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Keeping it cozy but fancy…ish with White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce. Slow-cooked short ribs in white wine with fresh herbs. Topped with a creamy French-inspired mushroom sauce made using herbs, Dijon mustard, and parmesan cheese. Serve over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes, polenta, or buttered noodles and you’ll have the perfect dinner for a cold night in. Bonus? You can also make this in the Instant Pot or on the stove-top. An easy, hands-off dinner that’s so delicious…the perfect cozy holiday meal!

overhead photo of White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce

Do you have go-to holiday recipes? For me, one of my favorite holiday dinners to serve is slow-braised short ribs. I often make these red wine braised short ribs when all of the family arrives for Christmas. They’re simple and everyone loves the recipe. This Christmas however, I wanted to switch things up a little and create a completely different short rib dinner. Enter these French-inspired short ribs. Made with plenty of white wine and the most delicious, incredibly creamy (plus oh so buttery) mushroom cream sauce.

I was inspired by my French wine and mustard chicken to create this dinner. Everyone LOVES that recipe so much, but I wondered how the same flavors would pair with a heartier short rib. It sounded pretty delicious to me so I gave it a try. I quickly realized I had just created one of my better recipes of the year. Yes, that is bold, but these short ribs are SO GOOD.

But let’s be honest, what’s not to love about short ribs that have been slowly cooking in white wine all day long? And when served with a creamy, buttery mushroom sauce, well that’s complete comfort food and it’s completely delicious!

overhead photo of White Wine Braised Short Ribs in crockpot bowl

Here are all the details.

As with most crockpot recipes, this recipe is pretty simple…toss everything together and forget about it!

Start with the short ribs, as they need a low and slow cook time. I prefer to sear my meat before adding it to the crockpot. Searing the meat gives it a nice coloring and adds additional flavor. But if this step is too time-consuming for you, you can easily skip it. Once the short ribs are in the crockpot add a good amount of white wine, onions, garlic, and herbs. Cook low and slow, ideally all day long. The beauty of crockpot recipes is that they are so hands-off. I love that this can be cooking away while I’m busy doing whatever needs to be done…say wrapping gifts.

As the short ribs cook, your kitchen will be filled with cozy smells. Ideally, these ribs are best when given plenty of time to cook. So if you can, start cooking the ribs in the morning. My little tip for busy days? Sear the ribs the night before, add everything to the crockpot insert, then keep in the fridge overnight. In the morning, start the slow cooker, place the insert in, and come home to dinner. Easy. Easy.

The ribs come out tender and falling off the bone. They’ll almost melt in your mouth, and yes, it’s truly delicious.

PS. If you don’t have a crockpot, I’ve also given Instant Pot and oven directions too! I want to make sure everyone can make these delicious short ribs!

overhead photo of Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce

A little before you’re ready to eat, make the buttered mushroom cream sauce. Yes, I know, sauce kind of defeats the “make it all in the crockpot” idea, but trust me, this buttery, herby mushroom cream sauce is worth every last bit of extra effort. And really, it’s a very easy sauce to put together. You can even make it ahead of time and simply warm it up before serving.

Start with the mushrooms. I love using a mix of wild mushrooms and cooking them with butter plus plenty of fresh herbs. As the mushrooms slowly cook, the butter browns and the herbs become crisp, infusing the butter with delicious flavor. Once the mushrooms have caramelized, add a splash of white wine, a touch of cream, Dijon mustard (the key to this French-inspired sauce), and parmesan cheese. Simmer a few minutes until the sauce thickens, and that’s it.

This sauce only takes fifteen or so minutes to throw together. It makes for an incredible dinner that’s nothing but hearty, warming, and extra cozy…

Just what all December recipes should be.

White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com #slowcooker #crockpot #shortribs #holiday #christmas

For serving…

I’d recommend a side of creamy mashed potatoes or polenta. I always find short ribs to pair best with something creamy. I made the instant pot mashed potato recipe from the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook, but my creamy herbed mashed potatoes would be equally delicious. Or try some rosemary polenta. Either will be great!

I’d also serve up some crusty bread and a bright salad too. This arugula salad is my current go-to when it comes to side salads.

Usually, I’ll serve beef tenderloin on Christmas Eve, but this year it’s going to be these white wine braised short ribs. I’m already excited about the fact that I don’t have to worry about under or over cooking the beef, slicing it, and figuring out how to keep it warm. With this recipe, I can leave the short ribs in the crockpot, and the cream sauce on the stove, allowing everyone to help themselves.

It’s as no-fuss as it can get. Perfect for busy holiday dinners…especially ones full of hungry brothers who love a meat and potatoes dinner more than anything in the world.

This will make their Christmas Eve.

overhead close up photo of White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce

If you make these white wine braised short ribs with buttered mushroom cream sauce, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

White Wine Braised Short Ribs with Buttered Mushroom Cream Sauce.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1108 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  • 1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven safe skillet over high heat, sear the ribs on both sides. Remove the ribs and transfer to the slow cooker. 
    2. To the slow cooker, add the onions, garlic, 1 1/2 cups wine, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Remove the garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
    3. Before serving, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a skillet set over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Add the sage and 1 tablespoon thyme, stir and continue cooking until the mushrooms have caramelized, 3-5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the skillet to a plate.
    4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup wine and scrape up any browned bits off the pan. Simmer 3-5 minutes or until the wine has reduced by about 1/3. Slowly pour in the cream and mustard. Bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir in the mushrooms.
    5. Serve the ribs over a bed of mashed potatoes and pour the cream sauce overtop. Enjoy!

Instant Pot

  • 1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat, sear the ribs on both sides. Remove the ribs and transfer to the instant pot.
    2. To the instant pot, add the onions, garlic, 1 1/2 cups wine, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.
    3. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Finish as directed above from step 3 on.

Oven

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
    2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven safe pot over high heat, sear the ribs on both sides. Remove the ribs to a plate. Add the onions and cook 5 minutes or until the onions begin to caramelize. Add back the short ribs. Add the garlic, 1 1/2 cups wine, broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, gently stir to combine. Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone.
    3. Finish as directed above from step 3 on.

Notes

To Make the Mushrooms Sauce Ahead: Complete the sauce recipe fully. Allow to cool, then transfer to a glass storage container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, spoon the sauce into a large skillet and gently warm over medium-low heat until the sauce is steaming, 5-8 minutes. If the sauce thickens up, add additional cream to thin. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. 
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This. Is. Incredible. Let’s talk about the sauce..the creaminess paired with the carmelized mushrooms and Parmesan? Name a better combo. I’m going to make this sauce for years. The ribs! Fall apart tender! Husband approved! BRAVO.

    1. Hi Madison,
      Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    This was incredible! Just what I need during the harsh UK winter. I froze the leftover short ribs and sauce, looking forward to enjoying this again soon. Thank you!

    1. Hey Rone,
      Awesome!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend! xTieghan

    1. Hey Max,
      Yes! A Cabernet Sauvignon would be great here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan

    1. Hey Mela,
      Yes, that will work well for you. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan

  3. 5 stars
    Wow! Phenomenal!! This was actually incredible. I was hesitant to add the cream and grated cheese, but no! It was exactly what the recipe needed to finish it off!!! It was perfect as the recipe was developed by HBH!!

  4. I absolutely loved this recipe!!! I was wondering if there is a way to make the short ribs in the slow cooker then store them for the next day for dinner? How would I heat them back up without drying them out!?

    1. Hi there! I’m so sorry I haven’t tried that with this recipe, but I would imagine it should work fine! 🙂 xxTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    I was scared to mess this up because short ribs are so expensive! Luckily, it was absolutely delicious even when I messed up towards the end! I could only find boneless short ribs and I accidentally used all the wine in the recipe in the broth part so didn’t have that last 1/2 cup. (Due to drinking the rest of the bottle). And I used all the chicken broth in the box which didnt cause an issue. I used the broth to make the mushrooms sauce because of aforementioned evening drinking which left me with no more white wine to use. It turned out great! I kept all the broth for reheating and was glad I did. Two pounds of mushrooms seems like a lot until you cook them and then you’re glad there’s two pounds. The short ribs were like butter too, so good!

  6. 5 stars
    This recipe was so easy to follow and so good. I literally could have just eaten the mushrooms in that sauce!! Delish!!

    1. Hey Nicole,.
      You can skip the mushrooms and use any other veggie that you enjoy. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  7. 1 star
    This is the first time I’ve braised short ribs and not liked it. Did I miss something?
    I seared the short ribs after seasoning, as I have done with other recipes. Carmelized the onions, added all the ingredients back into the pan as directed. I braised in the oven similar to other recipes. Except this flavor was flat – it literally tasted like nothing.

    I put in 1/4 of the amount of mustard called for in the recipe, and it was so overpowering, I ws grossed out and ultimately threw it out; thank goodness I never added the mushrooms.

    I’m so confused as to how the were so terrible that I needed to reach out. Once again, braised short ribs typically with red wine, mirepoix, and similar instructions turns out amazing. I’ve done korean braised short ribs as well – also amazing.

    Did I miss something or do something wrong? This dish was absolutely horrible. I ended up simmering the stew on the stovetop for a bit to reduce some of the liquid, and will likely just eat it with the mushrooms and balsamic reduction and truflfe mashed. Since they taste like nothing, I guess it’s not a huge deal.

    However, I’m a little irritated that I threw out a bunch of pasta that had parmigiano reggiano in it.

    1. Hey Tiffany,
      So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe. Was there anything you adjusted? Maybe the flavors just weren’t for you? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan

  8. Want to try to make this but I only have a cast iron skillet with no lid at my Airbnb. Will it still work? Thanks so much!!! Can’t wait to try it!

    1. Hey Olivia,
      I would cover with foil:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    I made these for a small dinner party and everyone was impressed! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight! I made parmesan polenta as the base and a mixture of baby bellas and shitake mushrooms in the sauce. I also did not have any dry white wine, so I used the chardonnay that I had on hand and it turned out fine. I loved being able to make the short ribs early in the day to reduce the things that I was doing right at the end. The menu was the items above plus the brown butter sage popovers and a spring salad with strawberries and caramelized pecans. Thanks again for your creations!

    1. Hey Nancy,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan

  10. Hi there! Recently bought some fancier short ribs, so I only got a pound. Wondering how long I should keep them in the oven for, since I have so much less to cook? Or does it matter?

    1. Hey Abigail,
      I would still follow the recipe as is, you will have super tender short ribs. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

  11. Have made this once and found it to be even better days later. Am planning on making again!
    Was confused after reading through other comments and questions…what do you do with braising liquid? One answer said it was no longer needed once ribs were cooked, other said to serve it because it WAS the sauce. Are ribs served both with braising liquid and mushroom sauce? Is braising liquid used in making mushroom sauce? Thanks!!!

    1. Hey Stacey,
      Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! You can do either one, it is your preference. Have the best weekend☀️ xTieghan