Slow Cooker Beef in Red Wine Stew
This beef in red wine stew is an absolute comfort food. Slow-cooked in a slow-cooker, this produces fork-tender meat that falls off the bones. And, the thick creamy red-wine based gravy is perfect over steamed rice, mashed potatoes, or couscous.
This beef stew is a comfort food both in winter or summer. In summer, I hate spending long hours in the kitchen, so it makes life a little easy for me. And, in winter, nothing beats the warm fork-tender beef over a bowl of warm rice. Am I right?
About this recipe
The best part about this recipe is the ingredients are not complicated and the process is simple and easy.
For years, I cooked this over the stovetop. But, now that I have a slow-cooker, I often use it to make this beef. And, the advantage of a slow cooker is that you can leave it unattended. But, the disadvantage is it does not allow the liquid to evaporate giving you more gravy. However, this works well when you serve it with rice. And, if you want to make it on the stovetop, use my recipe and video for this Beef in red wine sauce.
Today, I’m using a beef shoulder, but any cheap cut works great too. Also, the red wine you use in this beef stew has got to be a good quality wine. One that you like to drink. And yet, it does not have to be expensive. Just decent enough to drink. And, do not use cooking wine.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Beef – I usually use shoulder or chuck for slow cooking. It can endure long cooking, so it becomes soft but still holds its shape.
- Herbs – I’m using fresh thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. And yet, dry herbs work just as well. As you can see in the video, I had fresh rosemary and I used dried thyme.
- Red Wine – As a rule of thumb, always use a wine that you can drink. One that you enjoy drinking works best for cooking too. Usually, I just open the same bottle we will be having for dinner. I use as much as I need for my recipe, then the rest gets enjoyed in a glass over dinner.
- Flour – I use flour to brown the meat and thicken the sauce. You can also use cornflour if you want to make this gluten-free.
Easy Beef Stew in Red Wine
- Clean, and chop the veggies into large bite-size pieces (3-inches).
- Next, using a chef’s knife and sturdy cutting board, clean beef of any excess fat and cut into 3-inch chunks.
- Then, season beef with salt, pepper, and toss in the flour – coat well.
Pro tip – The flour gives these that toasted brown look and will help thicken the sauce later. - In a skillet, over medium heat, sear the beef with oil on all sides.
Pro tip – Cook 2 minutes on one side before you turn over. Then, cook 2 minutes on the other side as well. - Once the beef is browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Then, to the same skillet – add a tablespoon more oil and saute the onion, ginger, and garlic. Remove and set aside.
- And, to the same skillet add red wine and deglaze the pan. Then, remove pan from the heat and set aside.
- Next, place the meat (and bones) in the slow cooker, followed by the onion mixture and deglazed liquid.
- Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme. And, combine the tomato paste into the stock, and also add to the slow cooker.
- Once all the ingredients are in the slow cooker, ensure the meat is tucked into the sauce.
- Cook in the slow cooker or crockpot until the meat is fork-tender.
You can cook for 6 to 8 hours on low or for 3 to 4 hours on high. Personally, I like cooking on low so the meat is moist, juicy and fork-tender. - Lastly, when the beef is done, sprinkle with fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro.
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Frequently asked questions
This stew will keep in the fridge for 5 to 6 days. And, it can also be frozen for up to a month.
You can use vegetable, chicken or beef stock.
No, the liquid in the recipe is very delicious and can be eaten like a soup. In fact, I love to serve a crusty baguette so we can soak up all the juices when eating a slow-cooked recipe.
While we do need liquid to cook the meat, the excess liquid does not evaporate when slow-cooking. So, you can serve the extra liquid like soup, with bread or rice. Alternatively,
remove the meat from the slow cooker and transfer the liquid in a saucepan. Then, reduce it over medium heat on the stovetop until it’s a thicker consistency. And, then, add the meat back to the liquid.
Yes, actually, lamb and pork would work just as well in this recipe.
Today, I have served it with steamed rice. But, you can also serve it with your favorite mashed potato. And, when I’m in a low carb mood, I usually serve it with cauliflower rice.
You can, of course, serve veggies on the side such as garlic sesame asparagus, parmesan asparagus, sesame green beans, cheesy baked eggplant slices, lemon rosemary potatoes, roasted dill potatoes.
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Slow Cooker Beef in Red Wine Sauce
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1 kg) Beef
- 2 Beef Bones (optional)
- 1 cup (250 ml) Red wine
- 1 cup (250 ml) Chicken broth
- ½ cup Onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp Garlic (minced)
- 1 tbsp Ginger (grated)
- ¼ cup (4.00 tbsp) Flour (or cornflour)
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Rosemary ((or use fresh))
- 1 tbsp Thyme ((or use fresh)
- 3 tbsp Canola Oil
- ¼ cup Parsley
Instructions
- Clean, and chop the veggies into large bite-size pieces (3-inches).
- Using a chef's knife and sturdy cutting board, clean beef of any excess fat and cut into 3-inch chunks
- Season beef with salt, pepper, and toss in the flour – coat well.Tip – The flour gives these that toasted brown look and will help thicken the sauce later.
- In a skillet over medium heat sear the beef with oil on all sides.Tip – Cook 2 minutes on one side before you turn over. Then cook 2 minutes on the other side as well.
- Once the beef is browned remove from the pan and set aside
- To the same skillet – add a tablespoon more oil and saute the onion, ginger, and garlic. Remove and set aside.
- To the same skillet add red wine and deglaze the pan. Remove pan for the heat and set aside.
- Place the meat (and bones) in the slow cooker, followed by the onion mixture and deglazed liquid.
- Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme. Combine the tomato paste into the stock and add to the slow cooker too.
- Once all the ingredients are in the slow cooker ensure the meat is tucked into the sauce.
- Cook in the slow cooker or crockpot until the meat is fork-tender.You can cook for 6 to 8 hours on low or for 3 to 4 hours on high. Personally, I like cooking on low so the meat is moist, juicy and fork-tender
- When ready sprinkle with fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro.
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
For the slow cooker beef and red wine sauce recipe, is it 2 teaspoons or tablespoons of cinnamon. Thank you
Gio, it’s only 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Thank you
Thank you for the great recipe. Tried it last week and everyone enjoyed it very much. Love your recipes.
Thank you, Ashlee. So happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Great to hear feedback.
Made this last week on the stove top. I don’t have a slow cooker. It was so good! Can’t believe how good it turned out. Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you, Angelina. So happy to hear you had success with this recipe and that you enjoyed it. Thank you for coming back to write this feedback. Have a wonderful weekend.