This easy Beef Bourguignon recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy the classic French stew without spending hours in the kitchen. With just 20 minutes of prep and a handful of ingredients, you can make a beef bourguignon with meltingly tender beef, mushrooms, and a rich, flavorful red wine sauce.
Beef bourguignon has a reputation for being complicated and time-consuming to prepare, but it doesn’t have to be. This recipe is remarkably simple, and the results are impressive enough for a dinner party. I’ve served it to guests many times.
An Easy Traditional Boeuf Bourguignon Recipe
This beef bourguignon recipe comes from I Know How to Cook, a classic French cookbook by Ginette Mathiot. First published in 1932 as a resource for young French housewives, the book quickly became a bestseller in France and is often referred to as "the bible of French home cooking."
It's filled with traditional, unfussy recipes that capture the spirit of French home cooking, including this remarkably simple and delicious boeuf bourguignon.
You Don't Always Have To Work Hard To Make Something Great
What I love about this recipe is how straightforward it is. Everything cooks in one pot, and you spend very little time in the kitchen. The end result is meltingly tender beef and mushrooms in a rich, savory red wine sauce. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a few good ingredients and such a simple cooking method.
Ingredients For Easy Beef Bourguignon
You don't need many ingredients to make a wonderful beef bourguignon. Here's what you'll need, along with a few tips:
- Beef chuck: Chuck is my favorite cut for beef stew. It's relatively inexpensive and it becomes wonderfully tender and flavorful when braised.
- Bacon: Adds a delicious smoky, savory flavor to the stew. You'll also use the rendered fat to brown the beef.
- Shallots: Shallots are sweeter and more delicate than onions, and they're wonderful in this dish.
- White or baby bella mushrooms: Both work well in this recipe. Baby bellas have a slightly richer, earthier flavor, but use whichever you prefer. Add them during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Dry red wine: A key ingredient in beef bourguignon. Choose a wine you'd enjoy drinking.
- Chicken or Beef Stock: I actually prefer chicken stock unless I have homemade beef stock on hand. I find most store-bought beef stocks taste artificial.
- Flour: Helps thicken the sauce.
- Herbs: Thyme, rosemary and bay leaf add wonderful flavor as the stew simmers.
How to make Easy Beef Bourguignon
I've made a few small adjustments to Ginette Mathiot's original recipe. The ingredients are the same, but I've added some details to the instructions, such as halving the shallots, slicing the mushrooms and patting the beef dry before browning. I also tested cooking the stew in the oven, which worked beautifully, so I've included that option.
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Follow the photos below for a quick look at the process. You'll find the complete instructions in the recipe card.
Like most stews, this boeuf bourguignon will be even better reheated the next day, once the flavors have had time to meld.
What to Serve With Beef Bourguignon
You'll definitely want something to soak up that delicious red wine sauce. Mashed potatoes are a wonderful choice, as are boiled potatoes or a good loaf of crusty bread.
I also love serving a bright green salad with a citrusy vinaigrette alongside a rich, hearty stew like this one.
On a Personal Note
Perhaps the most famous beef bourguignon recipe is Julia Child's, from her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I absolutely love her version, even though it takes the better part of a day to prepare. I've made it many times over the decades and, along the way, figured out how to simplify the process without sacrificing what makes it so special. You might also enjoy trying my simplified version of Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon.
So I thought I'd found a pretty easy way to make beef bourguignon — until I discovered Ginette Mathiot's recipe! I never imagined making beef bourguignon could be this easy. It's an entirely different approach to this iconic French dish, and both versions are wonderful in their own way.
Lisa
If you try this Easy Beef Bourguignon recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
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Easy Beef Bourguignon
- Total Time: 2 hours 50 min
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
This easy beef bourguignon recipe takes just 20 minutes to prep and then simmers away on the stove or in the oven. The end result is meltingly tender beef and mushrooms in a rich red wine sauce — simple enough to make on a lazy Sunday, special enough to serve at a fancy dinner party.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (canola, light olive oil...)
- 1 ¾ pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes and patted dry (Moist meat doesn't brown well)
- 8 ounces bacon, sliced crosswise
- 8 ounces shallots, peeled and halved through the root
- 1 ¼ cups red wine (see notes below)
- 1 ¼ cups stock (chicken or beef), heated, plus more, if needed, to thin the sauce.
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Bouquet garni: 1 dried bay leaf, 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme, 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary (See notes below)
- 8 ounces white or baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Instructions
- In a large heavy stew pot or Dutch oven, with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots and bacon until browned (5 min) and transfer them to a plate.
- Brown the beef, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour over the beef and cook, stirring, until brown (1 min).
- Pour in the hot stock and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Return the bacon and shallots to the pot, along with the wine and bouquet garni. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently on the stovetop for 2 hours, or transfer the covered pot to a preheated 325°F oven for 2 hours.
- Stir the mushrooms into the stew and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes more, on the stove or in the oven. If necessary, thin the sauce by adding additional stock or water.
- Serve hot with crusty bread or mashed potatoes, and enjoy!
Notes
- Which wine is best for boeuf bourguignon? Choose a wine that you would enjoy drinking. A red Burgundy or another Pinot Noir is a great choice, but any good quality dry red wine will work.
- How To Make A Bouquet Garni: A bouquet garni is a few sprigs of fresh herbs tied together with kitchen twine or wrapped in a cheesecloth bag. It infuses the stew with flavor as it cooks and can be easily removed at the end. For this stew, I suggest you use one dried bay leaf, three large sprigs of fresh thyme and one large sprig of fresh rosemary.
- Make ahead: This beef bourguignon tastes even better when made ahead, giving the flavors time to meld. You can make it a few hours ahead or, even better, the day before. If making it the day before, let it cool, refrigerate in a covered container, and gently reheat before serving.
- Nutrition Disclaimer: We do our best to provide accurate nutrition values using an online nutrition calculator however our nutrition information should only be used as an approximation.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 min
- Category: Stew
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: French
Another winning recipe! We used Ell meat!
Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Printed recipe got over 60 pages no inp.
pressed recipe got 0ver 60 pages of no importance. last the recipe. not happy
I'm so sorry that happened to you Dorothy. I just tried to print it myself and it was just 1 page with the recipe. I wonder what went wrong for you? Did you press the "print" button towards the top of the recipe? That should format the recipe so it prints out onto one page - sometimes two - but never more than that.
I was wondering if anyone has tried this recipe in a crock-pot? It looks fantastic
Hi Kat. I haven't tried it in a crockpot. I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone has. I bet it would work well!
Most recipes call for a few cloves of garlic, also most call for tomato paste to be used as well. I was wondering about your opinion about that. Thank you
Hi Paul - that's an interesting observation. I just checked my other beef bourguignon recipe, which is a Julia Child recipe, and there is in fact a bit of garlic and a bit of tomato paste. What I'll say is, this beef bourguignon recipe works beautifully without those two ingredients. There are plenty of other ingredients that bring rich flavor to the dish - the shallots and mushrooms, herbs and wine. It's a wonderfully simple recipe with delicious results. If you're skeptical you can add a bit of garlic and tomato paste.
I've tried many recipes for boeuf Bourguignon using my slow cooker. It works great, but with a slow cooker you will have to thicken the sauce after the cooking is done. When I cook this dish in a Dutch oven, I usually don't have to thicken the sauce.
This is a great and "quick" braising recipe. It was delicious served over mashed potatoes. Will definitely make again! Thanks, Lisa, for your carefully explained and delicious recipes.
Hi Paula - I'm glad the recipe was quick (as I promised) and very happy to hear that it was delicious! 🙂
I was skeptical that a recipe this easy could be good but WOW, was this ever delicious!
Incredible. I used beef stock. Came out great!
Hi Brian - I'm so glad you enjoyed!