Braised Beef Short Ribs with Gnocchi
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Suitable for any special occasion, these rich and succulent Braised Beef Short Ribs cook in a red wine broth until they are so tender, they literally fall off the bone!
Classic comfort food at its best, this beef short rib dish is as tasty as those you’ll find at any fine restaurant and is easier to prepare than you may think!
Braised beef ribs are first seared on the stovetop then finish slow cooking in the oven in a braising liquid that begins with mirepoix (caramelized onion, carrot, and celery) — the foundation for delicious flavor and aroma.
Although red wine braised short ribs is a decadent main dish, preparing them is really a simple process. If you’re looking for a special beef recipe for the holidays, short ribs are a great choice!
Plus, I think today’s recipe is the best beef short ribs recipe for beginning and accomplished cooks alike.
Braised Beef Short Ribs
How does being nestled up with a good book while dinner cooks itself sound? It’s entirely possible when you braise short ribs!
Prep and sear the short ribs. Dice and sauté onions, carrots, and celery. Then add red wine along with the remaining ingredients and the beef back to the pot. Cover it with a lid and pop it in the oven.
Just like that, you’ll get three hours of reading time and dinner will be ready like magic!
What are short ribs?
Short ribs are cut from the rib area of cattle, normally into a 4- to 6-inch length, not the full length of the rib. Also known as an English cut, beef short ribs may be called barbecue ribs, braising ribs, or fancy cut ribs.
What does it mean to braise ribs?
With the braising technique, beef ribs are browned on all sides first on the stove top before adding cooking liquid to the pot (normally a Dutch oven). The dish is then covered tightly and finishes cooking low and slow in the oven until the beef is tender and cooked through.
How to braise short ribs
- Pat the beef short ribs dry with paper towels—this will create better browning—and season them on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, then sear the short ribs on all sides until they are a nice dark caramel color.
- Remove the ribs and drain off the grease, leaving about a tablespoon. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the diced onion, carrot, and celery for about 10 minutes, until tender and caramelized.
- Stir in tomato paste and cook for another minute, then add red wine and beef stock, bringing the mixture to a boil.
- Return the beef short ribs to the pot and add the thyme (or fresh sage leaves) and bay leaves. Cover with a lid and transfer to a 350-degree oven and bake for 3 hours, until tender.
Should the braising liquid cover the meat?
There is no need for the short ribs to be fully submerged in the braising liquid. You don’t want the meat to boil, just simmer with the lid on in the oven. Too much liquid and the sauce will not be as rich.
The braising liquid for this recipe is a mixture of beef stock, red wine, and tomato paste. I like to think of it as braised short ribs with wine gravy!
“I made these for dinner Friday night and my husband proclaimed them the ‘best thing’ he’s eaten in a long time! Very easy and delicious!” —Julie
Do you have to brown short ribs?
It’s not entirely necessary, but please don’t skip the browning step. Browning the meat first adds texture and depth of flavor. Also, the browned bits in the bottom of the pan add even more delicious flavor to the sauce.
Should I cut the fat off short ribs?
Only remove the thickest layers of external fat if the ribs haven’t already been trimmed by the butcher. Unlike with pork ribs, there’s no need to worry with removing the silverskin or membrane that holds the meat to the bone. Also, the fat or connective tissue that runs through the meat adds flavor, so leave it intact.
How do you heat up braised short ribs?
Reheating cooked short ribs is best done in a covered pot over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. You may also reheat short ribs in a 350-degree oven for the same amount of time.
Can you braise short ribs in a slow cooker?
To make this an easy weeknight meal, first sear the short ribs on the stove top as directed in the recipe below. Add the remaining ingredients except for the fresh thyme leaves to the slow cooker and stir. Nestle the short ribs into the sauce and top with the fresh thyme leaves. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Serving suggestions
As the ribs cook, a thick and rich sauce will form. My preference is to serve braised beef short ribs over a bowl of hot and steamy potato gnocchi and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
I use a shelf-stable potato gnocchi which cooks in boiling water in about 3 minutes—so quick and easy! Of course, you could make your own gnocchi from scratch, too.
Other delicious serving options include ladled over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or polenta.
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Braised Beef Short Ribs with Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 lb. bone-in short ribs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 bunch fresh thyme or sage leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 16 oz. pkg. shelf-staple potato gnocchi
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pat the beef short ribs dry with paper towels, then season them on all sides with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the short ribs and brown them on all sides. Transfer the ribs onto a paper-towel lined plate.
- Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat out of the pot. Add the celery, carrots, and onion and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for one minute, then add the red wine and beef stock. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Return the beef short ribs to the pot and add the thyme and bay leaves (or sage). Cover and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 3 hours. Midway through cooking, turn the beef ribs and add more beef stock, if needed.
- Remove the beef short ribs from the Dutch oven and discard thyme and bay leaves.Skim the grease off the top of the braising liquid and discard.
- If desired, remove the meat from the bones and shred. Return the meat to the sauce.
- Prepare the potato gnocchi according to the package instructions. Serve the shredded short ribs and sauce on top of the gnocchi, and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
To make this recipe in a slow cooker:
Sear the short ribs on the stove top as directed. Add the remaining ingredients except for the fresh thyme leaves to the slow cooker and stir. Nestle the short ribs into the sauce and top with the fresh thyme leaves. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Love this dish! First had it at an Italian restaurant years ago and they stopped serving it. Happy to find the recipe here! Your instructions are very clear and easy. Thank you for sharing!
I live in Australia ….is a tin of tomatoe paste the same as a tin of tomatoe purée? I don’t think I have ever seen a tin of tom paste on the shelves. It comes in a plastic container and is very concentrated and you only use about two tabs in a recipe
Gillian, yes, I believe the tomato purée should be the same. Tomato paste is very concentrated and is usually used in small amounts. Good luck!
Made this recipe and it turned out great, my husband thought it was wonderful as well which is always a plus!
I’m making this a second time, this time for friends. I put everything in my slow cooker and let it cook all day. I could stand at the counter and mangia on the meat all day. I used left overs and made pot pies. So good.
My first time making braised short ribs. Definitely won’t be my last. So much flavor and served with buttery mashed potatoes.
Is pinot noir an acceptable dry red wine to use?
Yes, Pinot noir should work!
Oh my, this is a fabulous meal! I would serve this to guests because it is so easy but tastes like I was cooking all day. My husband and I loved it.
The braised short ribs are fabulous with fall off the bone meat and the gravy is delicious, too.
I made this for dinner tonight, it was very good! Will definitely be making this again! I did make a few changes while cooking: I cooked off the tomato paste first, added a clove of garlic to the mirepoix, and next time I won’t put the ribs on a sheet of paper towel, I find that a lot of flavour was left on the paper towel that could have added to the dish.
Do you think this recipe could freeze?
Cheryl, I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.
Hello, Could I sub chuck roast for short ribs?
Hi, Suzanna. I do not think a chuck roast would work the same as the short ribs in this recipe.
I made this last night. So decadent and delicious. Will certainly make again. Restaurant quality dish.
Please clarify the red wine amount: is it 1 and 1/2 cups or is it 1, 1/2 cup?
The recipe amount for red wine is 1-1/2 cups (one and one-half cups).
This recipe is amazing! It is now one of our favorites
I’m not sure what I did wrong but mine was so “well done” there was no liquid left when I pulled it out of the oven. 🙁 the meat was delicious though and we really enjoyed it! We recently calibrated our oven temp when we bought a new know, so I know it isn’t that, but I do have a pizza stone that lives in the oven, could it be that? I definitely plan to try this again!
Could I substitute boneless short ribs?
Absolutely! The downside to that is that you may miss out on some of the flavor you get from the bone-in cuts.
Can you make this recipe in iron skillet?
I would not recommend making this recipe in a cast iron skillet as it needs the depth of a Dutch oven to cook properly.
If you use 4 lbs. of short ribs do you double everything else? Two cans of tomato paste seems like a lot.
Mary, the important thing will be to make sure you have plenty of liquid for braising the extra meat (and making sure your pot is large enough!). That being said, I’d suggest that you add half again as much of all the other ingredients, so 1-1/2 cans of tomato paste.
This is a tip for Amanda, I don’t like wine either, but used 1 can whole tomatoes with the liquid. . (The Jewel brand is my favorite.) I puréed the tomatoes or they can be cut into quarters and added because they will cook down after 3 hrs. The tomato paste was enough to keep the dish rich in flavor even without the wine. This dish is sooooo good, I loved the combination!
Made this for Sunday night dinner, very yummy. Could you use stew meet vs the short ribs?
Hi, Debbie! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’m thinking that using stew meat will not result in as much richness, but that it would still be tasty enough. Let me know if you try it with the different cut of beef 🙂
Perfect recipe and I had leftover short ribs for the next day and used rigatoni given the gnocchi was gone!
I made this recipe yesterday and it was excellent! Easy to make and made the whole house smell wonderful while cooking. I will make this recipe again!
I am planning substituting red cooking wine for the dry red wine. Would I use the same amount?
Tara, yes, you should use the same amount.
I don’t have a Dutch oven .. can i use a non stick pan?
I’m not sure that you will get the same results without a Dutch oven.
I made this tonight for dinner. It was delicious! Perfect cold weather comfort food, but I would eat it all year round. I followed the recipe until it said to cook for 3 hours. At that point I put it in my slow cooker on low all day while I went to work. Then all I had to do once I got home was shred the beef and cook the gnocchi. Made for an extra special, but very easy weeknight meal!
I’m so glad you shared your experience with me! I will have to try the slow cooker method this Fall, as well 🙂
Did u cook in dutch oven first or just crock pot? I don’t have a dutch oven so wondering if I can compromise
Got raving reviews. Followed recipe exactly, but trimmed off some of the globs of fat. Hand shredded the meat to remove additional fat.
This was one of the best things I’ve ever made OR eaten – can’t wait to make it again!
Oh, that’s so good to hear!
Could this be made in a crockpot? I’d love to make this for my boyfriend, but his Japanese kitchen doesn’t have a real oven. If I were to brown and sauté everything on the stove and transfer would that work as well?
Hailey, you could certainly give it a shot! Let me know how it turns out.
Can this be made without the wine, just extra beef stock?? I am not a big fan of wine in my cooking.
Amanda, the wine gives it a richness, but you can certainly skip it. Perhaps you would be ok with a small amount of cooking wine.
I made these for dinner Fri. night, & my husband proclaimed them the “best thing he’s eaten in a long time!” Very easy & delicious!
Julie, that’s awesome to hear!
Hi I’m going to run to the butcher to by and backed this meat ribs with the gnocchi it’s look so good omg thank you very much