• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Christmas ⭐️
      • Starters
      • Mains
      • Sides: Warm & Hearty
      • Sides: Light & Fresh
      • Desserts
      • Breads
      • Christmas Leftovers
    • Iconic + cult classics
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish recipes
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Salads & veg
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Candy
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
    • Cookbook recipes
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Collections Winter Warmers

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks in Red Wine Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:16 Aug '19Updated:18 Aug '23
800 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

These slow cooked Beef Cheeks are braised in a beautiful red wine sauce until they are so meltingly tender, you can eat it with a spoon! The braising liquid in this Beef Cheeks recipe is infused with incredible flavour and when pureed, transforms into a thick, luscious gravy-like sauce.

Perfectly accompanied with creamy mashed potatoes, this is a very easy dish that is suited to an elegant dinner party or a hearty midweek meal. Make this in your slow cooker, pressure cooker or on the stove!

Slow cooked beef cheeks in red wine sauce on creamy mashed potato

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks

This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a dish that you’ll find on the menu of fine dining restaurants.

Except it’s 80% cheaper. 🙂 I had lunch at an upscale bistro on the weekend where Beef Cheeks were on the menu for $35 a serving!

Little known fact: Beef cheeks are the KING of all slow cooking cuts of beef!

What are beef cheeks?

Beef Cheeks are the cheek muscle of cows and they are a very tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked long and slow to make it tender. It absorbs the flavours of braising liquid well and when you cut into it, it is stringy, almost like pulled pork.

But unlike beef chuck (used for Beef Stew and Pot Roast), Brisket and even Beef Short Ribs which have patches of really juicy sections and also some that can (sometimes) be a bit dry, not a single part of the beef cheek is dry. Every mouthful is juicy and luscious and even just typing up this post is making my mouth water!

And THAT is what makes them so special!!

Overhead photo of Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks with Red Wine Sauce in a pot, fresh off the stove ready to be served.

What you need for this Beef Cheeks recipe

We’re making a fine dining quality dish here, but it just calls for a trip to your local grocery store! Here’s what you need:

Beef Cheeks

5 years ago, they were cheaper and weren’t always available in the large supermarkets here in Australia. But nowadays, thanks to shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, the price has been driven up but on the plus side, they are now regulars at mainstream stores like Coles and Woolies!

If you can’t find Beef Cheeks, other slow cooking beef cuts will work fine – Beef Short Ribs would be an ideal substitute. Cut them into 250g/8oz chunks so the same cooking times and liquid quantities in this recipe will apply.

Raw beef cheeks

This is a magnificent dish that takes a budget cut of beef and transforms it with little effort into a fine dining restaurant dish!

Ingredients for red wine sauce for slow cooked beef cheeks

Red Wine for cooking

My Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks recipe is made with a classic Italian red wine braising liquid. The deep, warm, complex flavours of red wine are perfect for using as the stock base for slow cooked beef dishes.

Go to your local liquor outlet and look for end of bin specials and pick up a bottle of a full bodied red wine like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.

These slow cooked beef cheeks are meltingly tender! Easy to make, braised in a luscious red wine sauce. recipetineats.com

A pet peeve of mine are recipes that tell you that you must use good quality drinking wine for slow cooking recipes. I do not believe that at all for slow cooked dishes – and the New York Times agrees.

For quick sauces, yes, absolutely. But not for a braising liquid. I bet not even the greatest food critic in the world would be able to tell if it was a discounted $5 end of bin special or a $40 reserve Cab Sav. (Seriously. Who would make a slow cooked beef recipe using a $40 bottle of wine??).

You won’t use the whole bottle. If the wine is not to your standard for drinking, measure out cups and pour them into ziplock bags and freeze them. Handy to have when you need wine for other recipes!

How to make this Beef Cheeks Recipe

Though it does take time to slow cook, it’s an incredibly straightforward recipe:

  • Brown beef cheeks aggressively – this is key for flavour!

  • Saute garlic, onion, carrots and celery – our soffrito, the flavour base for the sauce;

  • Add braising liquid ingredients;

  • Slow cook the beef cheeks until they are fall apart tender – stove 2.5 hrs, oven 3.5 hrs, slow cooker 8 hrs, pressure cooker / Instant Pot 1 hr;

  • Puree sauce to thicken into a gravy-like consistency;

  • Serve beef cheeks with sauce over creamy mashed potato (go all out with Paris Mash!) or for a low carb option, Mashed Cauliflower.

How to make Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks in Red wine sauce

Don’t let the length of the recipe directions fool you, this really is a simple recipe. It’s just long because I’ve provided directions for 3 different cooking methods.

This Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is a recipe that is elegant enough for a dinner party and if made using a slow cooker, easy enough for mid week.

The other great thing about these Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks is that the leftovers freeze 100% perfectly, OR can be transformed into two other incredible dishes that I’ve shared:

  1. Beef Cheek Ragu Pasta – the rich braising liquid was made for tossing through pasta!

  2. Beef, Mushroom and Vegetable Pie

Cook once, eat thrice!! – Nagi x


Try these on the side

  • Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

  • Crisp salad with tangy Balsamic Dressing or French Vinaigrette

  • Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

  • Garlic Sautéed Spinach

  • Magic Roasted Broccoli

  • Sautéd Brussels Sprouts in Creamy Parmesan Sauce

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks with Red Wine Sauce on creamy mashed potato on a plate ready to be eaten

Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Slow cooked beef cheeks in red wine sauce on creamy mashed potato

Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total: 3 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Slow Cooker
Italian
4.95 from 234 votes
Servings6
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 6060
Recipe video above. These slow cooked beef cheeks are so meltingly tender that you can eat them with a spoon. And the sauce is so flavourful you'll want to drink it out of a cup! This recipe makes enough to serve 6 people, made with 6 small beef cheeks (or share 4 large ones). Leftovers are brilliant to freeze, or turn into a quick Ragu to toss through pasta or making a Pie!

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
  • 1.5 kg/3lb beef cheeks , (4 large or 6 small beef cheeks)
  • 1 onion (white, brown or yellow), roughly diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 celery stalk , roughly diced (about 1 cup)
  • 1 carrot , roughly diced (about 3/4 cup)
  • 4 garlic cloves , minced
  • 6 stems of fresh thyme or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 4 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh bay leaves)
  • 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock (broth)
  • 2 cups (500 ml) red wine (full bodied eg. cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
  • 2 - 3 tsp salt , separated
  • Black pepper

Instructions

  • Prepare the beef cheeks: cut off any large, fatty membrane. Pat dry then use 1 tsp of salt and black pepper to season the beef all over.
  • Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Sear half the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. Remove beef cheeks onto a plate, repeat with remaining cheeks.
  • Turn down the heat to medium high and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and onion. Sauté for 3 minutes until onion is becoming translucent.
  • Add the celery and carrot,s sauté for a further 3 minutes.
  • Follow directions for your chosen cooking method below.

Slow Cooker Directions

  • Pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker and place the beef cheeks on top.
  • Pour the wine into the pot and return to heat. Turn the heat up to high, bring to simmer and let it simmer for 1 minute (to cook out the wine a bit). Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan so it mixes in with the wine.
  • Pour the wine into the slow cooker, then all the remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later).
  • Cook in the slow cooker on Low for 8 hours or High for 6 hours for 250g/8oz size beef cheeks or Low for 10 - 12 hours or High for 8 hours for 350g/12oz beef cheeks.
  • Open the slow cooker and remove the beef cheeks. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
  • Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce - it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
  • Transfer liquid into saucepan, simmer on stove on medium high until the Sauce turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency - about 10 minutes.
  • Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
  • Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Pressure Cooker Directions

  • Follow the Slow Cooker directions but cook on high in your pressure cooker for 1 hour on high for small cheeks (around 250g/8oz each).

Stovetop and Oven Directions

  • Pour the wine into the pot / casserole dish (with the onion mixture) and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute.
  • Add remaining ingredients, starting with a pinch of salt and pepper (add more to taste later), the place lid on.
  • Stove: Simmer on medium low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the cheeks are very tender, turn at least once during cooking.
  • Oven: 160C/320F for 3 to 3 1/2 hours .
  • Remove the beef cheeks from sauce. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
  • Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce - it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown colour.
  • Bring the Sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns a darker brown colour and reduces by about 1/4 to 1/3, to a gravy consistency - about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning (salt and pepper) to your taste.
  • Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the Sauce, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

To Serve

  • Serve beef cheeks on Paris Mash (ultimate creamy mashed potato!) or Creamy Mashed Cauliflower, drizzled with a generous amount of Sauce. Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. Size - The beef cheeks I got were unusually large, around 350g/12oz each. Great man size portions. Usually beef cheeks are around 250g/8oz each and I get 6.
2. Beef Cheeks - If you can't find beef cheeks, substitute with any other cut of beef suitable for slow cooking. Boneless beef short ribs is ideal! Cut them into 250g/8oz pieces.
3. Leftover beef cheeks and sauce can be kept in the freezer for 3 months.
4. Nutrition per serving, excluding mashed potato.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 389gCalories: 586cal (29%)Carbohydrates: 6g (2%)Protein: 49g (98%)Fat: 33g (51%)Saturated Fat: 12g (75%)Cholesterol: 148mg (49%)Sodium: 2195mg (95%)Potassium: 1143mg (33%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 1698IU (34%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 41mg (4%)Iron: 6mg (33%)
Keywords: beef cheeks, beef cheeks recipe, slow cooked beef cheeks
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Originally published August 2014. Updated August 2019 with new photos, new process photos, new video, new writing. No change to recipe. I wouldn’t dare touch it, readers love it as it is!

Life of Dozer

His bib was soaked by the time the beef cheeks were in the pot…..

Dozer paper towel bib

SaveSave

SaveSave

Previous Post
Tokyo Travel Guide: Asakusa
Next Post
White Chicken Lasagna

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Making Fondant potatoes

Fondant potatoes

Freshly made pot of Kuku Paka (African chicken curry)

African Chicken Curry – Kuku Paka

Pouring chocolate sauce over Hot chocolate fudge cake

Hot chocolate fudge cake

More Winter Warmers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




800 Comments

  1. JOHN SMITH says

    December 3, 2023 at 8:14 am

    5 stars
    we made the beef cheeks and used the leftovers for the ragu both recipe’s are absolutely amazing.
    thanks nagi & dozer

    Reply
  2. Jk says

    November 29, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    5 stars
    Best recipe ever

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth Klodas says

    November 14, 2023 at 12:15 am

    NAGI ! YOU ARE MY BEST CHEFF BEEF CHEEKS ARE TO DIE FOR
    I love your way of cooking so well explained and easy to do
    Elizabeth

    Reply
  4. Luann Rouff says

    September 2, 2023 at 2:11 am

    5 stars
    Made this tonight. It was very delicious and easy. Full disclosure: I changed the wine to stock ratio because I prefer the latter, but otherwise I followed the directions. I especially liked the gravy that basically makes itself. I didn’t have to reduce it, just pureed the yummy remainder of the cooking liquid and veggies. So simple!
    On a side note: The beef cheeks were not inexpensive as many sites claim. The four large cheeks (1.5 kilo) were 32€ here in Germany, but that’s 4 servings so not too bad.
    Thank you for the lovely recipe!

    Reply
  5. Mindel Lederberger says

    August 28, 2023 at 5:32 pm

    can I use gravy beef for this recipe?

    Reply
  6. Mel says

    August 5, 2023 at 9:56 pm

    Hi Nagi, made these tonight and the flavour was amazing but unfortunately the beef cheeks were quite tough. What did I do wrong? I cooked them in the slow cooker for 8 hours.

    Reply
  7. Antoinette says

    July 29, 2023 at 7:54 am

    I love your recipes! Everything I made so far was great and true to your instructions. Thank u

    Reply
  8. Beverley Jayne says

    July 27, 2023 at 7:08 pm

    5 stars
    Cooked this for dinner tonight. In the caravan and rainy so what else to do?? In the slow cooker for six hours on high ( I had five so I could freeze some). Mashed potatoes and broccoli…. Bloody delicious 🤤

    Reply
  9. Tina L says

    July 2, 2023 at 2:16 pm

    Beautiful. Cooked it in the slow cooker for 6 hours on high. Turned out glorious. I cut my beef cheeks in half as they were huge. Big success. Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  10. Jamie says

    June 29, 2023 at 12:39 pm

    Hi Nagi. I love all your recipes and planning to try this one for a lunch in the next few days.I am planning to increase it to 2.5kg of cheeks. How much more should I increase the cooking time in a slow cooker/oven? thanks.

    Reply
  11. Rakel says

    June 25, 2023 at 4:04 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Dozer, sorry I mean Nagi, I am Icelandic but live in the UK, and the other day I saw on FB a new meat company in Iceland advertising and saying they had beef cheeks in and if anyone could share recepis, so I put a link to yours (hope you don´t mind) I got loads of likes and I wonder why haha,.. and since then random Icelandic people are sharing your recepis online, so I told them about your new book, this is what we call link selling. All the best and happy eating! x

    Reply
  12. KezzaMcD says

    June 7, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for the first time today. Wonderful, thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  13. Danny Knobel says

    June 2, 2023 at 9:10 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing. Cooked this recipe for the first time and it did not disappoint. Slow cooker for 12 hrs on low and followed your instructions and measurements to a tee and served on a bed of mash with a side of green beans it was that soft we had to eat it with a spoon . My wife and kids are fussy eaters and they absolutely loved it , it’s now become one of our regular meals .
    Thank you for sharing it is truly an unforgettable meal .
    Cheers

    Reply
  14. Ana says

    May 27, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely wonderful served with mash potatoes and soooo easy

    Reply
  15. Jess says

    May 6, 2023 at 8:10 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi (and Dozer)!
    I’ve cooked this a few times – absolutely phenomenal recipe. Always a crowd pleaser!
    I’m planning to make this again tomorrow – I always use the slow cooker method. I’m making mash to serve it with and have some green beans and broccolini as a side… however… I had planned to “cheat” and throw the green veggies in the slow cooker on top of the beef cheeks in the last hour or so to steam. Bad idea?

    Reply
  16. Leah says

    April 28, 2023 at 11:24 am

    5 stars
    I cooked this recipe (slow cook method, 8 hrs) using a silverside cut of venison that was given to me. OMG!…it was absolutely delicious. I served it with mashed potato and broccolini.

    I will definitely use this recipe again!

    Reply
  17. Jennie says

    April 22, 2023 at 9:37 am

    5 stars
    Nagi, as always this meal was stupendous! I had beef cheeks when I went to Tassie and have been craving them ever since – these certainly filled that space. Thank you xx

    Reply
  18. Rakel says

    April 20, 2023 at 9:14 pm

    5 stars
    Beef cheeks, where have you been all my life? Honestly I can´t believe I´ve missed out on this cut of beef, first time trying it last night and oh my oh my was this good, got 2 more in the freezer, do you have anymore beef cheek recepi´s Nagi?.. I was even laughing in my sleep I was that happy with it x

    Reply
  19. Ian says

    April 15, 2023 at 8:36 pm

    I love beef cheeks and this will now be my go to recipe. Brilliant, easy. Thanks Nagi. I cooked 6 cheeks, 1.5 kg, to have enough for ragu and pies, both of which are brilliant. I could not find a pot big enough, so used electric frypan at low temperature, following stove top directions. I turned the cheeks every 30 minutes, cooked 3 hours. This didn’t work and the cheeks were still tough when I tested. I had reduced the sauce but nevertheless put it all in the oven at this stage (now fitting in a big casserole dish) and my twice cooked beef cheeks fell apart beautifully after another 2.5 hours. This quantity fed 4, with enough leftovers for both ragu and pies, reviewed separately. Totally worth cooking extra to enjoy both follow up dishes. I hope this helps others with quantity.

    Reply
  20. Gillian says

    April 11, 2023 at 3:28 am

    5 stars
    This is one of my favourite things to cook for a dinner party…mainly because it tastes so good, but also because it’s perfect for cooking ahead and reheating. It tastes just as good after freezing too. My pans tend to let steam escape a bit, so I’ve started placing a cartouche on top of the contents, to great effect (much less sauce evaporation!) Thank you Nagi 🙂

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On
  • Goodfood
  • Food Network
  • Better Homes Gardens
  • Taste
  • Nine
  • Network 10
  • BuzzFeed
  • Daily Telegraph
  • Women's Day

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe to my newsletter and receive 3 FREE ebooks!

Subscribe
Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • By Category
  • Collections
About
  • About Nagi
  • About Dozer
  • RecipeTin Meals
Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Central
Help
  • Contact
  • Image Use Policy
© RecipeTin Eats 2023
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits
Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
All Rights Reserved

Subscribe to my newsletter

Sign up and receive 3 FREE EBOOKS!