Lamb shoulder is slow cooked with carrots, tomato juice, red wine, cumin, and paprika. This delicious braised lamb stew recipe is garnished with a fresh mint and pea "pesto".
Don't want to make the pesto? Cool - make life easy and throw frozen peas in the lamb stew in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Braised lamb stew can be served over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or cooked rice.
What Kind of Lamb Cut is Used For Braised Lamb Stew?
This lamb stew is made with lamb shoulder. Can't find lamb shoulder? Leg of lamb will also work.
What's the difference? Leg of lamb is more lean and tender (and also easier to overcook), whereas there is more fat in lamb shoulder.
Lamb shoulder needs to be cooked longer but is hard to overcook. It's absolutely amazingly delicious and tender when cooked for stews.
Don't like lamb or can't find it? Use chunks of chuck roast instead. In the instructional video above, I use chunks of beef instead (although I LOVE it with lamb)!
Mint "Pesto" vs. Peas and Mint in Braised Lamb Stew
Don't want to make or have time to make the mint and almond pesto for the lamb stew?
Cool - just throw the frozen peas straight into the braised lamb pot around 5-7 minutes before serving to make this dish a bit easier.
Garnish this easy lamb stew with fresh mint.
Easy Lamb Stew - Stovetop, Crockpot, or Instant Pot
Don't want to sear and cook on the stovetop? No problem - throw the ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.
Likewise, this easy lamb stew recipe can be easily made in the instant pot too.
Crockpot users: Toss all the ingredients into the crockpot and cook low 6-8 hours. Add fresh mint pesto on the side or throw in the peas in the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Instant Pot users: Sear the meats first and set aside. Toss all lamb ingredients into the pot and set for 45 minutes. Follow cool down instructions. If time is low throw it all without searing and walk away. Add fresh mint pesto on the side or throw peas in after cooking.
TIP: Making a lot of food on the stovetop and need the burners? Throw the ovenproof pot in the oven, after it has come to a boil on the stove top, at 300F for around 1 ½ - 2 hours.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Zester for the zestin' the orange.
- 6 quart Dutch Oven for searing & braising.
- Splatter Guard so grease doesn't go everywhere & clean up is easier.
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Round out your meal by serving this dish with these side recipes:
Like Braised Comfort Dishes?
These are some of my favorite recipes that give me that same "food love" feeling that this dish does.
Lamb Stew with Peas and Mint
EatSimpleFood.com
Lamb shoulder is slow cooked with carrots, tomato juice, red wine, cumin, and paprika. This delicious braised lamb stew recipe is garnished with a fresh mint and pea "pesto".
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop / Oven / Crockpot /Instant Pot
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Ingredients Lamb:
- 2 lb boneless lamb shoulder or lamb leg, trimmed & cut in 2" chunks
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 small carrots, peeled & diced
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups cooked rice
Ingredients For Optional "Pesto":
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- ⅓ cup fresh mint, sliced
- ⅓ cup almonds, chopped
- ½ orange, zested
- sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the chunked lamb.
- Bring a stockpot to medium high heat and add enough vegetable oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.
- Sear lamb in batches until dark brown on all sides (~ 2 minutes per side). Set aside in a bowl when seared.
- Reduce heat and add onions and carrots. Cover, stir occasionally, and cook ~ 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Add garlic and cook ~ 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Stir in cumin, paprika, oregano.
- Add red wine, lamb and any juices, tomato juice and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook ~ 1 ½ hours or until lamb is tender.
- If not making pesto, throw frozen peas in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Make the optional "pesto"
- Combine all pesto ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Serve lamb over cooked rice or egg noodles and and garnish with pesto.
- Add salt to taste. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Making a lot of food on the stovetop and need the burners? Throw the ovenproof pot in the oven, after it has come to a boil on the stove top, at 300F for around 1 ½ - 2 hours.
- Don't want to make the pesto? Cool - just throw the peas straight into the pot around 7 minutes before serving to make this dish a bit easier.
jamie says
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