Beef Daube – French Beef Stew
, Published Oct 15, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Classic French Beef Daube Provençal – this slow-cooked beef stew with red wine, herbs, and vegetables is incredibly rich and deeply comforting – a rustic dish that tastes even better the next day.
Beef Daube Provençal (also known as Beef en Daube) is the ultimate French comfort food – meltingly tender beef braised in red wine with shallots, carrots, garlic, herbs and pancetta. Like it’s cousin Boeuf Bourguignon, it is incredibly rich, complex and satisfying, turning inexpensive cuts of beef into a thing of beauty! Serve it over creamy mashed potatoes or buttered noodles and prepare for sighs around the table.
What’s Daube then?
The word daube comes from the Provençal adobar meaning “to marinate.” As a dish, daube (a.k.a beef daube, boeuf en daube, or beef daube Provençal) originates from southern France, specifically Provence, where it was traditionally cooked in a daubière – an earthenware or copper pot.
This rustic stew is made with meat slowly braised with red wine, aromatics, tomatoes, olive oil, herbs and sometimes olives, prunes or orange peel for sweetness and complexity. The slow braise turns the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender while the sauce thickens to glossy perfection – like all good stews, it tastes even better the next day.
Here’s What You’ll Need
- Beef: Chuck steak, beef shin or any cuts suitable for slow cooking. The beef is dredged in seasoned flour before searing which in turns thickens the sauce.
- Pancetta or bacon: Adds a smoky, savory base and depth to the sauce.
- Shallots and garlic: A whole small head of garlic (!) and sweet aromatic shallots or diced onion.
- Carrots: Chantenay carrots can be used whole, no peeling required. They hold their shape during the slow braise and are naturally sweet. You can replace with regular ol’ carrots of course.
- Wine: Beef Daube can be made with red or white wine. A good dry red wine like Côtes du Rhône will create an incredibly rich sauce, while a dry white Sauvignon makes for a lighter stew.
- Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes or tomato paste enrich the sauce.
- Prunes: diced prunes melt into the sauce adding subtle sweetness.
- Beef broth or stock – use a low sodium broth or good quality stockpot.
- Bouquet garni: this bundle of herbs, typically thyme, bay leaves and parsley stalks tied together with kitchen twine – all the flavor plus easy to discard! Add a celery stalk and orange peel if you can for added flavor.
How to Make Beef Daube
- Pat the beef dry and sliced into cubes. Toss it with flour seasoned with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Heat a large Dutch Oven and add the pancetta or bacon, cooking over medium-high heat until the fat starts to render. Add the olive oil and brown the beef, in batches, until nicely colored on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to transfer everything to a plate.
- Add the butter, shallots, carrots and garlic. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the shallots have softened.
- Pour the wine in and simmer over high heat until it is reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes, prunes and vinegar.
- Return the beef and bacon to the pan, add the bundled herbs and cover with a tight fitting lid.
- Transfer to the oven and cook for 2-3 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Discard the bouquet garni and fish out the garlic. Squeeze the garlic flesh out, mash with a fork and stir back into the stew.
- Have a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with plenty of chopped parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Serving Suggestions: Serve your Beef Daube spooned over creamy mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or soft polenta. Pair with a glass of red wine and crusty bread to soak up every drop of sauce.
- Leftovers and storage: Some cooks recommend storing the stew for at least a day to let the flavors develop. While I can’t say I am ever that patient, it’s true that leftovers are amazing! Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze in suitable containers for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm on the stove with a splash of stock or water to loosen the sauce.
- Crockpot instructions: Follow method steps 1-5 then transfer everything to the slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours on the low setting or until the beef is tender. Cook with the lid off for the final hour if the sauce needs thickening or stir in 1 tbsp cornstarch slurry and simmer.
👉 If Beef Daube is your kind of dish, check out these rustic stews: Chicken Cacciatore, Beef Stifado, One–pot Vietnamese Beef Stew, Kotopoulo Kokkinisto (Chicken In Tomato Sauce), Spezzatino di Manzo (Italian Beef Stew).
Whether you call it daube, boeuf en daube, or daube of beef, this dish proves that patience and good ingredients are all you need for extraordinary flavor. Please leave a comment and rating if you try this recipe, follow me on Pinterest for more easy recipes and don’t forget to tag me on @Instagram or TikTok so I can see your creations.
Beef Daube
Video
Ingredients
- 3 lb (1.35 kg) beef shin or chuck steak, cubed
- 4 tbsp flour all-purpose / plain
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ cup (115g) diced pancetta or thick-cut bacon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 large shallots peeled and roughly chopped
- 14 oz (400g) carrots baby / Chantenay or See Note 1
- 1 small whole head of garlic See Note 2
- ¾ cup (180ml) red wine
- 14 oz (400g) canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 4 large prunes finely diced
- 3 cups (750ml) beef broth or stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 5 stalks parsley stems and leaves
- 1 small piece orange peel (optional)
- 4 tbsp parsley finely chopped, to garnish
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Pat the beef dry and sliced into cubes. Toss it with flour seasoned with the salt and pepper and set aside.3 lb (1.35 kg) beef, 4 tbsp flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper
- Heat a large Dutch Oven and add the pancetta or bacon, cooking over medium-high heat until the fat starts to render.½ cup (115g) diced pancetta
- Add the olive oil and brown the beef, in batches, until nicely colored on all sides. Use a slotted spoon to transfer everything to a plate.2 tbsp olive oil
- Add the butter, shallots, carrots and garlic. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until the shallots have softened.1 tbsp butter, 4 large shallots, 14 oz (400g) carrots, 1 small whole head of garlic
- Pour the wine in and simmer over high heat until it is reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes, prunes and vinegar.¾ cup (180ml) red wine, 14 oz (400g) canned chopped tomatoes, 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, 4 large prunes
- Make the bouquet garni: tie the bay leaves, thyme, parsley and orange peel, if using, with kitchen twine.2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme, 5 stalks parsley, 1 small piece orange peel
- Add the beef broth and bring to a simmer. Return the beef and bacon to the pan, add the bundled herbs and cover with a tight fitting lid.3 cups (750ml) beef broth
- Transfer to the oven and cook for 2-3 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Check at the one hour mark to see if you need to top up the liquid, adding ½ cup (125ml) hot water if the pan looks dry.
- Discard the bouquet garni and fish out the garlic. Squeeze the garlic flesh out, mash with a fork and stir back into the stew.
- Have a taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with plenty of chopped parsley and serve.salt and freshly ground pepper, 4 tbsp parsley
- Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles and crusty bread.
Notes
- Note 1: Substitute with four large carrots, peeled and diced into chunky pieces.
- Note 2: Use five large minced cloves instead of the whole head of garlic.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve your Beef Daube spooned over creamy mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or soft polenta. Pair with a glass of red wine and crusty bread to soak up every drop of sauce.
- Leftovers and storage: Some cooks recommend storing the stew for at least a day to let the flavors develop. While I can’t say I am ever that patient, it’s true that leftovers are amazing! Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze in suitable containers for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm on the stove with a splash of stock or water to loosen the sauce.
- Crockpot instructions: Follow method steps 1-5 then transfer everything to the slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours on the low setting or until the beef is tender. Cook with the lid off for the final hour if the sauce needs thickening or stir in 1 tbsp cornstarch slurry and simmer.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
This looks so beautifully comforting. Its not even vaguely Autumnal weather here yet, but I think I'm going to give this a try at the weekend anyway. We can crack open a bottle of red wine, turn up the air con and pretend that weather that calls for blankets, stew and cosiness!
Jennie x
This looks so good! I've just found you via cosmo blog awards and am absolutely loving the blog. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Natalia! And for your kind words… Comments like yours make my day : )
I've just shown this post to my husband, who is currently drooling over the perfect pictures and prose!
Thanks Kate… it was popular with my husband as well. Not everything I make is (he is not a cake lover!)
I love prunes in this gorgeous stew, Lucy! I've never used them myself but there are some Russian stews out there that call for prunes as well and that always intrigued me. I need to make this really soon. Absolutely stunning photos as usual. Pinning.
You will love this I am sure. Such a wonderful flavour – can't get enough of it.
I love prunes in savoury dishes, and this looks rib-stickingly terrific. A most perfect #AutumnWarmer recipe. 🙂
Thanks Kellie! This currently occupying the number one spot in my top ten comfort food recipes.
Your styling is beautiful, and I rather fancy some of those lovely plates… I always forget that celeriac exists, I do like it though and really should use it more often!
The big plates come from Rowen and Wren – an amazing online homeware store. I want to buy half the shop!
loving all our scummy Autumn Warmer recipes, this is so perfect and that mash looks adorably creamy. I could swim in this. Is that wrong?
Swim away Dom – who am I to judge. It is unbelievably delicious. Tonight's dinner in fact : )
Absolutely perfect Autumnal comfort food. I'll skip on the Celeriac mash though. Try as I might its just not my kinda veg!
Really? I love celeriac. Especially love it doesn't turn to glue if you blitz it in the Vitamix – unlike potato
this sounds wonderful. i love using root veg as mash too
So yummy. And it makes the house smell incredible!
Such a beautiful stew Lucy! We are currently experiencing storms in New England that have brought a cold front in. I think a warm, rustic and homey stew like this is in order.
It's still not too bad over here but expect a sudden change in the weather soon! Bet New England is gorgeous when the leaves start to turn!