Beef Bourguignon (French Beef Stew!)
By Rebecca St. Clair
This rustic old-fashioned beef bourguignon recipe is packed with melt-in-your-mouth beef, tender veggies, and a broth that is beyond delicious! This recipe takes the beef stew you’re used to and add the perfect je ne sais quois to elevate it into something truly special!
This beef stew is the classic comfort food you have been looking for, to bring the whole family to the table. It is special enough to serve to dinner guests. Don’t be surprised if you see them slurping every last drop from their bowls!
What is beef bourguignon
Beef bourguignon is a hearty, extra flavourful beef stew that uses a low and slow approach to cook the meat. The meat ends up being extremely tender and melt-in-your-mouth. Plus all of the fat, gelatin, and flavour from the beef and bones, flavours the broth for the ultimate comfort food dish.
Beef bourguignon is typically flavoured with red wine like burgundy, as the name would suggest!
What to serve with beef bourguignon
My favourite way to serve this hearty meal is with a side of crusty French bread. It is a French beef stew! Any bread or biscuits will have everyone dipping and soaking up every last drop of their broth!
If crusty bread is not your thing, try these ultra soft and tender dinner rolls. You cannot go wrong with these, and they will make enough to feed a crowd!
Another great option is mashed potatoes. This stew is super hearty and is the perfect companion to a plate of flavourful potatoes! Try this creamy tangy mashed potato casserole for the perfect side!
How to store beef bourguignon
This recipe makes a big hearty batch of stew. So unless you have a lot of mouths to feed, you are sure to have leftover to enjoy for a few days!
Beef stew is one of those things that tastes better after a night of sitting in the fridge! All of the flavours meld together and become deeper and richer the next day.
Fridge
To store your beef bourguignon in the fridge
- Allow the stew to cool to room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Store in the fridge up to 5 days.
To reheat the beef bourguignon, place in a sauce pot on the stove top on medium heat. Allow the stew to cook until heated through.
You can also reheat in the microwave over a few minutes. Stir before serving.
Freezer
This hearty stew freezes extremely well. To freeze you beef bourguignon
- Allow the stew to cool to room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container. Remember that it will expand slightly as it freezes so leave a little room at the top.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, allow it to defrost enough to remove form the container. Place in a sauce pot on the stove top on medium heat. Simmer until heated through.
What type of beef to use for beef bourguignon
As you might have guessed from the name, the beef is a pretty important part of this recipe! This recipe calls for beef short ribs. The flavour from the beef bones, as well as the low-slow cooking of this flavourful cut of beef, makes this hearty stew uniquely flavourful and full bodies in taste and texture.
However, if you can’t find this or would prefer a different cut of meat, there are a few other options you can try!
While you might find packaged meat at the grocery store labeled stewing beef, this will work however, this isn’t really a cut of beef.
My favourite options other than bone-in short ribs are chuck roast, beef round, or oxtail. All of these will become more tender as they cook instead of becoming tough like a more expensive cut of beef would.
The bone in options will add more gelatin and flavour to your stew.
Can I make this gluten-free?
The only part of this recipe that contains gluten are the noodles. This mean, it can easily be transformed into a gluten-free stew!
Some great options to replace the noodles in this recipe are,
- Rice
- Gluten-Free pasta
- quinoa
- Mashed potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
How to make beef bourguignon
Ingredients
2 beef short ribs (about 2 lbs) 900 g
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons oil 45 ml
8 oz mushrooms, course sliced 225 g
2 shallots, diced
2 ribs celery, course dice
3 carrots, course dice
2 Tablespoons tomato paste 45 ml
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry red wine 250 ml
8 cups beef stock 2 L
2 cups water 500 ml
(optional) rice, pasta, quinoa, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes
Method
- Preheat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium-high heat.
- Season all sides of the ribs with salt and pepper.
- Add oil to the pot and brown the ribs, for a few minutes, on all sides. (The ribs will not be cooked through at this point.)
- Meanwhile, chop your veggies.
- Remove the browned beef to a plate and set aside.
6. Add mushrooms to the pot. Cook 5 minutes or until golden.
7. Remove to a bowl.
8. To the pot, add in the diced shallots. Cook until translucent.
9. Stir in chopped celery, and carrots. Cook stirring occasionally, until starting to colour.
10. Stir in the tomato paste, beef stock, and add in bay leaf.
11. Return the ribs to the pot along with the water and wine.
12. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil.
13. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours.
14. Stir occasionally. Add more liquid if needed.
15. After 2 hours, the beef will be tender and fully cooked. Remove the beef to a plate and, when cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bones. Shred meat into bite-sized pieces.
16. Add the shredded meat back to the pot, along with the mushrooms. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
17. To add noodles, cook according to package directions and add them into the pot. If making fresh noodles, bring the pot back up to a boil and add in fresh pasta, allow the noodles to cook a few minutes.
Easy Beef Bourguignon
This rustic old-fashioned beef bourguignon recipe is packed with melt-in-your-mouth beef, tender veggies, and a broth that is beyond delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 beef short ribs (about 2 lbs) 900 g
- salt and pepper
- 3 Tablespoons oil 45 ml
- 8 oz mushrooms, course sliced 225 g
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 ribs celery, course dice
- 3 carrots, course dice
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste 45 ml
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dry red wine 250 ml
- 8 cups beef stock 2 L
- 2 cups water 500 ml
Instructions
- Preheat a large pot or dutch oven to medium-high heat.
- Season all sides of the ribs with a few grinds of salt and pepper.
- Add the oil to the pot and brown the ribs, for a few minutes, on all sides. (The ribs will not be cooked through at this point.)
- Meanwhile chop your veggies.
- Remove the beef to a plate and set aside.
- Add the mushrooms to the pot and cook about 5 minutes or until golden.
- Remove to a bowl.
- To the pot add in the diced shallots and cook until translucent.
- Stir in the chopped celery, and carrots. Cook stirring occasionally, until starting to colour.
- Stir in the tomato paste, beef stock, and add in the bay leaf.
- Return the ribs to the pot along with the water and wine.
- Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours.
- Stir occasionally. Add more water if needed.
- After 2 hours, the beef will be tender and fully cooked. Remove the beef to a plate and, when cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the shredded beef back to the pot, along with the mushrooms. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.
- If you want to add noodles, cook according to package directions and add them into the pot. If making fresh noodles, bring the pot back up to a boil and add in the fresh pasta, allow the noodles to cook a few minutes.
- Serve with your favourite bread or sides.
Notes
Beef stew is one of those things that tastes better after a night of sitting in the fridge! All of the flavours meld together and become deeper and richer the next day.
My favourite options other than bone-in short ribs are chuck roast, beef round, or oxtail. All of these will become more tender as they cook
The only part of this recipe that contains gluten is the noodles. This mean, it can easily be transformed into a gluten-free stew!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 306Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 0mgSodium 756mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 3gSugar 6gProtein 9g
Craving more traditional dinner recipes! Check these out! Chicken Paprikash with Spaetzle, Simple Traditional Hungarian Beef Goulash, Easy Old-Fashioned Oven Beef Stew, The Best Classic Beef Stroganoff
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