How to Make an Easy, Diabetic Friendly Ground Beef Stroganoff in Your Skillet

This skillet meal is simple to make, tastes great, and it's good nutritionally, especially if you're diabetic. The stroganoff includes ground beef, but, if you'd like to lighten it up further, you can substitute ground turkey. It will work fine. Unlike many quick stroganoff dinners, this one doesn't include canned soup. It's not necessary and is loaded with sodium (as well as a lot of other preservatives). A few spices, herbs, milk, and some light sour cream will work just as well and provide much better flavor. The stroganoff also uses whole-wheat noodles, which cook with the beef, so you don't need to dirty a separate pot. I prefer to use whole-wheat egg noodles (which cook more quickly), but they've been hard to find at my local grocery stores lately, so I've been substituting broken whole-wheat lasagna noodles, which take a bit longer to cook but do give the stroganoff a lot of texture. We like the stroganoff with a green vegetable and salad. Leftover stroganoff reheats well in the microwave for dinners and/or lunches later in the week. Enjoy!

How to Make an Easy, Diabetic Friendly Ground Beef Stroganoff in Your Skillet

Easy, Diabetic Friendly Ground Beef Skillet Stroganoff -- Serves 4+

2-3 teaspoons of canola oil

1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

8 ounces of chopped/sliced mushrooms

3/4 teaspoon of salt, divided, plus extra to taste

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes

2-3 teaspoons of snipped fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon of dried

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

2 teaspoons of sweet paprika

16 ounces of lean ground beef (93 percent)

1 tablespoon of tomato paste (you can use ketchup, if you don't have it)

2 cups of hot water

2 teaspoons of low-sodium chicken base (I use "Better Than Bullion")

5-6 whole-wheat (or whole-grain) lasagna noodles broken into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup of low-fat milk

1/2 cup of light sour cream

Parsley to sprinkle, optional

Heat the oil in a large, non-stick skillet and add the onions, mushrooms, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Saute the onions and mushrooms for about 10 minutes or until they soften and release some of their liquid. Sprinkle on the garlic powder, parsley flakes, dill, pepper, and paprika and mix everything well. Crumble in the ground beef, sprinkle it with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and saute it with the vegetables for about 10 minutes until it's mostly cooked through. Stir in the tomato paste, the water, and the chicken base, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and stir them in. Reduce the heat to a simmer, partially cover the pan with a lid, and let the mixture cook for 8-12 minutes, or until the noodles have absorbed most of the liquid in the pan and are done to your liking. Stir in the milk. Turn off the heat and stir in the light sour cream. Taste the stronganoff and add a bit more salt, if you think it needs it. Sprinkle the top of the stroganoff with a little parsley, if you'd like. Serve the stroganoff from the pan for easy cleanup.

How to Make an Easy, Diabetic Friendly Ground Beef Stroganoff in Your Skillet