This red wine beef stew is slow-braised in a Dutch oven until the beef is completely tender and the wine-enriched broth reduces to a rich sauce. It’s built around a few classic Provençal ingredients — a bundle of rosemary and thyme, fennel alongside the carrots — that lift it a few notches above the standard pot of stew.

A pot of French beef stew with chunks of beef, carrots, celery, leeks, and garnished with fresh parsley. The rich and colorful stew features a ladle resting inside the pot and a striped cloth beside it.

Traditionally made on the stovetop in a very large earthenware dish called a daubiere, it’s slow-cooking at its best, rich with tender beef, herbs, and red wine.

The hands-on prep work takes about 25 minutes, and then the oven does the work. While dinner is bubbling away in the oven, all you’ll need to do is slice some crusty French bread and make this radicchio salad.

A Dutch oven is the best slow-cooker!

Along with the pasta pots and cast iron skillets, my enameled cast iron French ovens are my most cherished kitchen tools.

A white pot filled with beef stew in a rich red sauce, garnished with herbs, sits on a wooden board.
  • A good enameled cast iron pot is an investment, but it’s beautiful and will last a long, long time.
  • It’s heavy-duty and reliably retains even heat distribution over long, slow cooking times.
  • For slow-cooker recipes, a Dutch oven is a true one-pot vessel — sear meats and sauté vegetables on top of the stove, and place in the oven to slow-cook.

Choosing the beef

  • When you shop for beef stew, skip the packages labeled “stew meat” — they’re typically a mix of trimmings from different cuts, which means uneven fat content and inconsistent results. Boneless chuck is the right cut. It comes from the shoulder, where well-exercised muscle and good fat marbling combine to give you tender, flavorful meat after a long braise. Look for it labeled as blade roast, chuck shoulder, top chuck, or shoulder clod roast. The butcher counter staff can cut it for you if you’d rather not do it yourself.

Preparing the vegetables

  • I cook the vegetables separately from the beef — a technique from restaurant kitchens that keeps their color bright and their texture intact rather than letting them go soft in the braise. I like to use fresh fennel for some of the celery for a Provençal note. If you can’t find it, use 3–4 celery stalks total.

How to slow-cook beef stew

  • 1. Buy a piece of boneless chuck roast.
  • 2. Trim off the excess fat and cut the meat into 3-4-inch chunks.
  • 3. Sear the beef, then cook the shallot in the fat.
  • 4. Add the beef back to the pot with red wine, broth and herbs.
  • A round white pot filled with chopped carrots, celery, and leeks—classic ingredients for a French beef stew—sits on a wooden cutting board, next to a white pepper grinder and a white cloth on a light-colored surface.
    Cook the vegetables separately, then add to the finished stew.
  • A white pot filled with French beef stew, featuring chunks of beef, carrots, celery, and fresh parsley, sits on a wooden board. A ladle rests in the stew, with napkins, herbs, and utensils arranged nearby.
    Stir the vegetables into the slow-cooked beef stew and serve.

Which red wine to use in beef stew

When you slow-cook tough cuts of meat like beef chuck, the acidity of wine eventually helps to break the meat down, making it more tender. Red wine in beef stew also adds depth of flavor — some of the liquid evaporates in the oven, which concentrates the flavors going on in the pot.

So, which red wine should you use? If you’re a regular red wine drinker, a good rule of thumb is to cook with wine that you already love to drink. You don’t need to spend big bucks on a bottle of wine for beef stew. There are lots of affordable, tasty dry red wines that are both delicious to drink and cook with:

  • Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends
  • California Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel
  • French Cotes du Rhone, Bourgogne (pinot noir), Syrah
  • Italian Chianti, Barbera D’Asti, Montepulciano
  • South American/Australian Malbec, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon

This stew is delicious as is or served over wide pasta noodles like pappardelle or cheesy soft polenta.

4.85 from 124 ratings

Red Wine Beef Stew (French-Style)

Karen Tedesco
This red wine beef stew is slow-braised in a Dutch oven until the beef is completely tender and the wine-enriched broth reduces to a rich sauce. It's built around a few classic Provençal ingredients — a bundle of rosemary and thyme, fennel alongside the carrots — that lift it a few notches above the standard pot of stew.
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Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients
 

Stew

  • 3 pounds (1.35 kg) beef chuck roast
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) kosher salt, or 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
  • 3 tablespoons (45 g) olive oil
  • 2-3 finely chopped shallots, (1 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons (45 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste
  • 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups (375 ml) hearty dry red wine, such as syrah, merlot or Cotes-du-Rhone
  • 1-2 cups (250-500 ml) chicken broth, or beef broth
  • 2 bay leaves and 4 sprigs each thyme and rosemary, tied into a bundle with string

Vegetables

  • 1 pound (450 g) peeled carrots in 2-inch chunks
  • 2 chopped leeks
  • 2 stalks chopped celery
  • 1 fennel bulb sliced into ½-inch wedges, (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Equipment

Instructions
 

  1. Heat oven to 325 (160C) degrees with the rack in the center.
  2. Prep the beef: Trim 3 pounds beef chuck roast of excess fat and slice into 3-4 inch chunks. Season evenly on all sides with 2 teaspoons salt.
  3. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oiln a large Dutch oven or heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Sear the beef in batches until browned on all sides, turning with a pair of tongs. Tip: To get the best sear, try not to crowd the pan. Remove the meat to a platter as you go.
  4. Lower the heat to medium and add 2-3 finely chopped shallots to the pot. Cook 5 minutes in the pan fat, stirring every now and then, until softened. Return the beef and all the reserved juices that have collected on the plate to the pot. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour over the beef and stir to coat. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 4 whole garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and cook 30 seconds. Pour in 1 ½ cups hearty dry red wine, scraping the pot with a wooden spoon to release the browned bits.
  5. Bring to a simmer, then add enough broth to just cover the beef. Toss in the herb bundle. Cover the pot with a sheet of parchment or foil, then top with the pot lid.
  6. Place in the oven to braise for 2 ½-3 hours. The cooking liquid will be slightly reduced and the meat should fall apart when prodded with a fork.

Cook the vegetables

  1. While the beef is in the oven, put 1 pound peeled carrots in 2-inch chunks, 2 chopped leeks2 stalks chopped celery, and 1 fennel bulb sliced into ½-inch wedges in a large skillet with ¼ cup water, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Place over high heat until the water boils. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender but still colorful, about 10-12 minutes. If there's liquid left in the pan, simmer uncovered until it's mostly evaporated. Remove the vegetables from the heat and set aside.
  2. To serve: Stir the vegetables into the stew. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as desired. Pick out and remove the bay leaf and herb bundle stems. Sprinkle with ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley and ladle into bowls.

Notes

  • Use a 5-6 quart capacity heavy pot or Dutch oven for the best results.
  • Crock Pot option: Brown the beef on the stovetop first, then transfer to the insert. Reduce the liquids — use ¾ cup wine and about 1 cup broth (the Crock Pot lid traps moisture and can dilute flavor if you use the full amount).
  • The stew will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. When reheating, add a bit more stock or water to the stew as the sauce will thicken as it cools.
  • Freeze up to 2 months — thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
  • Slower braising option: If you’re flexible on time, set the oven temperature to 275F (140C) and braise for 3 1/2-4 hours. The lower temperature and longer cooking time will give you even more succulent beef.
  • The stew will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently in a saucepan on the stovetop, adding a bit more broth or water to the stew as the liquid will thicken as it cools.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 631kcal Carbohydrates: 22g Protein: 46g Fat: 36g Sodium: 786mg Fiber: 5g Sugar: 6g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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