Beef Bourguignon is one of the few recipes everyone needs to know how to cook! Tender beef braised in red wine with onions and carrots and flavoured with bouquet garni, this French beef stew is the epitome of comfort food made easy!
For more stew recipes, check out our Coq au Vin Blanc or Chicken Chasseur.
I used to work with a lot of French youth, which gave me a lot of opportunities to get their informed opinions about recipes to share. They were always adamant that Beef Bourguignon is a recipe that needed to find space on this site!
One taste will tell you why they are so passionate about this classic dish. The combination of tender beef and vegetables with herbs in a rich wine sauce is inspired!
Developing my own version of a beef bourguignon recipe was quite easy as it is basically a beef version of my very popular classic coq au vin. It has since become a huge favourite, easy to cook but unbelievably delicious!
The Ingredients
There are many recipes out there and I am sharing my take on this French classic, something that works for me. I would encourage you to follow this recipe but also to make necessary adjustments to suit your family’s tastes.
For example, many beef bourguignon recipes include pearl onions. The truth is that eating a whole onion, no matter how small, would never fly with my kids so I omitted them.
Mushrooms are also a permanent fixture in most beef bourguignon recipes but also got cut! Although I am a mushroom lover, they are not! My point is add or remove anything you like or don’t like.
Cooking time would also depend on your oven temperature, how large your beef pieces are (I like mine large!), and how tender you’d like your meat to be. My advice to you is to taste and make adjustments.
What wine to use
The wine that this flavourful stew is cooked in is traditionally Burgundy, which might not be readily available where you live.
Red and full-bodied wine like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon is a good choice for this dish. It should be a decent drinking wine but don’t break the bank on it!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Searing the beef will contribute to a richer flavour. It should be nice and brown on all sides.
- The cooking time will need to be shortened or extended depending on how tender your meat is since oven temperatures vary. Check the meat as it cooks until you are happy with how tender is is.
- I omitted mushrooms and pearl onions from this recipe but both are included in classic beef bourguignon.
What to serve with beef bourguignon
Mashed potatoes is my number one choice when it comes to beef bourguignon. Also lemon garlic greens beans and a slice of thick sourdough bread go extremely well with this flavourful beef stew.
More classic French recipes
- Coq au vin
- Chicken Provencal
- French Chicken Casserole a la Normande
- Chicken in Wine and Mustard Sauce
How to Make Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 2 lbs / 900g stewing beef or rump roasting joint cut into 2 inch cubes
- 500 ml / 2 cups red wine
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 50 g bacon lardons/ 2-3 strips bacon chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2-3 tbsp flour
- 1 cup baby carrots/2 large carrots cut into 2 inch pieces
- Up to 1 cup/ 250 ml beef stock optional
- 1 prepared bouquet garni or 3 parsley stalks 3 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves tied together
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parsley chopped
Instructions
- The night before combine beef and wine in an air tight container or a ziplock bag and marinade overnight.
- When ready to cook take the beef out and lightly dab the pieces with paper towel to absorb the liquid, salt and pepper them, then set aside for a moment, reserve the wine the meat was marinated in.
- Preheat the oven to 300F/160C
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron pot and cook the bacon lardons until they render fat, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
- In the same pot brown beef over medium-high heat, do so in batches to avoid overcrowding and steaming. The beef should be nicely browned on each side but not cooked all the way through, approximately 2-3 minutes on each side depending on how high the heat is. Remove the browned beef to the same bowl as bacon.
- Now add chopped onion to the pan and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes until tender and translucent, then add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly to prevent garlic from burning or it will turn bitter.
- Return the beef and bacon bits back to the pan, add carrots, flour and stir, cook for a minute to ensure all flour got saturated in the fat in the pan, then add reserved wine and enough beef stock to cover the beef, add your bouquet garni and bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and put in the preheated oven for 2 hours.
- After two hours check on the liquid in the pot, it should remain at the same level. Put the beef back in the oven with the lid off to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken, cook for 1 to 1.5 hours for tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve sprinkled with additional chopped parsley over mashed potatoes or noodles.
Patrick says
I made this dish before back in 2022, It is delicious I chose to use the wine that I drink because if its good enough for me to drink, then its good enough for me to cook with. I’m actually making this dish again for dinner on July 30th 2023 and I’m going to make pommes puree and some cornbread this is going to be amazing and this time I’m not adding any mushrooms, nor carrots, I’m adding the onions and bell pepper (green), If this passes to the people that I’m feeding tomorrow then this dish will be served on my food truck. And the sides would be greens or green beans or broccoli, and cornbread served with Water, Tea, Wine.
Thank you so very much for such a great recipe I just love it!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
My pleasure, Patrick. Enjoy!!
Kaitlin says
Yum! This is a really nice recipe – easy to follow and I always appreciate the recipe tips/notes. I used a Pinot Noir only because that’s what I had on hand. It worked just fine! Being a little bit crunched for time, I had to cut down the cooking time to about 2 hours total in the oven. The meat was still super tender and delicious. Thank you!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I am so pleased you loved this recipe, Kaitlin! It’s my go to recipe when I want to feel super cozy at home. 🙂
Shannon says
Instead of the oven would this recipe work in a crock pot?
I do not own a cast iron pot unfortunately.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Hi Shannon, it’s definitely possible but I haven’t tested it personally, so I can’t give you the specifics in terms of timing and liquid to meat ratio.You’d need to reduce the liquid as slow cookers tend to retain it too much and you would end up with a watery stew if you keep the recipe as is. Also, you don’t NEED a cast iron pot, you can always use a deep casserole dish instead and use the oven method, which is preferable here.
Zobla Bhorsk says
It’s just not a bourgignon without mushrooms in it at least. This just is a beef stew, sure it’s tasty but it’s not bourgignon.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Have you read the article? I wrote about mushrooms and why they were not included in this recipe. By all means, add the mushrooms if you like but they are not the ingredient that is essential. As the name suggests, it’s actually beef and Burgundy wine, which make this dish Beef Bourguignon.
Anita says
I wanted to make this today but realized that it requires overnight marinating. Can I make it without marinating
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Marinating deepens the flavour and tenderises the meat but you can skip it in a pinch, Anita. If you can marinate for any time at all, even 1-2 hours would help.
Alisha says
Could this be made in a slow cooker/crock-pot?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
You definitely can, Alish. Follow the recipe up to step 7, then transfer all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or slow for 8.
Lily says
Have you ever tried making this recipe in an instant pot? Would love to try it in there for a quicker cook time
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Hi Lily, yes you can make it in Instant pot. Cook it for 40 minutes at high pressure. However, you would need to thicken the sauce later as Instant Pot method produces slightly different results. Here is the recipe for Instant Pot Coq au Vin, which addresses the modifications you will need to make.
Lily says
Should I still marinate the beef in the wine the night before?
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I would, marinating helps to tenderise and flavour the beef.
Anne says
Made this dish this evening. Husband usually does not like when I cook with wine, I did not tell him. LOL. He loved it. I reduced this recipe because it’ is just my husband and myself. I used Shallots instead of regular onions, they were amazing. I threw in a whole carton of mushrooms and a handful of carrots they absorbed the flavors beautifully. This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Wow love your ingenuity, Anne! I used to sneak ingredients my kids didn’t like all the time and usually they couldn’t tell! 🙂
Judy Dawson says
I have my beef cubes marinated right now I have it in refrigerator can’t wait to make it tomorrow for supper. Will let you know how it turns out thanks for recipe
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Enjoy, Judy!!
stephanie says
where i come from this is just roast with potatoes and carrots we do cook the roast in a gravy that gets put in the potatoes and carrots in the end all the fancy wine we ain’t got time for all that.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Just to clarify…did you just dismiss a national dish of France, that’s been around for centuries, because it has got “fancy wine and you ain’t got time for that’? Cooking with wine is a part of many cultures’ tradition. Making wine is how people preserved grapes and earned their livelihood. Just because it’s not what you do where you come from, it doesn’t make it any less valid or worthy of respect. By the way, it’s not a roast, it’s a stew. Also, I removed your star rating because you clearly didn’t make the recipe and have no business rating it.
Vicki M says
I was so glad to see a blogger stand up for her recipe! Thank you! I can’t wait to make this, it sounds amazing!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Thanks, Vicki! It’s a wonderful comfort food style recipe. 🙂
Sue says
I made this for my husband’s birthday dinner tonight. I followed your recipe, but added pearl onions that I’d browned the last hour, and then mushrooms cooked in butter near the end because my husband loves them. (Next time I’ll probably add both pearl onions at the very end with the mushrooms because they kind of disappeared.) Everyone loved it! I’ve always wanted to make Beef Bourguignon, but I’ve found the recipes so complicated it put me off. Yours felt easy to follow and was truly lovely. Thank you!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Thank you so much for your words, Sue. I always try to make my recipes easy to follow and approachable no matter how complex they might seem at a first glance, so what you said means a great deal. You are very welcome!!
Steven Wilson says
Thanks for the recipe. I omitted mushrooms bacon and wine. It was still beef bourgignon because I used a powder mix. Worked for me… Also here’s an idea you might like to work on : produce recipes from famous Artist’s favourite meals. It’s probably a book as you could go through their art and also specifically any paintings based on food. Not sure how you’d deal with Andy Warhol and his soup cans but I’m sure you get the idea.
It’s merely a suggestion. Naturally.
Again, many thanks for your help.
vikalinka says
That’s quite the concept, Steven! I will have to give it some thought. Maybe start a separate blog for that. 😉
Afifa says
Love your recipes. Can wune be replaced with a non alcoholic alternative? What would you suggest?
vikalinka says
You can use beef stock instead of wine and it will still be delicious but it won’t have the same taste as Beef Bourguignon, Afifa. You can also try non-alcoholic red wine.
Laurie says
I LOVE this recipe! I did add the onions and mushrooms and my family loved it. Looking forward to making more of your recipes.
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Thanks so much for your comment, Laurie. I am thrilled you enjoyed it and I do hope you will try more of my recipes.
Robert says
Typically when cooking alcohol in dishes evaporates leaving you just the flavor of what is added in
Heather says
I don’t have a cast iron pot. Could I cook everything on a skillet and transfer it to a roasting pan with a lid for the oven?
vikalinka says
That’s absolutely fine, Heather.
Kelli says
I give this recipe “4 stars” from my family. Overall, we liked it. No one under 25 so can’t speak for the kidlets. Only complaint was sauce was strong. Think I’ll cut the red wine and do half of it with water next time.
Will try this again!
vikalinka says
The sauce does have a very distinctive taste of wine but that is why I love it! You can definitely use less wine and more stock next time, Kelli. Thanks for your feedback.
Kendra says
This looks delicious. May I ask which red wine you recommend to cook this with?
vikalinka says
Any full-bodied red wine like Merlot, Shiraz or even Malbec will work in this recipe, Kendra. It doesn’t have to be an expensive wine either, something at low-medium range would be perfect.
Linda Hay says
I would also not use cheap wine … should cook with a wine you would drink! If you wouldn’t drink it don’t cook with it.
vikalinka says
Definitely don’t use undrinkable wine for this recipe but it is possible to use inexpensive wine, which is plentiful in Europe (I live in the UK) and get excellent results! All I was trying to say, “Don’t use your rare vintage bottle for it, it’s not necessary!” 🙂
Victoria (aka zEmfIrKa) says
This came out so great (I included mushrooms in mine and left the bacon out — since had none on hand). The house smelled divine. The meat melted in your mouth and the sauce was excellent with mashed potatoes. Made it for a small dinner party. Thanks for a great recipe!
vikalinka says
Yay, I am so excited to hear it, Victoria. I love, love, love this recipe and what I love even more is how it needs very little hands-on time. I need to make it again with mushrooms now that my husband is home and someone will actually eat them! lol