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Beef Bourguignon, a rustic French pot roast, is prepared low and slow in the oven. Tender chunks of beef simmer in a luscious red wine sauce with lots of vegetables and just a hint of smoky bacon.
Traditional Boeuf Bourguignon usually requires lots of steps and lots of stove time. This recipe makes things a little easier and browns the whole roast and shreds it later into luscious pieces of the most tender beef you’ve ever tasted.
I also take advantage of the bags of frozen pearl onions in the freezer aisle, which come pre-peeled so all you have to do is add them to the pot.
All-in, you’re only looking at about 30 minutes of active stove time. The oven’s low temperature takes care of the rest, and by the end of the afternoon, you’ll be ready for one of the best dinners ever.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Boneless beef chuck roast: A less expensive cut of beef that really shines with slow and low cooking. Shoulder roast or round roast is fine, too.
- Red wine: Bourguignon or “from Bourgogne” is usually made with a red Burgundy, aka Pinot Noir. I’ve also made this with Côtes du Rhône and a Beaujolais. Buy what you like to drink. Or, substitute more beef broth.
- Beef broth: I always keep a jar of “Better than Bouillon” beef base in the fridge, a paste which is similar to bullion cubes and you dissolve it in boiling water. You can substitute chicken broth, too.
- Pearl onions: Frozen pearl onions are already peeled and ready to eat; that means less work for you. Or, substitute ½ cup chopped onions.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides. In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, fry bacon until crisp. Transfer to a plate and crumble when cool. Reserve bacon fat for cooking beef and keep hot.
- Lay beef in a single layer in pot and fry in reserved bacon fat until well-browned on each side (work in batches if you have more than one roast).
- Transfer the beef to a plate. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add beef broth, tomato paste, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced.
- Return the beef and bacon to the pot. Add carrots, mushrooms, and frozen onions.
- Cover and bake for 3 and ½ hours, turning the beef in the pot every 30 minutes.
- Transfer the beef to a cutting board and break into chunks, then return to pot.
- Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the vegetables over mashed potatoes.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: A 4-pound roast makes 10 to 12 hearty servings of Beef Bourguignon.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The flavor of Beef Bourguignon improves if you make it a day ahead. Let the dish cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat gently on the stove, using more broth or a splash of wine. Or reheat in a slow cooker for 3 to 4 hours on HIGH.
- Freezing: This recipe freezes really well. Label, date, and enjoy within 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Browning the beef: If you run out of bacon grease while browning the meat, just add some olive oil to keep things going.
- Browning the vegetables: In Julia Childs’ famous version of Boeuf Bourguignon, she browns the vegetables in the bacon fat after she browns the beef (before stirring in the garlic and deglazing the pan).
- Check the liquid in the pot: All Dutch ovens and ovens are different, so if the braising juices run low while baking, add a little extra wine or broth to keep things from drying out.
Recipe FAQs
Beef Bourguignon is a type of beef stew that contains wine “from Bourgogne,” or a Burgundy wine. Beef stew is similar but either contains no wine, or it doesn’t contain the exact type of wine to make it “bourguignon.”
Use a less expensive cut of beef such as boneless beef chuck roast, shoulder roast, or round roast. These tough cuts become ultra-tender with a low-and-slow roast in the oven.
Beef Bourguignon or “from Bourgogne” is usually made with a red Burgundy such as Pinot Noir.
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Beef Bourguignon
Ingredients
- 1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices bacon (about 4 ounces)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup red wine (see note 2)
- 2 cups beef broth (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- 4 large carrots peeled and cut oblique
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms halved
- 1/2 cup frozen pearl onions (4 ounces, see note 4)
- Mashed potatoes or buttered noodles, rice, or boiled potatoes for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.
- In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, fry bacon until crisp. Transfer to a plate and crumble when cool. Reserve bacon fat for cooking beef and keep hot.
- Lay beef in a single layer in pot and fry in reserved bacon fat until well-browned on each side (work in batches if you have more than one roast). Transfer the beef to a plate.
- Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add beef broth, tomato paste, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced.
- Return the beef and bacon to the pot. Add carrots, mushrooms, and frozen onions. Cover and bake for 3 and ½ hours, turning the beef in the pot every 30 minutes.
- Transfer the beef to a cutting board and break into chunks, then return to pot. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the vegetables over mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Boneless beef chuck roast: A less expensive cut of beef that really shines with slow and low cooking. Shoulder roast or round roast is fine, too.
- Red wine: Bourguignon or “from Bourgogne” is usually made with a red Burgundy, aka Pinot Noir. I’ve also made this with Côtes du Rhône and a Beaujolais. Buy what you like to drink. Or, substitute more beef broth.
- Beef broth: I always keep a jar of “Better than Bouillon” beef base in the fridge, a paste which is similar to bullion cubes and you dissolve it in boiling water. You can substitute chicken broth, too.
- Pearl onions: Frozen pearl onions are already peeled and ready to eat; that means less work for you. Or, substitute ½ cup chopped onions.
- Yield: A 4-pound roast makes 10 to 12 hearty servings of Beef Bourguignon.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The flavor of Beef Bourguignon improves if you make it a day ahead. Let the dish cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat gently on the stove, using more broth or a splash of wine. Or reheat in a slow cooker for 3 to 4 hours on HIGH.
- Freezing: This recipe freezes really well. Label, date, and enjoy within 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Good flavor, but cook time is inaccurate. My 4 lb roast has been in the oven for the past 4 hours and is still too tough to eat.
Hi David, thank you so much for your comment, I’m sorry your roast is taking longer to cook. My team and myself have made this recipe many times and it’s cooked close to the 3 1/2 hour mark. Your roast may be larger than the 3-4 pound ones we used, or it may be that ovens tend to vary with their temperatures. I recommend and use an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is preheated well and to the right temperature. I am glad you enjoyed the flavor and I’m sorry again! – Meggan
This looks amazing! Will this recipe work in a slow cooker (crock pot)?
I appreciate your help. By the way, the beef barley was tasty and a hit. Thanks so much.
Have a terrific holiday season, and I hope to hear from you.
Diane
Best beef roast recipe ever!! Never had a recipe say to turn the roast but that seems to do the trick for tender every time. Definitely a keeper!
Glad you love it, Bonnie! Take care! – Meggan
This sounds delicious. In your estimation, is there any chance the recipe could be adapted to the Duo Evo Plus Instant Pot?
Hi Pam, yes absolutely 100%. Here’s an overview, but please refer to the original recipe for all exact details (i.e., make sure you season the beef even though I’m not stating it here; I’m just listing the steps related to the IP).
1. Start by browning the bacon using the Saute function. Then, remove the bacon and brown the beef in the rendered bacon fat. You might need to cut the beef into smaller pieces to fit it, and you might have to do it in batches. Depends on the size of your IP.
2. Take out the browned beef, then stir in the garlic. Pour in the wine to deglaze. Add beef broth, tomato paste, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced.
3. Add the bacon, beef, carrots, mushrooms, and frozen onions. Cover and lock the pot. To cook, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and set it to cook for 60 minutes. When finished, let the steam pressure release naturally, about 15 minutes.
4. When the valve drops, unseal the top of the pot. Take out the beef and vegetables. Shred the beef and serve the beef, sauce, and vegetables over buttered noodles (or mashed potatoes or whatever you want).
I hope this helps! If you have any questions let me know. We will post an instant pot version when we get a chance so the recipe is ready and waiting for you in the future. Thank you! -Meggan