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The lamb morsels in this Lamb Stew just melt in your mouth and so do the potatoes. This recipe is uncomplicated (a one-pot meal!) and it simmers in the oven for awhile so every bite is completely delicious. The lengthy (and care free) baking time creates a most satisfying broth consistency. Even if you have no clue what the old days were like, this lamb stew will take you there!
My 2 and 8-year old kiddos both loved this lamb stew (which shocked me because they love their usuals like Mom’s meatball soup and borscht). They both asked for refills! I was beaming of course because this lamb stew recipe is loaded with healthy ingredients and my family was was gobbling it up with such satisfaction. It’s a winner, especially for special occasions, like Easter!
Ingredients for Lamb Stew Recipe:
This hearty lamb stew is a meal in itself and so satisfying! This lamb stew recipe is a close relative to our beef stew recipe (a reader favorite!). We turned it into a one-pot recipe so it is easier and a little heartier with more potatoes. We also experimented making it gluten free and we were all so impressed with the results.
Gluten Free Substitution: I have tested this with this gluten free flour and it worked wonderfully.
How to Make Easy Lamb Stew:
1. In a large dutch oven pot, saute chopped bacon over medium heat until golden brown and fat is released. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
2. While bacon cooks, season trimmed and chopped lamb pieces with 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour. Toss to combine and coat the meat in flour. Cook the lamb in 2 batches in hot bacon grease over medium heat until browned (3-4 minutes per side) then remove to the same plate with bacon.
3. Add diced onion and sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add thickly sliced mushrooms, bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes uncovered. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F.
4. Return bacon and lamb back to the pot then add 4 cups broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 2 bay leaves. Add potatoes and carrots then stir to combine (potatoes should be mostly submerged in liquid. Bring to a boil then cover with lid and carefully transfer to preheated oven at 325˚F for 1 hour and 45 minutes. When done, potatoes will be easily pierced and lamb will be very tender. For a lower fat stew, spoon out any excess oil at the surface of the stew.
Serve with soft crusty bread to soak up that broth which is loaded with amazing flavor!
Explore our Most Popular Stew Recipes:
- Beef, Rice and Tomato Stew (Kharcho)
- Red Borscht (a beef and beet stew)
- If you love lamb, don’t miss our Lamb Chops
Lamb Stew Recipe

Ingredients
- 4 oz bacon, (4 strips, chopped into 1/4" strips)
- 2 lbs boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 Tbsp sea salt for the lamb plus 1 tsp for stew
- 1 tsp black pepper for lamb plus 1/2 tsp for stew
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or gluten free flour*
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups good red wine, *
- 1 lb button mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 4 cups low sodium beef broth or stock
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 lbs small yellow potatoes, halved or quartered into 1" pieces
- 4 medium carrots, 10 oz, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick pieces
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a 5Qt dutch oven, saute chopped bacon over medium heat until browned and fat released. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a large plate.
- While bacon cooks, season lamb pieces with 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour and toss to coat. Cook lamb in 2 batches in hot bacon grease over medium heat until browned (3-4 min per side) then transfer to the plate with bacon.
- Add diced onion and sauté 2 min. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups wine, scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add sliced mushrooms, bring to simmer then cook uncovered 10 min. Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
- Return bacon and lamb to pot and add 4 cups broth, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 2 bay leaves. Stir in potatoes and carrots, making sure potatoes are mostly submerged in liquid. Bring to a boil then COVER and carefully transfer to preheated oven at 325˚F for 1 hr and 45 min. When done, potatoes and lamb will be very tender.**
Notes
** For reduced fat stew, spoon out any excess oil from the surface when it comes out of the oven.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Q: Are you cooking up any special Easter recipes?
Is lamb typically on the menu for you? I’d love to hear about your Easter dinner traditions!
Your Lamb Stew Recipe
was the Best Stew I ever Made.
Keep up the Great Work!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Deb!
Not a lot of flavor. It was a decent stew, but really no lamb flavor at all. Definitely needs more garlic, and quite a bit of fresh thyme rather than 1/2 tsp dried. If I were making it again I would also use either a lamb shank or shoulder, not a leg, and include the bone in the mixture while it’s cooking. I’d also probably use vegetable stock/broth instead of beef, which seemed to overpower the taste of lamb.
Yes I made it today and There was virtually no lamb flavor as it was overpowered by the beef broth the bacon and the mushrooms.
Sounds like a whole different recipe 🤔maybe you should submit your own as this one is a five star for sure
We love your lamb stew – the flavors are perfectly balanced. The only change I made was in consistency, using a firmer potato (russet), reducing the baking time to 90 minutes and thickening it on the stove by adding a mixture of 2 tablespoons each flour and water. If there are any leftovers, this stew is even tastier the next day!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Joan!
Natasha, love your recipes and your smiling face! I have a question about the lamb. I have 2 lamb shanks in the freezer. Will they work in this recipe? Anything special I should know?
Hi Jennifer, that will work. Here’s what one of our readers wrote: “Simple and delicious! I doubled up on onions and garlic and added an extra 1/2 cup wine and this was outstanding. I used lamb shank scrap and neck bones (meat falls right off the bone after cooking) in lieu of the choice cuts and it really pushed the flavor over the top thanks to the bone and marrow!” I hope this is helpful to you.
Wonderful recipe, so good even though i had no bacon. Did in instapot. Thanks
Glad you liked it! Thanks for your great review, Jeanne.
Wow! The lamb turned out so tender, with a true melt-in-your-mouth consistency. Our family doesn’t tend to like lamb but everyone agreed this dish was a winner! The broth flavor was great using veggie broth (all I had on hand) and didn’t taste overly game-y (I’d imagine beef would mask it even more). I used leftover bacon grease as I wanted to skip a step but kept the same amount of salt. I had a 1.6 lb lamb shank that I cut the meat off; while searing I had to continue adding bacon grease as it was very lean and reduced the cook time by 1 min/side. I also included the bone for more flavor! Close to the end of cooking, I added a cornstarch slurry (2 tsp with 2 TBSP broth) to thicken up the sauce. Because I halved the recipe, I cooked for 1 hour. Thank you, Natasha, for taking the time to share an amazing recipe which I’m sure took a lot of hard work to perfect.
Love it! Thanks so much for sharing your experience trying out this recipe. So happy to know that you enjoyed it!
Hi, this is my GO-TO website for any deliciousness I ever want to make so THANK YOU! Now this recipe looks absolutely yummy and I would love to make it next but I don’t have a dutch oven. Does anyone know if I can use a Ninja Foodi instead? It has a slow cooker option but it will take too long for my liking so was wondering if I could do it in any of the other settings?
thanks!!!
Hi Alejandra, I’m so happy you’re enjoying my recipes! I looked through the comments and didn’t see anyone mentioning the Ninja. I also haven’t tried this yet, but someone else shared this “I made it last night in my instant pot but reduced stock to 2 cups. High pressure 45 min NPR, it was PERFECT!” I hope that helps! You can make it on the stove using a regular pot; just check on it periodically, so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom.
Will this recipe work in an instant pot?
Hello Muna. I haven’t tried that yet but someone else shared this “I made it last night in my instant pot but reduced stock to 2 cups. High pressure 45 min NPR, it was PERFECT!” I hope that helps!
Hello, what kind of side dishes would u recommend to go with the stew. Preparing for guests and need a few more dishes. Thank you.
Hi Anneta, there are a lot of options. Some of them are green vegetables or salad, peas, bread rolls, sourdough bread and so much more.
This stew is packed full of flavour and the lamb pieces turn out so tender. It is a family favourite! Will definitely be making it again.
That’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Gianna. I’m so glad your entire family enjoyed this stew.
Hi – can I swap out the red wine and use guinness beer instead?
Hi Celine, I honestly have not tried that, but I have come across several Guinness beer lamb stew recipes online, and I think it would be worth experimenting with. If you try it out, I hope you let me know how it goes 🙂
I followed the recipe up until deglazing the pot with the red wine, then put all the ingredients in a crock pot and cooked on low for 8 hours. DELICIOUS
That’s so great! Thank you for that awesome review.
The best!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for an outdoor winter party. Followed the recipe and instrucitons. Very easy to prepare. It was a hit. The red wine adds richness to this dish. Will be making this again. Thanks Natasha.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Linda!
We don’t eat pork, should I just leave out the bacon or substitute with turkey bacon?
Hi Hala, it would still work without the bacon, you could just use a light (not extra virgin) olive oil to saute the lamb instead. It may need slightly more salt if omitting the bacon.
Hi Natasha! Thank you for this recipe! I followed it exactly, I have made it twice and my family love it. It is absolutely delicious, definitely my new go to for lamb stews! Thank you again! Greetings from the UK.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Tasina!
Can I make this in a crock pot to cook during the day instead of the dutch oven?
Hello Sarah, I haven’t tested that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us too how it goes.
Don’t know how much I can add to previous reviews, because this was fantastic. I have made different lamb stews over the years and this was one of my favorites. Followed the recipe to a tee and can’t think of a thing I would change. Served over egg noodles. Wish I’d had some crusty bread instead to soak up the goodness. Be sure to use a good wine; it really makes a difference.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I’m from the Uk and this is the best stew recipe, it’s peppery, thick and warm.
I’ve made it a few times and It’s great without the red wine too, I deglaze with balsamic vinegar and little extra stock.
I usually add the lamb bones, a turnip or half a suede, a splash of Worcester sauce and couple tsp dried methi.
Gonna try some of your other recipes. Thanks 👍
Hello Jon, so great to hear from you, and thank you for your great review for this recipe. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jon!
I was wondering what to replace the wine with! Thanks for the balsamic vinegar tip.
It still should work just using more broth if you are concerned. The wine does give this lamb stew rich flavor so it wouldn’t taste quite the same and may need additional seasoning to compensate
Just made this tonight in my extra large dutch oven. Doubled the recipe and followed it exactly and it came out PERFECT. This is a keeper and will become a beloved favorite!
Hi Libby, thank you for your perfect comment. I’m happy that you loved this recipe!
Really incredible recipe! I just replaced the wine with more stock and doubled the tomato paste. Thank you for such a GREAT recipe. Definitely sharing the link to this with all my friends.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I bought a 6-lb boneless leg of lamb at Costco which is too much for just my hubby and me, so I cut off a 2 lb portion and used it for this recipe. This was SO GOOD! I ended up adding about 1 tsp more salt than called for, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. I’ll definitely be making this again! Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Lynette!