Ground Beef Stew (With a Secret Ingredient)
Overloaded with vegetables and with a juicy tomato base, you won’t believe the secret ingredient in this tender and rich ground beef stew recipe that adds a punch a flavor.
My Grandaddy loved stews and soups and this ground beef stew was one of his favorites. He had a special bowl that he liked to eat stew out of and Grandmama always served him in that bowl.
Nowadays, I regularly make this stew for my own family. It lives up to its nickname, Poor Man’s Stew, as it’s fuss-free, economical thanks to the addition of ground beef, and not to mention delicious and incredibly flavorful! If you’ve ever had Cracker Barrel beef stew, this recipe is very similar and just as tasty.
It starts with a beef broth and tomato sauce, then it gets overloaded with tender ground beef and vegetables like potato, carrot, and green beans. I’ve included some variations below, but I love that stews are great and so easy to tweak and make your own. So play and have some fun with this stew recipe. Easily adapt it to what you have in your pantry and freezer, and include your favorite meat and vegetables.
But before we begin, I have one special ingredient that I do hope you’ll try though… Spicy Hot V8 Juice. This is what gives my hamburger stew such a full-bodied flavor without me having to cook it all day and add a gazillion different spices. Don’t worry though, it doesn’t make it hot at all – I promise!
Now, let’s get making this ground beef stew, which will warm you from the inside out (I just love stew and soup weather).
Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Onions
- Diced tomato can
- Green beans
- Beef bouillon cubes
- Ground beef
- Spicy Hot V8 Juice
How to Make Ground Beef Stew
Peel and dice your carrots, potatoes, and onion. Place in a large pot.
As a shortcut, you can use a 1-pound bag of frozen cubed hash browns for the potatoes.
Add the cans of tomatoes and the bag of frozen green beans to the pot.
Add four beef bouillon cubes and two cups of water, or your preferred beef stock.
Next, add in the Spicy Hot V8 Juice.
I am using two cans in mine but you can use one and taste it to see if you want to use the second.
I used two and it still wasn’t hot, just very flavorful.
Bring this to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and simmer for an hour or so, until vegetables are tender.
Add ground beef to complete your ground beef stew.
Stir in a teaspoon of salt.
You won’t need any black pepper because of the V8 Juice, but you should salt it to your personal taste. I like to salt it shortly before serving because that gives me a chance to taste the finished product and see how much it needs.
Serve your ground beef stew with crackers or cornbread.
I hope you get to make this heartwarming meal soon!
Storage
- This stew tastes even better reheated the next day if you can believe it. I use those Rubbermaid sandwich-size containers for easy reheating as single meals. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days and simply reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- This ground beef stew freezes well too, so it’s still great to make if cooking for fewer people. Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaw overnight before reheating as above.
Recipe Notes
- You can use beef broth in place of the bouillon cubes, but I prefer them because they are less expensive and take up less space when storing them (a small container of these cubes makes about as much broth as 25 cans of beef broth).
- You can also substitute some other bean of your preference for the green beans or add any number of other veggies. This might be celery, zucchini, frozen peas, , or leek.
- For the vegetables, you can use fresh or frozen ingredients. If using frozen, let them thaw briefly before adding to the stew.
- You don’t have to peel your potatoes before you dice and add them to the pot.
- My beef is already browned and waiting happily for me in the freezer to save making another mess. To see how I process large quantities of ground beef with ease, click here.
- You can assemble your stew in the morning and put it in your slow cooker all day on low.
- If using lean ground beef, there is no need to cook it ahead of time, just crumble it up or break off bite-size chunks and you can add it in raw. Otherwise, precook it and add-in afterward.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with ground beef stew?
Serve your hamburger stew as a with a fresh dinner roll, homemade biscuits, crackers, or cornbread. You can also serve it over couscous or rice.
By the way, you may also like these super easy and tasty stew recipes:
Smoked Sausage and Beef Stew in the Crockpot
Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew Recipe
Budget-Friendly & Delicious Lentil Stew
This ground beef stew recipe featured on Meal Plan Monday
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained, or see note
- 2-3 carrots, diced
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 5-6 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2-3 cups frozen green beans
- 29 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1-2 cans Spicy Hot V8 Juice I use two 6-ounce cans
- 2 cups water
- 4 beef bouillon cubes or 4 cups of beef broth
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Instructions
- Place everything except the ground beef in a large pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for an hour or until vegetables are at the desired tenderness.2-3 carrots, diced, 1 onion, peeled and chopped, 5-6 potatoes, peeled and diced, 2-3 cups frozen green beans, 29 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes, 1-2 cans Spicy Hot V8 Juice, 2 cups water, 4 beef bouillon cubes
- Stir in ground beef and season with salt to taste. Serve hot with crackers or cornbread.1-2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained, or see note, 1 teaspoon salt
Notes
- This can be assembled in the morning and put in your slow cooker all day on low.
- If ground beef is lean, there is no need to cook it ahead of time, just crumble it up or break off bite-size chunks and you can add it in raw. Otherwise, precook it and add-in afterward.
- Freezes well. I freeze mine in sandwich-size containers for easy reheating as single meals.
Nutrition
BE the change you want to see in the world.
Ha! My Maggie Rose always wants to be called by her full first and middle name too. How old is Katy? Magpie just turned 4, I wonder if it’s the diva toddler age…
I’ve never tried the spicy V-8 in my soups, I’ve always just used regular. In fact, this is almost exactly like the hamburger soup my mom used to make..
Now on with my comment. Oh that stew looks really good. We have a few of those pyrex bowls that we enjoy our soups and stews out of (try the chicken stew)it is yummy. I have also found several in the goodwill store and being at such a great price of .99 I couldn’t pass it up and now my oldest girl child has her own soup/stew bowls.
Happy Day,
Cherrill
I can’t wait to try this one!! Yum!!
It’s going to be in lower 30s here for several nights. I think this is going to be on my menu soon.
Girl I make my veggie soup the exact same way, except I use the largest V8 juice can and its regular, but I don’t add water, but I use canned veggies and I use the liquids out of that and it is soooo yummy! I actually made this the other day when my hubby got sick. It made him feel better too! hehehe…a good wife know’s how to make the hubs feel better! Talk to ya later. Hope u have a good day!
Just in time for a little cool snap next week! Well, as cool as Alabama gets, I guess. Thanks for sharing! This looks yummy!
My Dad’s favorite soup/stew/icecream bowl was a Pyrex bowl exactly like your Granddaddy’s bowl – just a different pattern! After my dad died, I kept the bowl, it had real sentimental value to me. Sadly, a few years later it got broken but I saved the biggest piece and still have it today in the bottom of my jewelry box. It brings up a wave of warm fuzzy feelings whenever I take it out & look at it. Amazing how such simple things can mean more to us than any amount of money or jewels! 🙂 I’m going to try your Ground Beef Stew – it looks yummy – just the type of dish my Dad would have loved to eat – out of his favorite bowl!
Ohhhhhh….am I the first to comment? This looks great! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Kyra!
One of these days I’m gonna have something to give the first commentor! lol
Thank you!!
Gratefully,
Christy
oh, let it be meeeeee.
I’ve made hamburger stew (aka poor man’s stew) for years. I’ve never used green beans or a tomato base. My version has peas and a beef gravy base, just like I do for my regular beef stew. It is a popular dish at out house with hot buttered biscuits.
I’m going to try this, sounds like it might get in the meal rotation sometimes.
I think it’s an amazing twist to a classic for me as a kid growing up in the south, I truly appreciate this recipe because it pairs well with a hot grilled cheese sandwich on a cold fall or winter day. This soup you just can’t go wrong.
I made this stew last night. I added a little more salt and a little sugar to cut the tartness of the canned tomatoes. We all enjoyed it very much.
Hey Christy,
I’m trying this this weekend using my homegrown green beans and tomatoes I froze! I can’t wait! Sounds so yummy. Hubby and I are real soup people when cool weather hits. This soup has lots of good veggies in it…right up our alley!
Sounds like some cabbage would be a good addition, (I love cabbage) but I’ll wait and see if this soup actually tastes like my brain tells me will.
Sorry I meant Stew. Lol
See ya on the front porch!