Braised Short Ribs
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Red wine braised short ribs are just the thing when you’re craving something cozy and a little special. They take their time in the oven, but the payoff is fall-apart tender beef in a rich red wine sauce that tastes like it came from your favorite restaurant.
Looking for a cozy dish to warm up winter nights or wow at holiday dinners? These braised short ribs are just the thing. Similar to my beef stew and goulash, the recipe starts with a deep golden sear on the short ribs, followed by a slow braise in a rich red wine sauce until they’re fall-apart tender.
Short ribs take a few hours in the oven, so plan ahead—but most of that time is hands-off. As they braise, your kitchen fills with the aroma of red wine, herbs, and slow-cooked beef. Serve them over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or creamy polenta to soak up every drop of the sauce.
“Easily one of the best beef meals I’ve had in ages.”
What You’ll Need To Make Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
- Boneless short ribs: This cut becomes incredibly tender and flavorful after slow braising. If you can’t find boneless, substitute 6 to 7 pounds of bone-in short ribs—the meat will fall right off the bone as it cooks.
- Onions and garlic: These aromatics create the flavorful base of the sauce.
- Tomato paste: Adds concentrated flavor and a subtle sweetness.
- Flour: A light coating thickens the braising liquid into a silky, velvety sauce.
- Red wine & beef broth: Together they form the backbone of the braising liquid. For the wine, use a bottle that’s inexpensive but still good enough to drink; a Pinot Noir or Merlot in the $8 to $12 range is ideal. Other dry, full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, or Malbec also work well if that’s what you have on hand.
- Bay leaf & fresh thyme: These herbs infuse the sauce with warm, aromatic layers.
- Carrots: Simmering with the ribs, they add natural sweetness to balance the richness of the meat and sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Season the meat: Salt and pepper the short ribs generously all over—this is your only chance to season the meat itself before it’s swimming in braising liquid, so don’t be shy.
Brown the short ribs: Work in batches so the pot stays hot and the ribs actually brown instead of steaming. Let them sit undisturbed until a deep crust forms before flipping. The browned bits left behind in the pot will become the foundation of the rich braising sauce.
Pro Tip: It might seem odd to brown on just one side, but that’s intentional—you’re building flavor here, not cooking the meat through, and it saves real time without sacrificing much.
Cook the aromatics: Once the ribs are out, the pot is full of flavor left behind from searing. Cook the onions gently until soft and golden, then let the garlic and tomato paste cook briefly on their own to deepen the flavor. Stir in the flour until it disappears completely; this is what turns the liquid into a rich, clingy sauce later on.
Build the sauce: Add the wine, broth and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pot well as it comes to a boil; those browned bits are packed with flavor. Nestle the ribs back into the pot along with any juices that collected on the plate—don’t waste that liquid gold!
Braise the ribs: Braise until the meat is fork-tender and nearly falling off the bone, adding the carrots partway through so they soften without turning to mush. Serve right away, or let it cool and store in the fridge for a couple of days or the freezer for later.
Pro Tip: Don’t rely on the clock alone. If the meat still offers resistance when pierced with a fork, let it braise a little longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in a slow cooker? Yes—make the recipe up to the point where it goes into the oven, then transfer everything (including the carrots) to a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the meat is tender.
Can I make this in an Instant Pot? I’m not an experienced Instant Pot user myself, so I can’t say for certain, but based on similar recipes, cooking on high pressure for 45 minutes followed by a 15-minute natural release should work well. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Can I make this without wine? Wine adds real depth here, so this won’t taste quite the same without it, but if you’d rather skip the alcohol, substitute the wine with additional beef broth (3⅓ cups broth total in place of the wine-and-broth mixture) and add a splash of balsamic vinegar to help mimic some of the acidity and depth.
Short Ribs Recipe Video Tutorial
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Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless short ribs, trimmed of excess fat and silver skin, cut into 3-in (8-cm) chunks (see note)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2⅓ cups red wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 large carrots, sliced ½-in (13-mm)-thick diagonally
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the short ribs and cook, without moving, until well browned on one side only, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the beef to a large plate. Repeat with the remaining tablespoon of oil and short ribs. (Note: Browning the beef adds flavor. It might seem odd to brown on one side only but I find that it saves time and does the job just as well.)
- Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat, return the pot to the stove, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. (If the onions begin to darken too quickly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to the pan.) Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed by the onion-tomato mixture, about 1 minute.
- Add the wine, broth, sugar, bay leaf and thyme sprigs; increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen browned bits. Add the short ribs and any accumulated juices to the pot and return to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid, transfer to the oven, and cook for 2 hours.
- Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Stir in the carrots. Cover and return the pot to the oven and cook 45 to 60 minutes more, or until the carrots and meat are tender. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Skim any grease off the surface of the sauce, if necessary. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Spoon the short ribs and sauce into bowls over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or creamy polenta.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi there!
I am looking to make this for Christmas Eve meal, but I can’t find short ribs in town (small area). I see the alternate cuts listed, but which alternate cut would you most recommend? We’ll be feeding 4 adults, 3 kids + 1 toddler; not afraid of leftovers but am afraid of not enough.
5 stars for now as the recipe looks delightful; will update(if possible?) to reflect after I make it if needed! Otherwise, assume it was 5 stars XD
Hi Wren, I’d go with a piece of chuck and cut them into pieces about 2 inches wide x 4 inches long. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jenn – We love your short rib recipe and have always made it exactly as you directed. PERFECTION! Unfortunately, we could only find bone-in short ribs this time, and we also have twice as many guests, so we are making two batches.
We have a 5.5-qt and a 7.5-qt round Creuset Dutch Oven, and a 9.5-qt oval Creuset Dutch Oven. We may have made a mistake using the 9.5-qt oval for the first batch of 5.5 pounds bone-in. Even though we added 1.5 cups of extra liquid, the sauce dried up very quickly compared to when we make 4 lbs of boneless in our 5.5-qt, and the meat didn’t fall apart at the touch of a fork, as it usually does. It isn’t dry, but it isn’t juicy.
We are making it in advance and have removed the meat from the bones of the first batch. We now wish to freeze it until our holiday family dinner. We hope that freezing it in the sauce will help prevent it from drying out further.
1) Is it okay to freeze the meat in the sauce, or will the meat become mushy?
2)For the second batch, would using the 7.5-qt round improve liquid retention even though we may have to stack some of the ribs?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us! YOU are the best online chef, and you can tell you care about your followers!
Hi Lori, thanks for the kind words – so glad you like the recipes! In answer to your questions, it’s fine to freeze the meat in the sauce; it won’t become mushy. And, for the second batch, if you have the 5.5-qt Dutch oven available to you, I’d use that. If not, it’s fine to stack some of the ribs in the 7.5-qt one.
This is so easy and soooo delicious! Perfect for the two of us on our Christmas Day.
THIS…WAS…AMAZING!
I made this recipe tonight exactly as written, no modifications, and it was SOOO GOOD! Served with mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus & some crusty sourdough bread. Adding this to my regular rotation. Family loved it!
My foodie son’s first response was ”this is unbelievable.” Victory!
Made the recipe exactly and just the found that I was missing something. Even used good wine. Secondly the price for short ribs are ridiculous. Disappointed to spend so much on this meal. Will not be making this again.
I’m planning to make this for a holiday gathering. Could you please let me know how many people this recipe serves? Thank you!
Hi Marni, this serves 6 to 8 people. Happy holidays!
Can pork spareribs replace beef short ribs?
Hi Joe, I don’t recommend it – sorry!
Love this! Delicious!
I wonder if I could use pork ribs?
Hi Cheryl, yes, pork (country-style) ribs will work here. Cooking time will be about the same, but taste to be sure they are getting tender after 2 1/2 hours before you remove the cover. If not, cook another 30 minutes and check them again. Hope you enjoy!
Jenn: do you think it would improve the flavor if I marinated the ribs in red wine overnight before cooking?
No, Gail, I wouldn’t bother; it really won’t have an impact.