French

Serving

Bœuf Bourguignon

Name: Bœuf Bourguignon
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 9 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 3 lbs beef chuck (cut into 2-inch cubes); 1 bottle red wine (Pinot Noir); 1/2 lb bacon (diced); 1 lb pearl onions (peeled); 1 lb mushrooms (quartered); 4 carrots (sliced into 1-inch chunks); 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 cups beef stock

Burgundy's legendary beef stew — rich, wine-dark, and fall-apart tender after hours of slow braising with carrots, mushrooms, and thyme.

210 minutes

Serves 9

Main

74 min prep

116 min cook

No common allergens detected

Based on this recipe's ingredient list. Always verify with your own brands and labels.

Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

6 steps

1
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Fry the bacon in a large Dutch oven until crisp. Remove the bacon and leave the rendered fat.
2
Pat the beef dry, season with salt and pepper, and sear in the hot bacon fat in batches until deeply browned on all sides. Remove the beef and set aside.
3
Add the carrots and sliced onions to the pot, cooking until lightly browned. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to deepen its flavor.
4
Sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the vegetables, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the red wine and beef stock, scraping the bottom to deglaze.
5
Return the beef and bacon to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven to braise for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender.
6
In the last 15 minutes, sauté the pearl onions and mushrooms in butter until golden, and stir them into the stew before serving.

Bœuf Bourguignon — plated and served — Serving moment. How Bœuf Bourguignon looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

72/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 100

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 87

Pantry-friendly 33

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

565

Calories

52 g

Protein

10 g

Carbs

34 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Boeuf bourguignon began as a rustic dish from the Burgundy region of France, where cooks used the area's red wine to slowly tenderize tougher cuts of beef from working cattle. Julia Child's mid-20th-century adaptation introduced it to American kitchens and turned it into a benchmark French braise.

Listahan note

This version leans on a long, unhurried braise rather than shortcuts, because the wine and beef need real time together to build the dish's deep, glossy sauce.

Technique cues

Pat the beef completely dry and sear it in batches; crowding the pan steams the meat instead of browning it, and that browning is where most of the flavor comes from.
Use a wine you would actually drink, since a poor-quality bottle reduces into an equally poor-quality sauce.
Let the braise rest, covered, off the heat for 10 minutes before serving so the sauce settles and thickens slightly.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Render the bacon and sear the beef in batches while the oven preheats for the braise.
Make-ahead: This dish is famously better the next day; cook it a day ahead, refrigerate, and reheat gently before serving.
Leftover move: Toss leftover beef and sauce with wide egg noodles or over mashed potatoes for a quick second meal.
Cleanup rhythm: One Dutch oven handles searing, braising, and serving; deglaze it with a little water while still warm for easy cleanup.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Beef chuck

Main protein

Purpose: Its marbling and connective tissue break down over the long braise into a tender, sauce-thickening richness that leaner cuts cannot match.

Handling: Cut into even 2-inch cubes and pat completely dry before searing.

Adaptation: Beef brisket or short rib both braise well if chuck is unavailable.

Red wine (Pinot Noir)

Braising liquid and acid

Purpose: It tenderizes the beef while it cooks and reduces into the backbone of the sauce.

Handling: Simmer it briefly with the aromatics before adding the beef to cook off some of the raw alcohol edge.

Adaptation: Any dry, medium-bodied red works; avoid sweet wines, which throw off the balance.

Bacon

Fat and smoky depth

Purpose: Rendering it first provides the fat for searing the beef and leaves smoky little bits throughout the dish.

Handling: Dice it small and render slowly over medium heat until crisp, then set aside.

Adaptation: Pancetta is a milder, less smoky substitute.

Pearl onions and mushrooms

Aromatic vegetables

Purpose: They add sweetness and earthiness that balance the richness of the beef and wine.

Handling: Add the mushrooms partway through so they do not turn rubbery from overcooking.

Adaptation: Frozen pearl onions save peeling time with little difference in the final dish.

Tomato paste

Body and color

Purpose: A small amount deepens the sauce's color and rounds out its acidity.

Handling: Cook it briefly with the aromatics before adding liquid to mellow its raw taste.

Adaptation: None needed; it is used in a small enough amount that omitting it only slightly thins the sauce.

Technique notes

Searing in batches matters more here than almost any other step; a pale, steamed piece of beef never fully recovers its flavor later in the braise.
The braise is done when a fork slides into the beef with almost no resistance, usually 2.5 to 3 hours at a low oven temperature.
If the sauce is thinner than you would like after braising, simmer it uncovered on the stovetop for 10 minutes to reduce it further.

Ingredient swaps

Dairy-free direction: This dish is naturally dairy-free as written; just confirm the beef stock does not include butter.
Alcohol-free direction: Replace the wine with beef stock plus 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar for acidity, understanding the flavor will be noticeably lighter.
Weeknight shortcut: A pressure cooker can bring the braising time down to about 45 minutes at high pressure, though the sauce will need extra reducing afterward.

Serve alongside

Buttered egg noodles
Creamy mashed potatoes
Crusty baguette
Simple green salad
The same red Burgundy used in the dish
Sparkling water with lemon
A light Beaujolais

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days; the flavor improves after the first day.
Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally so the sauce does not scorch.
Freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Equipment

Heavy Dutch oven with a lid
Tongs for turning the beef while searing
Fine-mesh skimmer for any surface fat

Make this household-aware

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