When it is as cruelly cold out as it has been this week, beef bourguignon is one of my favorite things. If there is anything better than a symphony of onions, carrots, red wine, broth and a scoop of tomato paste simmered for hours, I haven’t met it. I don’t want to meet it. I already know my favorite.
Julia Child’s recipe was always my mother’s go-to dish for company and back in the day, the smell of it braising in the oven was enough to get me to reconsider my vegetarianism. I cheated more than once, ladling the braise broth over egg noodles, and never felt that I wasn’t missing a thing. In fact, I always argued that most of the things people thought they liked about meat they actually liked about the sauces and braises and spices they were cooked in, which is why I have been dreaming up a vegetable based bourguignon for ages.
But I finally figured out how I wanted to do it on Monday night, and just in time: it’s a freaking icicle out there. I used the same approach — sauteed onions and carrots, tomato paste, thyme, broth and wine — but swapped out the beef with meaty slices of mushrooms. I didn’t spare any of the fixings — it was finished with a thickening butter and pearl onions and we ate it over egg noodles.
It was heavenly, warm and comforting and I dare say, the best antidote to this shivering January. Well, the best antidote that is not a Caribbean island. Though I guess that goes without saying.
Cupcakes! I have the tiniest of articles in the February issue Martha Stewart Living about cupcakes for every occasion. It was really fun to see the behind the scenes process at the magazine. I watched them work on the cupcakes in the test kitchen, got to see the photographer shooting the cupcakes and even had a sample of each to bring home and “ponder” while I wrote my blurbs. (Tough life! Though after one bite each of about 10 of them, I was ready to swear off cupcakes forever! Alas, it didn’t last.) Check it out.
Chocolate Stout Cake: The Chocolate Stout Cake gets gussied up for Valentines Day in the February issue of Elle. It’s all of the way back in the magazine’s nosebleed seats, heh, page 139, but they do an adorable adaptation of it in a heart shaped pan. Check it out. (P.S. I’ll be scanning both clips in as soon as I figure out how to use my new scanner.)
One year ago: Chicken Caesar Salad
Two years ago: Leek and Mushroom Quiche
Mushroom Bourguignon
The best part about this — well, besides all of it, if I can so humbly say — is that it’s a bourguignon without the heft of beef, but all of the indulgence. Plus, since you don’t need to braise it in the oven for three hours, it can be a weekday night dinner. And you can serve it to vegetarians. And nobody will miss a thing.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 pounds portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (save the stems for another use) (you can use cremini instead, as well)
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups beef or vegetable broth (beef broth is traditional but vegetable to make it vegetarian; it works with either)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen)
Egg noodles, for serving
Sour cream and chopped chives or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from pan.
Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.
Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more.
Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency. Season to taste.
To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles, dollop with sour cream (optional) and sprinkle with chives or parsley.
this looks simply divine..dark, hearty, and warming from the inside out; the perfect complement to -35 temperatures…if there is a such a thing as a complement to this weather.
Deb, yum!! as a Hindu, I don’t eat meat on Tuesdays but my partner is a mega-carnivore and huntress so we’re always on the lookout for Tuesday dinner dishes that don’t compromise on flavor & heartiness. The chickpea & squash tagine was a BIG hit this week (and I’m thinking since I went ahead & invested in the saffron, it’s going to make a good recession-friendly staple) and I think I’ll have to try this one next week–thank you.
and congratulations on these two upcoming publications–I am excited for you to be shared with an ever-broader audience :)
This looks delicious — and like the perfect antidote to this ridiculous weather. Congrats on the article in Living! I just got my issue in the mail last night and now I can’t wait to break into it.
Mmm, this looks delicious. I just wish I knew how to pronounce bourguignon.
Ooh, I don’t eat meat so when I saw Bourguignon, I almost started skimming. I’m so glad I realized it was mushroom… now I’m excited. And indeed, perfect for this stupid cold NYC weather. I’m wearing a record amount of layers today.
Wow, congrats on Elle and Martha! That’s huge and well deserved!
Made this tonight and we loved it! Think I can freeze leftovers?
It’s so cold here (in Ontario) and dishes like this are perfect for the awful weather and vegetarians.
This looks perfect for the comfort food bender we’ve been on this month! It’s so hard to crave a cold salad when it is -20 outside…!
Congrats on the spots in Martha and Elle – you deserve them!
It reminds me of beef stroganoff my mom made for us as kids. I am not sure it is really that similar in reality, but the pictures, mushrooms, and egg noodles, along with the interesting name send me back. = ) Looks great.
WOW, that looks amazing!
I don’t even like mushrooms and I’m drooling over the pictures
I was sitting at my desk waiting for the day to end and wondering what to have for dinner and came across this – Perfect! This looks delicious and is the ideal meal for this negative 30 degree weather! I will also pick up the issue of Elle on my way home to read while enjoying the meal.
Thank you so much.
What a great idea! I’m holding onto this for the next time I get a bag of fresh mushrooms in my CSA box.
Apologies if this posts twice, my internet is being finicky… I like mushrooms way more than I like beef… so this looks delightful! It’s not as terrible as the midwest, but it’s 15F in Boston, so I’ll be happy to have something so perfect for cold weather :)
Yay! I’ve been waiting with bated breath since I saw the pictures in your Flickr stream. I dive for all things mushroom since we happen to live in the Mushroom Capital of the World, cough cough. I can’t wait to try this.
Hi,
I think you mean antidote, not anecdote. (I’m such a grammar nerd!)
An antidote is something that relieves, prevents, or counteracts something that is usually negative (cold weather, illness, etc.). And an anecdote is a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.
The recipe looks absolutely delicious, and I knew what you meant.
Yes! I have been so distracted by the news, I didn’t even back edit.
This looks so fantastic and I like that you can make it vegetarian too (for us none-red-meat-eating folks). :)
So I guess tonight will be movie night then – Mushroom Bourguignon + bottle of wine. Scrumptious!
this is honestly totally genius!! i love the idea of using mushrooms instead!
umm- are those pearl onions pickled and from a jar?that’s all I seem to find. Or is it possible to buy tiny raw onions somewhere? I’m not a big meat-eater and would love to make something like this, but I don’t think I’ve seen any larger-than-champignon mushrooms around where I live either..
I buy mine at Trader Joes in the frozen veggie section. I have seen them frozen at several markets.
I used to think my Trader Joe’s frozen pearl onions had freezer burn. I’ve now realized that they don’t peel them. Had to peel after they defrosted which wasn’t difficult, just time-consuming.
I so love mushrooms. If I had a few mushrooms I’d make it tonight.
Oh, thank you! I’ve been planning to try converting one of my beef bourguignon recipes to use mushrooms since my husband is vegetarian. Now I won’t have to experiment.
What can I use instead of red wine?
For anyone who is looking for suggestions on what to do as a “substitute” for the wine flavor, I would recommend adding a bay leaf and some Worcestershire sauce for some “oomph” in regards to flavor.
I also like to add peas to this dish to make it a bit more starchy and filling.
Wow, a sincere thank you from a vegetarian. I have a recipe that uses seitan and it takes about a million years to make. I will definitely try yours from a (comparatively) balmy Seattle.
This looks so yummy right now, as it’s -15 wind chill today (and no school, yay!). Also, congrats on the magazines!!! I will definitely make sure to get that Martha issue.
Jentry — If it is the alcohol that is a concern, I’d use a non-alcoholic wine or really good quality, not very sweet grape juice.
Jennifer — They’re not from a jar. I can usually find them in little mesh bags by the produce section, but I don’t know if they’re sold everywhere. They are sometimes available in the freezer section — my mother snagged me a couple bags, already peeled from Birds Eye and they’re a lifesaver. (Totally hate peeling those little guys. Or have just done it often enough to be over it.)
Oh, I am so excited to try this!! My Jain MIL is staying with us and this satisfies the vegetarian requirement for her and the winter comfort food requirement for me!! Thanks!
This looks terrific and I can’t wait to try it. For the carnivores in the crowd, could you also post the adaptation to make it with beef (or just the whole beef recipe)? That way I can pick and choose which way I want it. Thanks!
This is wonderful! Mushroom stew over egg noodles is my very favorite I’ve Had a Bad Day Dinner. (Also, I have an affinity for mushrooms that borders on obsessive). This recipe is sure to make my next Bad Day Dinner even more comforting :)
I made a rigatoni bolognese very similar to this that Adam posted on AG (http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/12/rigatoni_bologn.html). It was very tasty, although it took MUCH longer to make (3 hours on the stove). It has some red meat if anyone is craving that. Personally, I didn’t think it paid off in terms of time cooked versus amount enjoyed, but my girlfriend and her sister&brother-in-law seemed to really enjoy it. I need to try THIS recipe out… seems like it’ll get that homestyle/cooked-all-day taste in a fraction of the time.
For NYers, Fairway sells frozen, peeled pearl onions — they are the best.
Re, beef bourguignon: I’ll post the recipe I use when I actually make/photograph/take notes on it. I generally use Julia Child’s recipe (which this is adapted from) but I hear Ina Garten’s is a bit simpler, and also good.
This looks so good. I Have a roast in the crock pot right now with mushrooms in it. I might just add some red wine to it and see what happens. I am going to use this recipe next time.
definitely excited about this! i just finished the book “julie & julia” and was sad the whole time that i wouldn’t be able to eat many of the dishes if i made them being a vegetarian…but of course, you come up with an amazing vegetarian version! if it weren’t -7 out (feels like -28), i would go out and grab the needed ingredients right away. guess it’ll have to wait…thanks!
I love the idea of substituting mushrooms for the meat–I’m sure that would work beautifully! I’ve made Julia Child’s beef bourguignon and it’s divine–just how a beef bourguignon should be, and worth every second of your time and every one of the many calories it contains!
This looks delicious! And I bet it would be good with a mix of mushrooms, too. Like with dried porcini, if you wanted to fancy it up– and then add the porcini soaking liquid in, although maybe that would make it *too* rich?–or shitake. Will definitely be playing around with this recipe during the frigid NYC weekend to come.
I just unabashedly emailed the link to my husband with a sweet request that he think about making it for dinner. It wasnt supposed to get above zero all day today, which seems as good an excuse as any.
Mushrooms make a great meat sub, and they bring so much of their own flavor and pizzazz to the dish.
I’ve never had anything like this, but it sounds incredible, and so comforting. Congrats on the magazine articles, I’m reading my February issue of Martha as we speak!
I don’t eat meat. So therefore, just for posting this recipe, I want to kiss you full on the mouth.
Just be glad that you’re there, and I’m here.
(seriously, this looks amazing. Thanks SO MUCH for sharing it!)
Mushroom bourgignon? Is it true? There is a God! I already loved you, but now I love you even more, and you can have another kiss from me after Chookooloonks takes his or her turn :-D
This looks like the most fabulously delicious thing ever. It’s making me hungry and it’s only 10am!
Unfortunately it’s the middle of summer and 35*C so I’ll need to wait for a few more months before i feel like such a warming meal. I look forward to it.
OMG….the conversion table rocks! I have been slowly converting all my baking recipies but coudn’t find a conversion table. Alton Brown convinced me but if you compare his 4 C or X grams of flour in one recipe to his 3 C or X grams in another, they don’t match mathematically. Thank you!
Just be glad you’re not here in Chicago where it is currently 5 degrees below 0! This looks like just the thing to warm us up over the weekend, once I brave the cold to get to the grocery store.
Congrats on the two magazine pieces! It’s a whole new world, isn’t it? You deserve it!
I am also frozen in Chicago. I am thawing out some beef stew that I made last weekend. This post makes me wish I had some egg noodles on hand to round out my meal. NOT going outside to the store though…brr.
I WANT THAT NOW.
It’s -10 degrees here in Chicago. And I had final exams today. I could do with a good bowl of that.
Great post! Sure looks YUMMY! Oh and your Twitter was the 1st to advise me of that plane landing on the Hudson this afternoon and I quickly turned on my TV.
thank you so much for posting this! no lie, i’ve been dreaming of a veggie version of this for weeks!! i can’t wait to make it.
oh wow, this looks fantastic and definitely comfort food. something that my hubby will enjoy since he’s not much of a meat eater. but give him pasta and he’s all smiles!
You? Are my new hero. I’m not a vegetarian, but I’m also not a beef person, and this sounds PERFECT. Yay, mushrooms! Yay, noodles! Yay, wintry goodness!
Would this, I wonder, work in a crock pot? Because by the time my ample butt gets home from work, errands, etc, I don’t want to spend nearly an hour making dinner, and this sounds SO amazingly amazingly yummy, particularly since I’m trying *cough* to eat more veggies and less meat.
ooh, this sounds amazing. I wonder if I can get my kids to eat it. 2 eat anything, and the other one never met a noodle she didn’t like. This could be a successful meal for me, at least!
thanks for another great recipe
Yay! Another vegetarian dish for me to test out. I made your Moroccan stew this week and it was just amazing. So I know this’ll be amazing too.
Sounds fab. When I bake portobello mushrooms I usually add some fresh thyme – just love that combination. I will have to give your bourguignon a whirl sometime.
Bourguignon without the beef! How clever!
looks yum. i would serve over polenta.
wow, this looks amazing.
i am currently finishing up a batch of homemade mac and cheese and just made a veggie version of my mom’s meatloaf, but this will definitely be added to my to-cook list soon. i think the frigid temps are making me crave all this comfort food. (i’m in Pittsburgh, which is also in the single digits.)
i’d love to try this on my omnivore boyfriend. we both love soup, and i think this would satisfy both of us. thanks, deb.
Sounds De-lish! I think I’ll try it this weekend over taters instead of the egg noodles. It’s cold here tooooooo, in the low 40’s. Ha ha ha ha….OK, cold to me! The boys want pizza tomorrow nite, so I’ve got to hunt down a great ww pizza crust. I will bet there’s one right here on this very site.
These look like they would stand up to the whole wheat egg noodles I found a few months back at the grocery store. Seriously, they taste just like regular ones, and go great in soups. Now, if only my husband liked mushrooms…..
Wow! Congrats on Elle and Living. That is awesome. I have a subscription to the MS mag, but will try to pick up the other one at the grocer’s. Way to go…published by two major mags in one month! I think you deserve a little celebratory party, complete with yet another cake recipe to throw to us, your humble readers, who knew you when.
Loved the cupcakes mini-article! I particularly liked the line about how they’d bat their eyelashes at us if they felt so inclined. :) Very cute! And you shouldn’t be so humble…while that feature may have been a small article, it WAS the cover story, in essence! Good job!!
Thanks so much for the vegetarian-friendly recipe! I cherish every single one of your posts, and am always bummed when I can’t make one because it has meat in it! Congrats on the two articles–
Julia would be proud. :)
Can you please recommend a specific (or two) wine for this dish? I am absolutely horrible at picking wine. Thank you.
Deb you darling thing you. I needed something to cook, and this is it. —-and to Forth, I believe it is bour-GIN-non. yes? Remembered from Julia Child in my youth on PBS.
Stay warm there, toots.
congrats on elle and martha! you’re the best, most accessible, most in-line with my own food/cooking-philosophy food blogger I know, so I’m really happy for you. And this dish looks terrific….too bad my bf is a hardcore beef/not into mushrooms kind of guy.
Cindy — I don’t do wine recommendations; just not my expertise. However, when shopping I look out for something that is inexpensive but that I wouldn’t mind drinking. There might be some people who can detect the difference between a $30 and $10 wine in a braise; I’m definitely not one of them.
Alyx — Nope, it’s spelled correctly, and the same way it is in Master the Art of French Cooking.
I know this is years ago but Alyx was responding to Forthright Fattie’s question on how to pronounce it. Just cruising the letters as my fella is making this for his staff holiday potluck.
This looks wonderful. Portebellos have such a meaty taste and texture anyway that it’s a perfect replacement. This might be worth saving a cupful or so to stash in the freezer to use as a sauce for a steak, or roast or even meatloaf. Yowza!
It was in the 70’s here in the SF Bay area for the last 4 days. My son is currently in NYC on vacation..the dummy! He’s having a blast (through chattering teeth) he says!
This looks so amazing, and as much as I love portobellos, I am wanting so badly to add some beef tenderloin to the dish!
I could never be a vegetarian!
Stacey Snacks
Thank you so much! I just started being a vegetarian, and seeing things like this makes me feel a little less worried about it! It looks wonderful.
This looks incredible, I can’t wait for the weather to cool down here so I can make this for my vegetarian, mushroom-loving boyfriend. Thankyou for such a delightful compromise!
Oh wow! That looks delicious. I’ve been planning to make a mushroom bourguignon-type thing for ages now and this looks perfect (plus meansI don’t hav to fiddle round trying to get it right!)
@ Jentry – Verjus maybe for the wine?
Deb – I absolutely agree…I prefer the “meaty” flavors to the actual meat!
Bourguignon is my daughter’s favorite. She’s trying to decide between that and cheese fondue for her birthday dinner. I think I’ll make the noodles for her too as she loves fresh pasta.
Great looking recipe. I was wondering if this dish becomes thick enough to serve over crostini for dynamite appetizer or would additional thickeners be necessary? I look forward to your new posts every week!
Perfect weekend to try this! Could you clarify this part though:
“Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected, Put the mushrooms back in the pot and add the wine and broth, tomato paste and thyme.”
Thanks!
This looks so good! I love mushrooms!
Amy — Yes. What you should do is double the amount of butter/flour you mash together at the end — it is the thickener. Then simmer it until the consistency gets thick. It shouldn’t take long.
Sara — Yes, those are rather redundant/confusing. Will fix.
Have been staring at the computer screen thinking, “Holy God, we praise thy name!” Mushrooms bourguignon AND clementine cake! Yep, yep, yep: sounds like a plan to me. Hand clapping from northern VA. Thanks, Deb!
Deb – what type of camera do you use? Your photographs are to die for!
This looks amazing! I was sitting at home last night thinking about how I desperately need a fun new meal to warm our tummies because of this stupid cold, and this looks perfect! PLUS – I’m going food shopping tonight! Thanks, Deb!
This looks soooo yummy and comforting. I would love to have this but think I would just eat the whole pot..could you just send me 1 serving…LOL>…
I saw this post last night before I left work and drooled. Told my boyfriend I’d make him a yummy dinner. Stopped by the gourmet grocery store on the way home, picked up everything I didn’t have at home (sans the pearl onions) and made this sucker last night.
It was *so* delicious. Deb, you’re a genius. Even my boyfriend, who would eat steak and nothing else, was a convert. He thought it was great and cleaned his plate — twice.
Side note: I couldn’t find normal egg noodles, but used spaetzle egg noodles instead and the texture was so great!
This sounds great, and between my vegetarianism and my boyfriend’s love of mushrooms I bet I’ll end up trying this out before the winter is over. Yum!
Deb, this looks delicious but a question arises: when do you add the broth? After the tomato paste? Thanks in advance for clarification!
I am in love with mushrooms! This dish was warming me up just looking at it. This recipe is going on the menu this week!
oh, yum. i made vegan stroganoff last night (from theppk.com), i’ll add this to my queue. i just returned to vegetarianism, and my husband is a lactard, so i’m gathering vegan recipes (or nearly vegan—the hub can deal with butter in small doses). this one looks awesome. thanks, deb!
Oh, wondeful! I am vegetarian and can’t wait to try this out.
Congrats for the maggazine articles, I’ll be sure to check it out.
i will be trying this recipe…as one of my (many) new year’s resolutions is to decrease the meat intake in our apartment. again.
and, i just got that issue of msl in the mail yesterday! yay! i am excited to crack it open.
Hi Elizabeth — Yes. I over-edited this morning (see #76-78). Eventually, we’ll get this recipe right!
Robin — We use a Canon 40D right now. All of our photo information is in this point, though we took these with a different lens, one we’re renting this week.
Forgive me for repeating the obvious, but this looks SO GOOD! And I agree–though I’m back to eating meat, my favorite part is usually the carrots and onions in all that sauce. And with that sauce, who really cares what’s underneath??
Can’t wait to try it.
This says ‘smothered with love’ in so many ways.
I just love mushrooms and just had a wonderful roasted wild mushroom side dish at an Italian restaurant. It still has me drooling and so does this!
I’m a mushroom freak and not a huge meat eater–did you post this just for me? I think so. It looks amazing.
Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of recipe I have been searching for!
i Just got that magazine! so cool that they got you to write! i am going to reread it!:)
You’re a vegetarian? Really? How did I miss that? This looks yummy.
Congratulations on the article in MSL!
And look at Cakespy up there (#94), acting like the mushroom bourguignon was just for her…oh who am I kidding, she did the most fabulous painting of my dog surrounded by cupcakes, she can act however she wants. :)
Haha. No, I am so not a vegetarian. Perhaps that was unclear. I looove beef bourguignon, I just don’t think it’s a great idea to eat it all of the time. I was a vegetarian from the time I was 13 until I was 28 but Alex ruined me. That said, I think it was good in the long run, as my diet is still 90 percent vegetables with meat as an occasional accent — something I hope is reflected on this site.
Hi there,
This is my first time to your site. I’m sorry I’m so late to discover it. What a fantastic recipe for me to stumble upon! It’s perfect perfect perfect for a winter night. Thanks, and I look forward to following your blog.
Dallas
Hi I made this tonight and it was wonderful! We are trying to go meat free at least one day a week and this certainly filled the gap. Special enough for a supper party too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Either version sounds good to me, but I’ll have to do it for myself. No one in my house will eat mushrooms or pearl onions. I don’t know how I raised these people…!!!
This sounds DELICIOUS. Wow. Phew… still recovering from mushroom envy (if there is such a thing). The reducing the wine photo is my favorite – it’s very “double, double toil and trouble.” Only with wine, which is infinitely better than eyes of newt or toe of frog, or whatever it was they used.
And, Elle and Martha! Congratulations!
i am seriously excited about this recipe. my son has health issues requiring a mostly vegetarian diet which doesn’t always set well with him. THIS recipe is gonna dazzle him…i can just tell.
p.s. major props on the MS and Elle stuff. Yay you!
deb, you read my mind. i have been thinking about a veggie version of beef bourguignon for some time as well, so i was excited to see this. so i made it for dinner tonight. one word. delicious. so incredibly flavorful, i think even meat eaters would not miss the beef! thanks!
Deb, when do you add the broth? I made this recipe tonight and it was GREAT! I added the broth after adding the mushrooms, which is when I realized that it wasn’t in the instructions. But my guess is that it should be added with the wine to have them reduce together…?
Oh yum. I do mushroom stragonoff all the time, and don’t miss the beef. But I love all things mushroom.
I’ve made vegetarian mushroom stroganoff before, but I’m going to have to give this a try–it looks so much richer than the stroganoff. Portobello mushrooms are the greatest. I’ve made them into cheese “steak” sandwiches and grilled them instead of burgers for the vegetarians in the family.
Just wanted to add that mushroom broth/stock is probably better than the usual vegetable stock, if you’re making this vegetarian. I usually don’t make my own (Better than Boullion make a fantastic mushroom base), but it’s not difficult and provides a great destination for all those mushroom stems you’d otherwise chuck. I’ve used mushroom broth in soupe a l’oignon (French onion soup) many times, and I think it might even be better than the traditional beef broth.
This recipe looks awesome — I will definitely be trying it shortly. Thanks, Deb!
The sauce with beef bourguignon is one of my favorites but many recipes are quite complicated. This dark rich sauce looks incredible, I’m on this one.
Made this for dinner and my family loved it. Thanks!
OMG, I made this dish tonight and it was amazing. I stuck to the recipe fairly closely. I’m not a vegetarian, but my other half is, so – for protein, I added these:
http://www.seeveggiesdifferently.com/product_detail.aspx?family=366&id=4970
FABULOUS! This might be one of my new favorites.
For the past few days of frigid weather I have been contemplating something warm and yummy like this, but nothing was hitting the right chord. This will do it!! Putting my grocery list together now and will be trying it out tonight! Thanks! P.S. I am very intrigued with the clementine cake and may have to try that too!
I really like meat, but I love mushroom. I think your bourguignon will make my dinner tomorrow ;o)
I made this last night for my vegetarian self (after, in a fit of generosity, I offered to make meatloaf for my carnivore husband) and it was lovely. And, as though to confirm your point, when my husband tried it he declared it not only tasty, but somehow beefy! So there you have it — all the meaty comfort and richness, none of the beef.
Looks delicious! I’m always looking for tasty new portobello recipes. Perfect for a winter dinner!
On my way to the grocery store – making this tonight!
I made this last night…it was a huge success. It was unclear when to add the broth in the recipe that was on smittenkitchen,but on the recipe that was sent to my email it said the broth was added with the wine and tomato paste. No matter, I just added it after the tomato paste! I just love your site, my daughter who lives in New York told me about it!!!You are just adorable!:)
I have to admit, I’ve admired your site from afar for almost a year! So I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing your kitchen adventures with us. I made this recipe for early supper with some Cab Sauv I had left over from another meal….simply delicious. Regarding the Barefoot Contessa Recipe, which was my first attempt at Beef Bourguignon, it is really great on a cold winter night.
**The individual requesting wine recs… I don’t think you would want to use verjus, which is the juice from pressing unripe grapes. I love verjus, but it is a great sub for an acidic vinegar component and might be to acidic as a regular wine replacement. Beef Bourguignon is a great pairing with meaty, smokey, red wines. Pull out that gamey/barnyardy Pinot Noir or something from the Rhone region in France. Also delicious, try a great craft beer.
Thanks again and I can’t wait to make more.
But what if the recipe doesn’t ask for salt…?
Delicious! Rave reviews. I am only sad that I halved the recipe, as I was cooking it for one… I wouldn’t mind eating this left over multiple nights. It was quick and easy, too. I advise NOT skipping the sour cream. I tried with and without — I think the richness and taste is really highlighted by it.
I am a pescetarian (mostly vegetarian but eat fish). I haven’t had beef in 20 years and I don’t know if when I did eat meat that I ever had beef bourguignon. I think Deb’s Portabella Bourguignon should be the new default bourguignon dish!
I’m so happy you posted this recipe! I made it last night. My husband and I are Vegan so I substituted vegan butter and egg-free fusilli pasta…. Voila… its Vegan! Soooooooo delicious! Yay!
This sounds very interesting so I went shopping to get the ingredients today. Unfortunately, I could not find Portobellos…so I bought 2 pounds of Shitakes. You think they will work ok? Shitakes are dirt cheap here in Bangkok but Creminis, on the other hand, are very expensive. So…we will see. Interesting to read comments from your readers. They say Bangkok is in the middle of a “cold snap” since temperatures have “fallen” to a mere 19 and 20 degrees (that’s the high sixties to low seventies for you Fahrenheit people). You should hear the locals complain about the “cold”. Life is funny sometimes. Enjoy your site very much.
I had to check back in to let you know I made this last night and it was absolutely wonderful! My mushrooms could have been a little more tender, but hubby said they reminded him more of “meat”. Mine did come out a little thinner than yours. I have not made anything like this before and it smelled so good I was afraid I would mess it up so went as is. Should I have simmered a little longer or cranked up the heat to reduce a little more?
I realized I was going to be alone for dinner last night, so made this for myself. It was excellent. It was also an example of how sometimes you can do everything wrong and still have excellent results.
After cooking the vegetables, I did just about everything wrong according to the recipe. I forgot to add the garlic before the wine. I forgot to reduce the wine before adding the stock and tomato paste. I returned the mushrooms to the pot and almost immediately added the butter/flour mixture. I started to wonder if I was suddenly incapable of following a recipe (and I’d read it at least twice before starting to cook!).
Now I want to make the beef version.
I had no idea you could get such an intense dish from a couple pounds of mushrooms, some veg, wine, and stock. This made a delicious dinner last night and I cannot wait for the leftovers today and tomorrow.
I made this last night for my husband and THREE teenagers – and everyone loved it. Even my daughter (who at first said, in a tone that only a 16 year old can muster, “You know I don’t like mushrooms, right??” asked if there were any leftovers today. And the fact that we live in the East Village too makes finding your wonderful website even more exciting.
Looks amazing! My Dad makes a delicious Beef Bourguignon, but I can’t really make that for the vegetarian husband. It will be fun to give this a try.
Another vegetarian piping up to say THANK YOU for this recipe! Can’t wait to try this week!! I think I’ll even spring for the pricey vegetarian beef stock cubes for this recipe. Mmmm.
This looks fabulous! Thank you so much for the inspiration. I can’t wait to give it a try.
This was delicious! Mine didn’t quite thicken up even with extra flour but whatever, still tasted amazing.
i’m making this for my girlfriend tonight for dinner… I am tres amateur in the kitchen, but i think, after reading the directions, i should be able to handle this. Any tricky parts i’ll need to watch out for?
I will def report back after we eat with the results!
So…I know how to make it, I def loved eating it, if I could only PRONOUNCE it (because if I can’t, it’s really hard to brag about it).
Made it tonight, delicious! I think it could have been a little thicker. Maybe next time I will add some more flour.
Delish! I adore mushrooms and the sauce looks so rich and thick and flavorful.
I’m often disappointed with the prepared veggie broth I find in stores and don’t always have homemade on hand. Can you recommend one? What do you think of mushroom broth instead of vegetarian or beef? I’ve been a veg for 20 years, but still miss the depth of flavor that comes from a meat broth…
Made this dish last night w/ Portobellos, and used Rodney Strong cabernet wine -we quite loved it! I would definitely make it again. Next time I might throw in a few button mushrooms to make it look a bit more photogenic. (like Deb’s picture) I tried it both with and without the sour cream (optional). Either way was very good. A salad, cabernet, and some good bread rounded out the meal.
I made it last night and served it over quinoa — my husband and I loved it!
Pronounciation: Bore-ging-knee-own (knee-own blends into each other, like “nyon”)
okay.. it came out delicious… however, I smoked up my whole apartment since I had the pan WAY to hot when the oil, butter and mushrooms went in. Smoke alarm was going off for nearly ten minutes.
After that, it was all good. GF and myself both loved it.
I made this Sunday and O.M.G. so good!!! Thank you :-)
I made this last night, and it was a wonderful winter dinner. Mine, too, didn’t thicken quite like I’d hoped (a problem I often experience in the kitchen), but this did not affect the flavor. Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you!
I also blogged about your recipe (and then proceeded to enter the wrong URL above). Oops!
We made this tonight with some mushroom broth we had leftover and it was EXCELLENT. I’d highly recommend mushroom broth as a veggie option in this.
I made this 2 days ago, and had the leftovers again last night. Fixed up a new batch of noodles to ladle the mushrooms over. Mushrooms reheated well over low heat. So very tasty; I would definitely make this dish again. If you like mushrooms, this one is a keeper!
I just made it–so delicious! I halved the recipe, used mushroom broth and did not add sour cream at the end. I served it over No Yolk egg noodles. Can’t wait to eat it for dinner tomorrow night. Cheers!
I made this today, about a 1.5x batch using 1.5lbs portabello and 1.5lbs king oyster mushrooms. Delightful, but I recommend mixing in about 1/2 cup sour cream prior to serving rather than as a garnish. Also, if using king oyster mushrooms, keep in mind that they need at least a couple extra minutes to tenderize to the same rate as the portabellos. On the other hand, having something in there that’s a lot of work to chew helps capture the “beef” experience…
Made this last night. Easy to make and delicious to eat. Thanks, Deb. Home run!
I made this last night, and it was fabulous! I used Baby Bella mushrooms… really delish!
We made this a few nights ago and it was great. I always end up substituting because an ingredient might sound strange to me or I don’t have the ingredient on hand, but this was perfect as is and no substitutions were necessary. I used Pacific Kitchen mushroom broth — my favorite brand of mushroom broth — and it worked beautifully. Definitely a keeper.
just wanted to let you know – i tried this recipe, and its FANTASTIC. so much easier than i expected…i’m a fan. Thanks so much. I’m now vowing to try a new recipe weekly (one of yours preferably!) Thanks again…i’m enjoying the leftovers sitting at my desk right now!
Deb, this was awesome – thank you! And it’s about a million times better the next day :)
This sounds like a great plate to make for my boyfriend….he’ll LOVE it!
Great stuff on your blog!
I don’t think I have ever eaten this…Thanks for the great sounding recipe. I love the choice of mushrooms instead of beef. I do the same thing with my Chicken Tetrazzini instead of chicken i add mushrooms… But this dish here would make a good romantic dinner on a cold evening.. Now all i need is the fire place
Not only was the recipe great, but the leftovers went into a pot of barley and additional veg and wine with extra beef stock for a great soup the next day.
made this tonite….i think i need a more robust wine…i used 2buck chuck cuz i didn’t know what to get. kids loved it and they don’t love mushrooms! yay!
Making this tomorrow, but first wanted to say: The cupcake article is beautiful and full of adorable and funny and awesome! Good on you.
My awesome girlfriend is making this tonight. Just waiting for her to get back from yoga class.
it’s been 80 degrees here in los angeles but this looked so good i had to make it. i thought i had enough mushrooms but ended up being short so i threw in veggie steak strips and it was perfect. i think this dish is even better the next day when all the flavors had time to blend together.
Inspired by the January Vegetarian Times’ recipe for tempeh bourguinon cutlets, we’ve been making this dish with pan fried tofu in addition to mushrooms. Can’t wait to try it with the tomato paste, as included in your recipe. YUM! Thanks for posting!
Wow! We saw the gorgeous photos of the mushroom bourguinon and went out the next day to buy all the ingredients. I was doubtful that we could produce such a rich, glorious, thick stew, but….lo and behold, we DID! It was heavenly and we felt very smug giving up the beef for this dish. Kudos to you!!!
I just this minute finished making this. Holy crap, it’s good. I used a bit more wine as it didn’t seem winey enough (probably my wine choice). I have a feeling this will become a standard in the chisai household.
As an aside, I love your website. I have made several of your dishes and they’ve all come out well. You should really consider doing a book like Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. I’d totally buy it.
UPDATE: It was fantastic. Thanks, Smitten Kitchen!
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2008/03/19/mushroom-lasagna-bolognese/
Have you seen this lasagna from the WaPo? It is insanely involved, but totally worth it! Your mushroom bourguignon has a lot of the same flavors.
I made this the other night with only half the mushrooms (I forgot to buy the whole amount) and no pearl onions (also forgot-but added an extra diced onion) but all of the sauce. It was amazing! I’m going to make it again this week to use as gravy for a vegetarian poutine. Thanks!
I made this recipe the same night I saw this post. My situation is similar to others, in that my boyfriend is carnivorous and I am vegetarian. I mainly cook and never touch meat, this was the perfect compromise and heated up again wonderfully for lunch the next day. So good – thank you!
Just made this the other night for my family who is visiting and it was a hit! Awesome recipe and not that hard to do at all :)
This rocked. I made it Friday night when we had some friends over (one a vegetarian, one not) and it was fantastic, and not too fussy. With a big green salad and a long loaf of whole wheat Italian bread, it was a great big meal, and the leftovers have been wonderful. I’ll definitely be making this again. Yum, and thanks.
I made this last week. I’m not the biggest lover of mushrooms, but I love bourguignon, so I made this for my sister and myself. Absolutely delicious! This will definitely be a repeat for us. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe. It was easy to make and so good.
Delicious! Thanks for this terrific recipe. It warmed up a very cold night.
So I made this last night. It was delicious, but it required more help from flour and butter to thicken. Also, although I love the idea of an all veggie version, I wonder if the flavor might have had more depth if I’d used beef broth instead? I mean, I gave up the beef for health reasons, but I think I could justify sparing use of broth is needed. What do you think? Worth the trouble?
One major beef (hehe) with the recipe: The browning of the mushrooms. How could i possibly brown that amount (2 pounds) of mushrooms in one batch? I had to use many times the recommended amount of oil because my dutch oven in medium, not large and because we were instructed to take the mushrooms out before they gave up their liquid. This meant many batches for me and many re-oilings. I tried to do a couple with just the tiny residual oil on the bottom of the pot, but it just stuck and the fond turned black. Am I misunderstanding you? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made it over the weekend and it turned out fabulously! The recipe is excellent just the way it is written. The flavor was nice and rich just like a meat dish would be. I am always looking for new recipes to make for our vegetarian friends (who I am tired of making pasta for!) and my husband cannot eat beef (which kills me that I cannot make pot roast) so this is a wonderful alternative. We will definitely be making this again soon.
After tweeting about this stuff all day, I am eating some RIGHT NOW and OMG it is everything I wanted it to be. I added leeks, cuz I had them, and swapped peas for the pearl onions, because I didn’t have those. I also didn’t have sour cream, so I took one for the team (heehee) and used boursin cheese instead. THANK YOU for making this winter night!
So I made this for a friend and her vegetarian friend on a freezing night during inaguration weekend (a freakishly cold time here in DC). I cut down the butter because of my whole “avoiding saturated fat cause the doctor said so” thing, and served it with greek yogurt over egg noodles made with egg whites for the same reason. It was delicious despite all the fat removed. And it was even better 5 days later when I poured the heated leftovers over a slice of toasted sourdough spread with low-fat garlic and herb cheese. A real filling, hearty, wonderfully mushroomy winter meal. I will make it again. Thanks for the recipe!
I agree with other posters that the flavour improves after a day or so to meld. Also, as far as browning such a large amount of mushrooms with a little oil: I used a nonstick pan and only a tiny amount of oil for each batch.
I never comment on here but I had to say how wonderful this was. I made it for dinner and it was fantastic.
Hi Deb! Long-time lurker. I have sooo been hankering for a great stew sans meat, but I really hate using “meat substitutes”. Made this last night – delish!
Made it as written and loved it! Thank you so very much. I have been vegetarian for 22 years, and long ago lost any possible appetite for veggie burgers, pasta primavera, the ubiquitous veggie wrap sandwich, and hummus. The terrific number of interesting, delicious, vegetarian recipes on this site is one of the reasons I have become addicted to smittenkitchen (along with the beautiful photos and witty commentary, of course)!
Thank you! I made this last night and it was wonderful. I am enjoying it again for lunch today. I love that I was able to put it together with stuff I already had in the kitchen. I didn’t have carrots or pearl onions so I substituted with 2 sweet potatoes. I also used gluten-free flour and brown rice noodles. Oh and earth balance. Absolutely delicious! I will definately be making this again along with many more recipes from here.
Cheers!
Deb, This dish is everything you promised and more. My husband was skeptical of the lack of meat (he thinks a meal is not a meal without meat), but he declared this one of my best dinners yet. Thanks again!
Hi Deb, can you please clarify this:
“Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute. ”
Cook the onions and carrots for 10 minutes?? Won’t the onions burn and stick to the pan? is there any liquid in the pan at this stage?
Thanks
I’m still thinking about how good this turned out when I made it a few weeks ago. In addition, I tried out a recipe from the local paper for bistro beef (burgundy) stew recently, and that stuff was NOWHERE near as good as this mushroom dish that Deb posted. It’s a keeper! (my 16-year-old son professes not to like mushrooms, and he ate it up.)
I know this is bad, but I literally browned shallots, carrots, and mushrooms together. And salted too early, so lots of liquid.
And I only had creme fraiche and chantarelle mushrooms. Such is the sadness of living in Paris.
Holy crap, this was good.
Thank you, Monoprix.
We just made this for dinner this evening and it was awesome! We had a couple of different kinds of mushrooms cos they were in a bargain bag off the market, also we put in chopped chestnuts. We kept aside a few shrooms which we flambeed with cognac and threw in at the end.. It went perfectly with parsnip, potato and roasted garlic mash. The good news is we made tons so there’s plenty for a leftover treat tomorrow! Although it’s not as cold here in the UK as in some places, we definitely needed the warming goodness :) Thank you!
Forget about the noodles, mash potato my friend, mash potato.. This was marvellous!
Wondering if anyone who tried the recipe can offer the perfect red wine to use in the dish and to drink with it.
Something was lacking when I made this tonight and I have a feeling it was my poor wine choice.
Thanks!
can’t wait to get back to china and make this – i hope i can manage to gather all ingredients! also – i wish i knew how to pronounce bourguignon too…
I know there will be all kinds of wine suggestions. . . I used a California Cabernet in the dish and on the table. Also simmered some chopped mushrooms to my veggie broth (strained it before using) to deepen the flavor. What I think was extra-important: the “several grinds of black pepper.” These added a spiciness which really augmented the dish. I’ve made traditional boeuf bourgignon for years but this will become my new party dish!
AH-MAZING. This was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Mushrooms are my favorite ingredient by far – I put them in nearly everything. Since it was a French-style dish, I used a Bordeaux and served the rest with dinner. Fantastic dish for cold nights when you want something warm in your belly.
The boyfriend is a carnivore, and complains if there is not a meat in every meal, so I served it with a roast. I’m really looking forward to the beef version; then I can serve it as just a one pot meal. I think I’ll have to go buy that Julia Child cookbook…
i made this tonight and didn’t have any red wine at home, so i subbed in a dark ale for the wine. it was terrific. really nice flavor. so there’s a little variation for all future makers of this dish out there.
I made this two nights ago for dinner and LOVED it. It took a little longer to thicken than the recipe stated, but I was in no hurry so it was fine. The leftovers were fantastic as well. Thanks, Deb.
I made this tonight and it was delicious. A little soy sauce helped with depth of flavor, it could be omitted if you don’t want to put it in. I couldn’t help but want a little bacon though :)
We just made this and it is awesome! So rich! Thanks Deb!
I just finished dinner and this was amazing. The combination of flavors was exquisite. The way the mushrooms soaked the wine made them completely scrumptious and I could have quite honestly just eaten the mushrooms with no noodles at all. Fantastic! You are an amazing chef. Please keep creating!
Thank you for this recipe! I don’t like red wine, and I don’t usually like mushrooms, but I loved this! It was so rich and delicious!
I just got done eating this and it was amazing. Instead of the traditional egg noodle, we used mashed potatoes. DEEE-LISH!
i added skirt steak! a-mazing.
OMG, so gooood. This meal was rated in our top 5!
We made this for dinner last night because the temperature dropped. It was delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe. I did use miso broth instead of veg or beef broth.
This was perfect. Despite the fact that it’s not cold enough here in VT (I want snow in March!) we absolutely loved this dish. Thanks!
Just made this last night–my first Smitten Kitchen recipe. Twas delicious, but maybe I’m more of a meat-eater than I thought. From first bite to last, I kept thinking, “Man, this would really be good with some beef in it.”
I would actually recommend omitting the pearl onions, unless perhaps you can get them fresh. I used the frozen kind and found that they were the one detractor from the recipe. They didn’t add any flavor and tend to have an unpleasant texture. My taste-testers pushed them to the side. A big dollop of whole sour cream was a nice topper to make the dish a bit more filling/satisfying. Thanks!
This was on my list of things to make for a very long time and I just made it tonight. Terrific. Didn’t have pearl onions, but it turned out great anyways.
Also, is that a 6.5 qt Staub ductch oven? It looks like the same one I have (that I used to make this, hah).
It’s pretty warm here right now, but our evenings get pretty chilly so it hit the spot. I also like other commenters’ idea of serving this over mashed potaotoes … yum. This could also make for killer savory crepe filling, or served a *little* thinner as soup with a poached egg to make it even richer … I think I have a new favorite sauce :)
oh my heavens, you have no idea how happy i am to have found this recipe; thank you so much. I recently became a vegetarian (very new, about a week ago) and have been looking for delicious recipe that are inventive and full of flavor and this is absolutely one of them. I really want to succeed and stick to this and I’m just so excited after finding this recipe, this is something i can cook and serve over brown rice or noodles to my family and they wouldn’t know the difference.
thanks again,
arlene
The depth of flavour in this recipe was amazing, even using veggie stock!
My partner, a die hard carnivore scoffed and protested when I started making this dish but he LOVED it.
It’s cold, wet winter now in NZ and this was the perfect remedy!
I just made this tonight and it was great. Thanks!!
So this was my first foray into stews, and I was super nervous! But after serving it to my mushroom loving aunt and uncle, who are both very good cooks and judges, they loved it so much they insisted I make it again the next day for linner (that time in between lunch and dinner, kinda like brunch but later :-D). Good thing I had bought extra stuff!! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
As a clueless college student still testing the culinary waters, I was a little nervous that I was going to somehow screw this up. But it was absolutely fantastic, and now I have a hearty go-to recipe to get me through the coming winter. Thank you so much for sharing!
This is seriously one of the most delicious recipes we make. It really takes the edge off of the coming of fall/winter! Deb! It’s great!
It’s also really delicious as leftovers.
I made this a few times last winter and absolutely LOVED it! I think I have been craving it ever since. Now that Fall is here I am going to make it again this weekend. Thanks for this great recipe Deb!
I made this last night, and it was absolutely delicious. So excited to have a terrific dinner option when I have vegetarians over.
Just made this — it was so good!! Definitely agree with others, that the sour cream definitely should not be omitted. I made it with veggie broth and it still was rich and wonderful. For me, this only made 3 servings — next time, I’m going to double the recipe.
Thanks!! Like _everything_ I’ve tried from your site, this was wonderful!!!
Is there any substitute for red wine?
i made this last night, delicious!!! i have a craft night at my house every couple of nights and always make something vegetarian for my veggie friends. your website is full of them, so thanks!!
made this with Cremini’s, It was good but I think it would have been even heartier with Portabellos. I had so much left over I turned it in to a pot pie the next day. Yummy stuff!
I made this last night and it was one of the greatest dinners I’ve ever made. I also made (half of) this apple cobbler http://bit.ly/6T3LkU realizing afterwards the similarity in the textures of the noodles, mushrooms & the apples. Regardless these recipes were so much more refined than my usual Deborah Madison palate that we were astonished. It achieved what I was looking for too: light AND hearty. Thank you thank you! It makes me wish that there were more awesome vegetarian Julia Child conversions.
I just made this for my bf – I’m vege but he’s not, so I’m often on the lookout for impressive vege meals where he won’t miss the meat. This was a hit and a half, he loved it as did I -and he didn’t suggest adding bacon, which is unusual. I halved the recipe but am wishing I had made it all as I want to go back for more… highly reccommended. Oh and I couldn’t find pearl onions so I just left them out and didn’t miss them at all. yummy!
Another big thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’m vegan (so I used margarine and non-egg noodles) and like to cook for my non-veg family when I visit for the holidays, and this made a wonderful meal for us to share. My mom said she felt like she was at a restaurant!
made this last week, it was fabulous! posted my take on it here: http://theweekendgourmande.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/mushroom-bourguignon/
Now THAT is one incredible dish! I made it for some guests the other night and it was a big hit. After finishing my first serving, I came up for air and realized that I had forgotten to pass around the sour cream. I certainly didn’t miss it, but it does give one an excuse to make it again soon. And for Laura in post 215, I would offer that Portabellos really added a great texture.
I found your website today, was thinking of doing a vegetarian jambalaya but it didnt seem challenging…google vegetarian bourguignon and not only did I come across your website, my partner and I just finished cooking and eating this amazing dish…thank you for this amazing recipe your website has given me even more to look forward on the weekends!!
This is delicious! I’ve made it twice (the second one is on the stove right now waiting for company). I can never find the pearl onions, but the dish doesn’t seem to be missing anything. Thank you!
I made this last night, and it was a complete hit with my bf and my family! I agree that the sauce is the best part of 90% of meat dishes, and a vegetarian meal once in awhile makes my whole body happy. I don’t really have anything to add, I made it just as-is, no sour cream, had a simple spinach salad on the side, and it was a wonderful meal :-)
I just made this yesterday for a dinner with my veg sister. SO delicious! This is an easy, yet sophisticated meal you can make on a weeknight or for company. YUM!
what can I use in place of pearl onions? I am a bit of snob liking to use local and organic. How about a red onion?
Also, can I freeze half or should I just half the recipe for my wee family?
This is an amazing recipe! I’m eating it right now and I can’t stop. It’s so good. You won’t even miss the meat. I was worried that I had initially cooked the mushrooms too much, but it seems to have turned out perfectly. Thank you thank you!!
Hello Deb and other fans, just found you and am thrilled! This recipe rocks! Thank you! Delicious!
On the subject of wine, I just bought an Italian Red Wine, nice and full bodied, for $8.00 in Whole Foods. It is 1.5 liters, (that’s like 2 bottles) and I am storing it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. It has a screw top. It is nice, I would gladly drink it, but this way, I always can have something on hand to cook with. No surprises, no disappointment and no cooking a great wine. Thanks all!
this was great! I just made it tonight and it was fab! Thanks for the recipe!
I had trouble searing the mushrooms. The butter scorched if I went even close to high heat, so I had to go down to about medium high. I ended up sautéing the mushrooms more than searing them, and they released a lot of moisture. Any tips? I’m using a Le Creuset Dutch oven on an electric stove. The end result was delicious, but I’d love to know how to get the sear without the blackened butter.
Hi! I just made this and it was lovely! I altered some minor things; as I couldn’t find pearl onions at our store (morrisons, I live in the UK) either frozen or fresh, I added shallots when I put the onion/carrots/thyme in and a couple of tbls of honey. Did not add the optional sour cream at the end and also served with creamy mash potatos (at boyfriends request). If anyone is looking for wine recommendations, I used a full bodied Spanish wine (Lagunilla).
A new favourite!
Wow! This was a perfect snow day recipe. I used a combination of portobello and crimini mushrooms, and it only took a little over an hour to prepare. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch today. Another winner!
What a perfect way to warm up in this weather! I am amazed that something that looks and tastes like it took hours to make was quick enough for a weeknight meal. Loved the dollop sour cream on top!
I made this last night and it was excellent. So much flavor in so little time. I omitted the pearl onions as I couldn’t find them, but I didn’t feel it was lacking for it. Sour cream on top made it extra special. Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely make this again.
This was an amazing dish! Mine didn’t thicken up as much as I expected, I think I need to be more patient. But I happily slurped every drop of sauce in my bowl!
A big hit at a dinner party where I was the only vegetarian. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This is such a great recipe! I have been a veggie for 17 years and I have always missed real hearty stews. I just wish I had found this earlier!! thank you, thank you, thank you!
I made this tonight for the first time! Holy-freaking-moly this is SOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!! A recipe to keep for sure! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you ever so much for continuing to expand my vegetarian stockpile of delicious recipes. The couscous-feta stuffed peppers are always a standby and I’m trying out the new cauliflower-onion tart on company this weekend!
I am looking forward to making this for me and my vegetarian cousins:) I’m not sure I want to have it on egg noodles though…does anyone know how this would be over polenta maybe?
THIS IS THE BEST RECIPE FOR A VEGETARIAN- THANK YOU!
I’m planning on making this soon, but I will just be cooking for myself. From all the feedback so far it sounds like I’ll regret it if I only make 1/2 of the recipe. Anyone have any success with freezing the leftovers?
Yum!
My god, woman. You are a genius. I’ve just read all the way back to this entry from your most recent entry, and have been thoroughly impressed, but this fills me with joy. I love mushrooms, I love vegetarians, and I love being able to share traditionally meat-filled dishes with those I love. Hooray for you! :D
This was SO GOOD! I let my roommate have a mushroom while it was cooking and as I went to put the empty pot into the sink she went, “Uh uh!” grabbed the still-warm pot from me and set it down on the table. She took a loaf of bread and licked the pot and ladle clean with slices of bread!
A friend of mine recently recommended your website. I tried this recipe last night and I was floored. Like everybody else said, it’s amazing!!! I wasn’t going to comment on here, but realized that some folks may have the same dietary restrictions that I have – I do not cook with alcohol or use alliums (onion, garlic, shallots…etc) so I had to look up some replacements for the red wine and alliums.
For the red wine, I swapped in 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar and 3/4 cup of apple juice plus 1 tbsp sugar. For the pearl onions I swapped in half a cup of frozen peas. I also cooked the diced carrots with half a diced orange pepper that was hanging out in the fridge all lonely like. And near the end, before adding the thickener of butter+flour, I drizzled in some molasses.
Thank you for sharing this hearty, delicious, and immensely savoury dish!!
Wow, just found this recipe and have just completed it to the stage before adding butter & flour, as we are actually having it for lunch tomorrow. Even before finishing the recipe It tastes amazing. As a vegetarian who loves mushrooms, I can see this recipe becoming a staple in our weekly menus.
This dish was phenomenal! I am still licking my lips, it was that good!
I wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/mushroom-bourguignon-with-spaetzle-what-i-eat-when-i-eat-alone-part-5/
Just made this tonight with my pops! Yet again, you haven’t failed me! I don’t think any of your recipes will ever disappoint. This was so warming and just delicious. Very subtle and perfectly seasoned! MMmMmMm and I have leftovers : )
5 stars! I made this last night and my husband and I loved it! I had the same experience as a previous person commented, I had to do the mushrooms in batches as my pot did not seem big enough for two pounds of mushrooms. I used cremini, and the beef broth. Next time I plan to try mushroom broth. I think this would be fantastic with a mix of different mushrooms! I am so glad I found this blog!
Just made it, hubby lovvved it.Thanks SK your recipes are fantastic!!!
Fantastic! We loved this recipe. It smelled so good in my kitchen I didn’t have to call anyone to dinner….they were waiting! And it is so pretty too. Already planning to use it when company comes.
I have been dying to try this recipe for months and yesterday’s autumn weather finally gave me an excuse. Love this recipe! As always, great job. A great dish to have during fasts (gotta love the rich ‘n hearty mushroomy faux meat!)
I just saw a (saltier, fattier) version of this on another website and thought I remembered seeing this here. Yours looks delicious and is definitely getting made this fall!
We love this, and I’m making it right now for at least the third time. I have decided, though, that I really don’t love pearl onions, so I just double the yellow onion in the beginning and chop it more coarsely. Maybe it’s that I’ve been using frozen ones and fresh would be worlds better, but I haven’t gotten fresh ones yet. Perhaps also that they’re getting boiled instead of sauteed and browned in oil…
The small person in the house enjoys picking the thyme and chives, so it makes for a good interactive family meal.
I also add fresh-grated nutmeg to each serving. Yummy!
Because of my inability to follow a recipe with any level of commitment, I riffed a little. I quadrupled the amount of carrots and added two diced parsnips. The parsnips lent a nice complex sweetness to the dish. Being gluten intolerant, I subbed the egg noodle base for some quick mashed potatoes (and used a rice+tapicoa flour roux). Delish. We will be returning to this one again and again.
Thanks!
I’m a bit late to the party here, but I am definitely going to make this. Hubby has to go on a ‘healthy food regime’ due to his insane cholesterol (not even 30 yet) so I’m getting him to eat more vege and this doesn’t look too fatty. I can’t wait. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
Hi…I just tried this, this weekend and OMG…I’ll never use beef again!!! It was fabulous!!! I’ve been pretty much meatless for about 9 mths now and have missed beef stew, but not now. I added in some criminis along w/ the portobellos for a little variety. I think next time I’ll add some more carrots and serve with mashed potatoes to sop up all the great gravy!
I use your recipes at least once a week! Tonight I made this along with Aligot (America’s Test Kitchen) and it was a huge hit. We eat almost completely veg and its hard to find veg recipes that can stand up to something as heavy as Aligot and this totally did and then some. Thanks for the recipe.
I just cooked it tonight and it smelled and it tasted devine! I didn’t get any pearlonions, only some in a glass and I wasn’t sure if they would taste good, so I left them out. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us. Yum Yum.
Hi,Deb,
I am seriously thinking of making this for the vegetarians at Thanksgiving. Since there is so much going on that day, and my kitchen is small with not a lot of prep room, I was wondering if I can prepare this in advance and FREEZE it?
Thanks
my boyfriend had fourths, ’nuff said.
I am a smittenkitchen fan, but just discovered this recipe, and it went immediately into my files. I’m not a vegetarian, but “some of my best friends are..” I love sour cream and noodles, but don’t mix meat with dairy.
I am wondering if a similar mushroom adaptation would work for Beef Stroganoff.
I made this for my French BF tonight and it was a huge hit! I will definitely be keeping this in my repertoire – thanks!!
I made this last week and am getting up in 10 minutes to make it again. Satisfying without being heavy, simple yet so delicious.
Elaine: Absolutely you can use mushrooms for stroganoff, I do it all the time. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of tempeh for crunch, but I am aware many people don’t like it.
so … If I don’t have a dutch oven yet or another suitable saucepan, can I adapt this recipe to a slow cooker?
This was sooooo delicious for dinner tonight! Thanks so much for sharing, I am bringing the leftovers to weekly knit night to share with some friends. Yum!!
Made this yesterday for a party and it came out beautifully unctuous. I added some mixed dried mushrooms, soaked, and their soaking liquid, and used a mix of portobello and crimini, with a couple of potatoes thrown in. It did take a while to slice and sear the mushrooms in batches.
I had to stop by and drop a line. I found this recipe by happy accident some time ago and tested it out… I was thrilled but didn’t make it again after that due to the cost of mushrooms sky rocketing in my area. Thanksgiving, I slaved for 2 days of 5 hour a day cooking to provide a feast of vegetarian options including my own customized recipe for a traditional tofurkey. After getting no thanks for my effort I swore I couldn’t cook for an ungrateful bunch like that again..fastforward to christmas with a surprise visit from the in laws, I was left scrambling for christmas dinner ideas and this dish went off in my head like a lightbulb. It was the perfect solution and a major crowd pleaser. I even managed to impress my husbands mom. Thanks for saving the day!
Made this last night. We liked it, but we didn’t love it because of the simple fact that I cooked it in a too-large pot. The pot (and this can easily be a one-dish meal) really shouldn’t be larger than a four-quart. (This is a mistake I’ve made in the past — one I know better than to repeat.) This led to my cooking off the liquid too quickly and too thoroughly; we added extra bumps of wine and water, but… it just didn’t have that lovely gravy we see in your photos, Deb.
Still, tasty and satisfying. And, I agree with those who are reminded of childhood stroganoffs; I had the same flashback, especially with plain yogurt stirred in. Thanks, Deb!
This has been on my Cook This list since you posted it, and, almost two years to the day, we have a winner! I made it in a big soup pot and thought it turned out fine but am keeping my fingers crossed that my dutch oven will soon be swept off my registry and I can give this recipe the treatment it deserves. Thanks, Deb!
Couldn’t find pearl onions but made the recipe as is with beef broth. Very tasty, thanks!
i just made this and it is absolutely delicious. i wasn’t aware you could get such a wonderful taste even if you leave out the meat in the recipe. i’ll definitely cook this again.
thank you!
This caught my eye while I was at work (I was found drooling on the screen…oops). Fantastic flavors with minimal mental effort! I think next time I’ll leave out the pearl onions (just my preference – I think caramelized yellow onions will take their place). Finished it off w/ your sweet potato pie recipe…ultimate comfort food night! Thanks!
Hi – can’t wait to try this tonight. I am going to use mushroom broth since my husband is a vegetarian and it sounds perfect with this recipe.
absolutely beyond delicious! even the carnivores were satisfied… i will make this again and again!!!! thank you…
Amazing! So delicious and easy and even my kids loved it!!
Wee! Just made this for dinner. Had to use white whole musrooms instead but it this one’s a keeper!!!! Thank you! The flavors remind me of French Onion Soup a little bit – so tasty!
Just made it and what a delicious way to use my Portuguese wine!
I don’t drink alcohol at all. What juice can I substitute for the full bodied wine?
An unsweetened pure grape juice, if you can find one, or a non-alcoholic wine.
I love beef bourguignon, but the assembly time is a little bit long. This take using mushrooms sounds like an excellent alternative.
The top photo is just making my mouth water. It looks perfect with the egg noodles!
Loved this recipe. I’m a vegetarian and the husband isn’t, so I’m always looking for something filling and hearty that I can eat and he’d enjoy. I used crimini mushrooms since my local market was charging $6.99/lb. for portobello mushrooms (!!!). The pearl onions they sold were also fresh, not frozen, and fairly big, so I had to cut those in half and cook them longer than the 5 minutes called for. We served over egg noodles, which was yummy, and I think this would be great over mashed potatoes too. Don’t skip the fresh thyme! I think it made the dish.
Made this a few days ago- Yum.
In the same boat as you, Deb- was a vegetarian, am not anymore but still try to eat about 90% veg (despite the other half being firmly carnivore)
Was easy, delicious and very “meaty”!
Just an fyi on a few changes I made:
-mixture of portabellos AND criminis, plus used the stems (the store i stopped by was low on both and I just barely made two pounds out of combining the two.) The stems didn’t bother me, plus the mix of taste/texture was rather nice!
-“Ooops” wine (for those curious about wine choices. Tasty, and less than 10 bucks. plus a great lable)
-veg broth (no less “meaty than if I’d used beef)
-Rosemary in place of thyme (what was on hand/fresh)
-and finally, topped with plain yogurt instead of sour cream (again, what was on hand)
Ultimately even all the changes couldn’t mess it up. Brava!
This recipe rocks. It was very easy to make. I made it for Valentine’s Day for my wife. We were eating some crusty bread with olive oil and just kind of let the sauce keep simmering on really low. Reduced way down and was incredible. Thanks for this recipe.
We are making it for the second time tonight. The house smells ammaaaazzzing right now! I found some parsley-garlic egg noodles that this is going to be great on.
Well, off to eat yet another one of your amazing dinners.
Thanks for sharing! :)
HOLY S#@T!!! this is amazing! im eating a bowl of it right now and i swear its heaven! to be honest, i added bacon to it…cant hurt, right? but man oh man! thanks, deb! awesome, awesome recipe!
Made this last night for the first time. Hooray! Hurrah! It was so, so easy, surprisingly quick, and super, super tasty! Used a combination of cremini and portabello, and used the cremini stems, and a whole carrot instead of 1/2, and vegetable broth. Topped with sour cream and chives, and served with crusty bread for dipping. Yum. Note: My boyfriend is a vegetarian, and I’m not, so finding recipes that we both find satisfying (and that don’t feel like side dishes) can be a challenge. This recipe is a total winner!
This is a delicious recipe! We are eating vegetarian twice a week, and I happened to find this on your site; it really hit the spot last week. I will definitely be going through your archives looking for satisfying and creative vegetarian meals, which I’ve been struggling at coming up with on my own. Thank you!
HOLY freakamony. i read your blog once with glazed-over eyes (it was 5 in the morning but your post on concord grapes was fantastic) and forgot to save the website. and i’d been KICKING myself over my forgetfulness (once i spent 2 hours trying to google words like “concord grapes” and “focaccia” and “raspberry spritzer” because that’s what i remembered), until i chanced upon your blog again completely by accident today!!
!!!
!!!!!
that’s how happy i was.
and then, after reading possibly 28 recipes and scrolling up and down your recipe list possibly 286 times, i actually realised that this site is VEGETARIAN! for that to have escaped my notice is virtually impossible, and can only mean that you have achieved a level of culinary god-like-ness.
just had to post to tell you that.
After seeing the film “Julia & Julia” with my parents last year, my mother bought ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ by Julia Child and immediately got to work on boeuf bourguignon. As a long time vegetarian I was jealous and kind of upset (she forget to make something for me!). Also seeing my family enjoying the meal was a big tease! And since then I have always dreamed of having boeuf bourguignon. I even considered cheating one day to try it (I’ve never cheated even once since being a vegetarian for 15 years!) but your recipe has saved me! I came across it a few weeks ago and made it tonight – it came out perfectly and was sooo delicious. Great for a nice cold winter night. Thanks so much!
Just made this and it was incredible.
This recipe is wonderful! I made it this weekend, having been meaning to give it a try for a good six months. I wish I’d made it sooner!
Um, sorry if someone’s already asked this, but what kind of red wine did you use in the bourguignon? And would you mind giving a few names of wines that might also be usable for this recipe? I am by no means a wine expert, surviving mainly on the Côtes du Rhone, Beaujolais, and Reisling that are on hand. :P
P.S. I am living in Lyon, France for a year right now, and the reason this recipe caught my eye is because your pictures look like REAL beef bourguignon. That is impressive, and I’m super excited to try it out and see if the taste is as good as it looks!
I use any inexpensive wine I’d be willing to drink.
Do you think this could be made a day in advance? I have made this before and it is amazing but when I cook my tiny apartment gets really too hot to be comfortable for guests. I am, therefore, on the lookout for recipes that make me look awesome (thanks for the help!) and leave the apartment not too warm for a dinner party this week. Maybe “make ahead-able” could be a new tag for your recipes? It would be really really helpful!
Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes!!
You can make this a day ahead. Reheat it slowly…
This is delicious. Only one problem – I’ve made this twice now, and both times everyone was really hungry again about 1-2 hours after dinner. It needs some protein on the side, or else it won’t keep you full.
Once I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new feedback are added” checkbox and now each time a remark is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Is there any approach you possibly can take away me from that service? Thanks
This is absolutely delicious, I have a Canadian, vegetarian coeliac girl staying with me and I made this with some rice one night and mashed potato another night, substituting the flour for some gluten free flour and it was perfect. THANKS for yet another winner!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you for such a wonderful and easy recipe! It’ll definitely be something I’ll cook again.
just made this for dinner, all was going well til the addition of the flour/butter mix. i should have followed my instincts and skipped it. went from a deep earthy flavor to smelling like flour. let it cook for 15 mins and still ended up with a gluey, mucky texture :-(
don’t know if somehow, too much liquid boiled away before that step? but i would suggest that if you like how it smells/tastes/looks before that step, just stop there.
Can’t wait to try this! Looks amazing!!
my mouth is watering.
I just tried this recipe a couple of nights ago and REALLY LOVED IT! I couldn’t find pearl onions, fresh or frozen, so substituted the pearls with about the same amount of shallots, and it seemed to work! I even messed up and put the shallots in with the regular onion rather than at the end and it was still tasty. The flavor here is so good and deep that I almost (almost) forgot that there was no meat in there. hoorah for tasty recipes!
Any recipe that requires wine is a good recipe cause we all know that an open bottle willquickly go bad if not drank while making the said recipe!!! Forgot the pearl onions (blame it on age) but even without them it was fantastic. I have to admit that I have been known to make Alex’s Chicken and mushroom marsala without the chicken because I love that sauce so much.
Just made this amazing dish! I am so impressed with all Smitten Kitchen recipes, but this one tops the half dozen I’ve tried in the 10 days since I first discovered this site. I loved it so much that I “pinned” it to my Pinterest account! I have been dying for fall days here in Portland, Ore, and today it started to cool down, thus perfect time for a comfort dish!
We’ve made this twice now and it was soo good that I just had to comment. I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from your site thus far, but this is my favorite. The fact that I have to find something to do with the leftover wine is only a bonus. Thanks!
I eat vegetarian at least two days a week, and today is one of those days. I stumbled across your blog a few months ago while seeking a good chana masala recipe (yours is awesome, btw) but I haven’t really explored other recipes until tonight. Bored with my usual stand-bys, and remembering the deliciousness of chana masala, I decided to peruse the other vegetarian recipes you’ve got here, and this caught my eye. I just finished dinner…and it is beyond yummy!! I’m kind of glad I live alone because the leftovers are mine! All mine! Thanks so much!
So, this recipe is fantastic and I’ve made it a few times, but this morning it was particularly cold, and I thought…what if I poured this sauce over baked french fries, like a poutine? I just did that for lunch, and it was pretty amazing, especially with cheddar cheese and extra pepper. Just wanted to share!
Hey Deb! I have made a ton of your recipes. I have a pop-up restaurant (kinda like a supper club) that does themed dinners once a month and we are doing Vegan this month. Actually, this weekend. I am serving this dish, as our 4th of 5 courses, with the most gorgeous & locally grown oyster mushrooms and homemade handkerchief pasta! I am sure everyone will LOVE it.
Admittedly, I am neither vegan, vegetarian or a mushroom lover and I was fully satisfied after our practice round of this recipe last night.
Check our page for photos in about a week! I’ll be sure to list your site on our source board.
my sister and i have been vegetarians for a few years and we’re always looking for new recipes to try out. this recipe was PERFECT! so glad i made it :). i’ll definitely be making this one again!
my sister says she loved it too :)
I’m planning to make this for a holiday dinner party and wonder if there is anything special to know about doubling the recipe. Is it as easy as doubling the ingredients? Maybe cook the mushrooms in two separate batches to prevent crowding?
Souper Freak — Yup, that’s exactly how I’d do it.
As a former carnivore, this meal takes the cake! Wow, it really is worth the effort which is less than one would expect for such a delicious dish. Given the additional dietary needs in my home, I substituted EarthBalance for the butter and the results were just as delicious, especially given that it became a vegan dish when pared with non-egg noodles. For wine, I used a Bourdeux (Rothschild mark was supreme and it was $14). Definitely use a wine that you want to enjoy with the meal. I can honestly write that this is a great vegetarian/vegan dish to serve that will not drive off any carnivores. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
this came out spectacularly!! served over jacket potatoes to make it fully vegan :) think i’m going to try it with beer instead of wine at some point…winter is just starting so lots of cold evenings for this!
I’ve been stalking this blog/attempting the recipes for a while now but this is my first time writing… I made this for my parents while I was visiting over the holidays. They are food opposites- dad is a total meat and potatoes type and my mom basically subsists on baby greens, oranges and quinoa. This was hearty enough to satisfy my dad and healthy enough to get the ok from my mom (I did choose low sodium broth to swing it a bit more her way but I don’t think that really affected the taste at all) So two thumbs up! But I really know it was a success because my brother who doesn’t like mushrooms ate half the pot- literally. We had no leftovers. Will def. make again when I have the time/money.
I got a Black Friday deal on a Dutch oven, and made this yesterday on a dreary, freezing rainy Wisconsin day as my inaugural dish. I had to use baby portobello mushrooms, stems and all, because my local store stopped carrying crimini’s for winter (boooo!); but otherwise followed it to the letter.
Oh my sweet Jeebus, we couldn’t get enough. Didn’t miss the beef in the least, and it was nice to -not- have “beef bloat bellyache”, as we would have from the other version. Served it over cheap No Yolk dumpling noodles with a French baguette, and it was complete & utter perfection.
Oh! And I used Amore sun dried tomato paste, since it comes in a tube rather than a can; and I could use just a little & save the rest of the tube for chili. I usually use the canned stuff (even though I hate the processed taste of it); but OMG, this was SO SO SO much better.
Next time, I think I’m going to cube some gold potatoes, toss them with a little olive oil & seasoning and slow roast them in the oven; and ladle the mushroomy goodness over the top. I’m drooling just thinking about it. =)
Truly, one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Thanks, Deb.
I made the mushroom bourguignon with a few changes. Delicious! We aren’t vegetarians and we both loved the dish. I had 2lbs. of small portobellos, do you think that increased the volumn a lot over large ones? There is no way they could fit in a medium Dutch oven. And they didn’t brown in my large Dutch oven. Next time I will split the mushrooms in 2 pans to brown them. Also, I didn’t read the part about removing them from the pan until the recipe said to return them to the pan-no matter, it was great.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I’ve cooked it twice now when I’ve had guests and it was loved by vegetarians and meat eaters alike (including 2 teenage boys). So yummy!
I had to change some of the types of mushrooms to what I could find here in Sydney, but it was still great (tonight I used a combo of Swiss brown, button and flat). Was nice with gnocchi too!
Thank you again! I really appreciate it! : -)
Hi Deb! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m vegan and after hours – I mean hours and hours – of searching for a worthy vegan entree for Christmas dinner, I found this. I bulked it up with extra carrots and onions and did roasted potatoes instead of pasta. Everyone loved it! Not a single person missed having meat on their plate. Simply delicious!
Made this tonight as a celebration of our last day of Christmas break. I used white mushrooms, had no pearl onions and it still turned out fabulous. My five year old (who claims to dislike mushrooms) asked for more. Thanks!
I made this last night with portobello & white mushrooms. My only suggestion is to not use frozen pearl onions, like I did. I think it would have been better with the stronger onion flavor.
Don’t know if you really need to serve this with pasta or mashed potatoes. I had this on its own and it was delicious and filling, although it did reduce the overall serving amount since I wasn’t eating it with anything else.
I made this for me and my flatmates this night – huge success! It was just as hearty, rich and full-bodied as I had hoped for! I thought 2 pounds of mushrooms sounded like a lot, so I used 1.5 pounds instead, but I think 2 pounds would’ve been better, because we only just had enough. I used white mushrooms and no pearl onions. It was very easy to cook, and the kitchen smelled wonderful through the whole process. I served it with fresh pasta and a green salad with home-made bread croutons. I think it would go great with mashed potatoes. :)
SO….LADY GAGA IS MAKE BEEF BOURGUIGNON….I POSTED A COMMENT FOR YOUR RECIPE….BE PREPARED FOR SOME HITS….AND LOVE THIS RECIPE AND MANY OTHERS FROM YOUR SITE! YES IN CAPS…NOT YELLING…LOL
Loved this recipe! I found it to be a wee too tomoato-y and so added some congnac toward the end …pefect fix! also chunked up my carrots on the diagonal for a little more umph. what a treat on a dreary january day.
We have some venison stew meat that was going to become a ‘beef’ stew but I’m now thinking it will go in this instead. Hmmm…kinda wish I had everything to make it now
Totally trying this. Sounds amazing. I will let you know how it turns out!
This was the first recipe I ever tried from this blog and it was perfection. I’m looking forward to next winter, just so I can make it again. I substituted out the mushroom (my boyfriend sadly isn’t a fan) with beef strips and it was seriously amazing.
I really can’t wait to try this. I save my Saturdays for cooking fun! I also posted this recipe on my blog. http://www.samanthaandersenphotography.com/2012/01/soup-caring-dinner-for-4plus-2.html
Thank you!
Made it with the venison added. Sooooooooo good! That gravy is AMAZING. Will probably do it without the pearl onions next time though. They left a little something to be desired on my end.
I’d appreciate some clarification something I’ve never been able to determine from recipes like this (where you use part of a mushroom or other item):
Is the “2 pounds” what I buy, and then remove the stems? Or do I buy enough to have 2 pounds after I remove the stems?
And is there some standard way that recipes do/should make the distinction?
Two pounds is what you buy. I don’t know if it’s standard – I mean, it probably is but I can’t speak for every recipe writer — but to me, “2 pounds de-stemmed and chopped mushrooms” means that you weigh them after they’ve been de-stemmed and chopped (i.e. you’d need more) and “2 pounds mushrooms, de-stemmed and chopped” means that you can start with two pounds mushrooms. I almost always write recipes the latter way because the former way (processing and then weighing; requiring that you do guesswork at the grocery store) is really a pain.
Thanks, deb!
Did I really just make this?! It too brought back memories of my mother’s beef stroganoff. I don’t think I’ve had egg noodles since I was a kid! I had such a good time making this. It was easy yet a bit rock-star chef style (reducing with wine), at least for me! Ha ha! I will be making this again as I don’t think I let it reduce quite as much as I would like to but I was getting hungry and it looked and smelled so good! I believe I just might tackle Julia’s next!Thanks for a lovely recipe!
made this tonight for guests, using a mix of cremini and white mushrooms. local grocery didn’t have pearl onions, so i added extra carrot and threw in some frozen peas near the end. served over egg noodles and everyone loved it! totally worth the time it takes to slice the mushroom, especially if you and your guests finish off the bottle of wine while the whole thing simmers–a rich, filling dish.
Oh man I’m not sure how far back you read comments, but I gotta say…
I made this last night, subbing half the mushrooms for venison.
And between my boyfriend and I we had annihilated the lot of it in less than an hour.
Bless your little foodie heart, lady.
Mmmm…that was so freaking delish. I served it over parm. polenta instead of egg noodles. This is definitely going in my rotation. Thanks for the very hearty and lovely winter recipe!
Hi Deb, could I make this in a crockpot? And would I just put everything in at the beginning? Having a busy 11 month old has given me a new love and appreciation for the crockpot! ;)
For those looking for red wine substitutes, I made this today successfully with prune juice. It has a rich, vaguely winish flavour and it’s dark brown so it fits in well. I’ve made this recipe lots of times with wine and the flavour is probably richer that way, but I really haven’t noticed much of a difference today. Thank you for a wonderful recipe, Deb.
Made this tonight for dinner (Pinned it a week ago!) and it was absolutely stunning. I used a combo of white and cremini mushrooms. It was meaty, full of flavor and very filling. Hard to believe it’s meatless!
I made this tonight and it was awesome, and it’s not too time consuming. Thanks for the great recipe!
This is a family favorite of ours! I usually pair it with Guinness Beef Stew (for me) and this for my vegetarian husband. We like both over rice or noodles. It also totally improves with time… the next day I think it tastes even better than fresh out of the pot! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe :)
Oh, man. I just made this, and I’m eating it right now. It’s fantastic.
Delicious! I look forward to making this again and again. And probably again after that. I couldn’t find pearl onions (out of season?) so I just cut up a regular onion into chunks and used that instead and it was fine. Will definitely plan to try it again with the pearl ones when I find them though. I think the little pearls would look prettier.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. I’m a vegetarian, a French major, a Smitten Kitchen fan, happy home cook, and a lover of any permutation of mushrooms, wine, and thyme.
Sign.
Me.
Up.
I seriously use this recipe once or twice a month to feed me and my boyfriend for a few days…neither of us can get enough. I think the key is the “full bodied” wine. I made it once with 2buck chuck and it was not as tasty. I LOVE this and many more of your recipes. Thanks for posting!
I made this recipe last night and added some porcini (and the soaking water). Also added some Thai mushrooms – not sure of the variety as there are so many here I lose track. It was SENSATIONAL. Lush, rich, almost sinful. I knew there was a reason I had frozen a cup of red wine : ))
Thanks Deb, this has gone to the top of my go-to list.
Wow!!! We were hoping for leftovers for two but that won’t happen. Only enough left for one. So good. We are always looking for meat free foods. This is fab. I would make for company. I would add a salad and nice bread and I’m sure would get more servings. Thanks for another wonderful recipe.
Oh, yum this is wonderful. I couldn’t find prepared mushroom both here, so I simmered some dry mushrooms with a basil leaf, and used them and the liquid in addition to the portobellos and the vegetable broth. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
:) I’m trying out a new recipe of yours everyday for lunch, and my husband calls it smitten tastiness… thanks for helping out with so many great recipes, and for being so clear on how to make them! As I was looking at this recipe, I was wondering if you take suggestions on what to make next… if so can you pretty please make beef stroganoff?
I just made this one yesterday for dinner this evening. Re-heated beautifully and it was really tasty. Now I just need to convince my children that mushrooms really are yummy! Thanks!
This is absolutely incredible; I have made it four times in the last month.
I made it, and it was wonderful. I actually cut the amount of mushrooms by half a pound and added browned seitan. I also used Earth Balance instead of butter. Being a financial crunch these days, I also didn’t add sour cream. I did add some peas. I used a Bordeaux, which I’m still drinking the rest of right now. Thank you.
so, over a year after trying this the first time, i’ve re-visited it with success!
last time, i found the texture really gluey after the flour addition. this time, i cooked the roux separately until it was a nice yellow golden, then added some of the mushroom mixture to the roux, stirred it all up, then added the roux/mushroom mixture back to the main pot. another couple mins simmering and it was perfect with some greek yogurt. thanks!
Great to meet you last night at the book signing in Seattle! The BF was a little miffed that I suggested I cook more than him so he’s making this tonight and I’m oh so excited to try it!! Next on the list is trying some of the new cookbook recipes :)
Concerning pearl onions: DO NOT use the pickled oness. Blech! I couldn’t find fresh or frozen, so I dumped in a jar of “cocktail” onions I found by the pickles and olives, and the flavor was overpowering. Luckily, I was able to pick them out and save the dish, and it tasted just fine without them. This time, I did find the proper, fresh pearl onions, and now I have a question: what’s the best way to peal those little buggers?
Deb, great to meet you at the DC event last night :) when we met, I told you that my bf requested the roast chicken for dinner sometime soon. Apparently he spent the night flipping through the cookbook, because this morning he told me he hoped I’d make this mushroom bourguignon first!
I made it this afternoon and it is truly wonderful!
I made this tonight! Really nice recipe. We had it spooned over a pork roast and mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the texture and flavor immensely. I did add additional thyme and some oregano from my garden. Unfortunately, I didn’t have pearl onions (since this was a last minute dinner) – I think caramelized pearl onions would have been superb. Glad to have this recipe under my belt and will definitely try it out on my veggie sister when she comes to town. Thanks!
Hi deb, I was living in Houston forever and never really looked at your winter recipes. But I just moved to Chicago and, now dying in the negative degree weather, I’ve been looking for some great cold weather meals. This recipe looks divine and I’ll be trying it out after my next trip to the grocery store. I have one question though, what types of things would you suggest I use the mushroom stems for?
Hi Sarah — My favorite use? Cover them with water, a few slices of onion and maybe a clove of garlic and simmer it for a while and strain the mixture — voila! Mushroom Stock. Delicious for cooking rice, as part of a soup base, or, to use instead here next time you make it.
Hi Deb-
I’m planning to make a double recipe of this (and a beef bourguignon too) for a 12 person Hanukkah dinner party this weekend. Since I’m gonna be busy grating potatoes & shallow-fat-frying Latkes for hours before & as the guests arrive, could I make THIS in advance (and how many days-2? 3?), refrigerate it, and then- slowly- reheat it just before dinnertime? Thanks
No carrot? No tomato paste? No pearl onions? No problem! Had to throw out a fourth of my mushrooms due to rot, so I used a whole sweet potato instead of the carrot. Proceeded as written (sans the ingredients I didn’t have — tomato paste and pearl onions), though I did thicken with a little water-dissolved cornstarch instead of butter-flour. Woweee — so much better than my first go. It dances on the tongue and invites second helpings.
First recipe tried from hard copy smitten kitchen. Yum . . . I added because I had them and seemed like they would fit with the stew nature of this dish (I know peas don’t traditionally go in this dish). Good Sunday night dinner, and I look forward to fiddling with it some more . . .
How is this different from the epicurious recipe?
Hi Barbara — This is a smitten kitchen original recipe, not one from Epicurious.
I stumbled across this reference when looking at another recipe. Since I do vegetarian two days a week [what can I say…I like meat too much to give it up totally], I’m always on the lookout for news ideas. This was amazing! Warm and meaty, it was the perfect bowl of comfort. And I’m pretty sure the blizzard raging outside had nothing to do with how good it was.
You know how your braised short ribs recipe produces loads of extra sauce? Guess what happens when you add sauteed mushrooms and pearl mushrooms to it and serve it over noodles with horseradish-spiked yogurt? Good things is what happens!
Deb, It is identical in every respect to the Epicurious recipe.
Barbara — I don’t know which Epicurious recipe you’re speaking of. Do you have a link? I couldn’t find it. Either way, the recipe originated here so it’s every bit possible that a copy was made over there (either because Epicurious is running an excerpt from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, where this recipe also exists, as a promotional thing, or because one of their users submitted the recipe — which they would have done without my permission, which is a copyright infringement) but it doesn’t change the fact that the recipe is copyrighted by Smitten Kitchen. [Update: Sorry, found it now. It was uploaded by a user, and should not have been. I have asked Epicurious to take it down.]
Barbara – I just checked the Epicurious recipe out of curiosity. The person who posted it to Epicurious attributed to smittenkitchen.com….
Hi Deb! This is my first time commenting on your fabulous site.
I just made this for me and my husband for our quiet night in on Xmas eve and we absolutely loved it. I wrote about it on my Japanese food blog :) I used all olive oil and no butter, and it came out great.
I adore you, as I feel like we have so much in common… I live in NYC, have a tiny kitchen, and have a baby boy (6 month now!). Thank you for your wonderful inspirations. I can’t wait to receive your new cook book which I ordered last night!
I got your beautiful cookbook for Christmas & chose this recipe as my first dinner…
It was lovely. We just used the leftovers tonight as a topping on burgers with a dollop of sour cream. Brilliant!
The remainder will be in our omelets tomorrow.
Thanks!
Glad you were able to find the recipe and make the appropriate representations. This s a much appreciated winter meal at our house.
Made this a month or so ago when all my non-mushroom eaters where out of town (how these sons can carry my DNA and hate mushrooms is beyond me). My husband and I adored it and are looking forward to this weekend when the non-mushies will be away again. I was using the cookbook which I’d gotten from the library and was being so careful to keep it clean. Now I have my own and still want to keep it pristine. Made it exactly as written; my only question was to keep the spores but went ahead as it only added to the depth of the broth. Who needs meat when something like this is around???
I just got your cookbook as a Christmas present, and this recipe jumped out at me as soon as I saw it! I made it for dinner last night, and it was simply amazing! With mushroom bourguinon, who needs beef anyway?!
Okay, so I posted a week ago. Made the mushrooms again last night; didn’t discard the stems but sliced them thinly. Even better this time; I think because I bought the mushrooms loose not packaged as before. Just had it as leftovers for lunch; even BETTER! My doctor is suggesting I might have a gluten issue, so will try them over rice. Bet just as tasty…
Made this this week. It is really a spectacular recipe. Thanks so much
I decided this would be first recipe I’d make from the cookbook (which I’ve been reading like a novel since I got it for Christmas), and like all of your recipes, it was wonderful and came out exactly as described. I used pre-sliced creminis which turned out to be less than the 2 lbs called for, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It was so hearty I almost forgot it was meat-free. And my finicky husband couldn’t resist trying the pearl onions since they were covered in delicious bourguignon-y goodness. Thanks for helping me make my first French dish a success!
Hi Deb, Got your cookbook for Christmas (best gift) and I made this last night, we loved it. I’m sure you’ve been asked this and I should probably just ask my son’s pediatrician, do you serve dishes that you make with wine to your son? I left the wine out and while it was still good, it would have been even better with the wine.
I’ve been polling people, gathering information to make a decision! Thanks!
Awesome recipe. Very flavorful and definitely one I will make again. One thing that I found helpful was melting the butter, stirring in the flour and making a paste and then adding that paste to the stew. That seemed to thicken the stew quite nicely.
Have had this bookmarked for ages and finally made it last night. Wow!! I served it over polenta–yum! I had one serving and my husband ate all the rest!!
I made this recipe a few months ago after getting your cookbook and absolutely loved it! Making it again, very soon.
Thinking of making this in advance for an upcoming potluck dinner. Has anyone successfully frozen this and reheated it later? thanks
I finally tried this recipe last night, and all I can say is: IT’S DIVINE!!!
I couldn’t find any pearl onions, so it was missing that … but it’s such a rich dish I didn’t even miss them. The sour cream on top was icing on the cake, I will certainly be making this dish many times in the future. So simple, so delicious.
Made this tonight and it was just lovely. All the flavor without being on whit heavy. I used shallots in place of the yellow onion, simply because that’s what was in the house. Topped with horseradish sour cream.
Just stumbled on this one after reading today’s post. It’s 5 degrees with wind chill of -10 in Chicago today AND my husband recently agreed to go meatless a couple of days a week as part of his eating healthier new year’s resolution. He’s a huge beef bourguignon fan & I make it for him a couple of times a year even though the meat creeps me out some times (I was a full on vegetarian as a little kid & never quite developed the taste for red meat). But I do love all the veggies in it, so this could be perfect for us both. Can’t wait to try it this weekend with some crusty bread on the side.
Just found this from your link on today’s post. I’m making it this week, and my husband is so stoked – he loves pretty much everything I make from your site. As a girl that rarely picked up anything in the kitchen, I used to promise my husband that when we married I would learn to cook. You’re site has been the best influence. Thank you for teaching me to cook, Deb!
Another one to find this from the lentil post! Made this for tea tonight and it was absolutely amazing. If I’d been served by someone else, I wouldn’t have believed it didn’t have meat in it.
Just realised from comments further up-thread that this recipe is in the book – I didn’t realise! We could’ve been eating this a month ago!! :D
I saw this link on your post yesterday and made it last night – so good! Even my husband was impressed, said it almost tasted like there was meat in it because it was so rich and flavorful! Thanks for a great recipe!!
All your recipes are so delicious but this one was so good I had to post you, and I didn’t even make it as specified! I didn’t get a chance to shop before making this so didn’t have red wine on hand (used about 2Tbsp raspberry balsamic vinegar plus extra broth) or pearl onions (used extra chopped onion). But still, we couldn’t talk about anything but how good it was at dinner. Can’t wait to make it as written!
Thank you so much for this recipe, SK!!! It has been absolutely deathly out in NYC and so naturally, I was craving something hearty. My boyfriend is a new found vegetarian and I was in quite a predicament on how to satisfy both of us. This recipe NAILED IT! Thank you for sharing :)
Deb- I see other website discussions of this recipe mentioning searing the pearl onions along with the mushrooms in the beginning. That’s not listed in this recipe, is it necessary?
Rachel — The recipe went through a couple revisions when it ended up in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, but both versions will work as written. I’m always loath to update a popular site recipe such as this as I know most people are delighted with this version. But that searing was something I added in the book.
Made this last night. Delicious!! My hubby and I are vegetarians and really appreciate your veg dishes. They have depth, flavor, and taste complexities that satisfy our appetites. Keep em coming!! Love the cookbook- it is the one I keep out :)
Just received your cookbook as a gift. And what a great gift! Tried this recipe tonight and cannot wait to try every other recipe in the cookbook if Mushroom Bourguignon is representative of all the others. Input is not difficult, and output is terrific!! Merci mille fois!
Hi Deb,
I have a friend who’s about to give birth to twins and I thought I’d make this for her but was wondering if its freezer friendly so she could store it for when she needs something but doesn’t have time(which will be always after those babies come!)
Could I make the Bourguigone and freeze that and just make noodles on demand?
Any other ideas?! :-)
Just made it, it is amazing. I couldn’t find any pearl onions today, but will keep my eye out for the future!
Just made this from the cookbook recipe, with more than a few substitutions:
-White button mushrooms instead of portabellas, because they’re cheaper
-Shallots instead of pearl onions, because the first grocery store I went to didn’t have pearl onions
-A local craft nut brown ale instead of wine for deglazing, because any reasonable quantity of red wine gives me a splitting headache the next day (and if you can’t drink the alcohol you’re cooking with, where’s the fun in that?)
-Served over yellow mashed potatoes instead of egg noodles
Despite playing fast and loose with the recipe, it turned out FANTASTIC. The sauce was full of umami goodness, somehow meaty even though I’d used veggie stock. I usually prefer mushrooms cut smaller, but the big chunks were perfect here. Everything came together quicker than I expected and thickening the sauce with flour (something I’m laughably bad at) was dead stupid easy this time.
Thanks for a great, hearty and foolproof veggie main that’s doable with local ingredients in the winter!
PS — I noticed another commenter had issues getting the mushrooms to sear but not give liquid evenly in a more modest-sized pot. I cooked with a smallish pot that could scarcely hold all of my raw shrooms. I had to sear in two batches, and even so, I couldn’t get all of them seared without getting farther than I would’ve liked into the giving-up-liquid phase. I found nothing wrong with the mushrooms’ texture in the final result.
Does this hold/reheat well? I am thinking of (a) making a batch to freeze (noodles separate, I’d think) and (b) making it for a large group setting, to be kept warm in a slow cooker, again with noodles separate. Thanks for your thoughts.
I finally made this tonight. Wonderful. I was going to say, “I don’t know what took me so long”, but then I realized – I turned 21 two weeks ago.
I wasn’t excited about being able to get into bars legally and buying from the liquor store (okay, fine, maybe a little..) – this recipe was one of the things I was looking forward to!
My husband and I gave up beef a few years ago, so THANK YOU for this recipe! I knew I would never miss beef bourguignon again after making this for the first time. In fact, a friend and I made a triple batch to divide and freeze, which it did wonderfully. Took no time at all to reheat and boil the noodles, which was especially welcoming after long work days this winter. I was very happy to see it make its way into your gorgeous cookbook.
Thank You Deb for a wonderful recipe! My husband & I loved it. I have been enjoying your blog & recently purchased your cookbook. Congratulations! Beautifully done and a book I will cherish for many, many years. I have to confess that we decided to add some meat to the recipe. Although we know that mushrooms would no doubt be “meaty” enough, we do enjoy good meat, in small amounts, and we are very selective about the meat we add to our diet. I opted for some very small slices of filet mignon. I made your recipe as written and at the very end, while the noodles were cooking, seared small slices of fillet in a very hot ironstone skillet. I then transferred them into the stew just for a few minutes at the end. Delicious! So, for any meat-loving followers of this blog, just an idea… I don’t intend to make my previous recipes for beef bourginon or beef stroganoff again. This recipe is special, easy and very delicious!
I found this in your cookbook and tried it out on a group of vegan friends for easter (used regular noodles instead of egg). Everyone raved about it and it was a huge hit! Thank you! It was fairly easy to make and so good. Definitely adding this to my list of go-to recipes. P.S. I skipped the pearl onions completely because I couldn’t find them and it still turned out great!
Some folks have recently asked if this freezes well – the answer is yes! I froze the musrhoom bourguignon, then thawed it for a day in the fridge. I didn’t notice any decline in taste or texture. But I did NOT freeze the noodles. Since noodles don’t take very long to cook, I just cooked them up a day before serving, and reheated the noodles plus mushrooms in the microwave.
Deb,
I have just made this recipe for the 8th time (at least). This is absolutely my favourite of all of your recipes, and I really really love everything i make from this site. Thanks for providing something that has flavor depth, impresses my fiance, is super delicious, and can be made on a weeknight. The SmittenKitchen is one of my favorite places! <3 Chantel
I love this recipe! I have made it several times now and it is so satisfying as well as healthy. I actually made it with portobello instead cremini mushrooms for the first time last night – what a treat!
Wow, one of those great recipes that completely exceeds expectations – certainly greater than the sum of its parts. Thank you Deb!
I just tried this recipe today- and it’s winter here in NZ- which made this dish perfect for a cold night. It was lovely. I had a to make a few adjustments here and there (no pearl onions, and I could have done with a better pan which I don’t have at the moment)- but my husband and I loved it. I would love making it again. Thanks you! :) Cheers!
Fantastic – also love it ladled on to thick pieces of challah.
It’s amazing and a little annoying how many of the commenters have NOT made the dish before they rave about it ;-) Well, I made it, and it IS excellent. Things I did a little different – I used smoked salt for the initial saute of the veggies, and I added a little smoked paprika to the braising liquid. I also made a “peanut butter” roux to thicken it, but had to double the amount of flour I used, as roux has less thickening power than uncooked flour. But no raw flour taste; in fact, a deeper, darker gravy. A huge hit, even with a friend of mine who is a both a vegetarian and a very fine cook on his own; he went back for THIRDS.
Hi Deb, I made this recipe tonight. I was so excited to make it because it looked delicious. I made it with boxed veg broth, frozen onions and dried thyme. It was good but it didn’t have that deep rich mushroom and wine flavor I was looking for. Any idea why it lacked flavor?
You used the wine, yes? You might get more flavor with a mushroom stock (or a porcini broth) than with a straight vegetable one (I’ve bought ones that were orange and opaque with too many carrots!).
Made this tonight while kids were carving pumpkins. Beef broth from bouillon, frozen onions, merlot, with a mix of shiitake, trumpet, cremini and portobello mushrooms. Deep and flavorful sauce with just enough leftovers for lunch for me tomorrow!
Major umami-yum. I made this today, using creminis. Changes I made were: adding 1/2 ounce + soaking water dried porcinis, sauteed pearl onions and rehydrated porcinis in butter and deglazed with sherry vinegar, then added them into the stew near the end. I also gave the roux a proper browning in a saucepan before added to the stew.
Served on top of some spaghetti squash and mopped up with some homemade bread, so good!
I served it with some roasted cod for a dinner party. If I were eating on my own, I’d add some cooked chickpeas and eat it veg.
omg, but the pearl onions are an incredible pain to peel.
Made this tonight. So easy, especially when all the veggies are prepped and cut before hand. Never been a fan of mushrooms before, but after making your Mushroom Marsala Pasta with Artichoke Hearts I decided that mushrooms aren’t really that bad!
Deb, I LOVE this recipe and make it often, but please tell me, do you have a secret to peeling the pearl onions?? I feel like I waste half the (already tiny) onion just trying to get the skin off!
No, I mostly curse and complain the whole time. ;) Actually, I’m sorry I didn’t mention this in the recipe: you can blanche them for 30 seconds to 1 minute in boiling water. When they come out, make a little slit with a knife and it should be easier to slip them out of their skins. I do tend to lose a layer. It’s still annoying, but slightly less.
Oh, one more thing: Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? They often sell frozen already-peeled tiny white onions, and I love them for it.
Hi Deb,
Tried this recipe tonight from your cookbook and wanted to tell you that I, too, loved it! I was surprised by how rich it turned out to be (especially with sour cream; yum) but was not at all surprised that it turned out well. Every recipe of yours, both on the blog and in the book, that I’ve tried has been a success! I love how easy your recipes are to follow. Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
I just tried this recipe tonight! Normally I get a bit stressed while cooking but this recipe was so easy– I love recipes that are all in one pot! It was just gorgeous– I added a little sour cream, and it’s really good with Parmigiano as well. I’ve been requested to make this for vegetarians at Christmas so I’ll swap out the beef broth for vegetarian, or even mushroom broth–looking forward to making it again!
Made this tonight for the 2d time. So good! Served over polenta, no sour cream needed.
Thoughts on adding cornstarch instead of flour for gluten free folk?
I haven’t tried it, but I know other stews can be thickened that way.
Four years late but just in case someone else is looking for an answer– I used about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken the stew and it came out perfect.
Deb, thanks for posting this. I’m always looking for great ideas to create “healthy” options. I wondered how I could take mushrooms and apply them to a classic presentation. I chose mushroom cacciatore. Thanks for the inspiration!
Holy. Crap. I don’t know how people aren’t freaking out about this recipe. SO GOOD!! Deb, I’ve tried a few of your things but this was divine. So rich and savory… the second it hit my tongue, I was in complete bliss. It got rave reviews around the table. Thank you for existing.
Thank you for this recipe; it was so rich and delicious.
Made a few changes (I had to, it’s snowing here and I didn’t want to go out, hehe)
– I used a mix of cremini, dried porcini & dried shitake.
– Substituted red wine for a few glugs of red wine vinegar mixed with water (to make the requested 1 cup).
– Used the water from soaking the porcini & shitake for broth.
– Used browned butter.
Next time I will leave out the pearl onions though because, like some commenter mentioned before, I didn’t feel they add anything to the dish. The boyfriend pushed them aside on his plate. I spent 20 minutes peeling them! Ha ha.
I didn’t have any problems about the thickness, it was great as is. This will definitely go in my recipe notebook. Thanks again!
I made this last night and can give it a positive review.
I made this for the second time tonight for a small dinner party, and it was a hit again! I love that it is rich and complex and no one even had a glimmer of a “where’s the beef?” thought (remember that silly old commercial?). People went back for seconds and thirds despite my having misjudged and run out of egg noodles or anything else to put it on. I discovered your site last year and I love it and your recipes. I’m off to buy your book.
Delicious and easy! I can never seem to find pearl onions in these parts (Madison, Wis.), at least not on the days when I want them, so I skipped those and added a bit more onion to the earlier step.
Mixed full fat Greek yogurt with a bit of lemon to make “sour cream” and served the whole shebang at a wine tasting. It was hearty, “meaty” and a huge hit with friends. I had some trouble getting the sauce to really thicken even after a long simmer, so I served it with both a ladle and a slotted spoon.
This was yummy, and easy enough that I could leave my husband with the recipe and come home and have it finished. He reported that he messed up, put things in in the wrong order, but it still turned out fine. Also nice bonus that this is a special meal without being a big hit to the gut.
Hi, this recipe is wonderful and we have made it several times. Two questions (I dont’ see these on my skimming of the hundreds of comments/questions): Is there really a problem with using the stems in the bourgignon? And, Is the 20 minutes simmering supposed to be covered or uncovered? Sorry if there’s anything annoying about these questions! Thank you.
Becky — There is no reason not to use the stems. I think I was mostly thinking that portobello stems could be tough, but really, it’s fine. Uncovered. Enjoy!
Just checking out your site to see what I can do with all these portobello mushrooms from a recent Costco run. Perfect! Looks like a Smitten Kitchen weekend In snowbound Ontario. Your cracked banana bread was a hit this morning. Thanks Deb for the great recipes. You’ve kept us well- fed!
Just made this tonight. I needed to cut out the butter. So I just used the olive oil called for in the recipe. It didn’t really need the butter and cut down on the fat calories. After cooking the onions and carrots, but before adding the wine, I stir-fried the flour into the veggies. Then I slowly added the wine, and this made a thickened sauce. I then added the broth and tomato paste. And cooked as directed for the 20 minutes. The recipe takes less time this way as you don’t need an additional 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. You may need to thin it a little in fact. I just used some of the pasta cooking water. It’s a terrific recipe. Thanks!
I made this when we had friends over for dinner a couple of weeks ago and it was divine! I didn’t use pearl onions because they were quite expensive and didn’t look that good at the grocery store so I substituted yellow onion instead but other than that I followed the recipe. I loved that it is so easy to make yet looks fabulous for a dinner party. I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
Another delicious recipe Deb! It’s great with some thick Italian bread toasted on a grill pan to mop up some of the juices. Will be making again for sure!
This was excellent! I made it with cremini mushrooms, a whole carrot, and 2 cups of pearl onions (from frozen, super easy). It was a bit liquidy at the end, despite the heaping teaspoon of cornstarch I added, so maybe next time I’ll simmer for longer or use my immersion blender for a few seconds to thicken the sauce. I got 5 servings from spooning the recipe generously over egg noodles. Thanks Deb!
Late to the party, but I made this for the first time last night. My husband was STUNNED to learn there was no meat in it. I added a few extra chopped onions as I couldn’t find pearl onions in any local market to save my life. Not a veggie by any means but I have a couple of veggie friends who would enjoy this. I might even sneak in the beef broth. ;)
This was so delicious and a hit with all. I took your suggestion for using grape juice instead of wine to keep it non-alcoholic (nothing fancy, just Welch’s 100% grape juice). I kept everything else in the recipe the same, and it was great! Thank you!
This was really fabulous, thank you!
I made no adjustments to the ingredients, but I found the instructions unclear as to whether the pearl onions should be browned with the yellow onion and carrots.
It says to cook the “onions” with the carrots, thyme and garlic and remove them from the pot. But later it says to add the “pearl onions” to the mushroom mixture, but with no mention of the carrot/onion/garlic mixture. I took that to mean browning ALL the onions, and that the reference to “pearl onions” meant the pearl onion mixture, but if that’s not right, then the recipe never indicates what to do with the yellow onion/carrot mixture.
Ah, nevermind. I see that the recipe has been edited since I made a copy of it – previously it said to remove the carrot mixture from the pot, before adding the wine and that line has been removed. So now it makes sense that you add the wine to the carrot mixture, and don’t add the pearl onions until it says to.
A. Brown — Sorry for the confusion!
This is insanely delicious. My husband and I both licked our plates clean. I made mushroom broth (can’t get beef or veggie broth where I live) and it gave the stew a really deep, rich flavor. This past week I’ve made your strawberry sorbet, favorite brownies (which are truly the best brownies ever), strawberry crisp bars, and then tonight, this delicious stew. I just turned to my husband and said, “What would I do without Smitten Kitchen?!” I wouldn’t make nearly as many delicious meals, that’s for sure. Thank you, as always, for sharing your awesome recipes and allowing your readers to share in the joy of good food!
WOAH. I have an allium allergy and cooked this without garlic and onions. It was still amazing. It’s hard to find a hearty, tasty dish that is not meat with such robust flavors. I will be making this again soon. Sour cream was the perfect topping.
Hi!
Just had this for dinner and just wanted to say how amazing it was – it tastes every bit as good as real beef stew but without the meat!
Very nice indeed, will become a classic in our house.
Thank you <3
It was very easy to cook, and the kitchen smelled wonderful through the whole process. I served it with fresh pasta and a green salad with home-made bread croutons.
Do you have a beef stock recipe that is simple like your uncluttered chicken stock?
Terri — No, but I’d like to make one. I probably like beef stock even more than chicken stock.
Hi Deb, I’ve been patiently waiting for your beef broth for a few years…any chance we’ll see one this winter? :) Or maybe you are saving it for the new cookbook!
Another winner–so delicious! Thanks Deb.
I make this all the time and I love it! It’s the perfect way to finish off a bottle of red (me and my partner don’t drink very often) I can smell it simmering away right now and I’m so happy! Thanks Deb!
This was our veggie option this Christmas and it was sublime, thanks!
I made this vegan by using vegan margarine and instead of noodles used it as a topping for bread/crackers. It paired wonderfully with full bodied red wine. Mmmm delish.
Oh my, beef bourgni— stew (I can pronounce it but can’t spell it!) is my favorite comfort food. I don’t mind that it takes hours; it is so worth it! Superbowl regular at our house. But THIS is amazing and quick and mushrooms are definitely going on my shopping list for this next week for Superbowl with vegetarians! Thank you!
I’ve made this twice now, but both times I forget to take the mushrooms and pear l onions out and then make the sauce. Does this mean my mushrooms and onions are soaking up too much wine flavor? Or is it just for looks so the onions dont turn too red? Was wondering why you opted for this step as opposed to just adding in the broth, wine and stock and simmering everything together.
I don’t think it’s a big deal. I looked very closely at Julia Child’s fancy/elaborate Beef Bourguignon when creating this recipe; she browns the meat and onions separately to get better color and I did here too with the mushrooms. But, I don’t think anything bad happens if you want to hasten things along and make it in fewer steps.
It is Valentine’s day, and I know I should not try out new recipes on such important days, but considering that the majority of the recipe is generally the same as beef bourg. I took a chance. I became giddy with joy when I taste the final product. It has all the complexity and richness from the original recipe sans the meat. Thank you for this recipe. It is phenomenal served over rustic mashed potatoes. Keep doing what you are doing!
This recipe was inspired. A hearty, delicious winter meal for vegetarians is tough to find sometimes, thank you so much! I ended up serving it with mashed potatoes instead of egg noodles, which worked out delightfully.
I finally made this last night and now I understand why there are almost 500 comments here! It was a great “welcome home” to husband returning from a trip! This will go into the regular rotation.
It’s all I can do not to grab a piece of bread and wipe the pot clean with it. I’m new to Manhattan and this recipe has been the culinary highlight of a couple of pretty dismal weeks. Thank you!!
So fabulous thank you very much :) I purchased the mushrooms before I knew what I was cooking as they were so fresh and lovely today. This did them immense justice!
We are vegetarian and love a new recipe!
This was fantastic! The flavours were really amazing. I used a combination of portobellos and creminis and used mushroom stock since I had a couple cups of it in the fridge. I’ve tried other mushroom ragus before, but this one was definitely the best and the only one I will be making from now one! It took a while to brown all the mushrooms, but I had to do them in many batches. Totally worth it.
I served it with soft polenta – Northern Italian boyfriend – but I can see that it would be amazing with egg noodles as well. A great vegetarian option!
<3 <3 <3! I served mine with polenta that cooked alongside. I had to make a couple of subs, like regular white button 'shrooms and TWO yellow onions because I didn't have any pearl onions. As stated, it requires a bit of prep work, and it took me more than 30 minutes cooking time, but not much more. It's a hearty, inexpensive, delicious dish that's going in my "keeper" file.
So, I’m a little challenged when it comes to prep. I’m not sure why. It prep takes me FOREVER. That said, it was soooooo worth the three hours it took me to prepare.
I cook with wine, but don’t drink it. I have to ask people for wine recommendations. So, when you say “full-bodied red wine,” what does that mean? What should I look for? Do you have a brand recommendation or a don’t-buy-this-one recommendation? Thank you!
We are going through the Pope-mainia here in SE PA and as a result, my local Farmers Markets are not open. When I see my Mushroom Guy nest week though, I am totally making this.
Hi Deb! First, I’m a huge fan. You’re my #1 source when looking for récipes- they’re always delicious, fun and not too complicated; thank you. I’ve been cooking this awesome bourguignon for a few years and it is always a hit. I decided I’d make it for a party of ten this weekend (my birthday!) and I 2.5x’d the recipe. Granted, I’m terrible at math and may have messed something up, but now I can’t get it to thicken. Any tips? Just add more flour and butter? I don’t want to destroy this giant pot of goodness! Thank you!
I’ve been making this for the last 2 years (without the wine) and can testify to its excellence. When we want something special, this is it. When we need a potluck dish, this is it. When we want something warming and comforting, this is it. Thank you for one of the best vegetarian recipes of all time.
Made this for dinner tonight. This is super hearty and super filling, and I’m saving it to make again. I had to add a second round of butter/flour at the end and simmer for another 10 minutes to get it to the thickness I wanted, but it was great. Perhaps I had it on too low of a simmer for the “20 min simmer” period allotted in the recipe. I think the sour cream as a garnish is crucial. Adds a nice thickness/creaminess to it. Huge hit with all who ate it.
Oh just read Melissa’s comment. She had trouble with it thickening and she 2.5x-ed the recipe. I 2x-ed the recipe. Maybe that was part of my problem of why I needed more butter/flour and time to get it to thicken… (Just thinking out loud). Eithe rway – totally making this again!
Total winner. Delicious rich flavor. Meaty portobellos are filling and the sauce is to die for. My only issue was with searing the mushrooms. As soon as they hit the pan they soaked the oil right up. And because I was doing batches of mushrooms that meant more oil- added calories. Next time I’ll sear the ‘shrooms in a separate non-stick skillet to get the browning without the fat. Thickened up nicely and leftovers should be great tomorrow for lunch!
What is the total cook time from start to finish? Thanks!
This is absolutely heavenly! It’s the perfect warming, comforting winter supper. I adjust slightly by adding extra pearl onions (love those!) and adding about a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce with the tomato paste and broth, which adds a nice little kick. :)
Sarah — I’d say about an hour.
I’ve used this recipe and LOVE it! Do you think it would work well to make ahead of time and reheat? I want to serve it on Christmas but won’t have the time to whip it together before meal time. Hoping to make it a day or two ahead. Think there’s any reason this won’t work?
I made this a few times and enjoyed it quite a lot. But this past year I’ve been making the Mastering the Art Beef Bourguignon, and now coming back to this I decided to make a few changes based on my experience with that recipe. First, I did the brown-braised treatment on the pearl onions. Second, I did equal parts vegetable stock and wine rather than less wine more stock. Third, after browning the carrots/onions, I added the tomato paste to the pot and browned/caramelized it a bit before adding the garlic for a quick stir and then deglazing with the wine. The browning of the tomato paste adds an extra layer of flavor reminiscent of the baconiness of meaty bourg.
Oh, and you definitely need to brown off the mushrooms in multiple batches rather than all at once. No way to get them browned otherwise.
I LOVE this recipe! I’m an American vegetarian living in meat centric Latin America and food makes me so homesick. Despite the ridiculously warm weather (2 degrees north of the equator = no seasons) I throughly enjoyed it as did my my fiancé and two of his friends (all Colombian). They’ve never had anything quite like it. So I envy all you making this on a cold winter day but no reason you can’t make this if you live somewhere perpetually warm.
A few notes on my preparation experience:
I’ve waited a long time to make this because anything other than white button mushrooms are hard to find here in Colombia. (Hard to find really means they may randomly appear a few times a year in the store, often in a sorry state.) I used 1.5 lbs of portobello mushrooms (that’s all the store had) and rounded it out with a half pound (guesstimate) regular white button mushrooms. I think the sauce was so rich it was hard to tell. I made a mediocre vegetable broth using onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and the stems of the mushrooms in the dish. Also I can’t find pearl onions. So I got small yellow onions and peeled the outer shells off (diced them for another recipe) the halved (better) or quartered (not as good, they fell apart) the onions with the stem intact to hold them together. It wasn’t quite the same but it was good.
Also it took forever to brown the mushrooms (even the button). When searching for pearl onion substitutes I saw J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (Serious Eats) note that his aunt-in-law’s Colombian stove wasn’t powerful enough to and it took 45 minutes for him to brown onions. So my word of advice/lesson of the day – pay more attention to the state of the mushrooms than how long it is supposed to take and be bold. Browned mushrooms have so much flavor!
Thanks for the terrific recipe! You’ve helped introduce a few Colombians to totally new foods.
I made this last night, and it’s wonderful! My husband doesn’t eat mushrooms, so I make things like this just for me sometimes. I’ll eat it over noodles today, but last night, I used it to top a steak, and will definitely be doing that again.
I finally got around to making this tonight after flipping though your hard cover book and it was SO good. Like lick-the-pan good! It’s actually taking all my will power to not have a third serving as dessert. This will certainly be a staple in our dinner rotation from now on especially since it’s so easy to make!
Can the sauce be made the day before?
Yes, it keeps well.
Used Wegmans brand all purpose GF flour and it’s perfect.
so happy to have this in my arsenal! rave reviews all around. made it with beef stock and added in a bit of cooked diced bacon and bacon fat towards the end. i doubled the recipe and froze half of it–it took significantly longer to reduce the finished product to the desired consistency (about an hour), but well worth it to have extra on hand for another night. this is going to be in regular rotation. thank you!!
I’ve made this several times with crimini mushrooms and vegetarian “Not Beef” broth. Absolutely delicious comfort food, perfect over egg noodles.
This sounds perfect for the cold, rainy day we have today. I’m pretty sure that when I make this, I will use mushroom broth which I love for any substitution for beef broth. I save the stems of mushrooms in the freezer until I have enough and make a broth with them. Thank you for this recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Do you discard the black gills of the portobello mushrooms?
No, but if they seem bothersome to you, you can.
This was so, so good, Deb. I upped the mushrooms to a full 3 pounds and it was perfect. Great for this veggie lover!
I love this dish. I do a variation of it with big pieces of carrot in it because I love them, too. My vegetarian boyfriend is allergic to tomatoes, so I replace the tomato paste with ajvar made from peppers and eggplant and spices. A nice touch is replacing some of the broth with dark beer (malt beer for the alocohol free option) and letting it simmer (like a Flemish beef stew). Super perfect winter dish for vegetarians!
I made this tonight with the changes of a few more garlic cloves (5) and a mix of portobello and cremini mushrooms, as well as adding three slices of bacon chopped up. It was a massive hit! Served with a side of rib eye steak and a pear/arugula/parmesan salad.
I have a family member who can not alcohol of any kind. What could I substitue for the red wine.
I’ve made this recipe before as is and absolutely love it but need to accomodate my relative.
Thanks
More broth, a non-alcoholic wine (if you can find) or maybe even a non-alcoholic beer? Different flavor profile but might give more nuance than additional broth.
What a lovely ORIGINAL recipe by Smitten Kitchen.
We made the following alterations from the book recipe: probably 1/4 cup more wine, maybe up to 1 Tblsp. more butter, a glug of brandy, probably twice the amount of dried thyme (although our dried thyme is probably 2 years old at this point), dashes of sage and rosemary, and we used Imagine beef broth. It was delicious. I feel it needed those indulgences, but to each their own!
This is a go to in my dinner rotation, I add some home-made croutons and let them saturate for the last 10 min of cooking when I don’t want to serve over noodles and make it a one pot meal. It makes it so hearty and delicious.
Amazing! I used a mixture of shiitake and cremini mushrooms, added extra carrot, and used beef broth. Definitely making this one again.
What do you think about using shiitakes (we grow them) instead of portobellos or cremini?
wow. so delicious! no pearl onions at the market but we didn’t miss them. half portobello half cremini, with a dollop of creme fraiche on top. the perfect winter meatless monday dinner!
Have made this before but just did again – so comforting on a winter night. I think next time I’ll up the finely diced carrots and onions, and then instead of pearl onions I’ll throw some sliced onions in early on, as I think I’ll prefer the texture. I also threw in a dash of balsamic to add some more acidity – apologies if this is sacrilege, but I dug it.
Have you ever mixed this with pasta and served as a pasta dish rather than alongside noodles? What shape and volume of pasta do you think would be best? Thanks!
I’d vote for rotini, fusilli, or something similarly sauce grabby. I’m thinking my sister’s mashed potatoes next.
Is there a good substitute for red wine? We don’t do alcohol at all. Thanks!
Easy and tasty, but have everything ready to go/chopped before you start cooking, it seemed to move quickly. I started with a big saute pan with sides but it was too small and had to abort to the a big soup/pasta pot (don’t have a Dutch oven). I doubled the carrots & garlic and used chicken broth and a mix of Portobello (1lb), crimini (8oz) & Shitaki shrooms (4oz). Served with homemade :-) egg pasta and the pear/arugula/parm salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar that someone above mentioned. Garnished with plain yogurt & chives. It was delish! Now I need to figure out what to do with a bag of frozen pearl onions! Suggestions? I did not save the stems from the mushrooms, had no idea what other use they had, I’d take a suggestion on a second use for them too…I also wondered why they had to be cut off (some of them I left on, seemed so wasteful to toss so much out).
Mushroom stems are really good for stock! ☺️
I quartered biggish criminis, so I just sliced the woody/dry ends off of the stems & threw them in with the rest of the shrooms. I doubled the carrots & garlic, too, so the servings were stretched farther than I expected.
Saturday morning eggs is where I use up leftover veggies and beans- it makes it like brunch! Feel fancy+use leftovers= win. I recently browned some butter and sauteed some leftover pearl onions with a bit of thyme. I served those with some halved cherry tomatoes sauteed in butter with oregano and 2 over-easy eggs dusted with more thyme and a bit of toast. Your mushroom leftovers would also make a great egg side- just saute those up with thyme in some olive oil. Cannellini beans with sage would prob dance well with those.
I made this for snuggly family dinner tonight & there were multiple bowl huggings. Roughly chopped shallots subbed for all onions & full cup of chopped carrots to help stretch an extra serving. So far beyond divine. Dare I say it was enjoyed more than the meaty version? Thank you for helping create a perfect evening! You are the 21st century Julia, babe. Adoration, etc.
I turned this into a pot pie for a dinner party last night and it was FREAKING AWESOME. The sauce is absolutely loaded with flavor and our guests were oohing and aahing that it was vegetarian. I added two small potatoes at the carrot stage, and one bunch of kale at the pearl onion stage, and increased the liquids, butter, and flour a bit (probably should’ve measured, oops). I also reduced the middle simmering time from 20 minutes to 10 since I knew it was going to bake for a while. Poured it in a baking dish, topped with pie crust, and baked it for 30 minutes. It was a little runny as pie filling, but the flavor was so good that it didn’t even matter.
I have made this twice since I found this recipe. I love it! Since I’m the only veggie head in my house I freeze the remainder in single servings and have lunches or dinner almost instantly! Thanks!
I used portobello, oyster, chestnut and white mushrooms and a mushroom stock cube– delicious! I added some extra thyme, herbes de province and laurel. The final product smelled like a beef stew and it was amazing. I didn’t feel like dragging a bag of potatoes home today but my leftovers will definitely be eaten over mashed potatoes instead of pasta to make it even better.
#SKFavorites
I love making this on Sunday afternoons, and it gets better as leftovers (with fresh noodles of course!).
I just made it and it’s delicious! what I love the most about it is the little time you need to prepare this dish! It didn’t get so dark for me though, don’t know why (and I skipped the pearl onion as I don’t like it but added more carrot- still delicious).
Could you make the sauce ahead and reheat? Looking for a vegetarian friendly dinner party recipe but I like prepping everything ahead of time.
Going to need to triple this for an upcoming dinner party-any changes for that? I might be able to ask you in person tomorrow night in DC if I get the chance! See you there
This is my favorite thing from your site – and I’ve made a LOT of your vegetarian recipes. I make it at least twice a month in the winter and have served it to many with rave reviews. It’s now my go-to Thanksgiving offering because it stands in well for gravy on a vegetarian plate.
I buy one package each of large portobellos, baby portobellos, shiitake, and white. I also usually skip the pearl onions and add some cooked lentils at the end to up the protein.
I so wish you would add a nutrition breakdown
Hi Deb! Your recipes are gorgeous. Question on this one: will it freeze well (minus the noodles)? I mean, I’m fine eating the whole thing out of the pot with a spoon, but… :)
Thanks,
Amanda
YUM! Awesome flavors. I used 1.5 lbs of baby bella mushrooms (sorry, it’s all I had!) and left out the butter and oil in the beginning stages because I’m trying to save on calories. Just used a bit of spray. Turned out fantastic and extremely flavorful.
I made this tonight and man was it good. I had to reduce it a bit further but it was very tasty. I made it exactly as written, next time I will try this over mashed potatoes, polenta, or rice. I feel like I can eat the whole pot.
I even spooned some of it over a piece of garlic bread and I was in heaven! I think this might be a great appetizer for the holidays.
Thank you!
This was great! I used crappy wine and didn’t quite follow the directions exactly and it was still delicious. Can’t imagine how much better it’d be if you cooked it correctly. Also inspired me to make a vegetarian mushroom Stroganoff soon. This recipe, but no pearl onions and more broth or white wine instead of red wine, then finish with sour cream. Any other ideas?
Thanks for another excellent recipe!
My GOODNESS! This is da bomb! Thank you for sharing this (and leaving it up since 2009). My mouth is super happy — and my tummy too! :)
Deb, thank you for including Vancouver, BC in your book tour. My sister-in-law was disappointed she couldn’t attend your book signing, however the signed copy of your book as her Christmas present more than made up for it.
I loved this dish, and have made it twice now this month, much to my family’s delight. It’s easily adaptable to make it totally vegetarian, and also to the types of mushrooms that can be added.
The leftovers brought to our office were the envy of our colleagues. I have yet to make beef bourguignon, however I will make an effort soon. Thank you for constantly inspiring us !
Made this for the first time tonight. My husband, who really likes his meat, enjoyed it immensely, but couldn’t help throwing in a little dig: this would be great with a chopped hot dog! Already thinking to serve it to my vegan friend, but have to change the wine to something non-alcoholic, as mentioned by others. But, following many suggestions, I substituted shallots for the onion in the beginning and used a whole carrot. I used a combination of portobello and crimini mushrooms. Instead of thickening with flour, I used a cornstarch/water slurry. My pearl onions were dried out so I put some frozen peas in. Delicious!! Lots left over since it was just the two of us; can’t wait to take some out of the freezer in a week or so!
This is def not for a weeknight dish!! It’s taken me forever to cook!!
I used baby Bella’s and included the stems. It was still very good and perfect over fusilli pasta!
I wanted to like this so much. I sadly was underwhelmed (and I love love SK recipes!). I’m not a gigantic fan of mushrooms but that’s not what it was. I just didn’t think it had too much flavor. I followed the directions exactly – except I subbed cremini mushrooms for the portobello ones (as suggested by Deb) but everything else was exactly as written. I’ve left it simmering on the stove for about 30 min (way more than the suggested 10) while we ate dinner and it’s still not very thick. So glad others had good success with this – perhaps I will try again another time.
This is very good; definitely season this with salt and pepper as you go.
What’s a gluten free substitute for the flour in the sauce? GF egg noodles is easy enough to find.
I might just use a gluten-free flour mix and hope for the best.
loved this. pearl onions only come pickled in jars here – don’t know if this is what you intended. they did work pretty well here though. thinking of trying boeuf bourguignon next. what is your go to recipe? thanks, as always!
This has been a huge hit each of the 3 times I’ve made it for friends! It’s hard for me to find pearl onions so I just chop another onion and nobody seems to mind. A tablespoon of ketchup (sorry if this is blasphemy…) and a little dried rosemary really kick up the savoriness. I also prefer to serve it over couscous or farro, which absorbs the liquid better than egg noodles. A keeper!
I just made this and it was delicious!! It was the richest dish I’ve made since I becoming vegetarian! You’re really right about the sauces being the best part od meat dishes. I used merlot and a mix of button mushrooms, sliced shiitakes and pearl mushrooms. I also browned the tomato paste and flour just after the garlic to cook out the raw flavour. I used veggie stock and added a dash of soy sauce for extra depth of flavour. So yummy! Thank you!
One of my favourite Smitten Kitchen recipes, I find it works best with rich but fluffy mashed potatoes!
One of my favorite recipes! We made it more of a stew and added half an acorn squash, cubed and added at the same time as the broth to simmer. It adds a lovely sweetness and absorbs the flavor of the mushrooms and wine!
Hi Deb! Do you think one could double this recipe easily without any of the ingredients overpowering the others? Thank you :)
Mushroom bourguignon has become a holiday go to for the plant-based eaters at our Thanksgiving or Christmas table. Sophisticated and delicious loved by the meat eaters as much as the non eat eaters. I like that it can be made in advance and reheated before serving. Our family and friends prefer it on mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower the best. Cheers!
There’s a great recipe for Mushroom Marsala Sauce in Cook’s Illustrated that uses chickpeas and mushrooms to create a most amazing result! I imagine you could also apply the chickpea component to this recipe as a way to keep it vegetarian but true to the basics of the recipe.
This recipe was a huge hit. I loved the rich and tasty flavors and textures without the meat. I’ll definitely make this again, but reduce the amount of pearl onions by half.
Just made this, doubled & veganized, to serve at my birthday dinner this weekend. As per usual, the recipe was PERFECT. Can’t wait to hear how everyone loves it (but honestly if they don’t I’ll be glad to have the pot for the week…)!
We had an ice storm on Christmas Eve last year. We had to abandon our plans to visit family and instead saw the movie Coco and ate this for dinner. It’s quick, easy, and delicious. Don’t change a thing.
I just made this for dinner and it was a major hit! I have never loved the beef in Beef Bourguignon, but I wasn’t sure how my family would react to the lack of beefy bits. They loved it!
Recipe changes: I didn’t have enough portobellos, so I used some dried chanterelles I had in the pantry–probably wouldn’t do that again because the texture wasn’t fab. I also neglected to get pearl onions at the store, so I quadrupled the carrots – all good. Also, I went a little crazy at the winter farmer’s market in my town and currently have a ton of greens in my fridge, so I ribboned some collards and threw them in at the end. Totally awesome. Next time, I will try using mushroom broth instead of beef.
I adapted this recipe to be vegan and it is fantastic!!
This is incredibly delicious & very rich. I followed the recipe exactly & it came out perfectly. Fantastic recipe that I will make again & again!
Hi Deb, fresh pearl onions aren’t available in Germany, where I live – just pickled ones. Would quartered white or yellow onions work here, instead?
How do love thee, let me count the ways
Made this last night and it was perfect. Only subtle changes were to use 1 lb cremini mushrooms and one cup of mixed dried mushrooms (soaked). For the beef stock, I took the mushroom water and added beef bouillon to it. Excellent recipe!
So delicious. Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I followed every step and it turned out perfectly.
One question: I also read this recipe on Food 52, where it says to sear the pearl onions with the mushrooms. Was this an update I missed? Thanks.
They might have used the version in my first cookbook, where I add that step. But you’ll be fine if you don’t.
My eight year old non eater of dinner just had seconds! Thanks!
very good rose
The only quibble I have is that this recipe took a long time to make. Mea culpa, however. My error was that I didn’t read it through carefully; we ended up eating way later than we wanted (nearly 8 pm!). Next time I will start cooking much earlier. The taste was great, and I will definitely make this again.
We made this tonight for our anniversary dinner and it was absolutely delicious. Made this meat-eater-dating-a-vegetarian so happy! The mushrooms are such a good substitute that I didn’t feel I was missing out on the beef. And he couldn’t stop raving about how great the sauce was. We will definitely be making this again.
One note: we used veggie broth (from the bouillon base in a jar) and it had more than enough salt for the recipe without us adding more. Next time we will wait to salt and pepper at the end in order to not overdo it on the salt.
This recipe is perfect
Will Vegan butter as a substitute give them same effect? I’ve made this before and it’s amazing but now i’ve got a vegan crowd
thanks!
Wondering the same thing. Did you end up trying it vegan? How’d it turn out.
This is truly delicious. Love that it is vegetarian and so great for fall and winter!
My kids are all in the same university (close by), and as the end of the semester closes in they become more stressed and desperately time deprived. I usually go there and take them to dinner (free meal!), and then leave them with a few frozen, packaged meals that they can pull from the freezer and quickly warm up when there’s no time to cook. Does this freeze well? How about if I cook the egg noodles, mix with the mushroom bourguinon and freeze the entire package?
This freezes well. I’d freeze it right before you’d put it in the oven.
Made this last night, it was absolute perfection. I’m an incredibly slow chopper/slow cook and even for me it was in the “good for a weeknight” cooking time (took me about 2 hours). This was so comforting, warm, and delicious. Will definitely make again!
This is one of the few recipes that I make again and again with almost no modifications. It’s on the stove right now getting ready for Thanksgiving. Goes well with mashed potatoes. Sometimes I add seitan to it which adds a nice texture and protein. And this time the portobello mushrooms had particularly large and meaty stems so I threw them in an instant pot with a carrot, onion, and a few other veggie scraps, and a little dark soy sauce and water. Made a perfect veggie broth for the dish.
The newsletter reminded me how wonderful this recipe is, and prompted me to make it again for Christmas dinner. I love how deeply flavorful and cozy this dish is, though I also feel it could easily benefit from some updated SK streamlining. Eh eh?
Delicious! I made it and put it over spaghetti as I had no egg noodles…OUTSTANDING! I actually added 3x more carrots for some reason…still delicious!
Absolutely delicious. Made exactly to the recipe except that I only had herbs de Provence (no plain thyme) so I used that. It took a solid hour start to finish which for me personally doesn’t qualify for a weeknight dinner, but I would absolutely make this on a weekend and double the recipe. As it was, it was enough for my husband and me with just a little leftover.
The time on this needs to be adjusted for the sake of saving how wonderful the recipe ultimately can be.
Needed to add a bit more salt- should have chosen a richer wine, but all in all a great meal.
Despite knowing how to handle pearl onions- it would have been nice to remind people how to save time as well. If I would not have known how to Blanche and squeeze it would have furthered the cook time longer.
Cannot state enough how important seasoning is with salt throughout – also Thyme add more Thyme as it takes more time. Lol. Thanks
I’ve made this twice. Second time was today. It is absolutely delicious. Period.
This was decent but I agree with Dana that this lacked flavor. This is largely my fault because I used mostly white mushrooms (trying to use them up) and cheap wine. Also, the frozen pearl onions were bland. Next time I would sear them first or seek out fresh pearls. I’m on a diet so I skipped the sour cream and served it with spaghetti squash and no-yolks noodles. This probably effected the resulting tastiness. With the leftovers, I will increase the garlic, thyme, and 🍷. Interestingly, the final product was too thin, not thick. I often like leftovers better anyway. This has potential!
I thought this was the epitome of mushroom-y, noodle-y comfort food. It’s such a simple recipe-but it doesn’t taste that way! I wanted to comment that I froze half, and just dug out the leftovers for lunch this week. I am surprised to say this, but it tastes even better after being frozen. I just cooked up some fresh egg noodles, and poof– just like that, a gourmet-tasting lunch for a couple of days. Will be making double batches and freezing half from now on.
In these odd times, there’s something lovely about having things to come back to. It feels like fall, so I’m making mushroom bourguignon, just like I did last fall and the fall before. The smell of red wine cooking on the stove reminds me of the Christmas markets to come. F Scott Fitzgerald was right – life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.
I have come back and made this recipe soooo many times! Especially when I find a new person I haven’t made it for yet :) Just wanted to share my love for this recipe (well so many of your recipes) I
I made this tonight and good heavens, it was delicious – I used the mushroom stems and veggie scraps to make an express batch of homemade mushroom stock and used it in place of the beef broth – wow. This one is a knockout.
Made this last night over mashed potatoes, DELICIOUS!
Thank you!
Hi – how about dropping some dumplings in the broth, like in your chicken and dumpling recipe ? would that work?
Yes, that would be delicious.
Excellent on creamy polenta or toast with a smear of goat cheese! Thank you for this recipe.
I’ve been making this for some years but this year it was our unplanned Thanksgiving dinner – plans changed due to covid disruptions. I always add Gardein Beefless Tips to it – they are wonderful! And this time, instead of serving over noodles I poured the finished stew into a baking dish, covered with mashed potatoes and baked to get Richard’s Mushroom Bourguignon Shepherd’s Pie. It was amazing!
Deeebbb you’ve done it again.
This is a tasty, painless supper I think worthy of a weeknight meal filing – the cook time might shell-shock a few but it’s not labor intensive at all (especially if you had buy 1 get 1 pre-sliced creminis), the ingredient list is composed of all standard pantry items, and the inactive time is significant.
… Which just means that the bottle of Cabernet I opened (a fine choice, I’d shy away from the pinot noir or zin and go the way of a cab or syrah/shiraz even, imho) gets a little lower and a load of laundry might even get done, let’s get wild here.
I was able to halve the recipe in its entirety and still cook it in my standard cast iron dutch oven (always appreciate not having to do size-math when it comes to the cooking vessel).
I’m a staunch vegetarian who must admit that a good boeuf bourguignon is undeniably delicious. This is not just a great substitute for a typically meat-based meal but a great and complete, dare I say healthy, meal in it of itself. It is unctuous (in the most positive interpretation) and has nice depth.
Discovering I didn’t have my frozen pearl onions on standby in the freezer was TRAGIC but beyond that, all according to (un)plan.
Hearty without being heavy, easy without being basic, this recipe is adaptable, but perfect as is! Thanks!
I just made this once again….perfect for nasty weather. I made minor modification this time which is worth considering, browned the flour/butter mixture to a nutty brown before adding it to the stew as a thickener. The stew has so many lovely caramelized flavors, seems like an easy opportunity to add to them.
nyt cooking has a very similar recipe that includes soy sauce. does a lot for the flavor i think.
Got Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Everyday for Christmas. Honestly this was SO delicious. Followed recipe exactly. Would not change a thing. One of the best things (so far) I have made from you. Thank you, thank you!
Made this last night and it is so delicious! It is going in my repertoire. Thank you, your recipes always work!
This was easy to make as written and was absolutely delicious. No reason to miss the meat and great for a rainy, chilly day.
I’ve made this twice, once with beef broth and once totally vegetarian. Delicious! Every has loved it. Now it’s in our regular repertoire.
This was delicious! I added the pearl onions at the same time as the mushrooms so they would soften up a bit, and I threw in a can of baby peas.
I didn’t have egg noodles so I sautéed some gnocchi until it was crispy, but it was actually better ladled over a slice of buttered bread. Next time, mashed potatoes!
This is such a treat on cold, gloomy evening! I made this with alcohol free red wine as it was what I had to hand and it was absolutely delicious, wish I’d doubled the recipe so I had leftovers! Bookmarked as one of my new favourite autumn/winter dishes.
I made this twice this week it was delicious. Maybe it’s because I halved the recipe, but I didn’t find that it took too long — maybe 40 minutes start to finish? I sauteed the pearl onions with the mushrooms, as Deb recommends in her cookbook, as I thought it added some nice carmelization (I used frozen — I can see how this would take a long time if you’re having to blanche and peel fresh ones!). I also added the tomato paste before the wine to brown it a bit. I found that after I added the flour/butter mix it didn’t take long at all to thicken up — maybe two to five minutes, not the ten indicated.
Overall, extremely delicious and rich! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Made last night, using half white mushrooms and half portobello (which I had to make 2nd trip for, as I’d only bought 1 pound). Two carrots + shallots instead of pearl onions + 1/3 bag peas at the end. Also used Bone Broth, since that’s what I had. For me, this is almost a pantry recipe, except for the mushrooms–and I wonder if, in a pinch, if you could use all dried ones! Possibly the biggest change was having it over polenta–which was just what I wanted, and I’ll do it that way again for sure, although I can see how toast would be great too. Nice job, Deb–as usual!
This was absolutely delicious. I served it over mashed potatoes and subbed cornstarch for the flour to make it gluten-free. Really wonderful recipe!
I made a vegan version and it was WONDERFUL. I subbed vegan butterand used large fettuccine noodles instead of egg, and I added a small amount of marmite to boost up the meaty flavor even more. Still so rich and satisfying. Everyone loved it. I’ll definitely make it again!
We made this today, Christmas 2021. We had eaten so much meat during the week that we wanted something meaty, but not. This was perfect, delicious, satisfying. Thank you for making our very different Christmas memorable. Thank you for all your recipes!!
I absolutely loved this. I had been meaning to try this recipe for a while.
I used a mix of regular and Portobello mushrooms and opted for beef stock this time.
It reheats well and I will be trying freezing to see how it goes.
Holy umami, Batman! I made this on a particularly nasty winter day for my carnivorous husband and it was a huge hit. This dish has all the juicy richness of meat without the meat. Just exquisite. I served with an arugula and pomegranate salad and roasted winter vegetables with chimichurri sauce. Highly recommend.
Truly so good! Ate 3 serves across the day! Helped me break a string of bad luck with recipes (not from this website). Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
I halved the recipe and cooked it in a wok, it was the biggest thing I had and it worked really well, the mushrooms start of taking up so much room in a pot/pan and this was a good work-around. I didn’t halve the garlic and I’m glad because it wasn’t overpowering but my preference is always lots of garlic
This is also a very forgiving recipe. I used a very cheap pinot noir, supermarket brand beef stock and (to my horror) I didn’t have tomato paste and used tomato passata and it was still wonderful.
I couldn’t find pearled onions in my country so I used shallots that I quartered, trying to leave part of the stem/root intact. Worked really nicely.
Absolutely delicious recipe. Added to my go-to dinners for myself and having guests over.
Made this last night together with my 16year-old son. We had it with potato dumplings and red cabbage (classic German holiday dish style) and it was absolutely delicious. This would make a lovely Christmas dinner for sure.
Thank you!
Wow, this was a wonderful meal. I served it over homemade noodles and didn’t miss the meat at all. Rich and flavorful. Don’t hesitate to make this.
Sounds super delicious – Can this be made in advance – earlier in the day? the day before?
Yummy. I only had white mushrooms and it still tasted great. I left the stems on, used more onion but skipped the pearl onions and served over mashed yukon gold potatoes (pantry clean out day).
I needed to use up pound and half of regular white mushrooms and was afraid it would be too bland. Added half pound of creminis and maybe 1/4 cup chopped bacon. Turned out very flavorful!
Made this recently and it was outstanding. We’ve been on a vegetarian “journey” for several years and I circled back around to this recipe (I had made note of it many years ago – been a SK follower for nearly 15 years). My wife (aka – The Queen) isn’t a mushroom fan – but loved this dish. It will be in our regular rotation. Many thanks Deb for another wonderful recipe.
Clayton
I just made this for the first time and halved the recipe, since it’s just me, but am now wishing I had doubled it instead! I’m a mushroom fiend and this is heavenly. Served with zoodles, the sauce is so, so good! Also sorry I waited so long to make it
Have started making this for Thanksgiving in stead of gravy, and it was requested again this year! I make as is but season to taste. I also add chunks of carrots for more veg/texture/flavor. Your recipes are a go-to for weeknight and special meals!
Hi Deb, I love coming to your site and seeing what you’ve come up with. What I’d like to see is a way to save your recipes to an account? Any way to do this for your site? Thank you.
It’s coming!
Comment regarding better than bouillon vegetarian- it’s wonderful stuff but salty. I’ve learned to go easy on the salt when using any of their varieties especially this one. (Look for the low salt version I think I saw them maybe Safeway but for some reason didn’t pick some up. ) It is so good that I even use some in my chicken pot pie at the end to boost the flavor. Caution it does darken the lighter sauces but it’s not a problem for us. I haven’t made this yet but definitely will this week. Came across a recipe from ny times in their food section Food 52 Amanda H. Looked delicious I knew Deb would have a recipe
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I realize this takes it from ‘vegetarian’ to ‘vegetable focused’ but I used beef broth and do not regret it. I got nervous that it wouldn’t cook down so i turned up the heat a bit during the simmering phase and that’s probaly why it was DEFINITELY thickened up and done way before the last ten minutes were supposed to happen. But no complaints about that! Flour/butter amount perrfect . VERY delicious. Have bowtie pasta simmering.
I’ve made this previously and it was wonderful. I have a vegetarian guest for Passover seders and I’m considering making this as an alternative to a beef dish. Have you doubled or tripled the recipe successfully? And may it be frozen successfully?
Many thanks.
Looks wonderful! How do the leftovers hold up? Hoping I can make this ahead and warm over on stove for a later meal.
Can I make this a few days in advance??