This Beef Bourguignon is a take on a classic French stew.
This stew has a deep rich flavor from red wine. Tender chunks of beef, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and bacon are cooked together for the perfect meal.
Don’t let the fancy name of this dish scare you! It’s a dish that Julia Child was well known for and while it does need some time, it’s actually not difficult to make.
What is Beef Bourguignon?
Beef Bourguignon (pronounced “bef bur-gee-nyon,”) is a beef stew recipe. The difference between this recipe and a regular beef stew is the amount of wine added to the broth giving it a deep flavor.
Carrots, onions, mushrooms, and garlic round out this one-pot meal. The whole thing bakes in the oven until tender.
Ingredients for Beef Bourguignon
This recipe is a simplified version of Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon with the steps somewhat simplified (and ingredients slightly adapted).
Beef When choosing meat for stew or bourguignon, I prefer chuck beef because it comes out so tender but stewing meat works well too. Choose well-marbled beef and trim any large chunks of fat.
Vegetables – Any root vegetable will work in this recipe. If you can find pearl onions, substitute those, they’re so good in stew!
Potatoes – Baby potatoes hold their shape well and require no peeling however Yukon gold or red potatoes will work too. Russet potatoes (or baking potatoes) are more grainy and don’t hold their shape as well.
I add the potatoes in but you can leave them out and serve this dish over mashed potatoes instead.
Seasonings Herbs like thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf enhance the flavor of this slow-cooked masterpiece. Fresh or dried will work.
Wine for Beef Bourguignon
Wine is used to flavor the broth in this recipe. Choose a dry red, like pinot noir, burgundy, cabernet sauvignon, or merlot, this adds the rich flavor that makes this recipe so famous!
Wine for cooking doesn’t need to be expensive but choose a wine you wouldn’t mind drinking. Do not use cooking wine in this recipe, the flavor isn’t great.
No Wine?
Most often, I will offer a suggestion to replace alcohol in recipes however the wine is the forward flavor in this dish (just like coq au vin).
While you could substitute it with beef stock, in this case, I would suggest making a beef stew with flavors that aren’t so dependent on wine.
While there are versions of non-alcoholic wine, I find they’re often more juice-like, and depending on the brand, they may not work well in this recipe. If the recipes below call for wine, it’s in a smaller quantity and can be substituted with extra broth.
How to Make Beef Bourguignon
- Fry the bacon in a large dutch oven. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon but keep the fat in the pan per the recipe below.
- Dab the beef dry with a paper towel. Sear in small batches in single layers in the bacon grease over medium-high heat. Remove from pan.
- Saute onions and carrots (with a bit of flour).
- Add beef back to the pot and stir in herbs, wine, and remaining ingredients.
- Cover with a lid and bake according to the recipe below.
Add cooked bacon as a garnish after the stew is cooked.
Beef bourguignon can be cooked in the slow cooker or pressure cooker following the cooking times for beef stew.
Tips for Perfection
Beef Bourguignon sounds super fancy, but with just a few tricks and tips it can be super easy!
- Choose beef that is well-marbled like chuck roast and trim off visible fat.
- Don’t stir the beef too much when searing. This helps it get a nice crust.
- Add a tablespoon or two of butter or olive oil when cooking the onion and carrot if needed.
- Low and slow is the key to great flavor (and texture) in this recipe. We prefer to oven-bake this stew but you can lightly simmer bourguignon on the stove.
- You can thicken the sauce with a little bit of cornstarch slurry (mix equal parts cornstarch & cold water and add to the hot broth a bit at a time to thicken).
- Add in the bacon at the end but leave a little bit to garnish too!
Like chili and lasagna, this recipe tastes just as good (or almost better) the next day!
What to Serve With Beef Bourguignon
- If you don’t add potatoes to the stew, you can serve this over garlic mashed potatoes or homemade egg noodles.
- Beef Bourguignon pairs well with more elegant side dishes like roasted asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette or sauteed brussel sprouts.
- Definitely perfect with a side of homemade French bread or cheese puffs.
More Ways to Slow Cook Beef
If you’ve got stewing beef or chuck, here are a few favorites!
Did your family love this Beef Bourguignon? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Beef Bourguignon Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ pound bacon chopped
- 3 pounds chuck cubes or stewing beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups beef broth heated
- 2 cups red wine
- 12 ounces mushrooms
- 1 pound baby potatoes optional
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dry rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- parsley for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan, leaving the fat in the bottom of the pan.
- Dab the beef dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Brown it in the bacon fat in small batches over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add onions and carrots to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or just until the onion begins to soften. Add beef back to the pan, stir in flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add broth, wine, mushrooms, potatoes (if using), tomato paste, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Cover and bake 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- Remove bay leaf, stir in bacon, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, French© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Very good dish
This is an amazing recipe. I used pearl onions and had to thicken it a bit at the end, served it over mashed potatoes and my fussy husband loved it
I made this last night and my brain cannot describe the level of pride I feel in how this meal turned out… Amazing, breathtaking, delectable, clearly a classic for a reason. This recipe is like a hug and a fuzzy warm blanket wrapped in one.
I added extra carrots & onion and decided to make mashed potatoes instead of stewing them. (10/10 would recommend) My first bite of beef melted in my mouth and nearly knocked me out of my seat!
Maybe it’s the never ending gray and dreary days of winter in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, but beef bourguignon has brought back a real shimmer of hope in my soul. This recipe is WELL worth the time and effort. Thank you for sharing and of course endless thanks to our lord and savior, Julia Child. Bon Appetit!!
This made my day Suz! I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe so much. I love when cooking can create such warm feelings in the kitchen.
After making this, I will never make another pot roast or stew, again. It turned out SO good. I’m glad I went with my gut to double it, my husband and boys are devouring this. I did the chuck roast option, used small bite sized potatoes, included the mushrooms, carrots, and onions. The broth is incredible.
This was delicious. I used grape juice instead of wine and my husband loved it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Oh my gosh! So delicious! We do keto so we didn’t add flour or potatoes. I also did in a crock pot. Definitely will be making again.
This was delicious! I did not add the rosemary because we hate rosemary. We also did mashed potatoes instead of the potatoes in the stew. Soooo good. The meat we used was a 2.5lb beef Chuck roast and cooked it 3 hours and it was perfect!
YUM!!!!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it turned out amazing! I added in the bacon once out of the oven and of course saved a little for garnish along with fresh parsley. I used Pinot noir. I did thicken slightly with corn starch. This was a fantastic version of Beef Bourguignon enjoyed by myself and husband. Great with a banquette also! I will be making this one again.
While I haven made sounds good. Question I have is are mushrooms a must my husband will not touch anything with mushrooms?
You can leave the mushrooms out or substitute with more carrots or another root vegetable. Enjoy Catherine!
Can you use cooking wine?
I use a full-bodied red wine like burgundy or a Cabernet to add the savory flavor that makes this recipe so famous! Wine doesn’t need to be expensive to be great in this recipe (but I do suggest cooking with a wine you wouldn’t mind drinking).
You can use cooking wine if you want or not use any type of wine at all (just leave it out altogether). Cooking wine is made with preservatives and other things so it might give a bad taste in the end. My rule is to use wine that you would drink. So I usually pour a half bottle into the pot and save the other half for the wine glass. The alcohol will evaporate leaving a great flavor blended into the meat and sauce.
What is considered a large Dutch oven? Is 6 quarts enough?
Hi Mary, a large Dutch oven is typically 7 to 9 quarts.
Delicious! I appreciate that takes less time than Julia’s version, but tastes just as amazing!
This looks awesome, I can’t wait to make it