No Peek Beef Stew with V8 and tapioca is classic comfort food. Just place everything into a pot, pop it in the oven, and dinner is ready when you are.
When there’s a chill in the air, beef stew always hits the spot! I found this classic recipe for No Peek Beef Stew in a few places: a couple of 1970s spiral-bound books and also on a typewritten recipe card in my mom’s recipe binder.
The stew is made with V8 juice to create a rich sauce, and tapioca to thicken it up. The rich sauce nicely coats the beef stew meat, carrots, celery, and potatoes. No liquid-y stew here!
I’ve made stews with red wine, balsamic vinegar, and even a beef stew with onion soup mix, but none compare to the flavor of this recipe here. The perfectly-seasoned sauce is the ideal blend of rich, savory, and hearty.
The only change I made to the original recipe is to add the potatoes later in the cooking process. You can add them at the beginning, but I find that they get mushy if they cook for too long.
I always serve beef stew over rice for my rice-loving husband. I scooped up the sauce with a baguette, and egg noodles would be a delicious choice, too.
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Ingredients
- I purchased the beef stew meat already cut into chunks, but you could also cut a beef chuck roast into 1½-inch pieces for this recipe.
- My mom always quarters or halves the onion for stew, but I love cutting it into thin slices. The onion almost melts into the stew as it cooks.
- I used baby red potatoes. However, any type of potato, cut into 1½-inch pieces or thereabouts, works great. I’d peel russet potatoes if using those, but leave the skin on for red potatoes and Yukon Golds.
- Tapioca is the secret ingredient here—it thickens the sauce nicely. You don’t mix it with anything, just add the dry tapioca right to the pot. I promise it does not leave a tapioca pudding-like texture in the stew. You can’t even tell it’s there.
How to Make Beef Stew with V8 and Tapioca
- Place the beef stew meat, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable juice, tapioca, salt, sugar, garlic powder, and black pepper in a dutch oven, roaster, or another large, oven-safe vessel with a lid. (You can also cover a dish with foil instead of a lid.)
- Cover and bake for 2 hours at 325°F, then remove from the oven and stir in the potatoes.
- Return to the oven for an additional 1 hour. Stir and garnish with parsley.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with baguette, rolls, rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.
Variations on No Peek Beef Stew
- Don’t have V8? Substitute a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes + 2 cups beef broth or water. Keep everything else the same.
- Add 1 cup of frozen green peas along with the potatoes.
- Add a can of green beans along with the potatoes.
- Tinker with the seasonings, such as adding a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning.
- Add a couple sprigs of fresh herbs, such as rosemary or thyme.
- Want a longer cooking time? Cook it for 5 hours at 250°F, adding the potatoes after 3½ hours.
📖 Recipe
No Peek Beef Stew with V8 and Tapioca
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef stew meat
- 3 carrots sliced
- 2 stalks celery cut into thirds
- 1 yellow onion sliced
- 1½ cups V8 vegetable juice
- 3 tablespoons dry tapioca (I used Minute brand)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 small russet/Yukon Gold potatoes or 8 oz small red potatoes (cubed if whole)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Place 2 lbs beef stew meat, 3 carrots, 2 stalks celery, and 1 yellow onion in a roaster, dutch oven, or other oven-safe dish that’s at least 13×9 inches. The dish will need a lid or be able to be covered easily with foil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1½ cups V8 vegetable juice, 3 tablespoons dry tapioca, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Pour the tomato juice mixture over the meat and veggies. Cover and cook for 2 hours at 325°F.
- Uncover and stir in 4 small russet/Yukon Gold potatoes or 8 oz small red potatoes. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 1 hour (for a total of 3 hours of cook time).
- Remove from the oven and serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.
Notes
- Add a can of green beans or a cup of frozen peas along with the potatoes.
- Add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, or a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme.
- If you don’t have V8, you can substitute a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes + 2 cups beef broth or water. Keep everything else the same.
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