Slow cooker leg of lamb is an easy-to-make recipe perfect for any meal and special enough for a holiday. It's tender, juicy, and flavorful! You'll love the tasty broth with wine, fresh herbs, and garlic - it makes amazing gravy. Your slow cooked lamb leg can be cooked to medium-rare and sliceable or fall off the bone and shreddable.
The Best Slow Cooker Roast Lamb!
"Slow cooker roast lamb is one of my favorite recipes! It's quite tender and juicy. Sometimes I cook it to medium rare where I can slice it, others I cook it until it falls off the bone and use it for pulled lamb. DE-LISH!" 🙂 -Kori
Did you know that I also have two other methods of cooking a roast lamb - oven-roasted and Instant Pot? Yep. Be sure to check them out! 🙂
Easy
A few simple steps and you'll have a delicious tender slow cooker roast lamb made to perfection! First, you make the herb coating, then you rub it all over the lamb. From there you pan sear the lamb to give it color and extra flavor.
Next, add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook the roast on low until it reaches your desired temperature. Ta-da! Simple!
Weeknight Dinner or Holiday
This recipe is easy enough for a weeknight meal because a slow cooker is so hands-off - you can leave the house and let it cook low and slow while you're gone!
Healthy
I love how healthy this roast lamb recipe is. Made with simple ingredients you can feel good about serving this lamb leg to your family!
- Lamb is high in Omega 3 fats.
- No dairy has been added to this recipe.
- To make this recipe gluten-free omit the red wine and substitute additional stock and a bit of vinegar.
- This recipe is low carb and keto if you do not eat the potatoes. The potatoes are actually optional. I make them for my family, but I don't actually eat them.
Lamb Leg Slow Cooker Recipe Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card for quantities.
- Semi-boneless or boneless leg of lamb
- Lamb or Beef Stock - either stock or beef broth is fine.
- Red Wine - use whatever red wine, even a simple red cooking wine is fine. If you don't do wine then add more stock and about 1/4 cup of vinegar (any kind) or lemon juice.
- Onion - I used a sweet white onion, but yellow or a red onion would be great.
- Potatoes - these are completely optional but if you want an easy side this is great because they soak up all the amazing juices from the lamb. You could also throw in some carrots too!
- Garlic
- Fresh Lemon Zest
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Fresh Rosemary - fresh is best in this recipe because you need the sprigs for flavor. One sprig is used to chop for the herb coating.
- Fresh Thyme - same as above, please use fresh.
Equipment
- 6-Quart Slow Cooker
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
Be sure to save this pin to Pinterest for later! 😉
Substitutions and Variations
- Use any combination favorite fresh herbs. Rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, and marjoram are all great combinations.
- Add more onion to the bottom of the pot if desired (as long as you have the room in your crockpot).
- Add baby potatoes and carrots to the pot and make it a meal-in-one.
- Strain the solids from the liquids if you want to make gravy. Make a slurry of 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour whisked together with beef or lamb broth. Add juices and slurry to the skillet and simmer over medium to medium-high heat stirring frequently until it thickens. If you need to add more flour whisk it with broth or a little water before adding.
How To Cook Leg of Lamb in Slow Cooker
For complete instructions, please see the printable recipe card below.
Prep
Rinse the leg of lamb and pat dry. Chop 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme and 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary from the sprigs.
Mix Herb Coating
In a small bowl mix the salt, pepper, lemon zest, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary together.
Coat the Lamb
Rub olive oil over the lamb and then coat with the herb mixture.
Add Remaining Ingredients to Slow Cooker
Place the onion, potatoes, garlic, and sprigs of herbs in the bottom of the slow cooker, creating a shelf for the lamb leg to sit on. Add stock and wine to the slow cooker.
Sear Lamb
Preheat a large skillet with olive oil to medium-heat. Once it just starts to smoke. Place the lamb in the skillet and sear the sides until you get a nice golden color.
Add Lamb
Transfer the lamb leg to the slow cooker and place on top of the vegetables and herbs.
How Long To Cook Lamb in Slow Cooker
Cover and cook lamb leg on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until roast reaches your desired temperature and doneness. Be careful not to overcook your roast. Check the temperature periodically with a thermometer.
Roast Lamb Temperature Doneness:
- rare 120°
- med rare 125°
- medium 135°
- medium well 145°
- well done 155°
How To Serve
- Remove from slow cooker and tent with foil. Allow it to sit 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Strain the solids from the slow cooker juices, transfer juices to a saucepan to make a gravy, if desired.
- Serve on a platter, sliced or whole. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley.
- Leg of lamb pairs well with roast potatoes and carrots. Try this Mint Chimichurri - it's fabulous with this roast.
What To Serve with Crock Pot Leg of Lamb
- Serve with any favorite roasted, steamed, or air fried vegetables such as Air Fryer Green Beans, Asparagus, and Cabbage.
- Serve with a side of mint chimichurri sauce or tzatziki sauce.
- Mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower with a side of gravy is always perfect.
- If you are serving a crowd here are some delicious side dishes to serve with: Crockpot Green Beans and Ham, Layered Salad (Layered Overnight Salad), Roasted Red Cabbage Recipe, Cauliflower Cheese.
Got leftovers? Try Leftover Lamb Stew or Leftover Shepherd's Pie.
Top Tips
- If time is a factor you do not have to sear the lamb. Just coat it with the herb mixture and slow cook it as is. Searing gives the roast a beautiful color and extra flavor but it is not essential. If this is for a holiday meal I would definitely sear the lamb leg.
- Use an instant-read thermometer to test the internal temperature of the roast. Cook the roast to your desired temperature then remove from the slow cooker and tent with foil.
- How long you cook the roast depends on whether you want tender slices of meat (rare, medium-rare, medium 4.5 to 6 hours) or fall off the bone meat (well done 6 to 8 hours). Please see the temperature guide in the recipe card.
Crockpot Lamb Roast Recipe FAQs
To store leftovers, let the roast cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. See reheating and freezing instructions below.
You can make the herb coating in advance, but the lamb leg is best cooked the day you want to eat it. However, if you are looking for fall off the bone lamb, or pulled lamb meat you can cook the roast in advance then pull the meat off and shred it.
Yes, you can freeze lamb the leftover lamb meat. To freeze it, let it cool completely after cooking, then transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
The easiest way to reheat leg of lamb is to microwave it: Using a microwave-safe dish, cover the meat and reheat on 50% power for 1 to 2 minutes, turning the pieces or slices occasionally. The exact time depends upon the power of your microwave. Be careful not to overcook!
If you tried this recipe, let me know! I'd love for you to come back and give the recipe a 5 star rating and leave a review in the comments! 🙂 Let's stay connected, so please follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! Subscribe to my newsletter to get healthy fresh recipe ideas every week!
Slow Cooker Leg of Lamb Recipe
Equipment
- 1 6-quart slow cooker
- 1 instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
- 6 pound semi-boneless leg of lamb
- 1 cup lamb stock (or beef stock)
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 large sweet onion (peeled and cut into 8 wedges)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic cloves (minced)
- 1½ teaspoons table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (chop thyme leaves from 1 sprig, leave the other sprigs whole)
- 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (chop rosemary leaves from 1 sprig, leave the other sprigs whole)
- optional: 1 pound baby potatoes and carrots (halve the potatoes)
Instructions
- Rinse the leg of lamb and pat dry.
- Chop 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme and 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary from the sprigs.
- Add stock and wine to the slow cooker. Place the onion, potatoes, garlic, and sprigs of herbs in the bottom of the slow cooker, creating a shelf for the lamb leg to sit on.
- In a small bowl mix the salt, pepper, lemon zest, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary together.
- Rub olive oil over the lamb and then coat with the herb mixture.
- Preheat a large skillet with olive oil to medium-heat. Once it just starts to smoke. Place the lamb in the skillet and sear the sides until you get a nice golden color.
- Transfer the lamb leg to the slow cooker and place on top of the vegetables and herbs.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until roast reaches your desired temperature and doneness using a meat thermometer (see temperature chart below). Be careful not to overcook your roast. Check the temperature periodically.
- Remove from slow cooker and tent loosely with foil. Allow it to sit 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
- Strain the solids from the slow cooker juices, transfer to a saucepan to thicken and make gravy, if desired.
Kori's Tips
- Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
- SUBSTITUTIONS: Use any favorite herb combination. Add potatoes and carrots to the bottom of the pot if desired. Boneless or bone-in leg of lamb can be substituted for semi-boneless, follow the same doneness temperature chart below.
- TOP TIPS: Use an instant read thermometer for the best results. Don't skip searing the meat - it adds a lot of flavor.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with a side of roasted vegetables and a salad or crockpot green beans or cauliflower cheese.
- Got leftovers? Try Leftover Lamb Stew or Leftover Shepherd's Pie.
- rare 120°
- med rare 125°
- medium 135°
- medium well 145°
- well done 155°
Nutrition
© 2024 Seeking Good Eats™
More Tasty Lamb Recipes
- Lamb Stew Recipe
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops Recipe
- Lamb Stew (Instant Pot)
- Pan-Seared Lamb Steak Recipe
- Lamb Mince Shepherd's Pie
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