In the mood for something cozy, comforting and deliciously rich? If so, you have to try these red wine braised short ribs with risotto. Tender, fall apart, red wine braised short ribs are easy enough to make, but look so fancy piled high on a plate of perfectly cooked risotto. The red wine sauce thickens beautifully in the oven and combined with chunks of carrots, onion and browned mushrooms it coats the short ribs perfectly. Whether you want to make this for an at home date night, or enjoy it on the weekend, whoever is lucky enough to eat this will absolutely love it.

Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this short rib risotto.

boneless short ribs
kosher salt and black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
yellow onion
carrots
garlic cloves
tomato paste
all purpose flour
red wine
beef stock
thyme
cremini mushrooms
chicken stock
shallot
arborio rice
butter
freshly grated parmesan
parsley

How to Make Red wine Braised Short Ribs with Risotto

Pat the short ribs dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper right before cooking.

Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Once hot, add the short ribs and brown on each side, about four minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion and carrot and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté for about five minutes, until just starting to soften. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste deepens in colour.

Scatter in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring often. Slowly start pouring in the red wine, while whisking to incorporate the flour.

Pour in the beef broth and then add the beef back in. Add the thyme and then cover and transfer to the oven and cook for 90 to 120 minutes, until the short ribs are tender.

While the short ribs are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and drizzle in some olive oil.

Once the skillet is hot, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about seven to ten minutes. During the last minute of cooking, season lightly with salt and pepper and then set aside the mushrooms.

When the short ribs are done cooking, remove and shred them with two forks. Remove the thyme sprigs.

The sauce should be fairly thickened, but if it’s too thin, you can reduce it over medium-low heat. Add the short ribs back into the pot with the sauce and add the mushrooms in. Keep warm until ready to serve.

How to Make Risotto

Once the short ribs are done, make the risotto. Pour the chicken stock into a small pot and keep warm on the stove over low heat.

Heat the same skillet used to make the mushrooms over medium. Drizzle in some olive oil. Once warm, add the shallot and cook for three to four minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Pour in the rice and toast for about one minute, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour in a splash of chicken broth and stir to deglaze and scrape up anything.

Start pouring in the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until the rice absorbs the liquid and then continue adding more until the rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter and the parmesan. Remove the risotto from the skillet and transfer to a large bowl and cover to keep warm, but stop it from continuing to cook.

Divide the risotto into pasta bowls and top with the shredded short ribs, sauce, and then garnish with extra parmesan and parsley. Enjoy!

Tips

Bone in/boneless short ribs: for braising, bone-in short ribs are usually the go-to for more flavour. However, boneless short ribs work too and I use them for braising if that’s what I have on hand.
Low sodium beef broth: in order to control the seasoning in this short rib risotto a little more, I recommend using a low sodium beef broth. Homemade beef stock is even better if you have it.
Red wine: use a dry, full bodied red wine that you enjoy the taste of. I usually use a chianti or a cabernet sauvignon.
Brown the mushrooms: although it’s an extra step, browning the mushrooms adds a little extra flavour and compliments the short ribs beautifully. Adding them into the dutch oven while braising will result in overcooked mushrooms that lack flavour from browning.
Season as you go: I always recommend seasoning with salt and pepper as you go, being mindful of how much sodium is in the packaged broth of course. Before serving and while cooking, taste and adjust as needed to suit your tastes.

Substitutions

Chicken broth: for the risotto, you could use more beef broth or mushroom broth instead. I prefer chicken stock for risotto personally.
White wine: when making the risotto, you could start by adding a splash of dry white wine before adding the stock. But that would require two bottles of wine and that just seems like a lot to me, but you do you. You could also just use a splash of dry vermouth if you have it.
Gluten-free: use a gluten-free all purpose flour instead.
Shallot: you can use a finely chopped yellow onion instead if that’s what you have on hand. I prefer shallots as they are milder, but either will work here.

How to Prep/Make Ahead

The short ribs can be braised in advance, shredded and then reheated in the oven before serving.

The risotto should be cooked right before serving.

And if you have leftover risotto, be sure to store it in the fridge and then make these air fryer arancini the next day.

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

Kosher salt:

I exclusively use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my recipes. I prefer the texture, taste and consistency of this brand and highly recommend it for everyday cooking.

Stainless Steel Skillet:

I love my Made In stainless steel skillets so much. I have the 8″, 10″ and 12″ stainless steel pans and I use them all the time in my kitchen. Their products are great quality and so long as you take care of them and follow their care instructions, they’ll last forever.

More Recipes to Try

Looking for more weeknight dinner ideas? Try these…

Ready to make this? Let’s go!

If you make these short ribs with risotto, please let me know by tagging me on Instagram, or leave a comment and/or review below!‍

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