08/29/2026
I grew up with my mom always having a tube of Gulyáskrém in the fridge door. That and Piros Arany (paprika creme) was a staple back in the 80s in most homes. One squeeze and suddenly the stew, or the Goulash soup, or scrambled eggs tasted much better. It was a popular grocery item. The store-bought version is a concentrated mix of paprika, onion, tomato, caraway, and a few supporting spices — convenient, yes, but full of thickeners and preservatives.
This homemade version is the real thing: just peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, caraway, paprika and a few other things cooked down until it becomes a rich, spoonable paste. No additives, no weird aftertaste, just pure Hungarian flavor you can keep in the fridge and use the same way you would use the tube — a spoonful at a time.
This recipe yielded 3 small jars, plenty for a year. After i finished scooping, a small amount was left over. The Taster of Our House, said it would go well on top of garlic toast. And while that is a possibility, I would also recommend it with duck or bacon fat spread on a toast , topped with purple onion and a small spoonful of goulash creme.
RECIPE
Ingredients
• 2 lbs sweet red horn peppers (or any thick-fleshed red peppers is okay i used these from GE: https://www.instacart.com/store/products/21418910-market-district-long-sweet-peppers-1-lbs )
• 2 large fleshy ripe tomatoes (•
like beefeater- (but cubed, canned tomatoes are fine too)
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 parsnips
• 1 hot chili peppers whole so you can take it out later unless you really want the heat (optional – adjust to your heat preference)
• 1 whole head of garlic - about 10-12 garlic cloves
• 4 small or 2 medium Spanish onions
• ¾ tsp ground caraway seeds
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2-3 bay leaves (we will take this out at the end)
• A handful of fresh parsley
• A handful of fresh lovage (optional)
• 2 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika powder
• 1/2 cup oil
Instructions
1. Wash the peppers and tomatoes. Remove the cores and seeds from the peppers. No seeds. Peel the parsley root, celery root, garlic, and onions. Chop everything into smaller pieces.
2. Place all the chopped vegetables in a food processor and pulse until you get a coarse purée.
3. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the vegetable purée and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to simmer.
4. Stir in the paprika powder, ground caraway, salt, and black pepper. Mix well.
5. Add the bay leaves and the handful of parsley. Continue cooking for 10–15 minutes, stirring from time to time so nothing sticks.
6. Remove the bay leaves and hot pepper (if you used a whole pepper). Purée the mixture with a hand blender until smooth. (this step is optional if you pureed the mix well in the blender already).
7. Return to the heat and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Makes sure to mix it so it does not burn. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
8. Spoon the hot goulash cream into sterilized jars. (I rinse my jars with hot water mixed with natrium-benzoate) Seal, then place the jars in a preheated 85 °C (185 °F) oven. Turn the oven off after 2 hours and let the jars cool completely inside.
Store in a cool place. Once opened, keep in the creme in the refrigerator.
A spoonful of this will give your gulyás, pörkölt, lecsó, or even scrambled eggs that unmistakable Hungarian depth.
