Are you looking for a winter warming stew? Then look no further, I'm talking about seasoned lamb that is seared to lock in that flavour and then braised in the slow cooker/crockpot until tender with a medley of winter vegetables. Low carb, paleo and gluten free!
Calling all slow cooker fans! I've got you covered with this slow cooker lamb stew recipe. Believe me when I tell you it's very tasty and another one to add to your list of recipes to make.
Before I delve into the recipe at hand, let me start by stating this is NOT a Caribbean recipe. Although the spices I've used are common place in the Caribbean I've taken a different direction with this recipe.
Hence the name of the recipe is lamb stew NOT stew lamb as we would coin the term in the English parts of the Caribbean.
Now that I have put that disclaimer out there, let's talk about slow cooking. I'm a huge fan of slow cooking, my latest Caribbean recipe which was my Jamaican Coconut Curry Chicken was a hit with my readers.
As someone who loves to eat lamb every now and then I just had to share this slow cooker lamb stew recipe. It's made with the boneless cuts of lamb and braised in lamb stock.
I specifically wanted to give this recipe a winter theme so I decided to use parsnips and brussel sprouts as my vegetable option and pair them with some spices with more of a warming note to them and garnish with dried cranberries.
What is the best cut of lamb for slow cooking?
Because this recipe is geared towards slow cooking the world is your oyster so to speak. You can use any part of the lamb that you want HOWEVER, in my humble opinion this type of recipe is designed for the leg or shoulder.
The leg is leaner meaning is doesn't hold as much fat as it's shoulder counterpart. The leg is a bony joint of meat so if you choose to use this cut be sure to ask your butcher to remove the bones or select boneless pieces of meat.
Another top choice would be the shoulder cut, now this part of the lamb is a bit tough and has more fatty deposits. It's cheaper then the shoulder and it perfect for a slow cooker and due to the length of cooking time as a results, this yields some tender meat.
The steps
- Place the lamb in a large bowl
- Season the meat with spices/herbs - allspice (pimento), nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, thyme, cilantro, pink salt
- Wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Add your oil to your skillet (I'm using my 2 in 1 stewing slow cooker unit) with lamb and proceed to sear the meat on medium heat (this will take several minutes).
- Add the onion and garlic and saute until they become translucent and soft.
- Stir in the tomato and tomato paste
- Transfer the contents to your slow cooker/crockpot (I'm using my Morphy Richards 2 in 1 sear and slow cook so I don't need to do this step).
- Add the lamb stock (adding your sprouts now if you want them very soft), tie the cinnamon stick and bay leaves together and cover the unit with a lid.
- Set to slow cook for 4 hours on high
- 1 hr 30 minutes before the stew is done add your vegetables (make slurry 30 minutes before if needed, see notes) and cranberries.
- Remove the cinnamon stick/bay leaves.
- Do a taste test and adjust for seasoning if required prior to serving.
Do you have any other lamb recipes?
Yes, try my Grilled Lamb Kofta Kebabs or my Lamb Leg Steaks with Caramelized Onions
How do I thicken up the excess liquid?
If the cooking time is almost done and you want to create some gravy. Mix together 2tbsp water with 2tbsp starch add this 30 minutes before the cooking time is over
My recipe has finish cooking but there's lots of liquid leftover, help!
You can do the above to thicken it or transfer everything into a skillet and cook off the excess liquid on high heat. Don;'t do this technique unattended.
Can you use beef stock instead of lamb?
Yes, if you can't or simply don't want to use lamb stock then yes beef stock will be just fine.
Notes and tips
- Be sure to glace over the questions and answers section of the post.
- My slow cooker is a 2 in 1 sear and stew which means I can sear the meat in my slow cooker unit on the stovetop without having to use a skillet.
- Add more vegetables if you want or increase the parsnips/sprouts.
- I didn't need to make a slurry because I found the total amount of liquid used/leftover was suffice. If you need to make a slurry, remember it is 2tbsp starch mixed with 2tbsp water 30 minutes before finishing.
- If you want your brussel sprouts to be extremely soft add them with the lamb.
- Make sure to cut your parsnips small and push them towards the bottom of the crockpot when adding them.
- Make sure to do a taste test and adjust seasoning if needed prior to serving.
- To keep this recipe low carb, pair with Cauliflower Rice.
- Make sure to season the meat first, this will help to deepen the flavour even more.
- Use whatever cut of lamb you prefer, just make sure you are using boneless (useless you want the bones).
More slow cooker recipes
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Slow Cooker Lamb Stew
Ingredients
- 2-2.5 lb boneless Lamb (900g-1.2kg)
Lamb seasoning
- 1 tsp allspice (ground pimento) (5g)
- 1 tsp turmeric (5g)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (5g)
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg (5g)
- 1 tsp black pepper (5g)
- 1 tsp ground cardamom (5g)
- 1 tsp ground coriander (5g)
- 1 tsp ground ginger (5g)
- 6 stems of thyme stems removed
- 1 tsp coriander (fresh cilantro) (5g)
- 1 tsp pink salt (5g)
To cook the lamb
- 1 large onion garlic
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium tomatoes +1tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1½ cups lamb stock (355ml)(gluten free)
- 1 ½ cup brussel sprouts halved (160g)
- 1 large Parsnip
- ⅓ cup cranberries (35g)
Instructions
- Place the lamb in a large bowl.
- lSeason the meat with spices/herbs - allspice (pimento), nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, thyme, cilantro, pink salt.
- Wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Add your oil to your skillet (I'm using my 2 in 1 stewing slow cooker unit) with lamb and proceed to sear the meat on medium heat (this will take several minutes).
- .Add the onion and garlic and saute until they become translucent and soft.
- Stir in the tomato and tomato paste.
- Transfer the contents to your slow cooker/crockpot (I'm using my Morphy Richards 2 in 1 sear and slow cook so I don't need to do this step).
- Add the lamb stock (adding your sprouts now if you want them very soft), tie the cinnamon stick and bay leaves together and cover the unit with a lid.
- Set to slow cook for 4 hours on high.
- 1 hr 30 minutes before the stew is done add your vegetables (make a slurry 30 minutes before if needed, see notes)and cranberries .
- Remove the cinnamon stick/bay leaves.
- Do a taste test and adjust for seasoning if required prior to serving.
Notes
- Be sure to glace over the questions and answers section of the post.
- My slow cooker is a 2 in 1 sear and stew which means I can sear the meat in my slow cooker unit on the stovetop without having to use a skillet.
- Add more vegetables if you want or increase the parsnips/sprouts.
- I didn't need to make a slurry because I found the total amount of liquid used/leftover was suffice. If you need to make a slurry, remember it is 2tbsp starch mixed with 2tbsp water 30 minutes before finishing.
- If you want your brussel sprouts to be extremely soft add them with the lamb.
- Make sure to cut your parsnips small and push them towards the bottom of the crockpot when adding them.
- Make sure to do a taste test and adjust seasoning if needed prior to serving.
- To keep this recipe low carb, pair with Cauliflower Rice.
- Make sure to season the meat first, this will help to deepen the flavour even more.
- Use whatever cut of lamb you prefer, just make sure you are using boneless (useless you want the bones)
This lamb stew is so incredibly tender, flavorful and easier than I thought! Perfect for cold evenings and I will be making this recipe again soon, thank you!
Glad you liked it Kathryn.
What an awesome combination of flavors! I love how delicious and easy to make this was.
Thanks for the feedback Danielle.
This was hearty and delicious and everyone loved it.
Yay! Happy to hear it.
Absolutely delicious. I adore lamb and being able to cook it with a slow cooker makes it so much easier.
Definitely, it's make for slow cooking.
Hearty and festive! Perfect for the holidays!
I agree!!
This stew look so comforting and delicious I love it!! Slow Cooker recipes are the best and your lamb seems so tender and delicious. Love the thyme in the recipe too!
Thanks Adrianne
The lamb Stew, can I put it in a crockpot?
The instructions are written for a crockpot/slow cooker.