Savory mushrooms and carrots in a rich red wine sauce over chewy pasta. This is a warm, hearty, and satisfying meal that will please everyone at your table.
Vegan mushroom Bourguignon, you are going to be the dish that gets me over the loss of summer.
Don’t think that I don’t appreciate the change of seasons, I do. In fact fall is one of my favorite seasons—next to summer.
If you live in the Chicago area then you get me. At least I think you do. You see, fall in Chicago—or autumn if you want to be all proper—is like Vail, Colorado in the summer. You wake up to cool, crisp mornings and then the sun shines and it’s seventy two for the afternoon, and just like that, the chilly air returns in time for dinner. Perfect!
But it’s short lived, and then winter blows in.
I love the beginning of winter, only the beginning. The peaceful beauty of the first snow, the exhilaration of the first snow day, Christmas, I love those things, but it’s a looong season, and after the first thrill of winter is over, and everything turns gray, and brittle, and cold, I want summer back.
That’s why this vegan mushroom bourguignonne and I are going to be good friends for the next five to six months. Very good friends.
Bourguignon Bourguignon. Bourguignon. Say it three times fast. I can’t even say it once, correctly anyway. The husband got a kick out of me as I tried to pronounce it with a French accent. Cue the laughter.
But he wasn’t laughing when he took his first bite, no sir, because this dish is no laughing matter. It’s seriously good stuff that will make everyone in the room shut up and eat.
Don’t like mushrooms? I’m kind of guessing that this will change your mind. Why? Because they soak up the red wine and the seasonings and they taste like little slices of French heaven.
They aren’t slimy, or spongy, or anything like you’re probably used to when it comes to mushrooms. These are meaty, delicious, and addicting. For real.
The wine sauce is the captivating star of this show and it turns every ingredient it touches into an academy award winning co-star.
You’ll start out by sautéing the mushrooms in a touch of olive oil, and then the carrots.
Next, you’ll caramelize the onion and shallots. To deglaze the pan you’ll add some vegetable broth and red wine.
To enhance the broth you’re going to want to add some fresh thyme and dried Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Finally, let the sauce simmer for forty minutes or so.
Your kitchen is going to smell like a five start French restaurant. There is something to soothing and relaxing about the aroma of red wine and thyme comingling in the air. You won’t even need to drink a glass of wine while you’re cooking, just take deep breaths and smell the sauce and your tensions of the day will melt away.
Smother a pile of fettucine with this vegan mushroom Bourguignon and take your first bite. That wonderfully rich sauce will make you speechless. Not because you’ll have no words to describe it, but because you won’t want to spend any time talking when you could be eating.
Like I said before, this mushroom Bourguignon and I are going to be tight this winter. Its full flavored and comforting red wine sauce will help me make it through the coldest of nights. It might even make me appreciate wearing socks again. And trust me, that’s a big deal, because as you know, I’m all about bare feet and sunshine.
Tell me:
What's your favorite season?
Bare feet or socks?
Do you remember Julia Child making Beouf Bourguignon on her cooking show, The French Chef?
Vegan Mushroom Bourguignon
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 1 stove
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 2 lb mushroom caps we prefer baby Portobellos, stems off and sliced thick
- 6 large carrots peeled and sliced into 1 inch 2.5 cm circles
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and diced
- 1 large shallot peeled and sliced thin
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups red wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon ground sea salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves plus extra for garnishing
- 2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour use cornstarch to make it gluten free
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 1 lb package of fettucine
Instructions
- Fill a pasta pot with water and heat on medium to warm the water.
- Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, sauté for approximately ten minutes or until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil and the carrots. Sauté until they begin to brown then add the onions. Cook the onions until they become translucent then add the shallots. Cook until they are browned and caramelized, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add the vegetable broth and wine to deglaze the pan. Stir and loosen the pieces of onion and shallot that may have stuck to the pan. Add the tomato paste and stir until it liquefies. Add the salt, thyme, Italian seasoning, and pepper, stir to combine and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for twenty minutes. Add more seasoning if you prefer a stronger flavor.
- In a small bowl, mix the flour (or corn starch if you want to make it gluten free) and water together until the flour breaks down and the mixture resembles a thick milky substance. There shouldn’t be any dry flour or lumps in the mixture. Add it to the wine sauce and stir well to combine. Add the mushrooms and stir to incorporate within the sauce. Cover and simmer on the lowest temperature for twenty minutes. The sauce will thicken into a stew. Be sure to lift the lid and check to make sure it’s not sticking to the pan or evaporating. That shouldn’t happen if the temperature is low enough, but if it does add a small amount of broth or water and stir.
- Turn the heat for the pasta water to high and bring to a boil.
- Twelve minutes before the sauce is done, salt the pasta water (approximately 1 tablespoon (15 g)) and add the fettucine to the water. Cook according to the directions on the package.
- Divide the fettucine by four and make a nest in the center of each plate. Spoon the mushroom Bourguignon on top of the fettucine. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
Kelli says
Any idea what to use besides carrots? I’m just not a fan of cooked carrots
Maybe a root veggie? What are your thoughts?
Linda & Alex says
Hi Kelli,
You could try parsnips or acorn squash. They will alter the flavor of the dish, but it you're not a fan of carrots, that won't be a problem. 🙂
Mary Pressman says
This recipe looks absolutely delicious and here comes the BUT - the nutrition analysis says that there is 1754mg of sodium -76%bof the daily recommended allowance, That is a lot. What in this recipe is contributing to this high number?
How can we whittle this sodium number down and make it more heart healthy?
Thanks for looking into it,
Mary
Linda Meyer says
Hi Mary,
Great question. The nutrition calculator is adding up the entire recipe (even though it states, per serving at the top), not individual servings. Furthermore, it doesn't account for low sodium, or no sodium broth, which makes a big difference. You can certainly salt to taste instead of using the 2 tsp that we do. Once we find a recipe card with a better nutrition calculator, we will definitely change to that. 🙂
Deedee says
Would there be a way to make this for a crowd?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Deedee! How many people would you be making it for? You could double it for 8 servings, but once you go beyond that, the herbs would need to be adjusted. Let us know and we'll try and figure it out for you. 🙂
Lori Peck says
Ohmygoodness! SUPER YUMMY! I actually made this in the InstaPot! I used the sauté setting first then cooked it on the soup mode pressure closed for 15 minutes. Then back to sauté to thicken, watched very closely! My husband LOVED IT!!! He suggested serving it over mashed potatoes so I’m making those now for our lunch tomorrow! This certainly could be served on Christmas for dinner or any holiday!!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Lori! Thank you so much, we're so happy you and your husband enjoyed it. Good to know about the InstaPot! Yes, this is definitely holiday worthy. 🙂
Kathy says
I never post comments on these recipes, but this one turned out so incredibly AMAZING I just had to! The aroma permeating the house as it cooked was mouthwatering; I wished I had an aromacamera to capture it. This is truly a deliciously classy dish worthy of serving your finest guests. The only thing I changed was that I used chopped tomatoes (the ones in a carton) rather than tomato paste which I am not a fan of. GREAT, GREAT recipe!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Kathy! Thank you so much!!! We're so happy that you loved it. Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know. 🙂
Pralinesloth says
Oh my word, this is fabulous! Too lazy to make an additional side, I threw in some frozen chopped spinach at the last minute for a 1 pot meal. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you so much! We're so happy you liked it. So smart to throw in some spinach, we're going to have to do that next time. 🙂
Wendy says
WOW!!! You need an award for this one!! It was absolutely delicious and will be a part of my fancy vegan arsenal!! I put on my classical music and cooked away like a French goddess. Thanks so much for an awesome recipe which makes me happy to be vegan!!
Linda Meyer says
Oh my gosh, Wendy, this is the nicest comment I've received for this recipe, and I've received many kind ones. Thank you so much! I love the visual, it makes me think of Julia Childs. 🙂
Elizabetb says
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. It's even better on the second night for dinner!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Elizabetb! Thank you so much for letting us know how much you liked our recipe. You're so right about it tasting even better the next day. The flavors get to mingle together overnight and it tastes all the better. 🙂