Here's how to cook a boneless leg of lamb that's perfectly roasted and flavorful - every time. This tender juicy lamb roast with garlic and herbs can be enjoyed any time of the year. Cooking a lamb roast is very simple and requires minimal ingredients (only 6). These instructions will work whether you have a semi-boneless or bone-in leg of lamb. Are you ready to make it? 🙂
You Will Love This Boneless Leg Lamb Recipe
It's Easy
You'll love this easy-to-make boneless leg of lamb recipe! So many people avoid cooking roasts because they think they are hard or challenging. Definitely not! In fact, I think they are often the easiest way to cook meat. Roasts usually only require a few ingredients - usually just olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs.
Not Just For The Holidays
Growing up, we always had a ham and lamb on Easter. Most people serve a lamb roast on special occasions, so it definitely reminds me of the holidays.
Because a leg of lamb roast is so delicious, I've started cooking it year-round! I use the leftovers to slice or dice and add it to a Greek salad, or a gyro. Lamb has so much flavor! Yum.
Healthy
Lamb roast is gluten-free, low carb, paleo, and keto-friendly. No sugar or dairy is used in the recipe, and all ingredients are natural.
What You'll Need For This Boneless Leg Lamb Recipe
- Lamb Roast - you can use a boneless leg of lamb or semi-boneless
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- Dried herbs or Fresh herbs - I used oregano, chives, thyme, parsley - use your favorite!
Be sure to see the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions!
Equipment
- Roasting pan
- Instant-read thermometer
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
How to Cook this Leg of Lamb Recipe (Boneless)
Cooking a boneless leg of lamb is really easy, and cooking with the bone-in is just as simple. You can use a boneless or semi-boneless leg of lamb in this recipe as the techniques are the exact same with only a slight adjustment in roasting time.
Prep
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prep all your ingredients.
Remove roast from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to roasting.
Season the Lamb
Rub olive oil all over the outside of the roast.
Follow with garlic, herbs, and then generously season with salt and pepper.
Place the lamb roast in a roasting pan.
Oven Roast
Use an instant-read thermometer or a thermometer with an alarm that can stay in the roast.
Roast for approximately 20 to 25 minutes per pound, but determine the doneness of the roast based upon the below guidelines.
Finish and Serve
Once done, remove the roast and cover with foil. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Slice the lamb. Serve and enjoy!
How long should I cook a lamb roast?
The cooking time varies with the size of your lamb leg roast.
Boneless Leg of Lamb Roasting Time Per Pound:
As rule of thumb, a lamb roast will take approximately 20 to 25 minutes per pound to cook.
The roast used in this recipe was actually semi-boneless and 4.5 lbs. It took about 1 hour to reach my desired temperature, however, I started checking the temperature after 45 minutes.
See the temperature guide below for proper cooking. Use time as a guideline but remember to use a thermometer to test doneness.
What temperature should a leg of lamb be cooked to?
A lamb roast should be cooked as follows. According to the USDA the proper cooking temperature of a lamb roast is 145°. Personally, I lamb roast tastes the best when it is cooked to medium-rare. Whatever temperature you choose, cook the roast 5 degrees less than you want to end up with.
Remove from oven, and tent with foil. Allow the roast to sit for 15 minutes before carving. The temperature of the roast will increase by approximately 5 degrees, and your roast will be much juicier.
rare 120°
med rare 125°
medium 135°
medium well 145°
well done 155°
How To Serve Boneless Leg of Lamb
After the roast has rested, serve it warm on a platter. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs for some color if you like. Slice it, or serve it whole and carve it at the table.
A traditional way to serve lamb is with a side of mint sauce/jelly or a modern sauce such as Mint Chimichurri or even tzatziki sauce is also delicious.
What can I serve with a lamb roast?
- One of my favorite things to do is add potatoes and carrots to the bottom of the roasting pan and have them cook right along with the roast.
- Leg of lamb pairs really well with Cauliflower Cheese, Air Fryer Green Beans, Crockpot Green Beans and Ham, and Layered Salad. Both the green bean recipe and layered salad will serve a crowd.
- Mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes are always the perfect side dish.
- I love to serve this lamb roast with a Greek Salad. I will often chop leftover lamb and eat it with the Greek Salad.
Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe Tips
- Always use a thermometer to test the doneness of your roast. Insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the roast. If your roast has a bone or is semi-boneless avoid touching the bone when you check the temp.
- Allow the roast to come to room temperature prior to roasting. I usually remove it from my fridge about 30 minutes prior to roasting.
- After roasting, allow the roast to sit for 15 minutes, covered in foil before serving.
- Optional serving idea! Place potatoes and carrots in the bottom of the roasting pan. They will absorb the juices and be REALLY good. 🙂
Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe Storage
Let the lamb cool completely, then slice the meat, or cube it, depending on what you want to do with the leftovers. Place the leftover lamb meat in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days or 4 months in the freezer.
FAQ's
When cooking a boneless leg of lamb, I always cook it with the fast side up so the fat renders and the juices essentially baste the lamb. As it roasts, you’ll get a wonderful browning and flavor on the outside with a juicy, tender inside.
The best for cooking a leg of lamb is roasting as the heat browns and caramelizes the roast - enhancing the flavor.
For the most tender roast, a leg of lamb should be cooked slowly as it is a large and dense cut of meat. It needs time in the oven for the heat to work its magic.
Yes, but to a point. After a certain period of time, lamb will become dry and tough from overcooking. A perfectly cooked leg of lamb is tender and soft on the inside. If cooked to the proper temperature (see the temperature guide in the recipe card), you will have tender lamb.
You can sear a lamb before roasting if you wish, but if cooked at the proper temperature and length of time, it is not necessary.
Using bone-in or boneless lamb is a personal preference. One cut is not better than the other. Most lamb roasts in the US are boneless or semi-boneless.
Lamb has a rich, very distinctive taste that pairs well with a variety of spices and herbs. For leg of lamb, lamb chops, and lamb steaks, my favorites are rosemary, mint, garlic, and thyme. If it’s ground lamb, cilantro, paprika, and cumin are quite common - your choice of herbs really depends upon the recipe you are making.
Can I ask you a favor?
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📖 The recipe.
Best Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 4.5 to 6 pound lamb roast (boneless or semi-boneless)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 teaspoons minced garlic (or, 6 to 8 garlic cloves)
- 2 - 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup dried herbs or ½ cup fresh herbs chopped (we used oregano, chives, thyme, parsley - use your favorite!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove roast from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to roasting.
- Rub olive oil all over the outside of the roast. Follow with garlic, herbs, and then generously season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb roast in a roasting pan.
- Roast for approximately 20 to 25 minutes per pound, but determine doneness of the roast based upon the below guidelines. Use an instant-read thermometer or a thermometer with an alarm that can stay in the roast.
Video
Kori's Tips
Helpful Hints
Remove from oven, and tent with foil. Allow the roast to sit for 15 minutes before carving. The temperature of the roast will increase by approximately 5 degrees, and your roast will be much juicier.- rare 120°
- med rare 125°
- medium 135°
- medium well 145°
- well done 155°
Nutrition
© 2025 Seeking Good Eats™
More Lamb Recipes
Roasting lamb in the oven isn't your only option - I also have a slow cooker leg of lamb recipe and a pressure cooker version! 🙂
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops - quick and easy plus really tender!
- Leftover Lamb Shepherd's Pie - the PERFECT recipe to use up the extras. This recipe is unique and is made with Stout beer and tater tots - the family LOVES it!
- Hearty Leftover Lamb Stew Recipe
- Lamb Stew Recipe - a classic braised lamb stew.
- Lamb Stew (Instant Pot) - classic lamb stew made easy in your Instant Pot
- Lamb Mince Shepherd's Pie - a classic shepherd's pie recipe with garlic mashed potatoes.
- The Best Greek Burger (Gyro Burger) - uses ground lamb (lamb mince).
The Best leg of lamb! This super easy lamb roast requires only minimal prep and 6 ingredients. Lamb is perfect for a special occasion, holiday roast (like Easter dinner), or your next Sunday dinner. Lamb is low carb, paleo, ketogenic, sugar-free, and gluten-free. #lamb #Easter #spring #lambroast #roastedlamb #easyroastrecipe #lowcarb #glutenfree #paleo #keto #ketogenic #roastrecipe #holidayroast
Don Ciesielski
Cooking is a big thing in our big (6 siblings) but recipes online are used often . We're all from central NJ. Gotta be from NJ to know we divide up our small state. Many cultural differences for such a small state. I'm a Piney now. Again, gotta be from Jersey to know what I mean...I'm from the Pine Barren region of "Soutd"Jersey now .
Anyway, my contribution would that if you can't find, or if you don't have, a thermometer, we we all would tell you, because mom tell us, that you cook a roast with you nose... when it smells done it is done!
However, I'le using a thermometer...
The recipe sounds like how mom would have made it so I'll be using it. I love leg of lamb and finally convinced my wife to serve this Easter. She was never secure enough to have me cook it because she's afraid it'll be dry. So we're gonna have a pre-Easter dinner with some neighbors for practice. Maybe they know us better than family now? They are, after all, fellow Pineys.
I'll try and update this after Easter.
Frederick Blythe
My mother/grandmother never ever used a thermometer to check temperature of the meat and it always came out perfect so why is it most recipes mentioned it or is it because most people are useless at cooking like granny did.
seekinggoodeats
My grandmother didn't use a thermometer for testing her meat either 🙂 I learned to cook from Grandma - she was a wonderful cook. Fond memories. Most recipes nowadays mention it for food safety reasons and also so that their readers can get consistent results when cooking the recipes (We don't want to get yelled at because someone burned their roast) haha! 🙂 Also, I'm finding a lot of new cooks out there that are just learning and maybe they are teaching themselves. Hope you have a good rest of your day and enjoy the roast!