No-Peek Beef Stew
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Friends, making No-Peek Beef Stew gets NO EASIER than this recipe. My mother-in-law taught me this one when I first got married, and I’ve been serving it up to big crowds ever since. Make ahead and freeze to have on hand for busy nights or when hosting a big group.
“I’ve been making this for the past year. This recipe is not only easy but delicious. Wouldn’t change a thing.” – Carolyn
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- It’s a dump-and-go meal. Simply dump everything in the casserole dish that it bakes in, stir it up, and bake. Here are more dump and go meals if you want ideas.
- It only uses ONE dish.
- This recipe makes 6-8 servings easily, so it’s great for a large family or for serving a crowd. We love big batch meals!
- No-Peek Stew can easily be made ahead of time and frozen for later. Freezer meals are the bomb.
Ingredients
We took some shortcuts in this recipe so you can get dinner on the table with very little effort. If you’d like to make a whole foods version, try our Instant Pot Beef Stew recipe that’s still pretty darn simple to put together.
Here are the basics:
- Onions
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Stew Meat (We get ours from ButcherBox)
- Green Beans
- Tomato Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
How to Make No Peek Stew
Here is a quick visual overview of where we are going.
How to Freeze Beef Stew
Our easy No-Peek Stew can easily be made ahead of time and frozen for later.
To Freeze: Follow Steps 2-3, except cover tightly with a few layers of plastic wrap and foil, squeezing out any excess air. Freeze.
To Prepare from Frozen: Thaw the casserole in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Remove the plastic wrap and cover tightly with one layer of foil. Bake as directed in Step 4 (or use the slow cooker method).
What to Serve with No Peek Beef Stew
Here are some side dish ideas that would pair deliciously with this beef stew:
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Mandarain Orange Salad
- Bread Machine Dinner Rolls
- Double Chocolate Brownies or Cheesecake Brownies for dessert!
FAQs
“No-peek stew” is a name given to this type of stew where the cooking instructions advise against lifting the lid or peeking during the cooking process. This could is to ensure that the flavors and moisture are retained, creating a more flavorful and tender result.
I just always buy what I can find in the health food section to avoid additives and preservatives. My mother-in-law always used condensed canned soup (I got the recipe from her), but I’ve used non-condensed and it works either way honestly. It’s kind of hard to mess this recipe up.
Yes, this recipe works well in the Crockpot. Stir together all the ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the lid on and set to LOW for 8-10 hours.
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No-Peek Stew Recipe
Making beef stew doesn’t get easier than this recipe! Throw all the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning or in oven around lunch time, DO NOT PEEK, and you’ll end up with a hearty and tasty dinner for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs of beef stew meat (or chuck roast, trimmed and cut-up in about 1-inch chunks)
- 2–3 baking potatoes, peeled and cut up into about 1-inch chunks
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut up into about 1-inch chunks
- 1 large onion, cut up into about 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or more to your preference
- 1 (15-ounce) can of green beans, liquid and all
- 1 (15-ounce) can of tomato soup (preferably organic)
- 1 (15-ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup (preferably organic)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
Oven Method:
- Preheat oven to 275° F.
- Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Add stew meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions to the casserole dish. Season with the pepper and gently stir together.
- Dump the can of green beans, liquid and all, over the top of meat and vegetables. Then, pour the tomato soup and cream of mushroom soup over the top. Gently combine with a spoon if you want, but not necessary. Tightly cover with foil.
- Place casserole dish on a cookie sheet with sides, in case of overflow. Bake for 5 hours. Don’t peek!
Slow Cooker Method: Stir together all the ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the lid on and set to LOW for 8-10 hours. (Do not peek!)
Freeze For Later:
Option 1 (Uncooked): Follow Steps 2-3, except cover tightly with a few layers of plastic wrap and foil, squeezing out any excess air. Freeze.
Option 2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook and cool the stew (do not leave outside of refrigerator or freezer more than 2 hours!). Place in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Try to remove as much air as possible and seal and/or wrap it well before placing in the freezer.
Prepare From Frozen:
Option 1 (Uncooked): Thaw the casserole in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Remove the plastic wrap and cover tightly with one layer of foil. Bake as directed in Step 4 (or use the slow cooker method).
Option 2 (Fully Cooked): To reheat, thaw for 24-48 hours in the refrigerator (preferred method) or in the microwave using the defrost setting. Then, warm over low heat on the stove or in the slow cooker, gently stirring occasionally until warmed through.
Notes/Tips
- We get our beef from ButcherBox. The beef is grass-fed and curated from trusted farms.
- This recipe does include some canned, pre-made items, which we normally avoid. Do your best to find organic, BPA-free options. Read labels and find the canned items with the most recognizable and fewest ingredients.
This was so delicious! My house smelled amazing after it cooked in the oven all afternoon. I love how few steps and ingredients it called for. YUM!
Glad you loved this recipe Alissa! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Delicious but I didn’t put the green beans in. I did add extra carrots.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and let us know what changes you made Lois!
This stew is so yummy! My family loved it. My husband isn’t much of a stew fan but he loved this! It worked really well as a freezer recipe. It was super easy to fit into my cooking day! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Hi Cheryl. Love to hear when recipes win over people that aren’t generally fans of something. Glad you found a winner for your family. Thanks for leaving a review!
Hi. Do you have a recommendation for the brand of Soups that you use? I am assuming it is not condensed soup.
I just always buy what I can find in the health food section to avoid additives and preservatives. My mother-in-law always used condensed canned soup (I got the recipe from her), but I’ve used non-condensed and it works either way honestly. It’s kind of hard to mess this recipe up.
I’ve been making this for the past year. This recipe is not only easy but delicious. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing
Hi Carolyn. So glad you enjoy this. Thanks for leaving a review!
Could this be made in a cast iron dutch oven instead?
Hi Bethany! This should work if the Dutch oven is big enough. Not sure if that will affect the cook time, though, since we haven’t tested it. Let us know how it turns out if you do give it a try!
Love it
Thanks Barry!
In the crock pot should I add any water or broth before cooking?
Hi Julia. You shouldn’t need any more liquid than what is in the green beans and the two soups.
We have made this many times over. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it put together in time for the 5 hours oven cook, so we improvised.
We made the stew in our 6 qt. Instant Pot. The only difference we had to make is to add 1 cup of beef broth. It came out super tender and just as delicious. Cooked on Manual 30 mins, natural release 15 minutes and served!
Hi Molly. Thank you so much for letting others know how you made this in the instant pot. Sounds great!
We are vegetarian, so I substituted Gardein beef less tips for the “meat”. It was such a delicious dinner on this cold snowy night! Thank you!
So glad that substitution worked well for you Rita. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and let others know of your changes!
I made this tonight. It was outstanding. I will definitely make it again.
My mother-in-law would love knowing that. This recipe is one I learned from her 20+ years ago. 🙂
Can I substitute something else for the mushroom soup? If so, what else can I use and the amount.
I haven’t tested anything else, but a can of cream of celery would probably work well. Or is there a particular ingredient you are trying to avoid?
Or use our Cream of Chicken soup instead: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
This recipe sounds so good. Question: what kind of soups do you use? Fully constituted or condensed (like Campbell)?
Good question. My mother-in-law (who gave me this recipe) always used condensed Campbell’s soup but I found an organic condensed soup that I like in the health food section from Pacific Foods that’s healthier. Here’s a link to show you what it looks like: https://www.pacificfoods.com/our-products/condensed-soups/organic-cream-of-mushroom-condensed-soup/
Thanks, I will look for that soup or something similar. The main question, which you answered, is whether to use condensed soups or not. Looking forward to making your recipe!
Rachel, we made your recipe yesterday and enjoyed a portion of it for dinner last night. It was wonderful, delicious. The meat was amazingly tender. Like your mother-in-law, we ended up using Campbell’s condensed soups. Because the can size is less than the 15 ounces specified in your recipe, we added about a half of an additional can of the tomato soup, It was just right! Thanks again.
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, Dan. So glad it worked out well for you.