Hearty Beef Stew with Red Wine is made with chunks of beef chuck and vegetables stewed in a silky and rich red wine sauce, until meltingly tender and outrageously delicious. This crowd-pleasing red wine beef stew recipe is the perfect comfort food dish to enjoy during cold winter nights. Stove top/oven and slow cooker instructions provided!
The Best Beef Stew with Red Wine
This beef stew with red wine recipe is similar in taste to the classic French beef stew, aka beef bourguignon, made famous in America by the fabulous Julia Child.
However, the prep and cooking process of this beef stew recipe is a lot less labor intense than the famous French boeuf bourguignon, yet delivers the same meaty, rich and intensely flavored taste of the classic beef stew recipe.
Red Wine Beef Stew Flavor Profile
Braised, fork-tender bite-sized pieces of stew meat, glassy pearl onions, tender carrots, meaty mushrooms and sweet peas bathed in a flavorful and rich beefy gravy.
Why You’ll Love This Stew
- Make Ahead: This is one of those great recipes that taste better the next day. Excellent for meal prep or to serve during the holidays when time is limited.
- Simple Ingredients: Beef stew meat, carrots, onion, mushrooms, peas, tomato paste, beef broth and a bottle of wine are the main ingredients in this easy beef stew recipe.
- Impress your Guests: This classic French recipe for burgundy beef stew may be comfort food at its finest, but it also has a wow factor!
What You’ll Need
The Best Beef Cuts for Stew
Using the right cut of beef is essential when braising or stewing meat low and slow. The best beef cuts for beef stew are lean and have lots of collagen-rich connective tissue and a good amount of fat marbling for rich flavor. Tough cuts like beef chuck and round are perfect for stewing.
I prefer to stay away from meat sold as “stew meat”. Although convenient, these shrink wrapped packages are filled with a mismatch of trimmings from different parts of the animal. This means that you are getting beef with different levels of tenderness and fat content.
Check the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
- Beef: For this easy recipe, I use beef chuck roast cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Wine: The best red wine is not necessarily the most expensive. Use any dry red wine that you think is good enough to drink. Pinot Noir, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon are all good options
- Onion: Chopped onion and frozen pearl onions.
- Mushrooms: You can use white button mushrooms, crimini or baby bellas.
- Peas: I use frozen peas as they are available year round.
- Tomato Paste: For convenience, I keep tubes of tomato paste in my fridge at all times. This ingredient adds flavor and color to the dish.
- Flour: This ingredient helps to thicken the beefy sauce turning it into a luscious, rich gravy. All purpose flour or gluten-free flour can be used.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are a must!
- Oil: Olive oil or any other mild cooking oil can be used.
- Beef Broth: Good quality store-bought beef broth is usually what I have at home. If you have homemade beef stock, even better. In a pinch, chicken broth can be used. Use low sodium beef broth, if preferred.
- Herbs: Bay leaves and fresh thyme. Dried thyme can be used as well. Fresh parsley chopped is used as garnish (optional).
- Seasonings: Kosher salt or sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Butter: I usually use unsalted butter, but if you have salted butter at home, you can use that as well.
How to Make the Best Beef Stew?
For detailed instructions and cooking times, check the recipe card below.
- Prep: Preheat the oven.
- Season: Pat dry the beef pieces with paper towels. Place the meat in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to coat.
- Sear: In a large oven safe pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Brown the beef. in batches, then transfer to a plate.
- Sauté: Next, stir in the onions and carrots and sauté until the onions become translucent. Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic.
- Deglaze: Add the red wine and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add: Stir in the tomato paste and then return the browned beef to the pot with any collected juices. Stir in the broth, thyme and bay leaves.
- Cook: Place the pot in the oven, covered and cook until the beef is tender. Remove from the oven.
- Sauté mushrooms: In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are lightly brown. Remove from the heat.
- Finish and serve: Stir in mushrooms, whole onions and frozen peas to the stew. Stir to combine. Return the pot to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and adjust the seasoning. Serve.
How to Make Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker?
- When cooking the beef stew in the slow cooker you must brown your beef and vegetables before adding them to the crock pot.
- You can use a cast iron skillet to get a good sear on the beef.
- I like to deglaze the pot/skillet where the beef was seared with wine to take advantage of all the flavor built up at the bottom.
- Transfer the beef, vegetables and wine to the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, adding the mushrooms and onions one hour before the stew is done.
How Can I Make this Beef Stew Recipe without Wine?
If you don’t want to use wine in this recipe, replace it with the same amount of beef broth and turn it into the best old fashioned beef stew!
Is Beef Stew Better with Red Wine?
I think beef stew is delicious with or without using wine. This recipe is similar to French beef stew aka beef burgundy or beef bourguignon which uses dry red wine to enhance the rich flavor of the dish.
What Wine is Best for Beef Stew?
The best wine for beef stew is any dry red wine that you think is good enough to drink. Pinot Noir, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon are all good options
Making Ahead, Storage, Freezing and Reheating
Can Beef Stew Be Made Ahead?
Yes, beef stew is one of those dishes that taste better the day after it is made. This tasty beef stew can be made 1-2 days ahead of time. Cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Store Leftover Stew?
To store leftovers, cool the stew completely before transferring it to an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Can you Freeze Beef Stew?
Yes! Stew freezes well and will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer. Make sure you store it properly in an airtight container or in a freezer safe resealable bag. Defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. I like to store smaller portions in resealable bags which can be thawed out for individual lunches.
How to Reheat Stew?
To reheat leftovers, preheat the oven to 325º Fahrenheit. While the oven heats up, remove your stew from the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Heat in the oven, covered until heated through. You can add a bit of broth if the stew got too thick.
Reheat on the stovetop, over medium-low heat, until hot. You can also reheat beef stew in the microwave covered until warm through.
What Do You Serve Stew with?
This stew is a meal on its own although a piece of crusty bread or Soft Dinner Rolls to soak up the rich gravy is always a good idea. Serve it over mashed potatoes, rice or even noodles. Some veggie sides like Sauteed Green Beans also pair well with this tasty dish.
Beef Stew Tips for Success
- Browning the beef before braising adds an extra layer of flavor to the dish.
- You can swap ingredients to your taste. For example, if you don’t like mushrooms, skip them. Add potatoes for the absolute best old-fashioned beef stew with wine!
- Don’t use expensive cuts of meat for this recipe. The best cuts of beef for stews are tough cuts like chuck roast and round that can be braised long and slow.
Beef Stew in Red Wine
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (plus more if needed)
- 2 medium onions, chopped (yellow or brown onions)
- 4 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
- 2 cups dry red wine (cabernet, merlot or pinot noir work well)
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth, plus more if needed (chicken broth can be used)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 ounces mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thick (white mushrooms, baby bellas or cremini)
- 8 ounces frozen peas
- 6-8 ounces frozen whole pearl onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
- Pat dry the beef pieces with paper towels. Place the beef in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to coat. (see notes)
- In a large Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sear the beef for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown on all sides (you will have to sear the meat in batches, not to overcrowd the pot). Transfer the seared meat to a plate and set aside. Add the remaining oil and continue searing the meat until all the beef is browned. Add additional oil, if needed.
- Lower the heat to medium and stir in the onions and carrots. Sauté stirring often until the onions become translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute.
- Add the red wine and bring to a boil scrapping the bottom of the pan to release the brown bits. Cook for about 5 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste and return the beef to the pot with any collected juices. Stir in broth, adding enough to cover the meat. Stir in the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
- Cover the pot or Dutch oven and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat becomes tender, about 1 1/4 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in mushrooms, pearl onions and frozen peas to the stew. If the stew is too thick, add additional broth until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. Return the pot to the oven and cook, covered for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and adjust seasoning. Discard bay leaves and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve.
To Cook in the Crock Pot:
- After adding the tomato paste to the vegetable – wine mixture, place the seared beef cubes into the crockpot. Pour the vegetable-wine mixture over the beef and mix well to combine. Add enough broth to cover the beef. Cook on low for 6 hours.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are lightly brown. Remove from the heat.
- Add the mushrooms, whole onions and peas to the crockpot. Stir to combine and cook on low for 1 hour.
Recipe Notes
- Don’t toss the beef with the flour until you are ready to brown the meat.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Browning the beef before braising it adds an extra layer of flavor to the dish.
- You can swap ingredients to your taste. For example, if you don’t like mushrooms, skip them. Add potatoes for the absolute best old-fashioned beef stew with wine!
- Don’t use expensive cuts of meat for this recipe. The best cuts of beef for stews are tough cuts like chuck roast and round that can be braised long and slow.
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