This incredible Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Bourguignon) features succulent, fork-tender beef and hearty mushrooms in a luscious red wine sauce. Serve it with crispy baguette dumplings for a creative spin on a beloved classic French stew.
Beef Bourguignon (aka Bœuf Bourgignon, Beef Burgundy, or Burgundy Beef Stew) is a traditional French beef stew featuring a generous amount of red wine, hence the word Burgundy in its name. Like any stew, there are countless ways to make it with slight variations in ingredients and preparation.
I have adapted the recipe from The Little Paris Kitchen with some improvements that transcend a good bourguignon recipe to a truly great one:
- Time: I cut my beef a bit smaller, which cooks faster than the 3 hours stated in the original recipe.
- Flavor: My version increases the amount of onions and mushrooms for greater depth of flavor.
- Texture: I prefer to lightly thicken the sauce with flour for a better stew consistency.
- Simplicity: I also tie up the herbs and spices in a bouquet garni instead of just tossing them into the stew. This makes it much easier to remove these components which aren't meant to be eaten.
The result is an extremely fork-tender beef bourguignon which has absorbed incredible flavors from the wine, herbs and spices. The sauce is just thickened enough to coat the meat and veggies rather than being a more soupy broth.
The baguette dumplings are definitely a novelty. They're essentially like using chunks of baguette to dip in the broth, but even better because they have lots of added flavor from parsley and spices. A crisp exterior yields to a chewy and soft interior that is a perfect vehicle for absorbing lots of delicious sauce.
Ingredient notes
- Stewing Beef: Stew beef is a general term for different cuts of beef that are good for stewing. You can often even purchase "stew beef" in supermarkets. It's already cut into small pieces, but they are usually uneven in size. If you want to cut your beef cubes from a larger cut of meat, you can try chuck or round because both are good for slow-cooked dishes.
- Bacon: Use either lardons, cubes of bacon or chopped pancetta to give your beef bourguignon a huge flavor boost! Not all versions of this dish use it, but I think it results in next level bourguignon.
- Pearl Onions: Save yourself the time and trouble of peeling fresh pearl onions and use frozen pearl onions instead. Pearl onions provide optimal flavor and texture, and I recommend them over chopped onions in this recipe.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste comes in cans or resealable squeezable tubes. If you have leftover tomato paste to use up from making this boeuf bourguignon, use it to make Chicken Saag, Czech Beef Goulash, Individual Beef and Mushroom Pies, Tas Kebab, Autumn Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Green Lentils, or Armenian Lentil Soup with Macaroni.
- Mushrooms: You could use white or brown mushrooms here, but I recommend brown (particularly cremini or baby portabellas) because they have better flavor and are widely available in most grocery stores and markets.
How to make it
Season the beef and dust with flour. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and fry the meat in batches until browned. Remove each batch, then fry the lardons, onions, and garlic in the same pan until golden brown.
Add more flour and stir for a minute until it starts to cook. Slowly add the red wine, water, tomato paste, and sugar, stirring to make sure the flour dissolves evenly. Return the meat to the pan.
Make a bouquet garni by wrapping the herbs and spices in a piece of cheesecloth and tying it with kitchen string. Add this to the pan as well and bring it to a simmer. Cover, place in a 300°F oven, and cook until the meat is fork tender and almost falling apart.
Meanwhile, cut a baguette into small cubes and place in a bowl. Bring milk to a boil and pour over the baguette pieces, stirring so it absorbs evenly, then cover and rest for 15 minutes.
Season and add chopped parsley, egg, and flour. Mix to combine. Wet your hands a little to help stop the dough sticking to them, then make dumplings just smaller than a golf ball.
About 20 minutes before the stew is ready, remove the bouquet garni, add the mushrooms and season. Next, heat butter in a large frying pan and fry the baguette dumplings until golden brown and crisp. Serve the beef bourguignon with the baguette dumplings on the side. Bon appétit!
Expert tips
I recommend preparing the beef bourguignon a day in advance and then reheating with the mushrooms when you're ready to serve it (there are notes in the recipe card on how to do this). Not only does it save time right before the meal, but the flavors are definitely heightened after hanging out in the fridge for a while.
Although you can serve this beef bourguignon on its own with or without the baguette dumplings, I also recommend serving it with a deliciously creamy Potato Gratin Dauphinois on the side. It's truly a perfect pairing! You can also serve it with steamed or boiled potatoes or egg noodles.
Other recipes you may like
- Parisian French Onion Soup
- Bouillabaise (Provençal Fish Stew)
- Remy’s Ratatouille (Confit Byaldi)
- Steak Tartare
- Crêpes Parmentier
- Potato Gratin Dauphinois
- French Gingerbread (Pain d’Epices)
- Browse all French Recipes and Meat Recipes
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Beef Bourguignon with Baguette Dumplings
Ingredients
Beef Bourguignon:
- 2 pounds stewing beef cut into 2-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 ounces lardons, cubes of thick-cut bacon, or chopped pancetta
- 12 frozen pearl onions thawed and blotted dry
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Pinch sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- A handful of parsley stems
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 whole cloves
- 10 black peppercorns
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms cleaned with a damp cloth and halved or quartered depending on size
Baguette Dumplings:
- 7 ounces stale baguette or other bread including crust
- 1 cup milk
- Pinch nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A handful fresh parsley chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter for frying
Instructions
- For the Beef Bourguignon: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Season the meat and dust with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat and fry the meat in batches until browned. Remove each batch, then fry the lardons, onions, and garlic in the same pan until golden brown.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and stir for a minute until it starts to cook. Slowly add the wine, water, tomato paste, and sugar, stirring to make sure the flour dissolves evenly into the liquid, and scraping up any caramelized bits in the bottom of the pan. Return the meat to the pan.
- Make a sachet or bouquet garni by wrapping the bay leaf, parsley stems, thyme, rosemary, cloves, and peppercorns in a piece of cheesecloth and tying it with kitchen string. Add this to the pan as well and bring it to a simmer. Cover, place in the oven, and cook until the meat is fork tender and almost falling apart, about 2 hours.
- For the Baguette Dumplings: Cut the baguette into small cubes and place in a bowl. Bring the milk to a boil and pour over and stir so that it is absorbed evenly, then cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper and add the parsley, egg, and 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix to combine. If the mixture is too wet (it should be moist and only slightly sticky), add the remaining tablespoon of flour. Wet your hands a little to help stop the dough sticking to them, then make dumplings just smaller than a golf ball (yielding about 24).
- To Finish: About 20 minutes before the stew is ready, remove the bouquet garni, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat the butter in a large frying pan and fry the dumplings on medium-high heat for 5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve the stew with the dumplings.
Notes
- Make the stew a day ahead to give the flavors time to develop. Add the mushrooms before gently reheating. The dumplings can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 hours before frying.
- Although you can serve this beef bourguignon on its own with or without the baguette dumplings, I also recommend serving it with a deliciously creamy Potato Gratin Dauphinois on the side. It's truly a perfect pairing! You can also serve it with steamed or boiled potatoes or egg noodles.
- Adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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