How will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day?
We usually mark the day with Corned Beef and Cabbage.
Click here for my WW Friendly St. Patrick's Day Recipe Roundup
I love it. But there are other alternatives, like this hearty, satisfying Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Irish Stew made with lamb, potatoes, onions and carrots.
If you don't eat lamb or can't find it, beef makes a delicious substitute.
WW Friendly Slow Cooker Irish Stew
Fantastic on a cold, blustery day-served with a pint of Irish stout, of course.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Irish Stew?
According to my calculations each generous 2-cup serving has 419 calories and
10 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
10 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Recipe Notes
There is no one way to make Irish stew. Every Irish household has its own version of this classic dish.
At its most basic, traditional Irish stew has only a few ingredients: lamb, onions and potatoes.
In southern Ireland carrots are added, and some cooks venture so far as to add turnips.
I go as far as to add diced tomatoes, which might be heresy to some.
I provide instructions for cooking this Irish stew in the slow cooker. But you could always put it in a covered ovenproof pot and let it simmer away in a low oven instead.
To save time in the morning, prep the ingredients the night before, load them in the slow cooker insert and refrigerate overnight. Then pull the insert of the fridge in the morning and let it sit on the counter for a while to take the chill off before popping it into your slow cooker and then turning it to LOW.
If you are worried about cracking your ceramic insert or don't have room in your fridge, place all the prepped ingredients in a tupperware container or large zipper-lock bag instead.
Recipe Variations
no lamb - substitute cubes of stewing beef
no stout - a type of dark ale, gives this stew a rich, roasted flavor. Use any dark, brown or amber ale or use another cup of broth, if you prefer not to use beer.
no parsnips - use more carrots
herbs - fresh or dried thyme or rosemary would be nice
If you like this slow cooker Irish stew be sure to check out some of my other hearty Weight Watchers friendly stew recipes including Weight Watchers Chicken Brunswick Stew, Healthy Slow Cooker Hamburger Stew, Crock Pot Stew Beef and Gravy, Mom's Hearty Lentil Sausage Stew, Hearty Slow Cooker Beef Stew or Slow Cooker Root Vegetable Sausage Stew
If you've made this Irish Slow Cooker Stew, 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 Slow Cooker Irish Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup Irish stout (such as Guinness)
- 2 pounds boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
- 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices
- 1 small turnip, peeled, halved and each half cut into 8 chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups frozen peas
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 5-Quart
- Combine the broth, stout, lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, parsnips, carrots, turnips, bay leaf, salt and pepper in the crock pot.
- Cover and cook on LOW until the lamb is fork-tender and vegetables soft, 6 to 8 hours.
- To thicken the stew, stir together the flour and ½ cup water (or shake it together in a covered jar) until smooth. Stir into the stew.
- Cover and cook on HIGH until thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf and stir in the peas and parsley before serving.
Recipe Notes
- no lamb - substitute cubes of stewing beef.
- no stout - a type of dark ale, gives this stew a rich, roasted flavor. Use any dark, brown or amber ale or use another cup of broth, if you prefer not to use beer.
- no parsnips - use more carrots.
- herbs - fresh or dried thyme or rosemary would be nice.
Source: WW One Pot Cookbook
*PersonalPoints® 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.
More WW Friendly Irish Stew Recipes
- Skinny Irish Pub Beef Stew (SkinnyKitchen)
- Irish Stew with Lamb, Potatoes & Guinness Beer (Cookin'Canuck)
- Guinness Beef Stew (LaaLoosh)
- Click here to find all my WW Friendly Recipes Perfect for St. Patrick's Day
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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Betty
What could I substitute for the lamb? I've never developed a taste for it.
Betty
OH, never mind 🙂 I read from the top down 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Hi Betty,
Glad the post answered the question about lamb substitutes for you!!