The 30-second answer
Replace the 2 cups of red wine with: 1½ cups beef broth + ½ cup unsweetened red grape juice + 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar + 1 tablespoon tomato paste. That triple — savory depth, fruit body, acid punch — mimics burgundy in braised beef so closely that no one at the table calls it out. Sear the beef and bacon first (this is the non-negotiable step), then everything goes in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Ready when you get home from work.
The wine substitute that actually works
Wine does three things in bourguignon: it adds acidity (which tenderizes and brightens), depth (fermented, savory undernotes), and body (color and mouth-feel). Broth alone covers depth but nothing else, which is why “just use broth” recipes taste flat. You need to rebuild all three components.
| Replace 2 cups red wine with… | Ratio | What it delivers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef broth + grape juice + balsamic (recommended) | 1½ cup broth · ½ cup unsweetened red grape juice · 2 tbsp balsamic | All three — depth, body, acid | Anyone; closest to the real thing |
| Beef broth + red wine vinegar | 2 cups broth · 2 tbsp vinegar | Depth + acid, no fruit body | Kids, low-sugar diets |
| Pomegranate juice + broth | 1 cup juice · 1 cup broth · 1 tbsp lemon juice | Fruit acid, tannic finish | Deeper, more assertive flavor |
| Cranberry juice + broth | ¾ cup juice · 1¼ cup broth · 1 tbsp balsamic | Tart, bright | When grape juice isn’t available |
| Alcohol-removed red wine | 2 cups (1:1 swap) | Everything, minus alcohol | Adults who miss the wine flavor exactly |
Why grape juice works better than you’d think: use unsweetened. Welch’s regular grape juice is too sugary and will make the sauce cloying. Look for 100% juice with no added sugar (Trader Joe’s, Santa Cruz Organic, and R.W. Knudsen all make one). Even so, cutting it with broth 3:1 keeps it in check.
Ingredients (serves 6)
Wine-Free Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
The stew
- 2½ lb (1.1 kg) beef chuck roast, cut into 1½-inch cubes
- 6 oz (170 g) thick-cut bacon or lardons, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp kosher salt · 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil (as needed for searing)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 lb (450 g) cremini mushrooms, halved (add in last hour)
- 1 cup (150 g) frozen pearl onions, thawed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves · 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (to finish)
The wine substitute (mix in a jug before adding)
- 1½ cups (360 ml) low-sodium beef broth
- ½ cup (120 ml) 100% unsweetened red grape juice
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (skip for strict vegetarian pairings; it contains anchovies)
Step 1 — Sear the beef and bacon (don’t skip)
Every top-ranking slow cooker bourguignon recipe agrees on this: skip the sear and you get boiled beef stew, not bourguignon. The Maillard browning is what creates the deep, meaty, roasted flavor no amount of wine (or wine substitute) will add later.
- Pat the beef cubes bone dry with paper towels. Wet beef steams instead of browning. Toss with the salt, pepper, and flour.
- Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
- Turn the heat to medium-high. Sear the beef in 3 batches — never crowd the pan, or the meat steams. About 90 seconds per side until deeply browned. Transfer each batch to the slow cooker.
- Drop the heat back to medium. Add the onion to the same skillet, cook 3 minutes, then add the garlic and tomato paste. Stir 60 seconds until the paste turns brick-red.
- Deglaze the pan with about ½ cup of your broth mixture. Scrape all the dark bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon — that’s your flavor. Pour the entire pan (onions and all) into the slow cooker.
Step 2 — Everything into the slow cooker
- Add the carrots, thawed pearl onions, bay leaves, and thyme to the slow cooker.
- Pour the remaining wine-substitute mixture over everything. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat — top with a splash more broth if not.
- Cover. Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Do not lift the lid before the 6-hour mark on low (each peek adds 20 minutes to the cook time).
- Mushrooms go in for the last hour. Sauté them in a dry skillet for 5 minutes until they release their liquid and re-brown, then stir them into the slow cooker. This one step is the difference between mushrooms with bite and gray, waterlogged mush.
Step 3 — Finish and thicken (10 minutes at the end)
When the beef falls apart with a fork, the sauce might be a touch thinner than a classic bourguignon (because you’re not reducing wine’s alcohol). Two ways to fix it:
- Cornstarch slurry (fast): whisk 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp cold water. Stir into the pot, switch to high, cook 10 minutes uncovered.
- Reduce on the stove (best flavor): ladle the liquid into a wide pan and simmer 8–10 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Pour back over the beef.
Taste. If it needs a lift, add another teaspoon of balsamic or a squeeze of lemon. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top before serving.
Watch it happen (video)
The video uses wine, but every technique — searing, deglazing, mushroom timing, the final reduction — is identical. Follow the method, swap the liquid.
What to serve it with
Bourguignon needs a starch that can sop up sauce. Ranked by classic-to-modern:
- Buttered egg noodles — the American default. Wide pappardelle if you can find them.
- Mashed potatoes — Julia Child served hers this way. Use Yukon Gold for the buttery mouth-feel. Our creamy mashed potatoes guide gets the texture right.
- Crusty baguette — the French way. A sliced country loaf for dunking.
- Polenta — parmesan-enriched. Turns this into an Italian-adjacent Sunday plate.
- Roasted potatoes — for a lower-carb pairing that keeps some crunch.
For the green: a simple salad with sharp mustard vinaigrette. The sauce is rich; the plate needs acid somewhere.
Wine flavor without alcohol — the two chef tricks
Storage, freezing, and next-day upgrade
Bourguignon is one of those stews that tastes better on day two. The connective tissue continues to soften as it cools, and the flavors round out overnight in the fridge.
Storage timing
- Fridge: 4 days in a sealed container. Reheat gently — low burner, covered, stirring — until steaming (165°F). Add a splash of broth if it thickened too much.
- Freezer: 3 months. Cool completely, freeze in single-serving containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge; do not microwave from frozen (the sauce breaks).
- Meal prep: this doubles cleanly. Cook a full 5 lb batch, eat some tonight, freeze the rest for four future dinners.
Common problems, quick fixes
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sauce is thin and pale | No sear on the beef, or too much liquid | Reduce sauce on the stove 10 min; add cornstarch slurry |
| Sauce tastes flat / “meaty” without depth | Not enough acid — wine’s biggest job | Add 1 more tbsp balsamic or 1 tsp lemon juice, taste again |
| Sauce is too sweet | Sweetened grape juice used | Add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; next time use 100% unsweetened juice |
| Beef is chewy after 8 hours | Cubes too big, or used the wrong cut (round or sirloin instead of chuck) | Chuck is essential; cook 1 more hour on low if using chuck |
| Mushrooms look gray and slimy | Added at the start with everything else | Always add mushrooms in the last hour, sautéed separately first |
| Pearl onions fell apart | Fresh added raw + long cook time | Use frozen pre-peeled pearl onions and add with mushrooms in the last hour |
Nutrition (per serving, with egg noodles not included)
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 490 kcal | 25% |
| Protein | 44 g | 88% |
| Fat | 26 g | 33% |
| Saturated fat | 9 g | 45% |
| Carbs | 18 g | 7% |
| Fiber | 3 g | 11% |
| Iron | 5 mg | 28% |
| Sodium | 780 mg | 34% |
*Based on 2,000-calorie diet. Sourced from USDA FoodData Central. Values shift with cut selection and broth sodium.
Frequently asked questions
Does all the alcohol cook off in beef bourguignon anyway?
No — that’s a persistent myth. The USDA cooking-loss reference puts 2-plus hours of braising at roughly 5–10% alcohol retention. For kids, pregnant readers, recovering alcoholics, or anyone religiously abstaining, that’s not zero. This recipe delivers actual zero.
What’s the best cut of beef for slow cooker bourguignon?
Chuck roast, cut in 1½-inch cubes. It has the collagen that turns into silky gelatin over 8 hours at low temp. Skip pre-cut “stew meat” — it’s usually mystery-cut round or sirloin, which never gets tender. See our beef cuts chart for why.
Can I make this in an Instant Pot or Dutch oven instead?
Yes. Instant Pot: sauté mode for step 1, then pressure-cook on high for 35 minutes with quick release. Add mushrooms and pressure-cook 5 more minutes. Dutch oven: sear, then 325°F oven for 3 hours with the lid on, adding mushrooms in the last 30 minutes.
Do I have to sear the beef first?
Yes — or accept that the finished stew will taste like boiled meat. The 10 minutes of stove-top searing is where roughly 80% of bourguignon’s flavor is built (via the Maillard reaction). No wine substitute compensates for skipping this step.
What can I use instead of bacon?
Smoked turkey lardons or diced pancetta work almost identically. For fully pork-free: 4 oz smoked turkey + 1 tsp smoked paprika added with the spices restores the smoky depth. Skipping the pork element entirely will noticeably flatten the finish.
Can kids eat this? Is it safe during pregnancy?
Yes to both — that’s exactly the reason to make it wine-free. Grape juice and balsamic vinegar contain trace natural fermentation compounds but no ethanol worth measuring. If you’re being maximally cautious during pregnancy, use the beef-broth-plus-vinegar-only variant from the table above.
Did You Try Our Recipe ?
Scrumptious
My husband (who is extremely picky) loved the liver & onions so much!! I didn’t have any beef broth or Sherry so I used about a tbl of Worcestershire and 1/4 c of white wine …..it was scrumptious
Response from MeatRecipesBox
Oh wow, I’m so happy to hear that!! 😍 I love that you made it work with what you had on hand — Worcestershire and white wine sound like a delicious twist. So glad your husband enjoyed it, especially being picky! Thank you for sharing your version, it makes me smile knowing it turned out scrumptious!
This was amazing
This recipe turned out really amazing! It’s juicy and spiced deliciously. I definitely would use less of the spicy pepper next time, but it really was delicious and I don’t think I’ll make chicken legs any other way from now on.!
Response from MeatRecipesBox
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. I’m really glad to hear the recipe turned out juicy and full of flavor for you. That’s exactly what I was hoping for when putting it together. Good call on the spicy pepper as well. Adjusting the heat level to your own taste is always the best approach, and using a little less next time should make it just right for you. I really appreciate you trying the recipe and sharing your experience. It’s great to know it worked so well for you.
I Didn’t Expect This Cornbeef Hash Recipe to Taste This Good!!
One skillet. A handful of simple ingredients. Thirty minutes on the clock. And somehow… I ended up with the crispiest, most comforting cornbeef hash recipe I’ve made in years.
I wasn’t expecting much—just a quick, no-fuss meal. But that first bite? Crispy edges, tender potatoes, smoky corned beef, a little kick of pepper. It tasted like something straight off a cozy diner griddle.
Honestly, it caught me off guard—in the best way. Here’s why this simple skillet completely won me over.
Emma Delacourt
Recipe Developer & Founder, MeatRecipesBox
Emma has been developing and testing meat recipes since 2019. She focuses on temperature precision, food science, and making restaurant-quality results accessible for home cooks. Every recipe on this site is tested multiple times before publishing.
