A classic French dish full of tender beef and rich flavors.
Beef bourguignon is a classic French dish that is essentially an entire meal in the form of a stew. Or at least, I like to have it as a whole meal, maybe with a side of bread. It’s slow-cooked to perfection, with soft vegetables and delicious beef simmered in great flavors like red wine, garlic, and thyme.
My introduction to beef bourguignon was through a movie about Julia Child. I hadn’t done much cooking at that time, and I loved the way it looked, as I’d always been a fan of soups, stews, and beef. I completely messed it up on the first attempt. I was still living with my parents and didn’t have wine (and didn’t know much about cooking) and wasn’t old enough to buy any for myself. In my mind, I assumed wine was just like fancy grape juice. So, I used a far too sweet actual grape juice that honestly tasted like grape syrup more than it did grape juice. A handful of careless mistakes and inappropriate substitutions later, and I had ruined the entire dish! Luckily, my attempts a few years later were far better, as I learned my lesson and used real wine.
When you get the taste right, this is a savory stew that is well worth the eight-hour wait. While that cooking time sounds a bit intimidating, this dish is pretty straightforward! Once you get all your delicious ingredients into the slow cooker, all you need to do is let the slow cooker do its job, no interference necessary! In this way, it’s very easy.
Give It Time
While all the ingredients are important in their own way, the most important one isn’t what you’d expect. It’s actually… time. You need time to make a good beef bourguignon. If you don’t let this meal cook for long enough, then it won’t be tender and soft the way it should be. So, don’t take shortcuts for a quick meal. Start cooking this in the morning so it’ll be ready by dinnertime.
FAQs & Tips
How To Make Ahead And Store
You can easily store your cooked beef bourguignon for about a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This is one of those awesome meals that gets better after a day or two, so for the best flavor, you might want to make this dish in advance and eat it between 1-3 days after cooking! You can also freeze this dish for about 3 months.
Brown The Meat
A really important step in making this dish is browning the meat. Don’t skip this, even though the slow cooker will cook your meat without you browning it first. I used to think this wasn’t an important step, but the flavor difference is worth it, trust me!
Going Gluten-Free
If you’re gluten-free, you can easily adapt this recipe. Instead of using all-purpose flour, I recommend using either gluten-free all-purpose flour or using cornstarch. My go-to starch for mixing with soups or stews is cornstarch, and I think it mixes just a little bit better, but either way will work!
Serving Suggestions
Because this is such a heavy dish, a good side to pair it with is something light, like a side salad. Caesar Salad is a great choice. You could also do a light House Salad or an Arugula Caprese Salad With Lemon-Basil Dressing. Serve with a side of bread like Sourdough or maybe Focaccia for a full meal!
Slow-Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients Â
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 3 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 medium carrots sliced
- 1 pound small potatoes halved
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
InstructionsÂ
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside.
- Season the beef chunks with salt and pepper. In the same skillet, sear the beef on all sides until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Pour red wine into the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Add beef broth and tomato paste, stirring until combined. Bring to a simmer. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add garlic, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onion, and the cooked bacon.
- Sprinkle flour over the ingredients and stir to combine. Tuck in the thyme sprigs.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the beef is tender.
- Remove thyme sprigs before serving. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
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