Slow cooker leg of lamb is an easy-to-make recipe perfect for any meal and special enough for a holiday. This lamb leg is tender, juicy, and flavorful. You'll love the tasty broth with wine, fresh herbs, and garlic - makes amazing gravy. Your roast can be cooked medium-rare and sliceable, or fall-off-the bone.
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You'll ❤️ Slow Cooker Roast Lamb
"Slow cooker roast lamb is one of my favorite lamb 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
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 leg of 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.
How To Serve
There are several ways to serve this slow cooker roast lamb recipe:
- 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.
- Strain the juices and make a gravy. Instead of cooking the potatoes with the lamb roast, you could serve them with a side of mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower.
- If you are serving a crowd here are some delicious side dishes to serve with this slow cooker roast: 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.
Did you know that I also have two other methods of cooking a leg of lamb - oven-roasted and pressure cooker? Yep. Be sure to check them out! 🙂
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this slow cooker leg of lamb:
Be sure to see the recipe card for quantities.
- Semi-boneless or boneless leg of lamb -
- Lamb or Beef Stock - either stock or 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 (optional) - 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
- 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
Equipment and tools needed to make this crockpot lamb roast recipe:
- 6-Quart Slow Cooker
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Measure Spoons
- Instant Read Thermometer
Variations
Here are a few ways you can vary or make substitutions to your slow cooker roast lamb:
- Use any favorite fresh herb combination. 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 crock pot). Or add more potatoes or even carrots if desired.
- 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.
Instructions
Here's how to make slow cooker leg of lamb:
For complete instructions, please see the printable recipe card below.
Strain the solids from the slow cooker juices and make a gravy if desired.
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 roast 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.
Slow Cook
Cover and cook 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.
Lamb Roast Temperature Doneness:
- rare 120°
- med rare 125°
- medium 135°
- medium well 145°
- well done 155°
Remove from slow cooker and tent with foil. Allow it to sit 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
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.
FAQs
How do you store leftovers?
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.
Can you make it ahead of time?
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.
Can you freeze cooked lamb?
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.
How do you reheat leg of lamb?
Here is what you need to do to reheat your lamb:
The easiest way 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.
✔️ More Tasty Lamb Recipes
If you are looking for more delicious lamb recipes, check these out:
- Lamb Stew Recipe
- Air Fryer Lamb Chops Recipe
- Lamb Stew (Instant Pot)
- Pan-Seared Lamb Steak Recipe
- Lamb Mince Shepherd's Pie
More Recipes You Will Love
If you tried this Slow Cooker Leg of Lamb, let me know! I'd love for you to come back and give the recipe a star rating and/or a review in the comments! 🙂 Let's stay connected, so please share photos of your creations with me and others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Recipe
Slow Cooker Leg of Lamb
Equipment
- 1 6-quart slow cooker
- 1 instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
- 6 pound semi-boneless leg of lamb
- 1 cup lamb stock (or beef)
- 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 thyme (chop thyme leaves from 1 sprig, leave the other sprigs whole)
- 3-4 sprigs rosemary (chop rosemary leaves from 1 sprig, leave the other sprigs whole)
- optional: 1 pound baby potatoes (halved)
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 roast 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. Be careful not to overcook your roast. Check the temperature periodically.
- 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 and make a gravy if desired.
Notes
- 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. Eliminate the potatoes if desired.
- TOP TIPS: Use an instant read thermometer for the best results.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with a side of roasted vegetables and a salad or crockpot green beans or cauliflower cheese.
- rare 120°
- med rare 125°
- medium 135°
- medium well 145°
- well done 155°
Nutrition
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