Tender Beef Stew Without Wine
This Beef Stew Without Wine is a twist on French boeuf bourguignon. It features tender beef, bacon, carrots, shallots, and mushrooms simmered in beetroot juice, chicken broth, and balsamic vinegar for a rich, wine-free flavor.
Beef Stew Without Wine is based upon the famous French ‘Boeuf Bourguignon‘ Stew, but this version is kid-friendly. It contains no wine; we replaced it with beet juice for the colour and earthiness, chicken broth for the taste, and a touch of balsamic vinegar. The usual veggies are carrots, shallots, garlic, and mushrooms. This stew will surprise even the Bourguignon-style lover! It is as rich, deep, and yummy as the original, with a redder undertone.
Alcohol-Free Stew
Most people would tell you that alcohol evaporates when cooked, yes, but not completely; there is still plenty, especially for little ones.
Did you know that after 1 hour of slow cooking, 25% of the alcohol is still intact, and after 2 hours, 10% is still there? Cooking doesn’t eliminate the alcohol, and when kids are involved, it is better to play safe.
Beetroot
Here is how I composed my alcohol-free Bourguignon stew. I’ve switched the core ingredient: red wine with pure Beetroot juice and Balsamic Vinegar. I needed to keep this Burgundy-coloured; there’s no better way to reproduce red wine than a red beetroot! It’s an underrated superfood with many health benefits; check it out here! Although brighter, this pure beetroot juice is also quite earthy; it needs a counterbalance of acidic elements like balsamic vinegar!
Wine Turning Into Vinagre
Vinegar comes from the French word “Vin-aigre“, which means sour wine. When wine gets too warm or a lousy cork oxidizes a bottle, it magically turns into vinegar. Essentially, Balsamic vinegar is made of red grapes, just like red wine, so this result is pretty similar once evaporation is achieved! Without an ounce of alcohol! Here is a link to learn all about wine oxidation and how to prevent it.
The Secret Ingredient: Chocolate
Oh yes, this is one of my favourite ingredients for dark stews. You don’t add much; just a little dark chocolate at the end of the cooking thickens the liquid and gives it this fantastic colour! You won’t add enough to make it taste like chocolate; do not worry. It will complement the earthy beetroot and sour vinegar, bringing the sweet bitterness of chocolate into the mix.
Toppings
Some people like to add chopped garlic and parsley at the end of cooking to give it a lovely fresh kick. However, my kid wouldn’t let me put any green stuff in his stew, so I added chopped scallions, which could be parsley or chives. Also, the recipe calls for a Bouquet Garni, a little mix of Mediterranean aromatics like bay leaves, thyme, parsley and marjoram (similar to oregano). So go ahead if you have a bouquet of garni; if not, use what’s in your pantry. I’ve added bay leaves and oregano.
Beef Stew Without Wine
Equipment
- Dutch oven or big pot
Ingredients
- 500 g Beef Cubes brisket, sirloin
- 250 g button mushrooms sliced
- 125 g smoked bacon
- 750 ml chicken broth
- 250 ml beetroot juice
- 100 ml balsamic vinegar
- 75 g dark chocolate (3 pieces) over 80%
- 8 French shallots or small French onions cut into two (or an onion).
- 5 carrots Cut into big chunks.
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bouquet garni or two bay leaves and thyme or oregano
- 4 cloves stick them into a shallot and remove in the end.
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven and sear the beef cubes at high heat on each side.
- Once the meat is brown, add the bacon, carrots, shallots and one garlic clove and let it cook another minute or two before adding the aromatics and all the liquids (beetroot juice, balsamic vinegar and broth). Scratch the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to collect all the bits of meat.
- Bring to a simmer and let it half-covered for 2.5 hours.
- Add the mushrooms and let it simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Add the chocolate and garlic to the stew and let it melt, thickening the sauce and giving it colour.
- Serve over potatoes, couscous or pasta with scallions or chives to decorate.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Did You Make This Recipe?
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I loved this Beef Stew because it was so easy to make and flavorful. I never heard about adding dark chocolate to the stew, but I tried it, and came out delicious. It was perfect and I can recommend it. Thanks x
I love that you made this stew without alcohol and used beetroot juice and balsamic vinegar. It’s so creative! I don’t consume alcohol, so this will come in handy.
It’s my pleasure! Glad you like it!
love this lovely beef stew without wine. It is perfect for little kids since I don’t like to them to have too much
The wine even if cooked is still in part in there, which for a mini is gigantic. I think better safe than sorry.
What a delicious stew! It was so cozy served over mashed potatoes.
Over mashed potatoes, or boiled potato is the typical side, I also like couscous, to suck all that yummy juice!
Great tasting stew and a perfect meal for the cold weather we had lately. I was very pleased with the outcome.
For people who doesn’t do alcohol in their stew, i think it’s mimic pretty good the taste!
I don’t drink so I decided to see what alternatives are out there. For me this tastes better than one with red wine with the benefit of healthier ingredients. I put less chocolate in the second time as I found it overpowering with the specified amount but that’s only a small issue. Absolutely delicious.
the dark chocolate taste shouldn’t be strong at all, it’s mainly to give colour and it’s a thickener. I’m glad you enjoyed it!