WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Italian Beef & Lentil Soup
It's been over a year since I've made a pot of this easy, delicious Weight Watchers Friendly Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Soup.
One of my all-time favorite slow cooker soups, I decided to make another batch before the weather gets any warmer.
WW Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Stew
When I originally saw the recipe for this Italian Beef and Lentil Soup, I really didn't think much about it. Then I heard several people singing the soup's praises during Weight Watchers meetings.
Which was all I needed to make a batch for myself.
Italian Beef + Lentil Soup Recipe Notes
This is one of those dump and stir, one-pot slow cooker recipes. There's no precooking required.
To prevent the zucchini from getting mushy, it's best to add it during the last hour of cooking, if you can. If you're not a zucchini fan, substitute whatever vegetables you like best. Green beans would be good.
WW Friendly Italian Beef & Lentil Stew
Mom, Rod and I all really, really like this easy Italian Beef and Lentil Soup, so it's definitely getting added in to my regular soup making rotation.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Easy Healthy Italian Beef & Lentil Slow Cooker Soup/?
According to my calculations, each serving has 233 calories and:
4 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
2 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
2 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
5 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Italian Beef & Lentil Stew Recipe Variations
Substitute 2 cups fresh cut green beans for the zucchini if you prefer.
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
If you've made this low fat Italian Crock Pot Beef & Lentil Soup, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Weight Watchers Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean beef round, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced (I used jarred)
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning blend
- 1 can (14 - 15 ounces) canned diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup dry lentils, rinsed
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- ¼ cup fresh slivered basil
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-Quart.
- Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.
- Place the beef, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, tomatoes, tomato paste, lentils and beef broth in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker and stir to combine everything well.
- Cook, covered, on LOW for 6 to 7 hours. During the last hour of cooking add the zucchini.
- Just before serving, remove the cover and stir in the basil.
- Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
Source: Recipe slightly adapted from Weight Watchers
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you liked this Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Soup you might also like:
Hearty Beef & Vegetable Slow Cooker Soup
Hearty Beef Vegetable Slow Cooker Soup
WW Slow Cooker Lentil & Sausage Stew
Slow Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup
Crock Pot Beef French Onion Soup
Skinny Slow Cooker Beefy French Onion Soup
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Barbara
I made this recipe when it came out in the weekly. It was the most vile recipe I ever made. I followed it to a tee. No taste--I cooked it longer than stated in the recipe and the lentils were still hard. I've made lentil soup many many times and never had anything that resembled this. I give this a big thumbs down--no stars for this.
Martha McKinnon
Barbara,
Sorry you didn't like it. We did and it's rare with Rod, Mom and I all agree. Both the meat and lentils were cooked to perfection when I made it. And I did bump up the seasonings a little, which I tend to do, with most recipes. Just goes to show that you that it's impossible to please all of the people all of the time! And there are just so many variables when it comes to cooking - quality/flavor of ingredients, variabilities of equipment and on and on. With a 4.5 star rating and over 900 reviews on the WW website, I stand with the majority on this one, which isn't always the case 🙂
Joy
My husband and I enjoy this recipe alot as well, and at 6'4" and 165 he normally doesn't have a need or care for weight watchers recipes. He asks for this recipe routinely! I have only made it with fresh green beans so far, and double them to 4 cups.
Thanks for posting this so I don't have to keep track of where the weekly went!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Joy, Glad to help! I have trouble keeping track of my favorite Weekly recipes too!!
Ashley T
I put this into the WW recipe builder and it says it's 8 points a serving at 6 servings, not 5.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ashley,
I'm not sure what to say. This is a recipe that I took right from the Weight Watchers weekly magazine which only provides the Points Plus value, not the calories, fat, fiber, carbs, protein values needed to calculate it. If you can't trust Weight Watchers to print the correct Points Plus value in their weekly magazine, who can you trust, LOL??? I'd say to choose the value that makes you feel most comfortable. When you are trying to lose weight, it's always better to overestimate than underestimate. I've been in maintenance mode for several years so I've got a bit more wiggle room. And the truth is that I didn't end up at WW because I ate too much Beef Lentil Soup 🙂 But, my best advice is to always trust your gut!
Kim Hellman
Holy Schnykies, what is wrong with people? I guess some peeps need someone to blame for EVERYTHING!!!!!!! With that being said, this is one of the most delicious recipes I have ever made. My husband LOVED it, my neighbors LOVED it, everyone I know LOVED it!! And I followed the recipe verbatim. I DID make it in my instant pot, so it cooked for 25 minutes and was so amazing. Thanks so much for this recipe. I am VERY appreciative of recipes that are as good as this one. It will definitely be inserted into my rotation!!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kim, Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. So glad you liked it!!
Bev
Hi Kim, thanks for letting me know it works in the instant pot! (Though Martha might have provided this information I didn't see it yet.) I was going to try out the slow cooker function on mine, but if I can do it more quickly, why not? 🙂
Jana
Is it possible to get the article back about your sister talking about grapefruit and other scents ?
Thank you again for daily e mails . Jana
Martha McKinnon
Hi Jana, I think is the article you are looking for: https://simple-nourished-living.com/letting-go-cravings-grapefruit-essential-oil-instead-food/ - Martha
Jenny Isaacs
So yummy and satisfying. In my regular rotation. Hubby loves it.
Roberta Hancock
Could someone please tell me what kind of beef this is (beef round). I’m not familiar with it or maybe it’s a cut not available in Canada?
Thank you.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Roberta, here's a link to a great article explaining all about beef round - https://tonysmarket.com/understanding-beef-round/ Hope it helps. ~Martha
Robin
Hello, thank you for providing recipes! I'm using my instant pot more and more. Would you be converting more of your recipes to IP?
Pamela Taylor
This is SO good. I let my half recipe cook in a two qt slow cooker for about an hour and a half longer than stated. Just to get the lentils to finish cooking. I also add 1 tsp dried basil instead of the fresh. Adding the zucchini in the last hour cooks it perfectly. My 83 yr old mom loves this soup and I do, too! Thanks so much!
Elyce
If I add more lentils (no more liquid)... would it become thicker... I like a thick lentil soup.. what do you suggest? TIA~
Martha McKinnon
Hi Elyce, yes that should work. ~Martha
Cathy
Absolutely delicious! I addedcarots and cooked down a bit more for a thicker stew! Will definitely do this one again! Thank you!