Slow-Simmered Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots is the perfect comfort food for cool weather.

Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots combines fork-tender chunks of beef, caramelized mushrooms, and tender carrots and onions in a rich red-wine and bacon-infused sauce scented with garlic and thyme.

When the air turns crisp, few things warm the kitchen and the soul like a slow-simmered stew. The aroma alone makes the house feel cozy and inviting. This recipe follows that tradition: after a bit of hands-on preparation it slowly cooks into a deeply satisfying meal that often tastes even better the next day.

Serve this stew with crusty bread, buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice for a hearty dinner. It’s an excellent make-ahead meal and reheats beautifully.

How to make Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots

Begin by cooking the bacon in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. The crisp bacon and rendered drippings add depth to the stew and create a flavorful base for browning the beef. If you cure or smoke your own bacon, that extra flavor is wonderful here.

Season 2-inch cubes of chuck roast with salt and pepper, then dust them with flour. Brown the beef in batches in the bacon drippings over medium-high heat so the pieces sear rather than steam. Remove browned beef to a plate with the cooked bacon.

Next, add halved mushrooms to the pot with a pinch of salt and cook until they release moisture and begin to brown. Dry mushrooms caramelize better, so pat them dry if needed before adding them. Transfer mushrooms to the plate with the beef and bacon.

Add butter to the pot and sauté the carrots and diced onions with a pinch of salt until the onions are translucent and starting to brown. I prefer larger vegetable pieces—about 1–2 inches—so they hold up during the long simmer.

Why add salt while cooking vegetables?

Salt helps draw moisture out of mushrooms, carrots, and onions so they can brown more effectively while also building seasoning throughout the dish.

Move the vegetables aside, add tomato paste and minced garlic to the center of the pan, and cook for about a minute to deepen the tomato paste’s flavor. Pour in a full-bodied, dry red wine (Burgundy or a similar wine you’d enjoy drinking) and scrape the pot to deglaze, lifting the browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.

Return the beef, mushrooms, and bacon to the pot. Add fresh thyme, chopped flat-leaf parsley, bay leaves, and beef stock. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for roughly two and a half hours, until the beef is fork-tender.

Stock or broth?

I prefer using unsalted beef stock for a deeper flavor and better control over seasoning. Stock, simmered with bones and marrow, adds richness that shines in long-cooked stews.

After the long simmer, remove the lid and raise the heat to bring the stew to a gentle boil; simmer about 15 minutes to concentrate and thicken the sauce. Skim excess fat if needed. If you want a thicker sauce, whisk 1/2 cup cold stock or water with 2 tablespoons flour and stir it into the stew, straining out lumps with a fork. Cook another 5 minutes—the sauce will thicken further as it cools.

Serve Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or rice, or simply ladled into bowls with a loaf of crusty bread to scoop 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
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

If you try this Red Wine Beef Stew with Mushrooms and Carrots, please leave a rating and comment to let me know how it turned out—I love hearing from readers.