Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast
This Hungarian Pot Roast is an amazing slow cooker beef roast that’s flavored with tomatoes, peppers, paprika, and sour cream. I have good memories of enjoying the leftovers from this recipe, and if you like Hungarian flavors, please make it soon!
PIN this slow cooker beef roast to try it later!
Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast is a recipe I made often when I used to be teaching school. And every time I made it, I ate some and then made several little containers to take for lunches. Then I raved about how good it was until all my co-workers wanted to try the recipe! Now I’m not needing lunches to take to work any more but I still love this recipe, and I’ve made this over and over.
Of course this slow cooker beef roast recipe with Hungarian flavors has its origins in Goulash or Gulyas, a Hungarian dish I first heard about when The Frugal Gourmet used to make it on TV (ahem, quite a while ago!)
There are as many variations of goulash as there are cooks making it, but the kind I’ve made the most has pieces of beef, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, and plenty of paprika, and this Hungarian roast has all those flavors. And this type of recipe is not especially photogenic, but trust me when I say the Hungarian beef roast is so delicious! If you prefer the Instant Pot, check out the Instant Pot recipe for Hungarian Pot Roast!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- beef chuck roast
- Szeged Steak Rub (affiliate link)
- onion
- Sweet Hungarian Paprika (affiliate link)
- Sharp Hungarian Paprika (affiliate link) (optional, but good)
- Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link)
- canned petite diced tomatoes
- canned beef broth (affiliate link)
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- sour cream
What Paprika did I use for Hungarian Pot Roast?
I’m a HUGE fan of Szeged Paprika (affiliate link) and I use both Szeged Sweet Paprika (affiliate link) and Szeged Hot Paprika (affiliate link) in this recipe. If you don’t have that brand, try to use authentic Hungarian paprika. It will make a big difference in the flavor.
What Slow Cooker Did I Use for slow cooker beef roast?
I made this recipe in the six-quart Ninja Slow Cooker (affiliate link), but the slow cooker wasn’t full and any medium-large slow cooker will be fine.
How low in carbs is this slow cooker beef roast?
This long time favorite beef recipe with Hungarian flavors has only 7 net carbs per serving with 51 grams of protein!
How to Make Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I used a large chuck roast, about 3.5 pounds after trimming.
- Rub the roast with steak seasoning.
- Brown the meat well in olive oil before putting it in the slow cooker.
- Add a bit more oil and brown onions, adding paprika after the onions are lightly browned and cook a few minutes more. (Through the years I’ve come to prefer chopped onions instead of slices; take your choice on that!)
- Add the browned onions to the crockpot, putting them over and around the roast.
- Then add chopped roasted red pepper, drained petite dice tomatoes, and one cup beef stock.
- Cook on high about 4 hours, or until roast feels tender when pierced with a fork.
- When roast is tender, remove meat to a cutting board. (You might want to cover with foil or put it back into the slow cooker to keep it warm.)
- Strain liquid into frying pan (catching the vegetables) and start to simmer over medium high heat to reduce for gravy. (If you use finely chopped onions and finely chopped peppers, you can skip the straining and just have a chunky sauce.)
- Remove about 1/3 cup of the liquid, let it cool slightly, and then mix it into the sour cream.
- When liquid has reduced by about half, whisk in the sour cream mixture to make the sauce.
- Slice the Hungarian beef and serve with the sauce, either spooned over the meat or on the side. Serve hot.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This slow cooker beef roast would be amazing with any of these low-carb side dishes:
- Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
- Roasted Turnips
- Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese
- Cabbage Gratin
- Twice-Baked Cauliflower
Want more low-carb beef dinners from the slow cooker?
Check out Slow Cooker Beef Recipes for lots more low-carb and Keto dinners with beef!
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast is a low-carb slow cooker beef roast that I've been making for years! And I love the leftovers from this beef with Hungarian flavors!
Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil, divided
- 3.5 lbs. beef chuck roast (see notes)
- 2 T steak seasoning
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 T sweet Hungarian paprika (or more)
- 1/2 tsp. sharp Hungarian paprika (optional, but good)
- one 12 oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
- one 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup beef broth
- fresh ground black pepper to taste (see notes)
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Trim desired amount of visible fat from roast, then rub roast on all sides with steak seasoning.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy frying pan, add roast and brown well on all sides. (Don’t rush this step; browning the meat adds flavor.)
- When roast is well-browned, place in the slow cooker.
- While roast browns, drain tomatoes, drain and finely chop roasted red peppers, and chop onion.
- Heat additional 1 T olive oil in pan, then add onions and saute onions until lightly browned. Add paprika (affiliate link) and cook a minute or two longer.
- Put onions in crockpot on top of and around the roast.
- Put chopped peppers and drained canned tomatoes into crockpot, seasoning with black pepper.
- Pour the beef stock over top of crockpot ingredients.
- Cook on high for about 4 hours, or until roast feels tender when pierced with a fork.
- When roast is tender, remove meat to a cutting board. (You might want to cover with foil or put it back into the slow cooker to keep it warm.)
- Strain liquid into frying pan (catching the vegetables if desired) and start to simmer over medium high heat to reduce for gravy. (If you use finely chopped onions and finely chopped peppers, you can skip the straining and just have a chunky sauce.)
- Remove about 1/3 cup of the liquid, let it cool slightly, and then mix it into the sour cream.
- When liquid in the pan has reduced by about half, whisk in sour cream mixture to make the sauce.
- Slice meat and serve the beef with the sauce, either spooned over the meat or on the side. Serve hot.
Notes
I'd use chuck roast for this recipe. The roast I used was a little over 4 pounds, but only about 3.5 pounds after trimming.
I used steak rub that had some salt so I didn't add more, but add a little salt if you prefer.
This recipe was created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 606Total Fat 41gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 182mgSodium 698mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 51g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Hungarian Pot Roast is a great low-carb dish and would also work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. You’d want to use a leaner cut of beef and use reduced-fat sour cream if you’re strictly following South Beach.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for slow cooker beef roast with Hungarian flavors was first posted in 2012. I made it regularly for years, and when I was teaching school the leftovers from this were one of my favorite things to take for lunch. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.
90 Comments on “Slow Cooker Hungarian Pot Roast”
This was amazing! Such a nice flavor.
So glad you enjoyed it! When I used to teach school, this was one of my favorite things to take for lunch.
Can you please advise how long the roast should cook on low in the crockpot. Thank you so much!
I think it would need close to 8 hours on low. Maybe start testing after 6 hours and cook until tender.
Made this many times. Most recently I added whole button mushrooms and served with cauliflower rice.
So glad you have enjoyed it! I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to get a better photo for this recipe. But it is just not photogenic, no matter how hard I try. Always tasty though!
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Hi Kalyn. The last time I cooked this, it scorched and burned in the bottom of my crockpot. Is that because my in a newer version? How long would it take to cook it in a dutch oven in the oven. I may want to do this to avoid the "burn". Thanks
I'm not sure what would make it scorch in only four hours; I've made this in several different slow cookers and never had a problem like. You might cook a few hours on high and then turn to low if your slow cooker cooks hot. I don't have much experience with cooking things like this in the oven, but I'd use a really low temperature, maybe 325F and start checking after about 3 hours. Hope that helps!
I originally found this recipe on the Facebook page Low Carb Zen, and absolutely loved it. It was a 'put-this-in-the-monthly-rotation' hit with my family. Thanks for posting!
Becky, so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Harmony, so glad you enjoyed it. I've had this on my "take new photos" list for ages now as well! Glad you have been enjoying the blog!
I've had this recipe bookmarked for ages and finally got it on my menu for this week. My husband and I both LOVED it. Such delicious flavor. I used smoked paprika and a flat iron steak (my fave for low and slow cooking) and actually cooked it in my dutch oven instead of the crock pot. It turned out perfect.
I regularly scope your recipes for healthy whole-food meal ideas and I'm never disappointed!
I don't calculate nutritional information, but if you look at the top under FAQ there is a link for Calorie Count, a site where you can enter the recipe and it will calculate it for you.
Do you know the nutrition facts on this dish? Specifically carbs and calories?
Katherine, so glad you're enjoying the recipes.
The pot roast was delicious last night! In the future, I don't think I'll make the gravy. I didn't really think it was needed. The vegetable sauce was delicious! That will save me a few calories! : ) I am going to serve the leftovers with pasta tonight. Thank you! P.S. I have been making quite a few of your recipes this winter with great success!
Katherine, hope you enjoy and I'm always happy when the recipes appeal to people who aren't following South Beach. That is totally my goal!
I am making this pot roast tonight. The house smells wonderful. I had a big jar of roasted red peppers from Costco to use up and this recipe is perfect. I also love paprika! I am not on South Beach diet but this is wonderful comfort food for a cold winter day here in Michigan. Thanks for sharing! P.S. I am making it in the oven.
Stacey, glad you enjoyed it, and good luck on Phase one. I've lost count of the number of times I've gone back to it!
This was quite delicious! Very happy to have discovered your blog as I've just embarked (again) on Phase 1 and was in need of some interesting new flavor combinations to keep me on track. Many thanks, and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Lady2223, I'm assuming you mean low in a slow cooker for 8 hours? I think that should be fine.
If I cook this on low heat, how long will it take to be ready? I wanted to extend the cooking time to 8 hours so it can ocok while I am at work, will it be ok?
Caryn, comments like that make me smile!
Still my go to Pot Roast. The only one my hubby ever wants me to make! I just shared it with two co-workers who smelled my left overs heating up:)
Personally, I don't think browning with a grill would work as well.
Hey, I tried this last time, it was absolutely amazing, however i might've cooked it too long. I couldn't remove the meat without it falling apart. But it was still good!!! Was wondering – Instead of browning meat with pan in the beginning, would it work if I use a grill to brown meat instead? Any suggestions?
Steff, so glad you are enjoying the recipes and finding them useful.
Kayln: What a blessing I found your blog/website on Pinterest! I just started South Beach Diet for the 3-4th time and with your recipes, I will probably be able to stick to it and finally lose the 30 lbs I need to lose. Your Hungarian Beef w/ Paprika Sour Cream Gravy was fabulous. My 8 year old son had three helpings…left nothing for me to bring to work tomorrow 🙂 Thank you for all your efforts to create these wonderful meals and for sharing them. Stephanie
Michelle, so glad to hear it was a hit!
I tried your recipe for dinner tonight and followed it as written with the exception of the timing. I cooked on low for about 8 hours. It was divine. Both my husband and I liked it a lot and even my very picky non-eating meat daughter (7 yrs) liked the flavor. Thank you! I'm sure we will make this a couple of times this winter.
Bill, I used to make this on the weekend and take for my lunch all during the week!
This was delicious!!! I used a London broil which was on sale at my local grocery store and did not use the sharp paprika because I didn't have any and it was not available locally. I do want to try that though. It was so good. Usually, I make something on the weekend, often in the slow cooker, eat it a couple of times in the coming week and freeze extra portions. (I am cooking for one.) But this was so good I ate it every night til it was gone. Loved it!
Caryn, so glad to hear that!
I made this tonight and my partner of 35 years said it was the best Pot Roast I ever made and he was right. He has never been a big pot roast fan since his Mom's was always so tasteless. He always enjoyed my old recipe but asked me if I could please make it this way from now on! Thanks Kayln! BTW we have loved every recipe we have tried of your. Keep them coming!
Thanks for reminding me about Beef Paprikash. Haven't made in a long time and I love it. I just put it on to cook in the pressure cooker and used the ingredients in your recipe. Smells delicious already.
maynekitty///at///live///dot///com
Yes, I think mushrooms would be delicious in this.
Hi – my family isn't a fan of bell peppers, do you think mushrooms would work instead? Looks like a fantastic recipe, just like all the others I've tried.
Erica, so glad you liked it! I love that paprika from Penzeys.
This was sooo good! I just bought some Hungarian paprika from Penzeys and I wanted to make something with a strong paprika taste. Thanks!
Sharon, thanks for the nice feedback about the blog. I think green pepper will be great in this. Hope you enjoy!
I just found you site thanks to Simply Recipes and love it. I have the pot roast in the crock pot right now and it smells so good. It's great to find a recipe for pot roast that is not the standard and I love anything Paprikash. I am using green pepper instead of the jarred red. I'm sure it will taste great. Thanks and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Lynne, so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Hi, Kalyn! We made this yesterday. It cooked on low for just over 9 hours, and it was PERFECT! We'll definitely be making it again. 🙂
Thanks!
I'll probably make it this week, so I'll let you know! Tonight is your chicken, broccoli, and quinoa casserole!!!! 🙂
Lynne I haven't tried cooking it for a longer time on low like that, but I'd guess it would be okay unless your slow cooker is one of the ones that cooks quite hot. I wonder if the vegetables might get super soft, but if they did I think they still might be okay, just disintegrated into the sauce. (Love to hear how it works if you do try it.)
Kalyn, can you increase the time this cooks if you put it on low instead of high? I want to make this for a worknight dinner, but it would have to cook for at least eight hours.
Jennie, so glad you liked it. This is one of my favorites too!
hi! just made this yesterday and i thought it was amazing! the sour cream and paprika gravy was delicious:) going to be making your leftover roast beef italian stew tonight. just starting back on sb again and i'm so thankful to have your food blog to come to for fantastic, tasty & healthy recipes. thanks!! jennie:)
This is one of my favorites. It actually raises my appetite.
This recipe is really going to keep me busy in the kitchen with all its glamor. This is another must for the weekend!
Jon, so glad you enjoyed this. Definitely it’s one of my favorites.
Thanks also for the advice about how to print just the recipe. Your method will definitely work, but I’m thinking about adding that feature after I’m retired. It’s labor intensive (I would have to copy every recipe by hand) but I think people would like it. If I do convince myself to do it, I’ll start with the newest recipes and work my way back. I’m guessing it will take a few months to get all the blog done, but I think people will like it.
This is indeed a delicious recipe (as are virtually all of your recipes that my wife and I have tried — thanks for injecting some great variety into our dinner menus!)…
I’d also like to respond to the “printing only the recipe” question. In either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, use your mouse to highlight just the recipe section, then instead of clicking the print button, select File, Print from the menu, and then click on the “Selection” option and click OK. This prints only what you have highlighted on the page.
Anonymous, glad to hear you liked it, even without the step of reducing the broth.
Had this cooking in the crock pot all day on low (10 hours) So good to come home to the aroma of this! Heck, I put it together last night and my husband was salivating just from the prep! Anyway, the roast was so tender I only needed a fork to cut it! We had to go somewhere right after dinner tonight so I didn’t have time to reduce the broth and add sour cream, etc. So we just poured the broth over our beef. Then I saved the rest and am going to use it as a base in a cabbage/beef soup I will make later this week. That broth is so rich and delicious!!! Thank you for this recipe.
And coming from a family of teachers–good luck with your conferences!
Ned, great suggestion, thanks! Will edit the recipe to add your idea.
This is an awesome recipe. I have one suggestion, about adding the sour cream.
I found that when I add the sour cream directly to the stew juice, it gets lumpy and is hard to fully and smoothly combine with the juice.
However, if you add a small amount (quarter to half a cup) of juice to the sour cream, and whisk that first, then the sour cream combines with the rest of the juice very smoothly with no clots.
Jean, glad to hear you are enjoying the blog. I’m not sure what you mean by “the printing issue?” You should be able to print a recipe without saving it like that? It does sound like a good way to organize your recipes though.
After I retire I’m hoping to add a feature where you can print only the recipe with no other text, stay tuned.
I LOVE your website! It has been an amazing resource for new dishes in our household. Even my 13 year old son is getting into what I have found on your website for dinner.
Can I suggest a “work around” for the printing issue. I click on the recipe heading and then hit “PRINT TO PDF.” I then save the PDF version in a Recipe folder I have on my desktop–making sure I have checked the file name when I save it. It is very easy to print from the saved PDF version or just to keep the recipes organized on your computer.
Atlanta Fan–Jean
Anonymous, that’s amazing because my crockpot seems to me like it cooks too hot. I wish all the crockpot manufacturers would get together and make the temperatures standard. Anyway, very glad to hear you liked the recipe.
We made this the other night–really good. My husband ate tons of it!
One note: I have a new crockpot and attempted to cook this on low for 7 hours. Not enough time. I had to turn it on High for an additional 1.5-2 hours. So, maybe this is more of a 10-12 hour on low recipe.
Thanks for the recipe!
Rae, BRILLIANT idea to use slow roasted tomatoes! I’ll have to do that myself next time I make it. Thanks so much for telling me.
Had this for dinner tonight. It’s awesome! I used slow roasted tomatoes that I learned to make on your blog instead of canned tomatoes. Thanks!
lis, hope you like it, and Jeanne, you MUST get a crockpot. That’s an order! (Seriously, you will never regret it.)
Oh my, that looks so good! I don’t own a crockpot, but it might be worth getting one to make this 🙂 You really can’t go far wring with sour cream, paprika and slow-cooked meat…
Kalyn.. can’t tell you how good this looks! I was wondering what I was going to make for Sunday dinner – and I think I just found it! Thanks! 🙂
xoxo
I’m not sure why but Blogger isn’t sending me the comments in the order people are writing them, so I apologize if it seems like I’m not responding. Every time I go to my dashboard I keep finding comments that haven’t come to my e-mail.
Jayne, I don’t have a way to save recipes in a folder on my blog, but I recommend using a free service called del.icio.us. I use it all the time and love it. It’s a bookmarking system which lets you save anything you find on the web and put it into categories any way you’d like. Here is my del.icio.us account if you want to see what it’s like. (I save a lot of things I never end up using, but it’s still fun!)
Mrs. L., it depends completely on your crockpot. The newer ones cook a lot hotter, so if it’s fairly new I’d say only 7-8 hours on low would be enough. I still have some of the very old “slow cooker” type of crockpots which could cook at least 12 hours without the food getting too done, but I think they’re kind of a thing of the past.
Paula, I think I have three Frugal Gourmet cookbooks, and still use them and love them too!
P.S. I LOVED the Frugal Gourmet. In fact I still have, and love, his Greek cookbook – so many great recipes in there!
Kalyn,
This looks absolutely AMAZING!!
My husband is a huge pot roast fan, and while I can appreciate it’s comforting simplicity, I just don’t get it as a favorite dish. I like a bit more pizazz than the simple but tasty all-American stew.
Now THIS I can get behind! It sounds heavenly, Kalyn.
Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Cheers,
~ Paula
(of Ambrosia Quest)
I have many many episodes of the Frugal Gourmet on tape…yes, old VHS tapes 🙂 This sounds like an awesome crockpot recipe. Think that 12 hours on low would be comparable to the 4 hours on high? Or 8 hours on low?
That looks fabulous! I love anything with sour cream and paprika!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks for the information, Kalyn. I hate to be such a bother, but is there a way to save your recipes in a “my favorites” location on your site? (Does it seem to you that I want you to do ALL the work for me?!) Anyway, it can be discouraging to try a new way of eating and cooking. Thanks for making it easier with your great recipes.
Highlight the written portion only, and then paste it into a text or word document on your computer. Then you can fix up the format, and the full text will be there.
Jayne, you will have to print the entire post to get the recipe. That’s the way it’s set up in my template to prevent having the sidebars and header print when someone prints the page (with “no print” tags.)
I have just started South Beach Phase 1, and although I have the SB book and the SB cookbook, I don’t think I can succeed without Kalyn’s Kitchen. I would like to print out my favorite recipes so that I can bind them in a notebook, but I’m having no success at printing just the recipe. Nor am I abloe to click and drag the highlighted recipe to a folder from which I can print it out. Can anyone help? My diet depends on it!!!
BTW, forgot to say how relieved I am that so many of you remember the Frugal Gourmet!
Anonymous, I’m not claiming that this recipe is Gulyas, or even that it’s authentic Hungarian; just that it was inspired by the version of Hungarian Goulash that I saw The Frugal Gourmet make. I haven’t been to Hungary myself, but I would love to go there and try the real thing.
I grew up in a Hungarian household, parents were "off the boat" and only cooked Hungarian. I can promise you a caraway seed never came into our house, never mind ending up in my mom's cooking. Also the world famous Hungarian paprika comes from red peppers and red peppers are common and acceptable in Hungarian recipes. So I can assure you anonymous missed the mark with their critique of this recipe.
Hi Kalyn,
To my best best knowledge, as my mother was Hungarian, you must use green pepper instead of red, and most important it “aint” Guyash without Caraway seeds, whole or freshly ground.
And you don’t have to use canned or peeled peppers. Just cut 1 or 2 fresh green peppers.
Come to mama!
The Frugal Gourmet sounds more like The Tasty Gourmet! We love Hungarian flavours and make goulash soup at least once a year. I think it’s great that a cuisine can be based around the taste of peppers rather than just the heat.
My mom makes Goulash. Thanks for sharing, this sounds like a great dish to make in my crock pot!
Oh my goodness! As a current tv chef says : “Yummo!” Gotta try this recipe on the weekend. (and I am well-aged enough too to remember “tv chefs of the past” ) ;O) (remember Graham Kerr’s “Galloping Gourmet” ?)
Thanks for another crockpot delight – I shall report in and let you know all the rave reviews! :O)
Yes, I must do more with my slow cooker. (And I remember The Frugal Gourmet, too.)
This looks great, Kalyn — I am always up for trying a good crock-pot recipe, particularly now that the weather’s cooler in the Bay Area. Yum!
Hi Kalyn–I remember the Frugal Gourmet! Am always looking for a new twist on pot roast. This sounds great & it uses the crock pot–yea!
Dear Kalyn, I grew up with my hungarian grandmother’s recipes so I know what I am talking about when I say that this is a FABULOUS recipe 🙂
congrats 🙂
Hey Kalyn,
No worries. I’m also old enough to remember The Frugal Gourmet. Thanks for the memory poke.
Oooooh! I so need to get meself a slow cooker! This sounds amazingly good!