Weight Watchers Recipes of the Day: Healthy Hamburger Stew
(178 calories | *2 WW SmartPoints)
I made this simple healthy slow cooker hamburger stew for the first time last December. Everyone really liked it.
WW Friendly Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew
Hearty and satisfying, it’s the perfect antidote to weeks of overindulging with too many sweet treats. If your body is begging you to bring it back into balance, plan on cooking up a pot as soon as you can!
English Chocolate Crisps
While I didn’t do nearly as much Christmas cookie baking this year as last, I still managed to to get myself in trouble with two deliciously decadent Ina Garten recipes: French Chocolate Bark and English Chocolate Crisps.
They were totally worth the splurge, but now I’m feeling ready to get back on track with some sensible slow cooking.
French Chocolate Bark
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been eating out and indulging in WAY more sweet treats than normal. And our celebrations won’t officially wrap up until we ring in the New Year.
‘Tis the time of year when my body begins craving a dose of simple, hearty, home cooking, like this slow cooker hamburger stew, a hodgepodge of vegetables and ground beef simmered for hours in the crock pot. It’s the perfect antidote to weeks of overindulging.
How Many Calories/WW Points in this Healthy Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew?
According to my calculations, each serving has 178 calories, *4 PointsPlus and *2 Freestyle SmartPoints.
Skinny on Healthy Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew
Homemade soup is SO MUCH BETTER than anything you can get in a can. It’s worth the little bit of extra work required and is really pretty easy when you use your Crock-Pot (affiliate link).
The potatoes will take the longest to soften in this recipe, so be sure to chop them into small pieces if time is an issue.
I kept the seasoning in this slow cooker hamburger stew pretty simple, using just Montreal Steak Seasoning, one of my favorites. If you like your soups spicier, you may want to add more herbs and spices.
To make this hamburger stew vegetarian, substitute 1 pound soy crumbles or 1-1/2 cups lentils for the ground beef, and vegetable broth (affiliate link) for the beef broth.
One of the great things about home cooking is the freedom to customize to your specific tastes!
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
Seasoning Ideas & Variations:
- Give it an Italian flair by adding garlic, basil and oregano or Italian Seasoning.
- Take it in a Mexican direction with chile powder and cumin or a package of taco seasoning.
- Give it an Indian flavor by adding a teaspoon or two of curry powder
- Bump up the beefy flavor with a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire sauce and a squeeze of anchovy paste.
- For even more heat, add your favorite hot sauce and/or chopped picked jalapeños when you serve it.
- Boost the tomato flavor with a can of condensed tomato soup and/or 2 or 3 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- Boost the oniony flavor with 2 to 3 tablespoons of dry onion soup mix.
- For even more veggies, try making this Crock Pot Hamburger Soup with V8 juice.
- Substitute sweet potato for the white potato for a more colorful soup.
- Add or subtract vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have on hand.
Curious about Weight Watchers Freestyle/Flex plan?
Watch this short video to learn more:
If you like this slow cooker recipe for hamburger stew, be sure to check out my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly Crock-Pot (affiliate link) recipes including Italian Pork & White Beans Stew, Slow Cooker Sausage & Vegetables, Crock-Pot Tomato Beef Macaroni Soup, Creole White Beans & Chicken and WW Chuck Wagon Chili
If you’ve made this Hamburger Stew, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef (95% lean)
- 1 onion, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
- Salt and pepper, or other seasoning, to taste (I used 1-1/2 teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning)
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into tiny cubes (2 cups)
- 1 package (16 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables
- 1-1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 4 cups beef broth (I use jarred Better Than Bouillon mixed with water)
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 5- to 6-Quart.
- Put the ground beef and onions in a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper and additional seasoning if you like.
- Cook, stirring and breaking up the beef into small crumbles, until the ground beef is no longer pink and the onions have softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain off any excess fat. (There shouldn't be much if you used extra lean ground beef.)
- Scrape the ground beef mixture into the crock pot. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, corn, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours, or until the vegetables are all tender. The potatoes will take the longest to soften, so be sure to chop them really small if time is an issue for you.
- Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if desired.
Recipe Notes
Seasoning Ideas & Variations:
- Give it an Italian flair by adding garlic, basil and oregano or Italian Seasoning.
- Take it in a Mexican direction with chile powder and cumin or a package of taco seasoning.
- Give it an Indian flavor by adding a teaspoon or two of curry powder
- Bump up the beefy flavor with a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire sauce and a squeeze of anchovy paste.
- For even more heat, add your favorite hot sauce and/or chopped picked jalapeños when you serve it.
- Boost the tomato flavor with a can of condensed tomato soup and/or 2 or 3 tablespoons of tomato paste.
- Boost the oniony flavor with 2 to 3 tablespoons of dry onion soup mix.
- For even more veggies, substitute V8 juice for half of the beef broth.
- Substitute sweet potato for the white potato for a more colorful soup.
- Add or subtract vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have on hand.
Source: adapted from The Crockin Girls Slow Cookin Companion: Yummy Recipes from Family, Friends, and Our Crockin Community (affiliate link) by Nicole Sparks and Jenna Marwitz.
*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 Weight Watchers Zero Points fruits and vegetables using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch how to make your own Crock Pot Ground Beef Casserole at home:More Easy WW Friendly Recipes You Might Also Like:
- Slow Cooker 3-Bean Turkey Sausage Chili
- Simple 3-Ingredient Skinny Sloppy Joes
- Chicken Vegetable Rice Soup
- Mom’s Hearty Lentil Sausage Stew
- Easy Skinny Southwestern Skillet
- Best Weight Watchers Recipes of the Year with SmartPoints
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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Hi, I'm Martha. Simple Nourished Living chronicles the easy and delicious Weight Watchers friendly recipes, tips & hints that help me balance my love of food and desire to be happy, healthy and slim. 
Patt
I made this tonight for dinner. An excellent choice for a very cold New Year’s Day dinner. After 8 hours, the potatoes were still too firm, so next time I will use whole wheat macaroni. It was delicious and filling. Thank you again for what you do for all of us who are trying to eat healthier on this weight loss journey. Happy New Year.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks Patt! Whole wheat macaroni sounds like a delicious alternative. Chopping the potatoes very small will help them cook faster too. Happy New Year 🙂
Elaine
How much macaroni
Jackie
This looks great. What is the serving size?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Jackie, The serving is 1 cup. It appears in the recipe with the nutritional information. Hope this helps.
Renae
I put this in the W.W. calcuilator and I get 5 Smart Points for this.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Renae, I put the ingredients directly in the WW Recipe builder and came up with 3 SmartPoints. The reason for the difference is that the nutritional information I provide includes 0 points vegetables. But they are NOT included for determining SmartPoints. You can read more about why the value you get with the WW calculator can be higher than the actual SmartPoints here.
Renae
Thank you, thank you, thank you !! I was and have been doing recipes wrong! I love soup for lunch. Made this yesterday and it is very good. Thank you for your prompt reply as well. Awesome!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Renae, you are most welcome! So excited to connect with another soup lover!!
Carol
If you use ground turkey meat instead does it change the points?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Carol, It really depends on what kind of ground turkey you use and how lean it is. Hope this helps.
Kim S.
I just started Weight Watchers and made this yesterday. I got a late start and since I work from home, I did stove top and it was DELICIOUS–and very filling. I did add a bag of frozen chopped baby Kale, plus a splash of Worcestershire and a squeeze of anchovy paste to up the beefy flavor. I would never guess this is “Weight Watcher friendly.” I portioned it up into 1 cup plastic containers and put all but 4 in the freezer. Now, I’ll have easy, healthy lunch for the rest of the week! Thank you!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kim,
I love all the tweaks you made to give this recipe an extra boost of flavor! Thanks for sharing with us.
Beverly
This sounds good but your print button doesn’t work
Martha McKinnon
Hi Beverly, I just tested the print button on my computer and it worked fine 🙂 Not sure what the issue on your computer might be!
Lisa Harrison
Delicious and I usually have these ingredients on hand. I used small, tri colored fingerling size potatoes and they were perfect. Thank you for a basic, but tasty recipe.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Lisa, thanks for your feedback. Love the idea of tri-colored fingerling potatoes.
joanne m
Do you have to brown meat first?Since it will cook for 6-8 hours would not that be enough?
Annemarie
Hi Martha this is one of my favorite recipes i love to come back to, especially in the Fall and Winter. Any suggestions on making this one lower carbs as well?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Annemarie,
The bulk of the carbs come from the corn and potatoes. To lower the count I would leave them out and substitute
other lower carb veggies in their place – carrots, celery, zucchini, butternut squash, cauliflower, etc. Hope this helps.
Annemarie
Thanks so much! Happy New Year!
Jan N.
This recipe is sooooooooo good! The only change I made was to use barley in place of the potatoes.
Barb Johnson
I made this yesterday. What a delicious, filling soup/stew. I piled the veggies in, and 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of potatoes. I didn’t have potatoes in the house. This was a very tasty, healthy dinner. Thank you.
Judy
How will it affect the points if using whole wheat macaroni, barley or brown rice? How much would you put in, 2 cups as the potatoes??
Thanks for the great recipe’s, you’ve helped so much!!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Judy, I’ve never made it with anything but potatoes. Just look up the ingredient you are thinking of using in your WW App to determine the Points. I would guess 1 cup of whole wheat pasta instead of 2 cups potatoes. But less rice and barley because it will expand much during cooking. You might have to add extra liquid for these ingredients too because they absorb more liquid than potatoes. I’m thinking 1/2 cup rice/barley. Hope this helps. – Martha
Susan B
I love this recipe and yes you do have to cut the potatoes very small to get them cooked. I cooked it on high for 5 hours instead of low because I was pressed for time. I love the idea of the pasta and brown rice in place of potatoes.
Hilda
Was really surprised! Delicious and not too much prep. Like a really hearty
Soup. Good for lunch or dinner.
Nancy
This recipe is super easy and delicious!! I make it all the time!! Low on points too!!