Syn Free Beef Celery Orzo Stew - a simple throw together meal that is perfect any day of the week.
The majority of the recipes you see right here on the blog are usually a last minute throw together meal of ingredients I have that need to be used up and this Beef Celery Orzo Stew is definitely one of those kinds of meals.
I had already picked up some stewing beef on sale earlier in the week and had a huge bunch of celery that needed to be used up.
Wanting to make it more filling, a browse of my pantry and the jar of orzo pasta was in my hand and a hearty comforting stew just seemed like the best meal to make.
Is it weird that I used to hate celery as a child? Raw or cooked it was a big no-no for me and I would always scoop it out of my mum's stew. It's funny how our tastes change as we get older.
Now I love it, I add it raw to salads, use it as crudites for dips and best of all, as a great speed choice along with other vegetables to add to stews, soups or casseroles.
Whenever I am making a big pot of soup, casserole or a stew like this Beef Celery Orzo Stew, I always get out my beloved Le Creuset Dutch Oven.
I've been collecting pieces over the last few years now in a variety of different sizes and colours and they are by far my favourite cookware I own. They can be a little on the pricier side, but they come with a lifetime guarantee, so are worth it in my opinion.
Gotta love meals that you can cook all in one pot right? If you love one pot meals, check out some of these other recipes:
- LEFTOVER CHICKEN BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND BEAN SOUP
- FIRECRACKER CHICKEN MEATBALLS
- BALSAMIC BRAISED BEEF
- SPICY GINGER CHICKEN
- LOW SYN BRAISED BEEF
- GROUND TURKEY VEGETABLE BEAN SOUP
- CHICKEN VEGETABLE PASTA SOUP
- SYN FREE TUSCAN CHICKEN AND WHITE BEAN SOUP | SLIMMING WORLD
- SYN FREE BEEF AND POTATO CURRY
- BEEF AND SWEET POTATO STEW
- SYN FREE BEEF STROGANOFF
or head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX for over 850+ delicious Slimming World Recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients and syn value etc
Wondering what orzo is? It's a small oval-shaped pasta kind of like large grains of rice and perfect in dishes like soups and stews. But if you don' t have orzo on hand, you can replace with any small shaped pasta of your choosing.
How can I add a ⅓ speed foods to this Beef Celery Orzo Stew?
This yummy hearty stew is packed with celery, butternut squash and onion and is super healthy and filling. Occasionally a meal might not fully include an exact ⅓ speed foods, but remember that is okay, speeds foods are recommended, but not compulsory.
However, if you like to pack your speed foods in, then the addition of some carrot or another root vegetable like swede (rutabaga) would work really well in this dish too, you could even add in some chopped kale or spinach.
What Kitchen Items do I need to make this Beef Celery Orzo Stew?
- Measuring Scales
- Chopping Board
- Measuring Jug
- Santoku Knife
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Dutch oven pot or large casserole pot
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Syn Free Beef Celery Orzo Stew
Syn Free Beef Celery Orzo Stew - a simple throw together meal that is perfect any day of the week.
Ingredients
- 500g (17.5oz) of lean stewing beef, raw
- 1 large red onion, diced
- 4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 150g (5.5oz) of butternut squash, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 3 tbs of tomato paste
- ½ tsp of dried thyme
- ½ tsp of fennel, crushed
- ½ tsp of dried basil
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 5 cups (1.2 litres) of beef stock
- ½ cup (100g) of dried orzo pasta
- cooking oil spray
- salt and black pepper
- fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Spray a large dutch oven or casserole pot over a medium high heat with some cooking oil spray
- Season beef with salt and black pepper
- Add the beef in to the pot in batches and lightly brown, then remove and set aside.(spray with more cooking oil spray after each batch)
- Add the onion and celery and fry for a couple of minutes until the onion is slightly translucent. Adding in a little stock to deglaze the pan and prevent any sticking.
- Add in the garlic and herbs, and fry for a further minute.
- Return the beef to the pot along with the butternut squash, smoked paprika and tomato paste and stir to coat.
- Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to love and cover and then simmer for 1 hour, until the meat is tender.
- Add in the orzo for the last 10 minutes until cooked.
- Season as needed with salt and black pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley
- Serve and enjoy!!
Notes
This recipe is dairy free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Extra Easy - Syn Free per serving
- WW Smart Points - 5 per serving
*suitable for freezing
When reheated you may need to add more stock, as the pasta will thicken into the stew upon reheating.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 298Total Fat 7.3gSaturated Fat 2.5gCholesterol 85mgSodium 930mgCarbohydrates 24.8gFiber 2.9gSugar 4.9gProtein 34.6g
Leslie Scott says
I love your recipes! I have been on WWs in the past and now am doing Slimming World. All of your recipes that I've tried so far are incredibly flavorful and filling. Tonight, with snow predicted for this weekend, I made this stew. I followed the recipe exactly. I used the same amount of stew meat as called for (sometimes I get confused because it's written in grams and ounces and I'm dealing in pounds--but I translated correctly), the same amount of beef stock, but a little more squash than called for (so I guess not exactly, exactly!). The finished product, however, was more the consistency of a soup than a stew. As such, I added another 1/2 cup of orzo. Now my stew looks like the pictures posted here. The dish is delicious. I love the fennel flavor with the tomato base and celery. Just spectacularly yummy. In the future, I will add some additional vegetables as you suggest, particularly spinach and rutabaga. This dish also makes a strong case for purchasing a Le Creuset Dutch oven. (As if I need an excuse, but since they are so expensive, yes, I do!) It's a great piece to cook with and perfect for oven/stovetop to table. (Love Le Creuset. I've found them on sale around the Christmas holiday.) This is a stew that I would serve to guests on a wintry evening night. Thank you for all the work you do perfecting these recipes!
Hollie Stallworthy says
I tried this Beef, Celery & Orzo stew and it tasted absolutely amazing! Didn't taste like something that was syn free, thank you so much!
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
thanks Hollie - so glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Tracy Cambridge says
Hi, love the sound of this recipe. Do you think it would work in an Instant Pot? My Mum bought me one so want to use it much as poss
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
Hi Tracy, you would need to cook in segments if doing in the instant pot as the beef will take longer to cook than the orzo.
Jean says
Made this as my daughter was coming for tea we both really enjoyed it will be doing it often so will my daughter
Carol says
What can I say, this is absolutely delicious. We are only 2 people but I made the full recipe for 4 but only half of the beef, I cooked it in the slow cooker and put it on the hob and added the orzo. It was so good we have eaten the lot. Absolutely stuffed but happy. Thank you Shevy x
Cheryll Benton says
Made this for dinner to day.
I added some mixed peppers & some chilli.
It was fab all my family loved it.
My son said he’d pay too money for it in a restaurant.
Cheryll. 25 / 9 / 22
Ian Angus says
Ever since stumbling across this recipe it’s become a family favourite.
Our little kids are fussy eaters. They love the fact they’re getting pasta ( their fave food) that looks like rice.
It’s an easy way to get them to eat veg they normally won’t touch.
It’s so tasty and a real autumn / winter comfort food dish. Like an edible blanket you can wrap yourselves up in.
The only thing we do different is we double the amount of orzo.
Then we have enough for our tea. Plus normally another 2-3 portions we can freeze and take to work for a tasty and healthy lunch.