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This Beef Bourguignon recipe is filled with rich, red wine gravy and tender cuts of meat for a mouthwatering meal. My simple take on the French classic.
I’ve loved this French classic, Beef Bourguignon, in so many restaurants in France over the years, I really wanted to create a version of my own that was simple but every bit as delicious.
We all love a classic beef stew but this recipe uses plenty of red wine (and plenty of time!) to make a really decadent dish.
We’ve tested this recipe multiple times to find a balance between convenience and keeping the classic flavours. Some recipes soak the beef in the wine, we found that the extra time needed for this didn’t really result in a huge difference in flavours, so we’ve left this step out to make your life a little easier.
Enjoy!
Why you’ll love this Beef Bourguignon recipe
⭐️ Perfect for cooking in the oven or slow cooker
⭐️ A few shortcuts to make this really easy to prepare at home
⭐️ Great for freezing leftovers or batch cooking
Beef Bourguignon Ingredients
- Beef – This recipe uses braising steak (or braising beef), which is any kind of beef that is suited to long, slow cooking. This includes chuck, skirt, leg and flank. I sometimes use beef shin for these recipes. It can be more fatty though, but is super tasty.
- Bacon lardons – I use smoked for this recipe as they really add to the flavour.
- Pearl onions – I use frozen ones. They can be a little tricky to find so you can always use peeled shallots instead, or if you want to skip peeling lots of tiny onions you could use 2 normal onions and cut them in to 8 wedges each.
- Carrots – Peel and chop into large chunks so they keep some of their ‘bite’.
- Other veggies – Garlic and button mushrooms.
- Gravy – This is made up of red wine and beef stock. We’re also adding a little tomato puree.
- Herbs – We’re using plenty of dried thyme here and fresh parsley to serve.
- Flour – A little plain flour for the oven method, or cornflour for the slow cooker method if it needs thickening at the end. PLEASE NOTE that cornflour in the UK is NOT the same as it in the US! There it’s known as ‘corn starch’. Corn flour in the US is something different (the same as cornmeal in the UK), so please don’t use this.
How to make Beef Bourguignon
1. Brown the chunks of beef and bacon lardons in oil in a suitable pan or casserole dish and remove (as per the full recipe below).
2. Add in the rest of the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes, stirring well to loosen the meat flavour from the bottom.
3. Add the flour for a minute or two, then the meat back in, followed by the liquid ingredients. Pop the lid on and cook according to the recipe below.
4. Thicken a little if necessary. Stir and serve.
How to make a ‘slurry’
If you’re cooking this dish in the slow cooker, the sauce may be a little thin. Making up a slurry is a trick to thicken the sauce, but without ending up with floury lumps.
First you add cornflour (called ‘corn starch’ in the US) to a small bowl, mug or jug, then use a little liquid from a dish (a spoonful or two) to mix the cornflour into a paste consistency. Add that back into the dish’s sauce.
If you just sprinkle cornflour straight into the dish, it will form lumps that are almost impossible to get rid of. I promise this step is worth the extra dirty bowl!
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully covered in the oven, microwave, or on the hob before serving.
In the freezer This is good to freeze for up to 3 months and reheat on the hob before you serve it again. The sauce will thicken even more on reheating, so just add a splash of water if you would like more gravy.
Recipe Tip
Be sure to dry your beef pieces with kitchen paper before frying.
This will mean that they brown more easily in the pan.
Serve this with…
Side Dishes
Colcannon
Side Dishes
Boulangère Potatoes
Side Dishes
How to Cook Couscous
Side Dishes
Easy Cauliflower Cheese
FAQs
As with most of my recipes, I will say you could leave this stage out if you want to simplify, however for this one I would say it does add some flavour and it seems a shame to make something a little special like this (that involves using up wine!) and not doing it properly. It’s up to you though.
If you’re cooking this in the oven, a big one that will fit everything in and also go in the oven! I used a large ‘safe for hob and oven’ casserole dish as I could transfer straight into the oven.
I recently tasked myself with trying out a variety of one-pan pans in a quest to find out which ones were up to the important job of making an all-in-one meal. Read my pan review here. I hope it helps!
In the UK a beef stew (or any type of stew) is usually cooked on the stove top in a lidded saucepan, whereas a casserole (in the UK at least) tends to be a similar dish, but cooked in the oven in a lidded saucepan.
Beef Bourguignon is the name of a classic French beef stew, made using slow cooked beef and red wine.
The Morphy Richards Sear & Stew Slow Cooker is my all-time favourite because you can use it for initial browning on the hob and it’s really light.
I wrote up a whole slow cooker review though, where you might find another one to suit your needs. Have a read here.
Something along the same lines (special but easy) is my Beef Ragu or Marry Me Chicken recipe, Mushroom Wellington or Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
A great impressive side dish is my Boulangere Potatoes or Cauliflower Cheese!
For dessert, has to be my Slow Cooker Chocolate Orange Pudding or a no bake cheesecake.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Beef Bourguignon {Oven & Slow Cooker}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) Braising beef
- 200 g (7 oz) Smoked bacon lardons
- 4 Garlic cloves, Peeled and crushed
- 450 g (16 oz) Pearl onions, I use frozen
- 5 Large carrots, Peeled, trimmed and cut into big chunks
- 400 g (14 oz) Button mushrooms
- 2 tbsp Plain flour, ONLY for the oven method
- 400 ml (1.75 cups) Red wine
- 350 ml (1.5 cups) Beef stock
- 2 tbsp Dried thyme
- 3 tbsp Tomato puree
- Salt and pepper, Season generously
- 3 tbsp Cornflour, For the slow cooker method
- Chopped fresh parsley, To serve
Instructions
To cook in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 150℃ fan/170℃/Gas Mark 2/300F.
- Heat the oil over a medium heat and brown the beef and bacon. Remove from the pan but keep the bits in stuck to the bottom for flavour.
- Add the garlic, onions, carrots and mushrooms to the pan and stir for about 5 minutes to loosen the bits of the bottom from browning the meat.
- Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes more.
- Add the bacon and beef back into the pan along with the red wine, beef stock, dried thyme, tomato puree and some salt and pepper. Put the lid on and cook in the oven for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until the beef is tender.
- Remove the lid for the last half an hour of cooking to help the sauce thicken up. Serve scattered with the chopped parsley.
To cook in the slow cooker:
- Brown your beef and bacon in the slow cooker pan (if yours allows it) OR use a pan on the hob.
- Add all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on LOW, until the beef is tender.
- With half an hour of cooking time left, mix the cornflour with a little of the sauce and stir in. Leave to cook with the lid on for 30 mins to thicken the sauce. Serve scattered with the chopped parsley.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This recipe was first published here on October 14th, 2018 and was fully updated with a new and improved recipe on January 8th, 2026, including step-by-step videos.
This post was originally published on January 8, 2026 and updated later to make improvements.
What would be the best way to re heat this? I’ve made it in advance but won’t be eating it until tomorrow. Would it reheat in the oven in the same pan?
Beef Bourguignon…best slow cooker meal I’ve ever made! My partner gave it 10/10. Thank you! Definitely recommend. Lovely flavour. I did cook for much longer than the recommended time but in a slow cooker that’s often the way.
Beef Bourguignon…best slow cooker meal I’ve ever made! My partner gave it 10/10. Thank you! Definitely recommend. Lovely flavour. I did cook for much longer than the recommended time but in a slow cooker that’s often the way.
Excellent recipe! Making it today for the second time in a week, so easy in the slow cooker
I don’t do recipes,I always pick ones that are mediocre and not with the effort. I’m amazed this was fabulous. I used frozen onions and chestnut mushrooms. The only thing I would say is,I oven cooked mine and it took twice as ling as stated. when i put it in,the sheer quantity of it,i thought 1 1/2 hrs can’t be right. It wasn’t. Has anyone else had this problem? I darent put it in the slow cooker in case it doesn’t taste as good,as it was amazing.
Made this in the slow cooker (Morphy Richards sear and stew) following the instructions precisely but the sauce didn’t thicken even with the cornflour, I had to siphon off the liquid and cook it on the hob to thicken it. Once I did that it tasted good although the meat and veg weren’t quite as tender as I’d hoped from the slow cooking.
Beef wasn’t as tender as I had hoped it was a bit chewey, Carrots were rock hard – perhaps my version of chunky was too chunky? I cooked it in the oven as my slow cooker was too small. Could it be cooked lower and slower in the oven?
Thanks Sarah, always a wonderful way to start a Sunday knowing dinner is cooking whilst you’re out and the slow cooker will have the house smelling AMAZING!! Lotsa luv. Sid
Aw, I hope you enjoyed it Sid!
Beef Bourguignon…best slow cooker meal I’ve ever made! My partner gave it 10/10. Thank you! Definitely recommend. Lovely flavour. I did cook for much longer than the recommended time but in a slow cooker that’s often the way.
Ok, I made the oven version in a simple pot on the stove, and it is the best thing we’ve ever eaten…I also replaced the vien with red grape juice as my husband doesn’t drink alcohol, and it is still amazing. Thank you!