Photo of Provencal beef stew by WW

Provencal beef stew

3
Points®
Total Time
7 hr 25 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
7 hr 5 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Moderate
This is the sort of stew that takes just a few minutes of prep time in the morning, and after letting it cook all day, is the perfect thing to indulge in after a long, chilly day. Puréed beans add a wonderfully thick texture to this robust beef stew. It's a simple, nutritious way to thicken any bean-based soup. The stew also has onions, mushrooms, carrots, crushed tomatoes, dried oregano, dried thyme, as well as fresh thyme for garnish if you have some on hand. After sautéing the onion, mushrooms, and garlic, it all comes together in the slow cooker, and you can walk away and let everything meld for 6–7 hours...right until dinnertime.

Ingredients

Uncooked lean beef round

16 oz, cut into 1-inch cubes (London Broil)

Cooking spray

1 spray(s)

Onion

1 small, chopped

Mushrooms

2 cup(s), sliced, sliced

Garlic

2 clove(s), minced

Carrots

2 large, sliced

Canned pinto beans

15 oz, drained and rinsed, divided

Canned beef broth

1½ cup(s), divided

Canned crushed tomatoes

14½ oz

Dried oregano

½ tsp, crushed

Dried thyme

¼ tsp, crushed

Table salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Fresh thyme

2 Tbsp, or 2 whole sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place beef in a 5-quart slow cooker.
  2. Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add onion mixture to slow cooker; add carrots.
  3. Place half of beans in slow cooker; place remaining beans in a blender. Add 1/2 cup of broth to blender and puree; spoon mixture into slow cooker. Add remaining broth, tomatoes, oregano, dried thyme, salt and pepper to slow cooker.
  4. Cover slow cooker and cook on high setting for 6 to 7 hours. Garnish with fresh thyme before serving. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.