5 minutes until they float and firm. Season with salt and pepper and serve with bread and hot paprika paste.
8 min
Tip: Taste for salt at the end only; the soup reduces more than you expect.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 573 kcal
- Protein
- 43.3 g
- Carbs
- 45.5 g
- Fat
- 22.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 8.5 g
- Fibre
- 6.9 g
- Sugar
- 9.1 g
- Sodium
- 1519 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.
Substitutions
Lard → Sunflower oil
Common in modern Hungarian kitchens. A little less depth.
Csipetke → Leave them out
The soup is still gulyás. Some regions never add them.
Tips
- Buy paprika in a sealed tin or pouch from a Hungarian source and replace it yearly. Stale paprika tastes of dust and gives a brown soup.
- Shin gives the best body. Chuck is faster but the broth is thinner.
- It is better reheated the next day, like everything with paprika in it.
History & culture
The national dish, cooked outdoors in a bogrács kettle over a wood fire at any gathering of more than six people, and indoors as Sunday lunch or a whole supper. Every family has its own ratio of onion to meat and defends it. Hungarians abroad flinch when handed a plate of goulash over egg noodles.
Herdsmen on the Great Plain cooked meat in kettles for centuries; the paprika version dates from the late 18th century when paprika became cheap. The Reform era adopted it as a symbol of Magyar identity against Vienna. Austria then exported a thickened stew version that the rest of the world learned to call goulash.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Gulyás take?
2 hr 55 min all in — 25 min prep, 2 hr 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Chef's knife, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Lard → Sunflower oil. Common in modern Hungarian kitchens. A little less depth. Csipetke → Leave them out. The soup is still gulyás. Some regions never add them.
What should I watch for?
Paprika burns in seconds in hot fat and turns bitter. Off the heat, then meat straight in.
Any tips from this recipe?
Buy paprika in a sealed tin or pouch from a Hungarian source and replace it yearly. Stale paprika tastes of dust and gives a brown soup. Shin gives the best body. Chuck is faster but the broth is thinner. It is better reheated the next day, like everything with paprika in it.
Can I prepare this ahead?
It is better reheated the next day, like everything with paprika in it.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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