Hearty Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots is the ultimate cool-weather comfort food.

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots features tender, fall-apart pieces of beef, caramelized mushrooms, and hearty carrots and onions, all simmered in a savory red-wine and bacon-infused sauce with garlic and thyme.

When the air turns crisp, there’s nothing better than a pot of stew gently bubbling on the stove. It fills the house with a warm, inviting aroma and makes for an easy, satisfying meal—especially when paired with crusty bread. Leftovers often taste even better the next day.

How to make Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Begin by cooking the bacon in a large Dutch oven or heavy stew pot. The crisp bacon pieces add depth and the rendered fat gives great flavor for browning the beef.

Cut chuck roast into 2-inch cubes. Dust the pieces lightly with flour and season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef in the bacon drippings in two batches over medium-high heat so the pieces sear instead of steam. Remove the browned beef to a plate with the cooked bacon.

Add the mushrooms to the pot with a pinch of salt and cook until they release their moisture and start to brown. If you rinsed mushrooms, pat them dry first—dry mushrooms brown much better. Remove the mushrooms to the plate with the meat and bacon.

In the same pot, add butter and then the carrots and onions with another pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown. I prefer larger cuts for root vegetables so they hold up during the long simmer.

Why salt the mushrooms and vegetables while cooking?

Salt helps draw out moisture so the ingredients sweat and brown more effectively, while also seasoning the stew as it cooks.

Move the vegetables to the sides of the pot, add tomato paste and minced garlic to the center, and cook for about a minute to deepen the tomato paste’s flavor. Deglaze the pan with a full-bodied dry red wine—Burgundy is classic—scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.

Return the beef, mushrooms, and bacon to the pot. Add beef stock and the herbs—fresh thyme, parsley, and bay leaves—then bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 2½ hours, or until the beef is fork-tender.

Stock or broth—which to use?

I prefer beef stock for this stew. Stock, made with bones and simmered longer, delivers a deeper, richer flavor and is typically unsalted, which gives you better control over seasoning.

After the long simmer, remove the lid and increase the heat to bring the stew to a gentle boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce, skimming off excess fat if needed. If you want a thicker sauce, whisk 1/2 cup cold stock or water with 2 tablespoons flour until smooth, then stir into the stew and cook an additional 5 minutes. The stew will also thicken as it cools.

Serve this Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots over buttered egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, or enjoy it on its own with a crusty loaf for sopping up every last bit of sauce.

Other cozy recipes to try:

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches
Smoked Chuck Roast Chili
Cream of Turkey (or Chicken) Soup
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff from Scratch
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch

If you try this Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots, please rate the recipe and leave a comment describing how it turned out. I love hearing from readers and seeing your variations.

Ingredients

1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
3 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2″ cubes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 ounces mushrooms, halved
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1–2″ pieces
2 onions, diced about 1″
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh thyme (or a few sprigs)
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine (full-bodied, dry)
3 cups beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook bacon until crisp in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Remove bacon to a plate, leaving drippings in the pot.
Dust the beef cubes with flour and season with salt and pepper.
In two batches, brown the beef in the bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Transfer browned beef to the plate with the bacon.
Add mushrooms to the pot with a pinch of salt and cook until they release moisture and begin to brown. Remove to the meat plate.
Add butter, then the carrots and onions with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown.
Push vegetables to the sides, add tomato paste and garlic to the center, and let the tomato paste brown for about a minute.
Add thyme, parsley, bay leaves, and red wine. Scrape up browned bits and simmer until the wine is reduced by half.
Return beef, mushrooms, and bacon to the pot. Add beef stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 2½ hours, until the meat is tender.
Remove the lid, raise the heat to bring the stew to a gentle boil, and simmer about 15 minutes to thicken. Skim fat if needed.
If necessary, thicken the sauce by whisking 1/2 cup cold stock or water with 2 tablespoons flour and stirring it into the stew. Cook 5 more minutes. The stew will thicken further as it cools.
Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, or enjoy with crusty bread.

Nutrition (per serving)