Tender bites of seared beef and crispy bacon are slow-cooked with fresh veggies in this easy Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon recipe! Flavored with garlic, red wine, tomato paste and more, get ready for a new weeknight favorite!
If you enjoyed this hearty beef dinner, try my Balsamic Braised Beef Short Ribs or my Instant Pot Mongolian Beef next!
Easy Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Whoever coined the phrase “good things come to those who wait” must have had a slow cooker. You just can’t beat a hands-off meal that tastes like you fussed over it all day! This flavor-packed beef bourguignon is a cozy, comforting family dinner that keeps everyone reaching for more.
The veggies get so nice and tender, the bacon stays crispy and the beef is seasoned and browned to perfection. The wine adds a nice rich flavor to your meat, which is what this dish is famous for!
And don’t worry about the end result being alcoholic – the lengthy cooking process allows most of the alcohol to evaporate, leaving only the zingy flavors behind! Even if you were to eat the entire pot (not recommended, but tempting), you would not be affected by the alcohol. It’s totally safe for kids and completely delicious!
What is Beef Bourguignon?
Also known as beef burgundy, beef bourguignon is a wholesome beef stew that’s braised in red wine and beef stock. It’s usually cooked with bacon, onions, garlic, carrots and a bouquet of fresh herbs, then garnished with pearl onions and mushrooms. This recipe makes a classic beef bourguignon that gives Julia Child a run for her money!
Recipe Ingredients
This dish may have a good number of ingredients, but they’re all thrown into the same pot – a.k.a. the slow cooker. The more the merrier, I say! Bring on the flavor.
- Olive Oil: For searing the meat.
- Beef: Diced into 1-2 inch cubes and patted dry.
- Salt & Pepper: To season the beef.
- Bacon: Diced.
- Thyme: You’ll need 1 bunch, tied with cooking string.
- Onion: Roughly chopped.
- Garlic: About 2 cloves, minced.
- Red Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, etc. If you choose to omit this, that’s fine – just substitute with beef stock or beef broth, which will also add richness and depth.
- Beef Stock: Also called bouillon.
- Tomato Paste: From the tube.
- Carrots: Chopped into 1 inch cubes.
- Mushrooms: Cremini or baby bella, halved.
- Pearl Onions: You’ll need 10 ounces.
- Flat Leaf Parsley: To garnish.
- Cornstarch & Water (Optional): If you want a thicker stew.
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What Kind of Beef Should I Use?
Certain cuts of meat are better suited for slow cooker beef bourguignon than others. Here are a few different options I’ve had success with:
- Top Sirloin: I find that top sirloin has the best flavor. I buy it whole instead of in pre-cut cubes so I can determine the size I want.
- Lean Stew Beef: Sometimes this comes pre-cut, which is nice if you’d like to minimize the prep time.
- Brisket: This will give you a stronger beef taste.
- Chuck Roast: Keep in mind that if you use a thicker cut of beef like this one, you’ll need to cook the bourguignon a little longer.
How to Make Beef Bourguignon in the Slow Cooker
Perhaps the best part about this hearty dinner is how easy it is to make! The cooking process starts off on the stove, but the slow cooker performs all the heavy lifting.
- Season Beef: Pat the meat dry and season it with salt and pepper.
- Sear Beef: Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add olive oil to the pan, then add the beef and sear it on each side for 2-3 minutes, until slightly browned. Put the seared meat in the slow cooker.
- Sauté Bacon: Add the bacon to the skillet and sauté it until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, add it to the slow cooker.
- Sauté Onions & Garlic: Add the onions and garlic to the skillet. Sauté until the onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes, then add them to the slow cooker.
- Add Wine to Skillet: Next, add the red wine to your hot skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add Beef Stock & Tomato Paste: Add the beef stock and tomato paste to the pan. Whisk the mixture together and continue to scrape the pan until everything is removed.
- Add Thyme & Veggies to Slow Cooker: Add the bundle of thyme to your slow cooker along with the carrots, mushrooms and pear onions.
- Add Wine Mixture & Stir: Pour the red wine mixture into the slow cooker. Gently stir and cover.
- Cook: Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender.
- Enjoy! Garnish the dish with flat leaf parsley or additional thyme and serve.
Tips for Success
These simple tips will have you cooking up slow cooker beef bourguignon like a pro. As the French say, bon appetit!
- Dry the Meat Well: Be sure to pat your meat dry with a paper towel before seasoning and searing it. This helps it brown properly.
- Use the Right Wine: Typically, beef bourguignon is made with a burgundy red wine such as Pinot Noir or Gamay. I prefer Pinot Noir because it’s a little more fruity, but I also like using Cabernet Sauvignon. The key is selecting a bottle of wine that you wouldn’t mind drinking.
- Tie the Thyme: Tieing up your thyme helps the flavors really infuse into the dish, making everything more delicious. Plus, it prevents unwanted portions of the bunch from drifting off into your stew!
- Scrape the Pan: Those little brown bits on the bottom of your pan? Don’t let them go to waste! Scrape them up into the wine mixture and enjoy the explosion of flavor they’ll provide to this dish.
- Thicken the Sauce if Desired: If the sauce isn’t thick enough for you, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or arrowroot) and 1 tablespoon of water to a small bowl. Mix until the dry ingredients are dissolved and stir the mixture into the sauce. Cook for 5 minutes and serve.
Serving Suggestions
Need some easy dishes that are yummy enough to be served in conjunction with this beefy masterpiece? The following recipes go particularly well with beef bourguignon.
- Serve Over Mashed Potatoes: Man does this stew taste like heaven in a bowl with some creamy mashed potatoes. Prepare to be amazed when you pair it with these Parsnip Garlic Mashed Potatoes or my Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes!
- Pair with French Bread: A crock of this soup plus a fresh baguette – yes please! I like ripping off pieces of the fluffy, crunchy-crusted bread to use as a spoon for the soup. Tasty and efficient!
- Serve Over Spaghetti: Or even better, over this Parmesan Herb Spaghetti Squash! Another win for comfort food.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Leftover beef bourguignon will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days, if stored properly. Once cooled, transfer the stew to an airtight container or a plastic bag with all the air squeezed out.
Reheating can be done in the slow cooker on low for about 4 hours. If you’d like to warm up your leftovers faster than that, you can reheat the stew in a pot over a low-heat burner. Stir it often until warmed through, about 15 minutes.
Can I Freeze This?
Yes, you can freeze beef bourguignon if you’d like. Just place it in a freezer-safe storage bag once it has cooled, then freeze it for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before reheating it as instructed above.
Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: French
Description
Tender bites of seared beef and crispy bacon are slow-cooked with fresh veggies in this easy Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon recipe! Flavored with garlic, red wine, tomato paste and more, get ready for a new weeknight favorite!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 lbs. of lean chuck roast or top sirloin, diced into 1–2” cubes, patted dry
- salt & pepper to season
- 4 strips of bacon, diced
- 1 bunch of thyme (tied with cooking string)
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups red wine (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, bordeaux, pinot noir)
- 1 cup beef stock
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (from the tube)
- 4 carrots, chopped into 1” cubes
- 16 oz. mushrooms (cremini or baby bella), halved
- 10 oz. pearl onions
- garnish with flat leaf parsley
- optional: 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or arrowroot) and 1 tablespoon of water
Instructions
- Pat meat dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add olive oil to the pan. Then add meat and sear each side for 2-3 minutes until it is slightly browned. Put seared meat in the slow cooker.
- Add bacon to the skillet. Saute until browned. About 3-4 minutes. Add bacon to the slow cooker.
- Next add onions and garlic to skillet. Saute until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add onions to slow cooker.
- Next, add red wine to hot skillet. Using a wooden spoon, scrap all the brown bits of the bottom of the pan. Add in the beef stock and tomato paste to pan, whisk together and continue to scrap the pan until everything is removed.
- Add bundle of thyme to slow cooker along with carrots, mushrooms, and pear onions. Pour red wine mixture into the slow cooker. Gently stir and cover.
- Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender.
- Garnish with additional thyme or flat leaf parsley.
- Serve!
Notes
If the sauce is not thick enough, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or arrowroot) along with 1 tablespoon of water to a small bowl. Mix together until the dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir that mixture into the sauce and let cook for 5 minutes. Serve.
Makes 8-10 servings.
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More Beef Dinners to Try
Beef can be cooked and served in countless delicious ways. These easy recipes are just a few examples!
- Spicy Kung Pao Beef Noodles
- Grilled Beef Kabobs with Avocado Cucumber Tzatziki
- Easy Instant Pot Beef Barbacoa
49 comments on “Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon”
Hello! I am planning to make this delicious sounding recipe in a couple of days and was wondering if I can make it the day before, refrigerate it and place it in the crock pot the next morning after reaching room temperature.
Yes, absolutely! The longer these flavors cook together the better. I think it’s better on the second day personally!
Hello! Are the pearl onions used in this recipe ones from a jar?
No I use frozen pearl onions.
Way too sour – maybe too much wine ?
3 cups seemed like a lot – almost an entire bottle. I used a nice Pinot Noir.
Not a family favourite
Won’t make it again….
Oh no. That’s what classic beef bourguignon calls for. If you want it more beefy you could use 2 cups of wine and 2 cups of beef stock.
OMG Chef is my absolute fav ‘foodie’ movie! The grill cheese scene…never has grill cheese looked so sexy! LOL Julie & Julia is definitely a close second on the ‘foodie’ film list!
Thanks for this recipe….can’t wait to try it! Things are starting to cool off here in Ontario, CA next week (still in the low- to mid-twenties at the moment) so this is definitely going on the menu in the next couple weeks!
hahaha.. I so agree! Every time I see that grilled cheese I crave it! It’s amazing!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of that Beef Bourguignon!
This dish is incredible! My mom and I made it this week in honor of the one year anniversary of my Make-a-Wish trip to Paris! Thanks for making my walk down memory lane delicious!
This recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try it. How many does this serve, I didn’t see that anywhere?
it’s about 8-10, assuming 1 1/2 cups per person
Would you serve this with roasted potatoes? Having a dinner party this weekend and thought people may be tired of mashed potatoes after Thanksgiving last week… Thanks!
yes, you could definitely do that. Some people serve it with crunchy bread to soak up with sauce or over noodles
Looking at the picture, it seems like yours is like a runny, thin consistency. I would omit a cup of wine so you only have 3 cups of wine. Maybe sear the bacon first, and then cook the beef in that after like the classic?
Can I bump it up to high and reduce time to 6 hours?
You could try it. Sounds like it should work! 🙂
Thank you! I made this dish last night. I was a big hit. Thank you again.
It was a big hit.
Awesome! So glad to hear it!
I haven’t made this dish in a while. I am making this one soon. YUM! Perfect time of year for this one. I will save some extra cab to enjoy with it too. =)
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. Do you think the bacon could be substituted with turkey bacon or something else (understanding the flavor profile might not be quite the same). Sadly, my husband doesn’t eat pork but I’d still love to make this! Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!
Oh yeah for sure you could use turkey bacon if you’d like! 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!! I substituted beef broth for the wine…oops I drank it all this weekend! This will definitely be on the dinner rotation throughout the winter!
haha… can’t blame ya there. But next time make sure you add the wine it adds such a rich deep flavor and will make this dish even more irresistible than you already think it is! Woohoo… yeah for yummy meals! 🙂
Should my crockpot be set to the high or low setting for this recipe? Thanks!
Low, sorry about that Madison. I’ll add it in to the directions. 🙂
What size crockpot did you use for this recipe? I only have a 6 quart. Thanks!
I used an 7 qt but a 6 qt should work fine.
I made this last night in my Instant Pot, and it was sooo delicious! My kids aren’t keen on stew, but will usually eat it over mashed potatoes, so they had that as well. Thanks for the recipe!
hurray! So glad you and the kiddos liked it Laura! This is one of my favorites and I love how elegant it looks! 🙂 You just feel fancy eating it!
Good Idea Laura. I am making this with my insta pot. Yum!
I made the Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette last night as a try out for our Thanksgiving dinner and I is a keeper and will be on the menu. This is a wonderful mix of flavors. Thanks so much.
haha… love that you host “try outs” for the thanksgiving menu and that my salad made the cut! Woohoo!
Oh, Oh, Girl you’ve done it again! The Beef Bourguignon was just outstanding. My husband can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I made it for him and he LOVED it. You are a wonder. Thank you so much.
Ohh… thank you so much Susie. That just made my day! So glad you and the hubbie enjoyed the recipe, this might even make our Christmas dinner menu it’s that good!
I have never made anything like this. I think I might give it a try soon!
You will love it Miryam! 🙂
Ratatouille & Julie & Julia are two of my favorite foodie movies! And yes- I always feel hungry after watching them, lol. Loving this slow cooker version of Beef Bourguignon! 🙂
They are awesome … even my son loves Ratatouille! 🙂 The entire time he is always saying “mommy we need to make that .. and that.” It’s adorable! 🙂
What a delicious, classic dish. I think I’ve made it once (obviously it’s been a loooong time if I have!). I love that you made this in the slow cooker — that’s a big convenience for sure! Beautiful!
Yeah it was only second time making it. The first time I had no idea how long it was going to take … hence the slow cooker method. hehe 🙂
Wow! What an amaaazing meal!! I can’t wait to try it!!
It’s heavenly Katerina! Definitely a must try!
Just gorgeous!
Thanks gurl!
Great idea to put it in the crock pot! I love Julie and Julia too!
Thanks Beth! All of use J & J lovers need to unite .. and then all eat Beef Bourguignon with a big glass of vino!
OMG this looks so delicious and perfect for Sunday night dinner! I’ve always wanted to make a beef bourgiugnon but never knew how – there’s something about the darker days that just makes recipes like this even more comforting!
You HAVE to make it. It is amazing and such a good dish to have on those cold winter days. Comfort food to the max Taylor!