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WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker French Beef Stew with Olives
Southern France equals olives! A few months ago I counted 34 types (yes!) of marinated green and black olives at our market in Vaison-la Romaine.
Baked, marinated, turned into tapenade —year round in Provence olives are added to most anything savory from breads to stews. I used pitted black olives to flavor this daube, the Provencal term for stew.
If company is arriving for this, I usually use pitted olives however when it’s just the two of us, the pits are fine left in. Just be careful when you’re enjoying dinner!
The “daubiere (affiliate link)” is traditionally what the meat bakes in. Personally, I use my slow cooker and perfect result every time with the same beautiful smells wafting through the house as when it’s made in the oven.
This version is the quick and easy way which I’m finding is becoming a favorite way to cook and live.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Slow Cooker French Beef Stew?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 330 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
6 SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
6 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Serving Suggestions
Serve this French Beef Stew alongside or over rice, pasta, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or even lightly steamed spinach leaves. There will be lots of delicious sauce to soak into whatever you serve it with.
For additional flavor, you can spoon 1 or 2 teaspoons of prepared basil pesto on top when you serve it. This beats chopping parsley and adds a color as well as flavor!
Don’t forget to uncork a sturdy Cote-de-Rhone red wine to dine in true French fashion. (Click here to discover 45 Reasons French Women Don’t Get Fat.)
Recipe Notes
Once the meat is tender and the dish is finished, if you have time, resist the urge to serve it immediately and instead, cool, cover and refrigerate it overnight. The flavor will really have a chance to blend together.
If time is short and dinner calls, freeze the few leftovers and when reheated they will taste even better than the first time.
I used top round beef, or London Broil, which takes—when cooked in liquid— a lot longer than a quick broil on the grill to get tender.
Regular beef sold as “stew meat” works well also.
The good news is that time spent cooking in the pot gives the meat a longer time to absorb the spices, vegetable flavors and broth.
Canned tomatoes come enhanced with many “flavors” these days. They are a marvelous staple in the winter when flavorful garden tomatoes are non-existent. Try the fire-roasted or roasted garlic canned tomatoes which are available in most supermarkets.
If you’ve made this Crock Pot Provencal Beef Stew with Olives, 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.
Slow Cooker Provencal Beef Stew with Olives
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef top round, London Broil, or stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 10 baby carrots
- 1 tablespoon salt-free Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup pitted black Greek olives
- 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
- 1 tablespoon capers
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 4-Quart.
- Place all ingredients into a slow cooker except olives, zucchini and capers.
- Cover and cook on *HIGH for 4 hours.
- Add the olives, zucchini and capers and continue cooking on *HIGH for another 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat and vegetables are meltingly tender.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 6 SmartPoints (Green plan) 6 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 6 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 6 PointsPlus (Old plan) If your Slow Cooker Cooks “Hot” you may want to use LOW instead of HIGH to prepare this stew! Canned tomatoes come enhanced with many “flavors” these days. They are a marvelous staple in the winter when flavorful garden tomatoes are non-existent. Try the fire-roasted or roasted garlic canned tomatoes which are available in most supermarkets.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This stew was delicious. Incredibly easy to put together and the results were worthy of a company dinner. I have enjoyed the zero point meats added to WW and I’ve been hunting for tasty beef meals that are low in points. This one checks every box and I’m particular about flavor.
This was delicious however I calculated the points based on the recipe measurements and came up with 10 points. Would really like to know what I did wrong.
I love the recipe, but cooking the olives, zucchini and capers for 3-4 hours on high–won’t they get mushy?
Tried this recipe last week – and it’s a ‘keeper’ for me; I loved the flavor and made a few alterations. Since I’m not a wine person, I used veg broth instead, added s/p and fresh parsley and substituted a smaller amount (just under 3/4 lb.) of thin sliced round steak that I had in the freezer. Also cut up two large carrots instead of using baby carrots and found it was delicious! Since I’ve learned that onions take way too long to cook down in slow-cooker, next time I shall try to remember to sauté them before adding them to any dish that I make slow style!
Marge, I am not a wine person either, but I love dishes where wine is included. You would not believe how good they taste. Give it a try.
Cant have wine. What else can I use?
I’d substitute beef broth for the wine.
I have made something similar throughout the years and adding fennel seed(crushed) or fresh fennel is a great flavor booster. I add mushrooms and, of course before ww, red wine is an amazing addition. Not worth the extra points. This would rock on mashed cauliflower
Most of the points in wine comes from the alcohol which will mostly evaporate during cooking. If not using wine, I’d substitute the same amount of beef broth. Agree that this would be great on mashed cauliflower!!