Beef bourguignon sounds like something you'd order at a restaurant where the menu doesn't have prices. In reality, it's beef stew with wine - and it's one of the easiest impressive meals you can pull off at home. Whether you're cooking for a date night or just want solid leftovers for tomorrow, this recipe delivers big flavor with minimal skill required.
The Date Night Dish That Practically Cooks Itself
Here's the thing about cooking for someone you're trying to impress - you don't want to spend the entire evening stressed over a hot stove. Beef bourguignon is the perfect move because most of the work happens in the first 15 minutes. After that, you're just letting everything simmer while you actually enjoy the evening.
The prep is mostly chopping vegetables and searing meat. Once everything hits the pot, you've got time to set the table, open a second bottle of wine (you'll need one for the recipe anyway), and have an actual conversation. That low-effort, high-reward ratio is what makes this a go-to date night recipe. It looks and tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen, but the reality is far more relaxed.
If you're newly dating and want to show some range beyond takeout, or you're married and date nights have slipped into delivery-and-Netflix territory, this is the kind of meal that resets the evening. Cooking together works too - one person handles the chopping while the other manages the stove.
More Than Comfort Food - A Protein-Packed Bowl
Beef bourguignon isn't just satisfying - it's genuinely nutritious. A pound of sirloin tip steak delivers roughly 100 grams of protein, which means each serving in this recipe for two packs around 50 grams before you even count the bacon. That's a serious post-gym dinner or a meal that keeps you full well into the next day.
Beyond the protein, you're getting a solid spread of vegetables - carrots, celery, onions, and portobello mushrooms all bring fiber, vitamins, and substance to the bowl. The mushrooms alone add B vitamins and potassium without adding many calories.
The red wine in the broth isn't just for flavor either. Cooking with wine burns off most of the alcohol while leaving behind compounds that help your body absorb iron from the beef more efficiently. So yeah, there's actual science behind why this combination works so well.
If you're watching your intake, skip the bacon or cut it down to two slices. You'll lose some richness but save a fair amount of saturated fat. You can also swap in a leaner cut like chuck eye - it braises beautifully and costs even less than sirloin tip.
Beef Bourguignon For Two
Ingredients
1 pound sirloin tip steak, cut into 1 by 1½ inch pieces 5 slices smoked bacon, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups dry red wine (burgundy works best) 1 cup beef bouillon
2 medium onions, coarsely diced 3 stalks celery, coarsely sliced 3 carrots, coarsely sliced 8 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms, quartered
2 dried bay leaves ½ teaspoon dried thyme ½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch 4 ounces tomato sauce 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Preparation
Melt the butter in olive oil over medium-high heat in a small Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Let the butter brown until it turns the color of powdered cinnamon - that's when you know the flavor is developing. Add the steak pieces and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Toss in the bacon and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until it starts to crisp.
Pour in the wine and beef broth, then reduce heat to medium. Add the celery, carrots, mushrooms, bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper. Cover and let it cook until the carrots are tender and the beef reaches an internal temperature of 160°F.
Just before serving, whisk together the cornstarch, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Stir this slurry into the stew and let it return to a boil so the starch activates and thickens everything up. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm with crusty bread or over egg noodles.
Stretch It, Swap It, Make It Yours
This recipe scales easily. Double it for meal prep that covers lunches for the week, or triple it if you're hosting. It freezes well too - portion it into containers and you've got ready-made dinners for busy weeknights.
For a heartier version, add quartered red potatoes or parsnips about halfway through cooking. Both absorb that wine-rich broth and turn this from a stew into a full one-pot meal.
On a tighter budget, swap the sirloin tip for stew meat - it's cheaper per pound and actually becomes more tender with longer cooking times. A slow cooker works perfectly here. Toss everything in before you leave for work and come home to a kitchen that smells incredible. Six to eight hours on low is the sweet spot.
Want to lean healthier? Add a handful of fresh spinach or kale in the last five minutes of cooking. It wilts right into the broth and bumps up the micronutrient profile without changing the flavor.
A French Name, An Easy Win
Beef bourguignon is one of those meals that punches way above its difficulty level. You get a protein-rich, vegetable-loaded dinner that tastes like it took all day - but really just asks for 15 minutes of active work and some patience while it simmers. At roughly $15 to $20 in ingredients for two generous servings, it beats most restaurant tabs and leaves you with a kitchen skill worth repeating. Keep this one in the rotation.
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